my $0.02

[eudas]

Personally, I tend to prefer gaming around a table (the larger, the better, within reason) with overhead lights -- I like the focused sense that it lends to the game. When we play around the couch, as many others have mentioned, people get lazy and things slow down; people become more passive as they get too comfortable.

I've played in other peoples' living rooms where they have coffee tables handy -- in those cases, people put things on the coffee tables and were usually sitting forward, and the games were more active. But in places where table space is missing or already taken up with flower arrangements next to back issues of Better Homes & Gardens, or where big cushy sink-into-it couches are available, the possibility for things slowing down goes up. Posture changes alot of things.

I like the 'yeah - we're at the table - we're playin' a game' feel; couches are for vedging in front of the TV or for chilling out with a drink while you just relax and bs with someone. :)

eudas

[Ron Edwards]

Hello Eudas,

Please be careful not to resurrect older threads any more. If you haven't done so already, check out the Sticky thread at the top of the Site Discussion forum about Forge posting etiquette. This site is very different from most others, and the rules here take some getting used to.

Everyone, the above post was split from Does your group set-up affect the game?

Best,
Ron

[eudas]

Hi,

Sorry about resurrecting old threads. I'm not trying to start up any old flame wars that have died down or anything. I'll read the Sticky about this site's posting etiquette. I guess I'm used to boards where the philosophy is more along the lines of 'old threads never die, they just wait until someone new comes along'.. :)

My Apologies,
eudas

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Eudas,

It's cool, no harm done. The philosophy here is that discussions are rarely shut down, just threads. So there's no reason not to keep chatting about this topic, as long as people give the previous posters the respect of reviewing the old thread and taking those points into account.

Your point about postures, seating, and so forth contributing to intensity and attention is certainly still open to discussion, so anyone who's interested, go to it.

Best,
Ron

[Shreyas Sampat]

I find that the opposite is true, but this may be indicative of different play styles - my default mode of play involves several characters all off doing their own thing, with rapid scene changes.  I find that my players are more comfortable and attentive to each other when we are all scattered about a room with comfortable seating.  Often one or more players lounge on a bed.  We have found that with this more scattered setup, it's easier to get into flamboyant gesturing and combat-miming, without worrying about hitting each other, the lighting, or various accoutrements scattered over the room.

When we're playing D&D or something else more wargamey then we usually end up around a surface with a grid, most often a convenient chessboard.

[Ben Morgan]

This is clearly a case of To Each His Own.

My experience is very similar to eudas. Once we got off the couches and comfy chars of the living room and moved to the table-and-chairs of the dining room, things immediately became more focused.

-- Ben

[Alan]

My preference has always been getting everybody around a table, hopefully within arms reach of every other player.

But reading about living room games got me thinking.

In the past, when I've played D&D3e and Hero 4ed, I've liked the around the table approach, for the reasons someone else mentioned: the dice and details get more attention.  Playing these games in a living-room atmosphere led to lots of player distrations and outside activities.

Now I begin to wonder if this effect doesn't reflect on the nature of the game system.  A system - usually a combat system - with high density points-of-contact (discrete rules consultations) will, of course, leave other players a longer time uninvolved, while the current player resolves his actions.  Of course their attention drifts.

So I wonder - with lower points-of-contact, will players stay more engaged in a more relaxed seating arrangement?

In fact, could low POC games, the kind that demand more player input, actually work better in the relaxed setting?  Since the game doesn't need as much focus on processing rules, the players don't have as much dead time - and because they're more relaxed, they may feel more free to create.

I'll have to try Trollbabe in my living room one of these days.