How do you handle cell phone use and other distractions mid-session

[Nezzarine Shadowmantle]

Everyone, tell me what you think

[Avatar-1]

I look up rules in rulebooks on my phone.

[Hama]

There are several cases:

- An important call. Of course they can answer, it is important, and life always takes precedence.
- An unimportant call. An unspoken rule is that the call be terminated as quickly as possible, or the ringtone silence and the call unanswered.

Since most of my players now use phones/tablets for rules reference, i cannot really use the "phone basket" thing that i used for years (namely, everyone puts their phones in a basket that is near the table but far away not to become a distraction.)

I can, however, and do, put MAC filtering on my wifi so that only sites one can access are PF srd and PRD. during the session.

Also, if someone is playing games on his phone while it is not his/her turn, they are warned twice, and then asked to leave the game for the day. I just sent my best friend away from the last session because of that.

Same thing happens for facebook/watching videos/anything that is not gaming really.

I come to the game with a 100% dedication for those next 5-8 hours. I expect the same from everyone else. If they don't want to play like that, they are welcome not to play with me.

[TwoWolves]

The best answer isn't the most popular, and it's probably the hardest: Be more interesting than the distractions.

[The Beard]

The pimp hand.

[Hama]

TwoWolves wrote:

The best answer isn't the most popular, and it's probably the hardest: Be more interesting than the distractions.

You can't be more interesting than everything else 100% of the time. It's impossible.

As a player, I always give the GM 100% of my attention, no matter if he is boring or interesting. He deserves at least that for his trouble. And i expect 100% attention when i GM.

[carmachu]

Depends on the cell phone use. We all have wives and kids so everyone keeps it handy- you never know what crops up. Usually one excuses themselves from the table and takes the call in the next room.

If it were someone instead playing games or texting not important crap, it would probably have some kind of consequence.

[Pan]

All my players have smart phones and tablets now it seems. When I am a player all I have is paper, pencil, and dice. However, it really has not been too much of a problem. As GM I control the pace, if someone zones out i'll grab their attention and re-direct it to the game. My players are into the game though, nobody is there because of their SO or because they have nothing better to do. So we have not had any problems with device usage so far.

[ngc7293]

We have one guy who plays video games on his tablet and unlike lots of people in topics like this he knows when it is his turn or just needs a 'Joe, it's your turn' and the game is off and his spreadsheet is up.

I on the other hand am the subtle reminder to the group that it is 9:30pm because I have a reminder on my iphone to take my meds. :) There are others in the group who play a game or do homework during the game. They also know when to put things down when it is their turn.

I game with my friends once a week but they have other games through out the week. You could say they are 'Pros' :D

[Deadalready]

What are the specific problems with having phones or computers?

I use the Pathfinder App on my phone non stop to research spells and look up rules all the time. Trying to do it physically via rule book is a nightmare.

[Hama]

Specific problems? They are a distraction.

[Blackbot]

As a GM, I use my laptop to look up rules in the PRD and occasionally, when the situation is a more light-hearted one, tweet some of the more funny comments in the game.
My players so far have been very reasonable with their cell phone use. One of them gets one call from his girlfriend at the evening when she comes home and usually he makes it quick and then calls her back when we're on a break. Aside from that - one player tends to repeatedly check his SMS and responds, and when it gets too distracting I simply steal his phone. I'm his brother, I'm allowed to do that. ;)

[Calybos1]

"For as long as anyone is using their phone or tablet, the bad guys have a +2 circumstance bonus to every roll. Cumulative."

[Bruunwald]

Hama wrote:

TwoWolves wrote:

The best answer isn't the most popular, and it's probably the hardest: Be more interesting than the distractions.

You can't be more interesting than everything else 100% of the time. It's impossible.

As a player, I always give the GM 100% of my attention, no matter if he is boring or interesting. He deserves at least that for his trouble. And i expect 100% attention when i GM.

