[RPG] How to help players settle down and focus

gm-techniquesgroup-dynamicssystem-agnostic

We have a weekly game in the evenings; however, we often don't start playing for a few hours after we get together, if at all. This has been exacerbated recently by other events with the same people being scheduled for the few hours prior to the game; last week we barely managed to struggle through a five-minute scene over the course of 8 hours we'd scheduled for gaming! Since we rather enjoy our "social hour" just before the game, what can we do to signal a definite switch to "Game time is now!"

(It's a World of Darkness game, if that helps; not settling down to play seriously takes away from the horror aspect significantly)

Best Answer

Much like with kids and animals, routine helps.

Accept that a certain amount of socializing will always happen at the beginning of the game, and allow it to happen.

before you start the session

  • A half hour before you (as the GM) would like to start playing, put the food away and take out the books, dice, miniatures and other paraphernalia that you use.
  • At the same time, ask your players to finish up any food (not snacks) that they are munching on.
  • 15 minutes before you want to start ask your players to look over their character sheets and make sure that they are up-to-date.
  • 10 minutes before you start, ask the smokers (if you have any) to go out for their smoke break so that they can get into character before going out for another.
  • 5 minutes before you start, ask the players to think over what happened last session and get a brief summary of what happened, from the viewpoint of their PC.

start of the session

  • Turn down the lights.
  • Pick a player at random to summarize the last session for you. The choosing could be having the players roll a dice and highest/lowest roll does the summary. The recap does not need to be an intensive 5 minute treatise. Summarize it from the viewpoint of the overall story that has gone so far. Here, the recap does not need to be lengthy Shakespearean prose. Short and sweet will get the point across. (1)
  • Start playing.

More abrupt techniques

  • Simply pull out your stuff, and announce that it is time to play. Ask the player closest to the lights to turn them down, and away you go. Ignore people who are not participating in the game and reward those that do. Perhaps in-game rewards (XP, loot) or out-of-game rewards (get to choose munchies for the next session.)

Other useful techniques

  • Ban use of tablets, smartphones and laptops from the table.
  • Turn off wi-fi access or change the password while you are playing.
  • Create a phone-zone where people can put their phones while playing, and they are only allowed to check them during pauses. (Note that as a husband and father, this may be more difficult to enforce.)

If you do this regularly, as well as making it clear to the players what you are doing, your players should start to accept that once the lights go down, chat time is over and play time has started. However, make sure, during the game, you allow for brief (10 minutes every 2 or 3 hours) breaks for people to unwind and loosen up. Turn the lights up at those points, and remember to turn them down when it is time to start up again.

(1) It could be as simple as "So, when we last saw our heroes, they just finished a grueling fight with Tucker's Kobolds. Gundar is bleeding from multiple wounds and is fatigued from raging, Gandalf is out of spells, and Friar Tuck is stuck in a web. What do you do" (stolen from the comment by Pulsehead, below.)