Rudolph
Squire
Posts: 39
Favorite D&D Class: Ranger
Favorite D&D Race: Firbolg
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Post by Rudolph on Feb 2, 2018 11:05:40 GMT
As of right now I am DMing a group of 8-9 high school kids, running them through an Out of the Abyss/Homebrew combo game. Every time we play, about five minutes into the session every single one of them will be on their phones, talking, or otherwise not paying attention. It means that when they have a turn in combat or an important moment in role-play I have to shout to get their attention.
I love D&D, and I would love to have a group of kids who loved roleplaying as much as I do, but I don't at all expect my players to be top notch role-players or to have a serious game. It's really frustrating to not have a game at all, though. I've asked them if they really want to keep playing and they said that of course they do! But seeing as they are my peers I have limited options to keep them involved in the game. I've had a couple ideas, but if anyone had a thought or shared a similar experience I'd love to hear from you.
Tactics so far - Very few. I have a dry-erase map to make combat easier to manage, and so far I've been the one to draw on it, no one else (as you might expect). The thing is, I have a town in the game that they've heard about a lot but never visited. It's also the stage for a crucial final battle. I felt like my plan for the battle wasn't quite interesting enough to spring on them, so my plan is to give them ten minutes to draw out the section of town they think they're in when they arrive, and then set the battle there.
Again, if anyone has any feedback, insights, or past experience it'd be lovely to see what you guys think!
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Post by boostoverkill on Feb 8, 2018 21:22:42 GMT
I think a lot of us have this issue at the table, and the simplest solution is to say no electronics at the table. This is a blanket rule for everyone, including the DM. If players can't step away from Facebook and Instagram for a few hours, then the can't step into you fantasy world. The exception to this, as Mitch has mentioned in the podcast, is that use of electronics at the table is acceptable if they're being used for game purposes, such as the 5th edition spellbook app that my players and I use. It cuts down on time looking up spells, so is therefore useful. "Sorry, I wasn't listening, I was checking my Instagram" is not useful. Hope that helps, and in all likelihood, your players will understand!
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Post by phos on Feb 9, 2018 21:43:57 GMT
I'm nearly 40 and the the kids I've got at my table are my son and his friends, so its easy for me to be make rules that are unpopular. I've been doing it his whole life. But here's the trick to making a rule thats unpopular when you're in a position of authority; people will agree to it if it makes sense. I know its a lot harder because they are peers, but i promise you that if you ask them simply and directly with out being aggressive or being placating or wishy washy, most will be totally cool with it. The rule at my table is when we're settled in and ready to play, the phones go face down in a shoe box or a salad bowl in the middle of the table. When we take breaks, every one grabs their phone and does what ever, then phones go back in the bowl. Sometimes someone has something going on they need to keep up on, parents trying to contact them or what ever. in that case it can keep their vibrate on so they know if they get an important message. Sometimes i'll have some one google something or check the time. They know they can use the phone if its an emergency and because no ones phone is out of sight if there are times when the game is slow for a reason, you'll find some one ask "Do you mind if..." or "does anybody mind if I check something"
You might also encourage them, when you have a break and they grab their phones, to do a #gamenight post.
You're not doing it to be mean or a fascist, its just for the sake of immersion. The only real caveat I see is that you have a lot of people at your table so there is probably a lot of dead time between turns, so I think you probably need to let some of the socializing slide. Also, if you haven't already done it, see if you can't find jobs for them. With 9 people there is probably some one that likes making lists, there is someone who might enjoy making maps, someone that might like keeping a log of events, and names of npcs ect. Little things like that. They might find it cumbersome at first, but if you stay flexible and make sure that the person has a job matching something they actually like to do, they will hit their own stride. I might even, for the sake of keeping things lubricated, grant their characters proficiency in a skill or tool set that reflects the players table duties. I wonder if you might not see some of the table chatter start becoming a little more character driven. That's only theoretical but i'd be curious to see how it worked. Anyways Good luck!
oh! and its totally okay to to say "Hey Folks! You might want to pay attention here!" when something important is happening and people are socializing. Again. Good Luck! You got this.
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Rudolph
Squire
Posts: 39
Favorite D&D Class: Ranger
Favorite D&D Race: Firbolg
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Post by Rudolph on Feb 10, 2018 11:37:59 GMT
Thanks guys, this is great advice. I think the specialized table duties like mapping and maybe even logging the action is a great idea, especially considering the one or two of them that are artistically inclined. I'm gonna work up the courage to set a general rule next session. Again, thanks!
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Post by rorrik on Feb 10, 2018 16:20:40 GMT
I run a game for teenagers, and they're all familiar with google docs from school, so I gave them all google doc character sheets they can access on their phones. I'm not sure if they're just less phone-centric than your players, or if this helped fix the problem, but I haven't noticed them using their phone for anything other than character sheets and other resources for the game without apologizing immediately when done.
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Post by Chickadee (DM Trish) on Feb 13, 2018 17:14:19 GMT
I think a lot of us have this issue at the table, and the simplest solution is to say no electronics at the table. This is a blanket rule for everyone, including the DM. If players can't step away from Facebook and Instagram for a few hours, then the can't step into you fantasy world. The exception to this, as Mitch has mentioned in the podcast, is that use of electronics at the table is acceptable if they're being used for game purposes, such as the 5th edition spellbook app that my players and I use. It cuts down on time looking up spells, so is therefore useful. "Sorry, I wasn't listening, I was checking my Instagram" is not useful. Hope that helps, and in all likelihood, your players will understand! No electronics at all is my ideal situation as well, except that I like playing music for the campaign so I use my laptop for that. However, I keep it off to the side and it's very clear to my players that I'm only glancing over at it to change music (which is great fun because if they see me reaching for the music, they go "oh no! She's going to make us roll for initiative.") My group was using online apps for spell searches but if you want to get away from that, the printable spell cards are a great option. I actually prefer them now and keep them in the plastic card holders (like people use for hockey cards and such). I've found it much faster and gives people one less excuse to be on their phones. of course, now that everyone is starting to use D&D Beyond.... |
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Post by helkdermit on Sept 10, 2018 20:50:31 GMT
I've got half old players (over 40), half young players... the young ones don't touch the phones. I'm unsure why, maybe they're just interested in what's going on.
If this becomes a problem, I'll stop the game until the phones go away. I'll do it everytime the phones rear their ugly head. Maybe they'll get the point. Maybe they won't. I'd think peer pressure would play a role at this point.
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Post by Chickadee (DM Trish) on Sept 12, 2018 15:49:42 GMT
Phone update: I've given up...with everyone using D&D Beyond, I've had to accept it and move on. Fortunately, my group is very strict about people paying attention and they enforce a 'you snooze, you lose' policy for turns and loot.
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Post by DM Onesie Knight on Sept 21, 2018 10:01:46 GMT
It’s pretty much already been said, but I see two options here: either you blanket ban all phones (maybe even collect them in a bowl or something at start of game), or try the “snooze you lose” tactic where you call a character for their turn and if they don’t notice (give em maybe 5-10 seconds) then initiative keeps moving along.
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