Agreed. Tabletop games of all sorts are cooperative experiences. You need to be able to rely on the good sense and good nature of the players in order to help the experience become more interesting to everybody at the table.

It's not just the GM dancing like a monkey for the players' entertainment. It's cooperative.

[Lokai]

We turn them off, and the TV and the Radio, ect only thing we have on is a laptop with our ebook resources and that is under the GM's watch. During a game we are all at full attention, if someone cant follow that rule then they are probably better off in a different group.

[Alan Kellogg]

Nezzarine Shadowmantle wrote:

Everyone, tell me what you think

No phones, no tablets, no computers. Come prepared to play, or stay home. You need help with the rules, ask.

[DM_aka_Dudemeister]

TwoWolves wrote:

The best answer isn't the most popular, and it's probably the hardest: Be more interesting than the distractions.

I've had a lot of success with this. I don't explicitly ban lappies, phones and tablets at my table (because they are needed at high level play for spell and rules references).

So the players stay focused by making sure that the game keeps their attention. If I notice someone glancing at their phone I realize it's time to draw that character back in with a complication.

[Umbriere Moonwhisper]

laptops, tablets and cell phones are fine as gaming aids and dice rollers

just please remember to be capable of tracking when you are associated with the other PCs and when not

a PC whom left the screen can play games in another room until a PC decides to fetch him or her

i'd prefer the party not split up though unless a PC whom sought to hog attention realizes he or she isn't going to get the attention they want

but for absent players, another designated player runs their characters as NPCs for the session

[Umbriere Moonwhisper]

DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:

TwoWolves wrote:

The best answer isn't the most popular, and it's probably the hardest: Be more interesting than the distractions.

I've had a lot of success with this. I don't explicitly ban lappies, phones and tablets at my table (because they are needed at high level play for spell and rules references).

So the players stay focused by making sure that the game keeps their attention. If I notice someone glancing at their phone I realize it's time to draw that character back in with a complication.

i like this idea.

[Jessica Price]

Removed a post. Please revisit the messageboard rules.

[thenobledrake]

The majority of my players do not fiddle with their phones at the table.

One must respond to his phone if it makes any noises - well, one of his phones, anyways since he has a company cell and his personal cell - and has never had a problem of being distracted (meaning he never has to ask questions to which the answers have already been said, and is never less prepared for his turn than usual).

Two others use their phones only as a tool to quickly reference spells - this is actually an improvement over spell preparation requiring the two to take turns with each book, especially because one of them is an extremely slow reader (on purpose, so that he doesn't miss anything).

All of the rest except one don't ever get on their phone during a session unless they receive a phone call, which is usually a brief "I'm at a game right now, can't talk, call you later, bye." and a quick return to the game... or a "friend" in need of assistance that requires an early exist from the session, which I don't count as a problem since we have plenty of players at the table to continue playing without one.

...but I also have one player that gets on their phone when it isn't their turn in combat, or when their character has no interest in the particular scene outside of combat... and let's just say it is the only thing that my girlfriend and I cannot seem to see eye to eye on: She says shes able to multi-task, but I constantly see her lose track of what is going on, or worse, interrupt the game to ask about the cell phone game she plays with another friend at the table.

The solution becomes quite tricky because I don't want the rest of the table to feel awkward by forcing them to sit in on her and I arguing - but I have said "please put your phone down," so much that she probably thinks that's just the sound of me breathing.

...and before tons of advice starts pouring my direction: When I run games with less players (thus making less time between her turns, and shorter scenes in general) she never picks up her phone and stays fully engaged, so it's not that I am not running things she is interested in - it's that I have to find a way to make a 6 PC game of Pathfinder run as quickly and smoothly as a 4 PC AD&D or World of Darkness game does.

I'm not really even wanting advice (I've got some ideas I am working on to fix the issue already), and was just sharing my group's cellphone usage to show that it isn't all bad - and can actually be better at times.

