Optimum Gaming Environments?

[SemperJase]

A clean room with enough space to move around freely.
A large table. (at my house we use a dining room table with two leaves in it.)
Padded chairs to avoid the hind end numbness that results from sitting on hard surfaces for hours.
Battlemat, minis.
Good lighting (maybe be adjusted for ambiance).

 

[Mr Fidgit]

. We used to play around a coffee table w/couches. Then the baby (now the 2 year old) started grabbing all of our stuff off of it

The Attack of Baby-zilla!

i know it well....

 

[CerebralAssassin]

Well, the group I play with now has several things that I think make for a good gaming environment:

1) Easy access to the kitchen, bathroom, and the front door
2) Good Sound System to go along with a good selection of gaming music
3) Most importantly, a good group of players to game with

The only other group I played with for an extended period (in MD) had a couple of things that I enjoyed as well:

1) We played in the basement (that had a fireplace) so it was cool in the summer, and warm enough in the winter. Plus a fire can really add some nice atmosphere to certain in game situations.
2) Our table was 5' wide and 6' long, so there was plenty of space for the 6 of us and all our stuff.

The only thing I'd like to have that I haven't been able to make happen yet is to have comfy chairs for everyone. I personally think that bean bag chairs arrayed around a coffee table (or other low table) would be excellent

Cerebral Assassin

 

[Crothian]

The Attack of Baby-zilla!

i know it well....

Yes, the baby who loves dice and pencils and piucking up things to throw, especially papers.

 

[Crothian]

Double Post

 

[buzz]

What are some of your optimum gaming environments?

The group I just joined sits around a table in the DM's kitchen, which is, unfortunately, just small enough that one or two of us (six players, plus DM) doesn't have room. When he breaks out the battlemat, there's even *less* space. The DM generally stands by the counter. I find this less than optimum.

The last game that I ran started at my dining table, but eventually moved to the living room.

Basically, I've found that I don't really like sitting at a table behind a screen anymore. The screen separates me from the players, and I always have to stand up and lean over to see the battlemat and move minis.

When we moved to the living room, the players were either on the couch or sitting on the floor. I was opposite them, sitting in an office chair with my screen and notes on a knee-high tray beside me. The battlemat was on the floor.

This way, I could turn and face the players with nothing between us. When I needed to roll or check notes, I could just turn to my side.

I'd play at a table again, but I'd want to have my stuff, again, on a tray or side table of some sort, with nothing separating me from the players. That, or I'd do eveyrthing on a laptop.

Anyone want to loan me a laptop?

 

[buzz]

Re: Re: Optimum Gaming Environments?

And another thing...

I generally don't like to have music playing unless it is somehow germane to the game. When I played Cthulhu in college, we'd listen to Peter Gabriel's "Passion" non-stop, which, being eerie and instrumental, was perfect. We kept the volume quite low, however.

The alst game I ran I tried using some of the more raucus music from "Gladiator" during combat... but given how long our combats took, the song would end up looping for about half an hour or more, and it just started to drive everyone crazy.

Anyway, *in general* I find music during a game session way too distracting. When I read various people's lists of music they use (on the Web or in Dragon), I just can't fathom how they manage to run their games. Especially when they list contemporary rock or metal music.

And I'm a musician!

 

[Danyon Dehlmari]

Good game music, dining room table, snacks,

Kids asleep!!!!

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

My groups tend to do the sit around a table thing... Ideally, I'd like the setup to include a large, low table for maps, miniatures, and player's dice & stuff, a seperate side table for me to put my DM'ing supplies on (including screen), controllable/dimmable lighting, a nice stereo so I can play sound FX or music, and relatively comfy chairs.

I really wish they made a half-height DM screen, since the normal one cuts me off from the players - that's why I prefer to have it on a side table if possible - but I still need something to screen off my notes and maps.

I used to use music and FX a lot, but that was when I ran the game at my house. I already carry too much stuff to the game, but I'd like to use music. I'm working on getting some of my mp3's transferred to my laptop, then I can hook up PC speakers to my work laptop and play music. I have enough pairs of those damned things I could leave one pair of PC speakers in every house I ever play D&D in. I'd like to do more in this area, but haven't figured out the best way. Still working on it.