What snacks are the best for a good days worth of gaming.
The major criteria are price, goodness (the level of good-atude), and longevity.
Last week I brought the golden flake southern sweet bbq, pickle, and the rippley ones.
Together they wound up being 5 bucks for the chips, and I got the frito halapeno cheddar dip(which wasn't hot at all) which was like a buck fitty.
They all loved the bbq and original chips, not so much the pickle.
All in all I give the gold flake combo a 3.5 out of 5.0
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I'm a big fan of Pringles. Here's why:
• Lots of flavors, therefore accommodating lots of different tastes.
• Very snackable, so you don't have to stop to focus on eating.
• Minimal mess: no grease, crumbs can fall back into the can, you can close it, etc.
• Space-efficient: the can takes up less space than a bag of chips or a plate or whatever.
• Substantial: a single can of Pringles can sustain you as a minor meal.
• Cheap: depending on where you live, you can get them at a grocery store for about $1-$1.50 per can.
Simple nuts can be fairly good, especially if they have no skin to make a mess with. Price varies widely - peanuts and raisins (ok, not exactly nut, but they tend to be sold by the same people) can be fairly cheap, while almonds or hazelnuts can be quite expensive. Roasted peanuts without skin are a decent cheap snack. Assorted nuts are a decent compromise between price and variety, and offer something for pretty much everyone at the table.
Stickletti/soletti or whatever they call them where you are at are another cheap, solid choice. Sure, they don't have many flavors, but they offer pretty decent munchability for the money.
Popcorn is nice, at least if most people in the party like it (I do), but tends to be a bit easier to make a mess with, and you need some preparation (and attention) if you are using the microwave variety.
Party tray of cheese, crackers, and meats. Also veggie platter. :) Good combo when it's hot outside and I don't feel like cooking.
While not necessarily fitting the criteria, when I for a day, we normally play until we work up a good appetite, then all either go out to eat, or one of the dudes makes one of the best grilled burgers I've ever had.
I'm normally mostly satisfied with having enough beverages available. Cold water is great, but soda and juices are nice too. Obviously the name brands are a standard crowd pleaser, but I've had good success with mexican soda's and drinks.
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Two items have come back again and again as clear winners for our group:
Cracked Pepper Triscuits: They aren't the secret weakness of the Invisible Christopher Walken for nothing. And when they're flavored with pure, regular cracked pepper? Perfect. Read the ingredients, they're that simply delicious.
Back to Nature Bar Harbor Blend: Dried cranberries and chocolate-covered almonds FTW. However, this isn't as much for eating during the game, as giving to the host's wife in thanks for using their house. But it works great both ways.
Morning: Doughnuts + coffee
Afternoon/Evening: Pizza + soda
Throughout the day: various bags of snackable things. My new favorite in this category is the popchip.
I like the veggie/fruit trays myself, but apparently my players don't eat green things.
One thing I would generally not recommend (although I know groups commonly do this) is beer. I generally solve this by playing as early as possible in the day.
One thing I would generally not recommend (although I know groups commonly do this) is beer. I generally solve this by playing as early as possible in the day.
Very true; beer is bad for concentration and serious roleplay, slows up the game also. Create atmosphere with music, and prepare nifty texts to read should you need it.
But if you're running a minute game with a one-shot scenario not focused on Roleplaying, beer can be cool; I remember actually (unwillingly) stealing a game from the DM with a Ulfen character wanting to celebrate an important day to his people, and the game ended up being reoriented as a tavern story, where our half-orc monk friend became a local celebrity because he won each and every tavern brawls. And beer was fresh and good, though consumed reasonably, thus serving the game more than it actually broke it.
Even then, the DM didn't play out half his scenario but saved it for later. He had fun nonetheless! Cheers!
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Although the snacks themselves tend to vary in my groups (usually chips of some sort. I prefer Salt & Vinegar, myself), the typical constant for us is Soda of some kind, especially Mountain Dew (which I typically try to avoid, since I have a hard time regulating my intake of that stuff, lol). I tend to discourage drinking anything alcoholic while we play, though. It tends to throw things way too far off track.
It's been too long since I've actually had a game, but I'd recommend:
Fresh pizza (fairly easy with a bit of practice, especially if prepped well in advance)
Sweet tea (1/2 splenda & 1/2 real sugar) or carbonated beverage of choice
Homemade 7-layer dip and guacamole served with restaurant-style tortilla chips
And for dessert: Captain Reynolds/Fillian's "Fusterclucks"
What snacks are the best for a good days worth of gaming.
Depends on the game and with whom you play, but like music and atmosphere, I find that what's around the gametable to eat and drink (or lack thereof) has a huge impact on the experience of the game.
Things that need a lot of attention to eat are annoyingly distracting during the game IMO, as with everything that 'crunches' louder than a rolling dice. As far as I'm concerned, everything chips or that comes out of a noisy chips bag should not be allowed around the table. At least take it out of the bag and and put it in a bowl or something!
Things that takes 30 seconds of hand cleaning every time you're about to pick-up your character sheet or rulebook also annoy me greatly.
Personally, I like sweets like two-bites brownies, a bowl of M&Ms or various types of gummies and jujubies (which in a pinch can also serve as monsters, fires, etc.)
My preference goes for larger snacks while the players take a break, enjoys their cake, pie, plate of cheese, baked nacho plates, chips and salsa or whatever, and then resume gaming.
In my experience, alcohol can be very enjoyable as long as drunkenness (even at a lesser stage) never becomes a factor. I love playing with a bottle of wine or port, whiskey and other aperitifs. These are not like Pepsi that goes flat, you don't have to finish the bottle! Comes to worst, yesterday's wine is always good for cooking...
'findel
1 stale beer, 3 cans mountan dew, 1 cup beer nuts, 4 develed eggs, 2 pickled eggs, 2 strips jerked beef, 1/2 cup honey mustard pretzle bites, and a 1/2 cup spiced chese curds, day old pizza and bowls of chiereo's as needed.
Meat and Cheese trays and Veggie trays are always welcome. A nice Yard'O'Beef will provide joke material, as well as (some) nutrition. Lately we've been partial Throwback Pepsi and Mountain Dew. Beer and wine are strictly BYOB.