[Hama]

Calybos1 wrote:

"For as long as anyone is using their phone or tablet, the bad guys have a +2 circumstance bonus to every roll. Cumulative."

I like this. I think I'm going to try it.

[Ellis Mirari]

I have a hard line: if I saw "X's turn", and you look at me like you're not sure what's going on, I'm going to tell you to put the laptop away.

[Auxmaulous]

Cell phones can be a distraction, but I can't tell two my players who are fathers to young children to turn their phones off while they are away from their homes.

I do my best to keep my players involved, but the reality is that cell phones/internet use have been ingraned in our lives. So it makes sense that if a person is using their phone to check the internet while waiting for their food, or while they are in line for something or even their turn at the table - it just became a habit of sorts.

I use my laptop when I DM - I don't always run my games at my house so it works for me since it reduces the carry load of books by a considerable amount. Also I use the laptop to run any background music so it becomes an important tool for me as a DM (pdfs, my excell and word docs and music).

I actually have turned the phone thing around a little. Instead of secret notes on perception checks I send players a text which is for their eyes only as to what they detect or notice. Works in addition to sending notes or sending people out of the room. So the phone issue doesn't have to be a negative and in fact could work as a second track to communicate with players while in game. I can run a series of back and forth questions with a player faster in text than I could passing back a series of notes. As long as it doesn't detract from the core game I see it as another tool in the DMs arsenal get his game to work.

And gamers (players) have been distracted since the advent of gaming - from distractions such as TV to music to just horsing around when it wasn't their turn (from playing with guns/knives to wrestling and one player breaking anothers hand - yes, all this has happened while "waiting" or duing down time).

[magnumCPA]

I'm actually surprised people are still bothered by this sort of thing or haven't figured out how to deal with it in 2013.

[Andrew Betts]

I generally only say something if it becomes a problem, I'll admit that even as GM when my players get into heavy RP with each other I check some other things out. Granted my games are a little different as they're done online via TTopRPG and Skype so I have players that get pulled away by spouses and parents and random intervals, which is far more annoying than the phones.

[knightnday]

I ask nicely. Usually it isn't a problem.

[Thomas Long 175]

I handle the cell phones with my hands.

The players get an oar, a ruler, you know, whatever's at hand.

[LazarX]

magnumCPA wrote:

I'm actually surprised people are still bothered by this sort of thing or haven't figured out how to deal with it in 2013.

This is because the modern gamer ....

1. Was raised by squirrels was only tempted out of the forest by shiny dice. His first words spoken in a human language were "roll what to hit?"

2. Along with Civics, basic lessons in civility are no longer part of the core curriculum, and are neither taught by parents too busy to schedule their next after hours work social.

3. Hangs with the cool 'leet crowd which consider rudeness along with improper use of spelling, language, and grammar a sign of being one of the true "elite". His only use of a "Miss Manners" book was for target practise with his BB gun.

Badly raised as I was by my parents, as far as getting proper social values in place, I have however managed to learn a modicum of polite behavior without having to do internet research on the topic. Part of that was learning to shut up enough to listen to the people around me. If I could manage to do so, the only reason anyone else could not replicate that feat, would be to have to admit to either mental incompetence, or dangerously sociopathic tendencies.

[Pan]

Keep grinding that axe!

[ngc7293]

Every group is different. Our groups have no problems with electronics around the table. Some people can't do anything but get distracted. To each his own.

[Bill Kirsch]

I am not a fan, but there are bigger things to worry about when I'm behind the screen. My main group is pretty good about not using their devices, but sadly it's part of the status quo these days.

[Klaus van der Kroft]

Cellphones are banned in my table. They can be nearby in case there's an emergency (and because at some point we have to order pizza, of course), but I don't like them on the table.

Laptops are also prohibited, but tablets are allowed if they are used for checking rules and character sheets. Mostly I forbid laptopts because they block sight and make the table seem too cluttered.

