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Message: <blockquote data-quote="schneeland" data-source="post: 9510922" data-attributes="member: 6900337">I think I fall into that bucket. I switched to online play with the pandemic and currently don't have any plans to switch back.Now I do enjoy a good face-to-face gaming session and I think if we are strictly talking about the social aspect of gaming than f2f works better than online. However, for me, the negatives outweigh this benefit:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">As [USER=90374]@payn[/USER] mentioned a few pages back: online play gives you access to a wider player base and thus makes it a lot more likely that you can play the games you want, with people who also want to play them (instead of just agreeing to play them because they like you). Similarly, you also have a much better chance to find people with matching playstyle.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">[USER=7026617]@Thomas Shey[/USER] brought it up early on: sitting in the same room creates distractions that can make it harder to get into character. And since immersion/flow is something I enjoy in RPGs, I actually appreciate that we are doing something a bit like an audio drama when we play online (we typically play with camera off and no VTT).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Scheduling was also already discussed: for me, it's a lot easier to fit the typical 3 hour online session into my week than trying to schedule something for 4-5 hours in person. This goes hand in hand with the "no driving" aspect - I sometimes work late and being able to play from home means, I don't need to cancel sessions when this happens; the same goes for early meetings the next day (worst case, I had to ask to starting half an hour later or closing half an hour earlier). My impression is also that our online gaming sessions are a lot more focused than the f2f sessions I had before the pandemic.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">A small thing, but I also enjoy being able to easily access and navigate rules material in digital form instead of flipping through the books at the table (among others, this also means I don't have to keep systems I rarely play in my shelves, just for the rare occasion of playing them again).</li> </ol>Now if all the people I play with lived within 15 minutes walking distance (as it used to be while I was at university), then we would probably also play in person. But since they are spread across the country, our f2f interaction is limited to meeting once a year for a drink.</blockquote>

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