scheduling

There are a lot of questions as to what works best when you begin scheduling sessions for the gaming group you have put together. How often? Which day? What time? A lot of groups struggle with this very thing, session after session. I have been lucky enough to have a weekly game every Tuesday night since 2017. There are a number of reasons for this. Here are my thoughts on the matter.

First of all, the day of the week is the #1 killer for any regular game. Weekends are rough as that is the time for travel, festivals, sports, and many other events that take place in one’s life. These will be missed frequently by your group. Weekdays are less likely to be missed due to the various events, but come with their own problems.

This is where timing comes in at #2. Evenings are generally when people want to play, the end of the day is the best time for this type of stress relief. However, week nights are sacred for the full-time job holder (they need to function in the morning). Try an evening time on a weekend and you’re most likely doomed. Any of these times and days could work, but that is dependent on your players.

Players are #3 on my list. No matter what day or time that is chosen, you must have player commitment. These players don’t have to sign away their life in blood or anything, they just cannot call out just because something better came along. If a player is missing every other session because of other things, you’ll need to have a chat about commitment, and take into consideration how often you meet.

#4 on my list may seem backwards to everyone else. I do not think any roleplaying game should be regularly scheduled as once a month, and I’m hesitant to even suggest bi-weekly. When you meet so infrequently, one absence is felt dramatically (suddenly you’ve gone weeks without playing together). It can also really cause the story to stutter. I strongly encourage meeting weekly. This way, when someone has to miss it, it's not so bad.

I feel I need to explain this a bit more. Missing 1 out of every 4 sessions sounds the same, mathematically, no matter how often you meet. However, if you meet monthly, then you go two months without playing together. Let me tell you, it is hard enough to get players to remember what happened week to week, but two months?! While meeting weekly, then you only go two weeks between sessions.

And I know what you are saying, “But, Jodie, that is bi-weekly.” Yeah, but the commitment was for weekly. Your players are going to miss sessions and with weekly sessions it's no big deal. But longer times between sessions allow for other things to creep in and take over your players’ interests and time.

So, those are my thoughts on it. My group has been meeting weekly since 2017. We have done multiple long campaigns and several shorter ones, including one-shots. We have cycled through four GMs (I’m the main one) and several additional players. We meet during the week, every week, in the evening, and my players are committed to showing up every time. If you are struggling with a regular group, try something new and drastic…plan for every week.