[roysier]

If someone answers a call at the table as a GM I stop and wait for them to finish or for them to move to a different room. People get the clue that they are being rude pretty fast.

[Duiker]

If I showed up to a game and a GM told me to put my phone in a basket, I'd politely decline. If I was told it was a prerequisite of playing, I'd turn around and walk out. If you're not interested in starting from the assumption that I can act like an adult, I'm not interested in spending my free time with you.

[Freehold DM]

I run my games from my phone. Most of my players have their characters on their phone, tablet, or other device. I understand that may not be fun for everyone, but at my table it's the 21st century.

[TheLogicOfCrocodiles]

Back in the good old days (when i was thinner and younger, in other words)and I only played Call of Cthulhu we just used to have everybody turn their phones off. Then I had a few years away from the hobby and when I came back...

My group now keeps their character sheets on their phones or tablets, but they're still pretty good when it comes to not being too distracted. We did have one player who constantly checked something not-game related (I have no idea what it was) but he was thoroughly put off the idea when two of the other players ganged up and bombarded him with the text 'pay attention' every few minutes for the next hour. God bless free text messaging services, I didn't have to lift a finger.

[The Beard]

Once again I reiterate: The pimp hand.

[Freehold DM]

TheLogicOfCrocodiles wrote:

Back in the good old days (when i was thinner and younger, in other words)and I only played Call of Cthulhu we just used to have everybody turn their phones off. Then I had a few years away from the hobby and when I came back...

My group now keeps their character sheets on their phones or tablets, but they're still pretty good when it comes to not being too distracted. We did have one player who constantly checked something not-game related (I have no idea what it was) but he was thoroughly put off the idea when two of the other players ganged up and bombarded him with the text 'pay attention' every few minutes for the next hour. God bless free text messaging services, I didn't have to lift a finger.

That's awesome!!

Also use texts to let players know things in secret.

[Kolokotroni]

Basically, if someone gets a phone call or text they need to take I ask them to leave the table. If they are doing something other then important communication or using the numerous tools/references such devices offer, I ask them to stop, if they dont, they arent welcome at my table. Period. If you cant not look at facebook or what have you for a couple hours to be social with friends and have some fun, I probably dont want to socialize with you anyway. I've only had one person have a real issue with this in my gaming group, and thankfully I dont game with her anymore.

[Nezzarine Shadowmantle]

magnumCPA wrote:

I'm actually surprised people are still bothered by this sort of thing or haven't figured out how to deal with it in 2013.

Really? What third world country do you live in?

[Nezzarine Shadowmantle]

Everyone I love your responses, except magnumCPA. I actually flagged his. To explain my situation a bit further, I have a gaming group of mixed experience gamers. My less-experienced gamers are excellent at staying on task. My more experienced gamers are actually worse at this. To clarify, no one takes calls at the table. Its the g*+!$&n Facebooking and MySpacing and Redditing and every other social or picture driven website surfing that infuriates me. There I am, entrenched in a vivid description of a room, scene, people, etc. and someone looks up and says, "What? Could you repeat ALL of that? I was looking at this picture of a cat wearing sunglasses on Instagram that my aunt posted". Or we have a great amount of roleplay occurring and one of my gamers is updating their Facebook status. The worst at cell phone use is my wife, who has been gaming for 15 years. It is eternally infuriating. I have attempted every nice way to put it. Nothing seems to work. I can't ban them. My players use them for texting notes to me and each other (we play a lot of evil campaigns). They use them for looking up data on SRD and PRD as we blend some 3.5 with Pathfinder with my word as the final law as what goes and how. Also. I game with adults with families. They need their phones nearby in case of important texts or calls. Hama, I love your responses, I favorited every one. You're after my own heart. However, calybos1, you are the winner! I will institute your use of the cumulative +2 bonus of all opponents rolls versus those I have warned and won't put the cell phones down effective immediately. And I am warning them in advance. Thanks again!

