Knights & Knaves Alehouse

For those who game regularly, curious to know how many players you have in your normal group? Also how often do you game, and how frequently do you switch DMs (and how many DMs does your group have (for instance are there folks who never DM)?

I guess, we game on average 1-2 times a month, have 2-4 players and switch DMs probably once every 3 sessions (usually a DM runs two dungeons before either he wants to strictly play a PC or someone else wants to DM). We normally run a PC and also DM making this switching easier.

Back in the day we had 11 guys in the group. Several were DMs/players. Some guys also ran other game systems like Champions, Top Secret, Micro Armor, etc.

We also had a Star Fleet Battles group that met on Sunday mornings. That group was mostly the same guys and we had about 8 players. We fought out the entire General War using Federation & Empire as the campaign board and every battle - one each Sunday - was fought out using Star Fleet Battles. It took about three years.

Today, about six or so still get together once a month for D&D or Warhammer. I make it about once per year. My gaming is pretty much limited to conventions and various board games - Wizard's Quest, Dungeon, Axis & Allies, Escape from New York , etc., with my kids.

Group #1 (homebrew D&D variant): six players + me as the GM, playing every third weekend. We don't switch GMs too often when in campaign mode, but last year, we were more focused on smaller adventure arcs so we ended up rotating the GM position more than usual. Now it's back to me with the Viking hat.
Group #2 (Shadowrun): five or six players + GM (the GM's wife is a long time player, but she is busy with their toddler so can't always make a session), playing every third weekend. Medium-length campaigns; two of the guys are GMing.

That's a session two out of three weeks, a bit more than I'd normally have time for, but I can manage, more or less.

Currently, there are 10 AD&D players in our group. Over the years I'd say we're usually +/-2 from that number, so we usually have 8 - 12 people in the stable. We really don't recruit new people and we are fortunate that 2 players have recently moved back to the area (although they still have to come from over an hour away).

Of the 10 current players, we have 2 DMs. I've been the primary DM over the years. But, the other DM sometimes takes over the reins for extended periods. 2-3 of the other guys have dabbled as DM here and there. Half of the guys, though, only ever play. For a time, when we switched DMs we would stay in the same campaign world. But, right now, we switch campaigns and don't blend.

We average about 1 game a month (maybe 10 - 12 games/year). Typical sessions will range from 4 - 6 players plus the DM. Our largest game in the last 3 years was 7 players. Most of us agree there are diminishing returns once you get more than 6 PCs around the table.

On a side note, I think 8/10 current players have played since the late 70s or early 80s and 2/10 played since the late 80s or early 90s. I am the only one of the 10 with an account on an online D&D forum.

I have six regular or semi-regular players and a couple of "lapsed" players who always talk about playing again but don't make the effort - a typical session averages 4-5 present. All the players are so busy with work, family, etc. that getting everyone aligned every week is impossible. However, we are on a roll at the moment and have played every weekend this year. Historically (in the 3 years since we started the current campaign) we've averaged 2 weekends of play followed by one off. I have been sole DM since time immemorial and I think everyone likes it that way (except maybe me). All our play has been AD&D in the same campaign, albeit with periodic changes of characters

Me (GM) + 4 players (7 PCS)
Play twice a month (every other Sunday)
Play 6-8 hours at a stretch (12-1PM until 7-8PM)
10 sessions in, we haven't rotated GMs (yet)
All four players have experience GM'ing

I can't speak for fridge or fenriswolf, but I'm pretty sure capitalbill and ligedog have historically always GM'd and almost never actually been players (at least when D&D is played). I think they have had a good time seeing the game from the other side of the screen.

Allan and my group has 5 players plus 1 DM right now, and has several lapsed players that have fallen off due to work schedules, life changes (kids, illness, etc.) and so forth. When our current campaign launched five years ago, we had 7 or 8 players and 1 DM.

