Game Changer is our monthly advice column for new GMs and older GMs who aren’t afraid to learn something. Our resident GMing expert, Brian Suskind, draws from his vat of experience to let you know how it goes.
You might recognize Brian’s name from any of a slew of past Kobold Press products such as Campaign Builder: Castles & Crowns (a homebrew kit to build out the kingdoms in your own world) and the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault.
Zip it! I’m Trying to Start the Game!
How many times has this happened to you?
You look up from your carefully prepared campaign notes to gaze at your players from the business side of your GM screen and hear:
“Where’s the Mountain Dew? . . . I saw the best show the other day . . . How’s that work project going? . . . Then I’m taking the family to that place . . . I got one of those new gadgets . . . Did you bring those chips again?.. . . . You wouldn’t believe the traffic . . . Why, yes! This is a new T-shirt!”
Game nights are social occasions to be sure. Presumably you’re playing with people you know and (if you are fortunate) perhaps even like. When we get together there’s a natural tendency to chit-chat and catch up. This is good and healthy, but there quickly comes a moment when you actually have to, you know, start playing the game. Remember the game? The reason you all got together?
Some GMs find it hard to get their players to put aside social time. Here’s some helpful advice to get your distractible murder hobos to put their butts in their chairs and pick up their dice.
#1: Schedule Social Time
The first bit of advice might seem the opposite of what we want, but give it a try. Since you know your players are going to want to catch up with each other and be social, reserve some time to do that. Let them get it out of their system.
If possible, tell them to arrive for the game 30 to 45 minutes before you actually want them to show up. Say directly that this is social time, and when the top of the hour comes (or whenever you set the time for the game to start), everyone needs to get to gaming!
As the GM, you can use this time to finish any game prep, clean the game room, scrub off the wet erase pen you should have really cleaned off after last game, or join in! Talk to your friends without using a funny voice or asking them to roll something.
#2: Use a Musical Cue
This works well with the gaggle of 15-year-olds in the long-running game I host for my son and his friends. I have a portable Bluetooth speaker that I turn on prior to the first kid arriving. At game time, I cue up something appropriate on my phone and unleash it into the middle of their discussion. It’s become an almost Pavlovian thing—they just shuffle to the game room. Some adults might find this manipulative, so judge your audience carefully. Or just be up front about what you’re doing. Tell players that the campaign’s theme song is everyone’s signal to table up.
The choice of music is fun. I use John Williams’s Summon the Heroes. It’s an amazing piece of music that Williams composed for the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics. But anything loud and stirring could also work.
Here are a few other options with delivery notes:
- The Final Countdown by Europe (1986). The intro is a bit long, but you can start the volume low and ease it up until it is blasting.
- O Fortuna by Carl Orff (1935). If classical is your thing, or if you’ve ever seen the Excalibur movie, this piece should get the player’s attention. It might also suggest to them that there is absolutely no way their characters will survive this session.
- Anvil of Crom from Conan the Barbarian by Basil Poledouris (1982). Speaking of classics, if this song doesn’t get your player’s blood pumping, they might be dead. After 54 seconds it slows down so you only need the start of it.
- Adventures of Don Juan (the Errol Flynn version, 1948). A bit campy, but the horn section really sells it. You really only need the first 45 seconds, then the music slows down.
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Main Theme (1979). While the main part of the song is perhaps a bit too ‘70s, that driving beat at the beginning is totally worth it. Try to get the version without the voiceover, unless you happen to actually be running a Buck Rogers RPG.
- Various video game soundtracks like Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon’s Dogma, Elder Scrolls, or the Witcher games.
#3: Transition Between Rooms
If you are lucky enough to have a gaming space separate from the room where players usually gather before the game, then try a room transition. Don’t let the players into the game room other than to drop off bags, books, and dice. Have them socialize in the kitchen with the snacks (or wherever) before the game starts. When it’s game time, open the door (maybe metaphorically, but that’s OK) and usher them inside. This has the effect of making the gaming room the “place to sit down and game” rather than a place to socialize.
#4: Do a Game Recap
This is my personal preference and the one that I use for my home campaigns. At the start of each game session, have a player recap the events of last game. Ideally at least one player is taking notes of some sort.
As the players recap, it acts to suck them back into the tension, thrills, and excitement you so carefully established last game. Once your players get into the habit of this they’ll start throwing in their own recollections and thoughts about the recap as it unfolds. You’ll start hearing things like “Remember we were building up to argue about you going off on your own without telling the party?” or “Crud! We really should have kept that poor villager alive. Now what are we going to tell the duke?”
They become their own hype machine, and they’re ready to go once they’re done!
In Summary
A game session is undeniably a social occasion. However, it can be tricky to get people to focus on the game. Using these suggestions can get your players into the headspace of the game, but be cautious you don’t resort to more . . . dramatic solutions. Air horns or spritzing players with water from a spray bottle or pelting them with d4s will probably be counterproductive, unless your goal is to make this the final session!
I mean, maybe you do. If they didn’t respond to the Conan soundtrack, they might be zombies.
What Do You Think?
How do you get players started? Do you have any soundtrack favorites? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord server!
Do you have a question for the Game Changer? Tell us about it. Then check back first Friday of each month for more Game Changer.