Electronics at the Gaming Table
Sep. 17th, 2021 02:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerOne of the blogs I follow is about roleplaying games (RPGs), called Gnome Stew. In a recent entry one of the "gnomes" wrote about players checking their phones, etc. during a game. For context, this would be at table-top RPGs (TTRPGs), where use of electronic devices and their potential for disruption has been a topic of debate over the past several years.
The author of that blog presented both pros and cons for device usage in TTRPGs. I appreciate that because most writing on the topic has been very one-sided. When small devices became common enough— and powerful enough— that players using them at the table became a big discussion in the TTRPG community, most writers took a paternalistic, just-say-no approach.
The urge behind making "No electronics" a house rule is understandable. Phones, tablets, etc. used inappropriately during games are huge distractions. Players who descend into watching YouTube videos or reading news or social media feeds mentally dropping out from the game. Even worse is when they distract others, too, e.g. by laughing out loud at the cat videos they're watching or interrupting others' roleplay to shout, "OMG, did you hear about what the {president, other party leader, governor, pop star of the week} just said?!?!"
Even if all you see are the negatives of device usage, setting a policy like a "Thou shalt not" commandment will not work with adult players. Much of the advice in recent years has worded as a parent would browbeat and punish a misbehaving child.
And the truth is that phones, tablets, and small laptops are more than just tools of distraction. They're enormous helps when used well. I can't imagine sitting down for a game anymore without a character sheet open in one window and background documents, SRDs, and rules PDFs queued up in various tabs. I frankly roll my eyes at players who are high-tech in other aspects of their lives yet sit down at my gaming table with a rat's nest of faded papers they can't their own Hit Points in without loudly rummaging around for 15 seconds. Nowadays it's like, if you don't have a device with you to organize and access information, you're not prepared.
Of course, the negatives of devices are real. Those examples I gave above about cat videos and blurting out outrageous headlines in the middle of a game aren't hypothetical or exaggerated examples; they've all happened at my gaming table. Devices are tools, and tools can be used for good or ill. So how do you limit the ill?
I find these types of disruptions are best handled not with rules specific to device usage but when treated like any other form of disruption. It's worth remembering that not all disruptions are device-based. TTRPGs have always struggled with distractions such as players wanting to catch up with each other before starting the game. Then, too, there’s the challenge of how much "meta" talk / BSing there is in the game vs. deep roleplaying. And how to manage snack/meal breaks without trainwrecking the session too badly is practically an art form. The best approach is to build a consensus among the players about how and how much of these to allow while keeping the game fun for all.
The author of that blog presented both pros and cons for device usage in TTRPGs. I appreciate that because most writing on the topic has been very one-sided. When small devices became common enough— and powerful enough— that players using them at the table became a big discussion in the TTRPG community, most writers took a paternalistic, just-say-no approach.
The urge behind making "No electronics" a house rule is understandable. Phones, tablets, etc. used inappropriately during games are huge distractions. Players who descend into watching YouTube videos or reading news or social media feeds mentally dropping out from the game. Even worse is when they distract others, too, e.g. by laughing out loud at the cat videos they're watching or interrupting others' roleplay to shout, "OMG, did you hear about what the {president, other party leader, governor, pop star of the week} just said?!?!"
Even if all you see are the negatives of device usage, setting a policy like a "Thou shalt not" commandment will not work with adult players. Much of the advice in recent years has worded as a parent would browbeat and punish a misbehaving child.
And the truth is that phones, tablets, and small laptops are more than just tools of distraction. They're enormous helps when used well. I can't imagine sitting down for a game anymore without a character sheet open in one window and background documents, SRDs, and rules PDFs queued up in various tabs. I frankly roll my eyes at players who are high-tech in other aspects of their lives yet sit down at my gaming table with a rat's nest of faded papers they can't their own Hit Points in without loudly rummaging around for 15 seconds. Nowadays it's like, if you don't have a device with you to organize and access information, you're not prepared.
Of course, the negatives of devices are real. Those examples I gave above about cat videos and blurting out outrageous headlines in the middle of a game aren't hypothetical or exaggerated examples; they've all happened at my gaming table. Devices are tools, and tools can be used for good or ill. So how do you limit the ill?
I find these types of disruptions are best handled not with rules specific to device usage but when treated like any other form of disruption. It's worth remembering that not all disruptions are device-based. TTRPGs have always struggled with distractions such as players wanting to catch up with each other before starting the game. Then, too, there’s the challenge of how much "meta" talk / BSing there is in the game vs. deep roleplaying. And how to manage snack/meal breaks without trainwrecking the session too badly is practically an art form. The best approach is to build a consensus among the players about how and how much of these to allow while keeping the game fun for all.