Over that five years (RT), we've had a few one-shots to mix things up a bit. Some of the lapsed players turned out for the one-shots as those games have a low commitment level in terms of time commitments. As a general rule, though, we've stuck to regular campaign play throughout the past five years. We aim to play every other weekend, but owing to work schedules, convention attendance, holidays and other 'command performance" events, we drop a few sessions from our bi-weekly gaming schedule. I'd say we've averaged 20-22 sessions a year for five years. Our sessions last between 4 and 7 hours per session.

Almost all of the guys in our group have been DMs in the past. Several of them have ran extended, multi-year campaigns of their own. But since taking the reins of the group's campaign play in late 2006, I've been the only DM they've seen on the other side of the DM screen.

We've introduced a few new players to the group. One of those has stayed with the group and is still actively gaming with us (Allan), while two of the additions to the group have lapsed into inactive status. We've had an upsurge in interest from 'drive-bys' at the FLGS in the past few months; one or two of those guys might get an invitation to join the group (we're not elitist, we're just selective about who we want to game with as we don't want to fuck with the group dynamics and party chemistry without adequate consideration). I've also re-connected with two former co-workers that showed some interest in joining our group and gaming again. These were guys that I did some computer geek 'net-up' gaming with back in the 90's (Unreal Tournament was their main game). They haven't showed up yet, though, so we don't know if they'll join the group or just talk about joining but never do it. And finally, we've had a few prospective gamers move into the area recently. They've reached out to us either through the interweb or through Black Blade.

Group #1 - (Pathfinder/Traveller) we have 8 players of whom half are GMs. We rotate out about every 6 months or so. We play on 1st & 3rd Fridays from 7 to midnight.
Group #2 - (S&W/Savage Worlds: Space 1889/AD&D 1e) - we have 7 players of whom 5 are GMs. We play on the 2nd & 4th Fridays from 7ish to 11ish.

Group A-- 3 players + 1 GM. We've made about one session a month for a year. Switched GMs about a month ago when we broke off our Pathfinder game and changed to Savage Worlds (which I'm running.) This is me, the wife, and another couple.

Group B-- 4 players + Flambeaux as DM. We've only played twice but our aim is 1-2 sessions a month, with a summer hiatus as two members of the group have newborns on the way soon.

"Group C" I'll call online gaming. I'm able to play or run about one game a week on Google+ Hangout. I could do more, but value my family time. These are usually 2-hour sessions so they're easier to fit in.

One group of 8 (including me) players; two games alternating weekly. We have my ongoing AD&D, and the current alternatimg game is fantasy Champions.

I'm in two games

The game I DM, I have four players, and we meet twice a month, 3-4 hours a session

The game I'm a player in, we have 5 players plus the DM, and meet once a month, 5-6 hours a session

These are the two groups I regularly play with:

balrog62 wrote:Group #2 - (S&W/Savage Worlds: Space 1889/AD&D 1e) - we have 7 players of whom 5 are GMs. We play on the 2nd & 4th Fridays from 7ish to 11ish.

And

Is_907 wrote:Group B-- 4 players + Flambeaux as DM. We've only played twice but our aim is 1-2 sessions a month, with a summer hiatus as two members of the group have newborns on the way soon.

I also play in a few play-by-post games, one of which has nearly 30 players.

Some of my coworkers have also expressed interest, so I may soon be forming a group of 6-8 at my office.

Group 1 (FTF) has 6 people, all of whom take a turn DMing, currently playing long (9+ hour) sessions once a month. Group 2 is my family, P&P+wife+son, all of whom take a turn DMing, currently playing medium (3-4 hour) sessions once a week. Group 3 (google hangouts) has 6 people in widely-varying places (the Australians have to get up at 3am their time to play) currently playing short (2-hour) sessions once a week. I suspect all would be perfectly capable of DMing but I happen to be in the hotseat.

Three players plus me, the lone referee.

We plan for once a month; sometimes we miss, sometimes we sneak in an extra game-day.

4-6 players.