[Hama]

Duiker wrote:

If I showed up to a game and a GM told me to put my phone in a basket, I'd politely decline. If I was told it was a prerequisite of playing, I'd turn around and walk out. If you're not interested in starting from the assumption that I can act like an adult, I'm not interested in spending my free time with you.

And I would politely show you the door. I don't need players who can't act as adults and accept that some things are done the way they are done because of reasons, and nobody is a special little snowflake.

[Skeld]

My players are all adults and gaming is a hobby that, for us, is more about some escapism and an excuse to hang-out and joke around. In other words, we don't treat it as anything "serious."

If someone needs to use their cellphone to make/take a call (we all have spouses/kids/careers), they step away from table and take care of business. The rest of the group keeps right on going.

Occasionally, a couple guys will start cutting up of they might interrupt me while 'm talking. I stop and give then the "stone-faced stare" until they realize that they're interrupting the flow of the game. Then they apologize and we jump right back in.

-Skeld

[Skeld]

Hama wrote:

Duiker wrote:

If I showed up to a game and a GM told me to put my phone in a basket, I'd politely decline. If I was told it was a prerequisite of playing, I'd turn around and walk out. If you're not interested in starting from the assumption that I can act like an adult, I'm not interested in spending my free time with you.

And I would politely show you the door. I don't need players who can't act as adults and accept that some things are done the way they are done because of reasons, and nobody is a special little snowflake.

Because reasons.

[Nymian Harthing]

Unfortunately, for some of us with on-call hours and other people who might need to rely on us (include: $FAMILY), turning off our cell phones for a few hours--or sticking it in a basket--is impossible.

When you play with mature, responsible individuals it's so much easier.

[PsychoticWarrior]

So what did people do before cell phones? I mean I was just a teenager in the 80s and we would play D&D for hours on end and no one needed to be constantly calling home or being called from home we just 'hung out'.

Is this really just an artificial need (having to be constantly in contact with everyone we know) recently created? Any oldsters who can tell us what it was like to be an adult with responsibilities back before cell phones were as common as sand on a beach?

Anyways I joke a lot about banning every electronic device within a 50 radius of the gaming table but to be honest none of my players are intrusive about cell phone use. I can only recall 1 phone call being made (and that was an actual, genuine 'people in danger' emergency the required the player to leave immediately) and if a player, who isn't involved in the action right at that moment wants to check her email or play an app game I really don't care. just be ready when you are needed (and everyone always is).

Maybe there just needs to be a happy middle between 'I will throw you bodily from my house for using Satan's Device' and 'I will use my phone however and whereever I like - now pass the toilet paper!'. Cell phones aren't going to disappear and can be extremely useful at the game table (2 of my players have their PCs on a tablet and another uses his phone to look any rules we might need to reference while I, as DM, can continue with the game).

[memorax]

Everyone at the table are mature adults. If I ever tried to implement a cellphone in a basket policy I would lose all my players and friends. As well I'm willing to put my cellphone on silent mode. Off no way as there is always a chance I might get called in a emergency by family and friends. As do my the rest of the members if the gaming group. They will always come first before D&D. I also use the D20 PFsrd and app. While I'm willing to learn everything about my character as a player. The rules as a DM as well . I'm not memorizing anything for anyone. Not unless I get paid. I'm there to have fun. Not relive my days as a student.

[Rathendar]

+1 to the players should be mature adults comments said above by several.

If someone is chatting at length/being disruptive by using cellphones, a simple request to stop should suffice. On the other side of things, for those who have on-call job responsibilities, check-in moments with a spouse/babysitter, or other similar needs, a polite excuse/step away from the table allows that to be handled as well.

Players and GM's should be there to game, but life will not stop making things happen during it sometimes. Also, the more laid back/social a group is, the less issue interruptions tend to be. If it's more of a beer and pretzels hangout time with a loose wrapper of gaming as opposed to an immersive in character group, even trivial interruptions would be the norm.