Player count preference poll

Gaming
1

What is your preferred player count when running an adventure game?

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  • 10+
0 voters
2

For me, the ideal is 5 or 6 people. 4 as a minimum, 7+ I can handle well enough, but prefer not to on the regular.

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3

I think my preferred is either 6 or 8, depending on what energy levels are involved. I used to regularly run for 10+, which was a fun time, but WAY too much for the environment we were in.

4

I think it might be a matter of experience, I like slightly smaller groups because they feel more manageable, you guys seem to prefer an extra player or two which I figure comes from being more comfortable running games.

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5

Well, yes and no. This is explicitly in the context of dungeon exploration games and like overland exploration. I find that having the extra people around helps with the energy of the game and that in turn helps me keep on top of running it.

For more character focused games I prefer 3 or 4 players at most, that also tends to help scheduling as you’re juggling fewer people.

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6

Strongly depends on the type of game to me. A low-context dungeoneering game where you’re just going “Open the door, who’s there? We kill / loot. Rolled a 19.” is more fun with more people, because then there is more collective energy and the burden of running is lessened (the players will talk so much between themselves that you mostly need to be brief, keep the pace, and manage the table).

A high context kind of adventure game where we want to slow down and really embody the game, go through minutiae, learn about the world and the characters, to me that cannot be over 4 people. I actually had that issue in June last year, when I ran Delta Green to a group of very skilled players, but there were 6 of them and it quickly made everything feel too crowded, the operations went too easily, and that same chattiness and energy which is good in a dungeon game made a more high context game feel too fast.

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7

I’ve had some awesome games with just two players, but my usual go-to is to aim for four or five. More than that and it begins to get chaotic, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it tires me out more.

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8

The more I reflect on it, the more I find reasons to appreciate each size.

I’ve had quite a few fun duet sessions, especially when the player controls a whole party of characters – it can be like a dungeon speedrun, with lots of ground covered and minimal dithering over decisions.

3-4 players was my sweet spot when running “trad” games, few enough to meaningfully work with character backstories. For online OSR games I prefer this many, as keeping focus is harder.

Large player counts are nice in that last-minute absences don’t derail things as much. A big lively in-person table is really fun, though imo exhausting to referee.

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