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View Full Version : When does a game stop being worth playing?



Ducklord
2010-12-29, 05:59 AM
On monday I had what will probably be the last session in a campaign that I was playing in with a few friends. Not because the campaign has ended, but because I'm not really having that much fun playing.

It hasn't been that fun for a long time, mainly because everything takes too much time. My group overplanned trivial things, engaged in uninteresting interaction with nameless NPCs, roleplayed even selling junk to merchants..

But last session was the worse. Nothing fun happened the whole session. Well, at least for me, the other players seemed to have fun. Not wishing to ruin their game I will probably just leave. My character died during last session, so it's not even a rp problem or anything. But still i feel kinda strange leaving my group. We had some fun, and I hang out with some of them even when not gaming, but rolling up a new character wold mean more un fun sessions, and I have other things that need my atention.

Do you think I'm a jerk for quitting on my friends, or would you do the same if you were me?

Psyx
2010-12-29, 06:03 AM
You'd only be a jerk if you didn't tell the GM that you were dropping out, or by not giving as much notice as possible, or by making a scene about it.

Assuming you've already given the GM notice and a 'It's not you, it's me' speech, that's not a problem.

molten_dragon
2010-12-29, 06:09 AM
If I had been playing with the group for a long time, and had had fun playing with them in the past, I might just say something to everyone and tell them that you're not having fun, and ask if it would be possible to try something else.

That being said, I don't think that politely telling the group that you aren't having fun anymore and are going to leave is rude at all.

Ducklord
2010-12-29, 06:22 AM
Oh, just one thing I forgot to mention. This is the first game the DM is running, so I'm a bit worried it might offend him or make him doubt himself. But the sessions are getting worse as we go along, so I don't really think my losing interested is because of his inexperience.

Shpadoinkle
2010-12-29, 06:42 AM
When it stops being fun and you don't have any ideas to make it fun again in less time than it would take to start a new campaign.

If nobody's having fun, you should have a group discussion about what you all would rather the game consist of. Then discuss whether you think you should try to retool the existing game, or simply start a new one.

Totally Guy
2010-12-29, 07:02 AM
You have player priorities. Use them to direct the game towards the things that you want to do.

"Yeah, that was a cool game but I really wanted there to be more fighting." I've actually heard this from a player who spent the entire session silent standing next to a tense political fray, plenty of opportunities for violence. If that's what you want, you need to push for it.

I've had this problem myself where I just go passive. But I can see it more easily now in other people since I improved at GMing.

Ernir
2010-12-29, 08:34 AM
Do you think I'm a jerk for quitting on my friends, or would you do the same if you were me?
No, you don't have any kind of obligation to play the game.

EDIT: There might have been different ways to deal with the situation, but that's beside the point. Your way of dealing with it is a valid one.

I can't think of many things more useless than a game that is boring. :smallsigh:

Trebloc
2010-12-29, 12:23 PM
About every 6-9 months in my gaming group, we usually need a friendly reminder about cutting down on some of the extraneous stuff to help make the game more fun for everyone. Stuff like talking over people, off topic banter, paying attention...etc. Then we're usually good for another 6-9 months.

So bringing it up to your group might be a good way to fix things and keep playing with them. People might not realize you're not having fun, especially if you show up for every session without saying anything.

I know for my group, we have some free internet forums where we do some stuff away from the table, mostly shopping, planning and rules discussion. On occasion at the table, we'll even say something to the tune of "Ok, you guys will be shopping now, but we'll skip it and do it on the boards to keep the game going" if the shopping won't have a huge impact on the game.

Godskook
2010-12-29, 01:26 PM
Do you think I'm a jerk for quitting on my friends, or would you do the same if you were me?

Mostly, you're good to go, I think. Just be sure to talk to the DM well beforehand so he can retune encounters for the smaller party.