Playing in Person Is Just Better (for me)

[TwoSix]

I just didn't see it take ten seconds in the environment I was talking about, either. Like I said, it makes a big difference how used to chat based roleplaying you are to some extent.

(Its not a coincidence that both I and my wife are pretty fast typists.)

More power to you if you can pull it off. I can be funny in chat, but it’s a different medium than physical communication for me.

 

[aramis erak]

There are a lot of games that work well online, and a few that don't...
But almost all of those work better face to face.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I have a group that's been 100% online because we met here on ENW, and we’re scattered all over the US.

That group only exists because of online play. But if there was a chance to play with them in person, that’d be awesome.

I mean… is there anyone who doesn’t prefer in person play?

I’m sure there could be, but it’s not really surprising that most of us prefer to play in person. There are pros and cons to each, but still… I think most prefer in person play.

Let’s hear some man bites dog. Who out there actually prefers online play?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Let’s hear some man bites dog. Who out there actually prefers online play?

I have a coworker who played in person in my coworker game once and asked to play online after that. He has social anxiety.

 

[Thomas Shey]

More power to you if you can pull it off. I can be funny in chat, but it’s a different medium than physical communication for me.

Oh, it definitely is, don't get me wrong. I'm just not convinced on the whole that its a worse one. Like I said, I think there are virtues that balance out any flaws.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Let’s hear some man bites dog. Who out there actually prefers online play?

I think, if I could convince people to use text chat (rather than voice) and train people to use it, and still have access to everything else, I would. Most of the advantages of remote play are largely destroyed by voice, and completely destroyed by voice and camera.

Edit: Okay, that's not strictly true; I find some elements of using a VTT much easier than the manual method. But as I noted above, you don't actually have to be playing remotely to use those.

 

[Wolfpack48]

Caveat: I play online a lot. I have long term gaming friends spread across the country. I am very grateful that there are tools we can use to play together despite that distance.

With that said: I just returned from Carnage Con in Killington VT where I ran 4 sessions (one The One Ring 2E Moria adventure; 3 sessions of a Shadowdark mini con-campaign) and I am reminded just how much better it is to play in person. Worlds better. Impossibly better.

RPGs are inherently a conversation, and all conversations (from a chat with your BFF to a meeting with HR to an academic intellectual debate) are better in person where you can read body language, respond to non-verbal cues and otherwise engage the complete conversation rather than a partial limited form of the conversation.

If you, like me, are mostly stuck playing online because of scheduling and/or distance, I am not trying to convince you to not do that. Those games are good and valuable. But I am suggesting you seek out opportunities to play TTRPGs in person if you have not in a while.

It's so good.

Caveat 2: I realize that there are some people who have a very difficult time with in person interactions and I am not discounting your needs or preferences. If you have anxiety or another situation that makes in person gaming impossible, you deserve good gaming too and I wish you the best.

Caveat 3: In case it needs to be said, this post is my opinion and I understand that not everyone agrees and I am not belittling anyone's preferences.

Hard agree.

 

[dbm]

We played online during Covid and it was a life-saver for our gaming and mental health. But we reverted back to f2f once the situation improved to the point where we were all comfortable being in the same room for 10 hrs (our normal play pattern was a 10 hr session on a weekend every 3-4 weeks).

Online play requires strong discipline to pull off. You can have more natural communication if everyone uses a headset and mutes when eating etc. But I couldn’t get my group to do that so it always sucked a bit.

Social things are better in person where possible.

 

[aramis erak]

I mean… is there anyone who doesn’t prefer in person play?

There are a few on the boards here.
JD Smith1, for one. Been quite vocal about it.

There are some games where I prefer to run online becuase of map handling.

 

[payn]

We played online during Covid and it was a life-saver for our gaming and mental health. But we reverted back to f2f once the situation improved to the point where we were all comfortable being in the same room for 10 hrs (our normal play pattern was a 10 hr session on a weekend every 3-4 weeks).

Online play requires strong discipline to pull off. You can have more natural communication if everyone uses a headset and mutes when eating etc. But I couldn’t get my group to do that so it always sucked a bit.

Social things are better in person where possible.