I used to have an issue with this, where players would be on their phones during the game. But this has sort of passed for me.

Do you care if your players are on their phones during the game, presuming it's in downtime when their PC isn't doing anything?

Doesn't bother me. My group ranges from people that take the whole game quite seriously, to some that mainly enjoy just the combat and action parts, to others that are really just there for the social element. It's also a group of 8 players (plus me), so sometimes one player can be out of the action for a bit while others do their thing.

I would prefer if everyone was attentive and involved at all times, but if someone wants to entertain themselves quietly while others are doing their thing, I have no issue with it at all.

Quite frankly it irritates me. I don't mind someone taking a call or replying to a text, but if they are going to sit there updating farcebook or surfing the web, im gonig to take issue with it.

I didn't mind it when they were being used for game purposes: dice roller, calculator, notes, etc.  Then people started facebooking, texting other people who weren't at the table (laughing and giggling), watching Youtube (with the volume on).  It really started to tick me off, especially because we only game for a few hours a week and I felt like people were there but not really there, if that makes sense.

It got to the point where as soon as someone wasn't involved in what was immediately happening they would whip out the phone.  And I mean immediately. Like their action in combat was over so out comes the phone until initiative comes back around to them.

I eventually snapped and told them all that I felt it was pretty disrespectful to the people currently involved in what was happening and pretty disrespectful to me.  I apologized for not running a game they found interesting enough to pay attention to and I closed up my stuff and ended the session.  I got a bunch of funny looks like "what stick got stuck up your ass" and no one said anything about it over the week before our next game.  It was slightly better then next weekend.  At the least they remembered to turn the sound off, not lol and most of them didn't do it during combat.

These days, I just ignore it.  I run the game for those paying attention and don't bother with any extra effort for those that can't be bothered to actually "be there" for the game for the few hours we play.

If only my players weren't playing games or reading manga at the table.

Memes browsing isn't all that distracting but when the whole room is talking to you and no one can get your attention, it's a problem.

I have an issue with electronic anything at the table.  I've yet to see a person manage it without being distracted, including the GM.  Not saying it can't happen, but I've yet to see it.

I am weird. I don't allow electronics at my table, because I want to enforce an analog gaming experience, but when I play in someone else's group, I use an iPad all the time.

For me gaming is about two things. Hanging out with/making new friends and escapism. Playing with mobile devices at the gaming table IMO gets on the way of that.

I adore my Dice Ex phone app. It lets me set up profiles with score tracking (hit points and other expendible resources) and dice presets that can be rolled separately or all at once.

As a GM it lets me track whole combats quickly and easily. As a player it lets me track my hit points, ammunition, spell slots and other resources (ex. Bardic inspiration dice, Hit Dice, Healing Surges, Action Points, etc.) and roll all my checks and damage.

In my more modern games set in the real world I also find street maps and such to be extremely useful at the table and pulling it up on a phone or tablet is much less expensive than having to buy street maps for places all over the world. Particularly when Google Maps often has street views that really give a better feel than any topography map ever could.

Phones are tools and so are neutral. They can benefit or hinder things depending on how the tool is used. The chronic doodler who spends every second that isn't their turn working on some piece of art is every bit as distracted as the person checking Facebook; but we don't ban pens/pencils and paper from the table. The problem isn't the tool, it's the person using it.

Even more accurately, people use tools to solve problems. The really important question to ask is "what problem are they trying to solve?" If a player is more engaged with their phone than the GM then the odds are that player is using a tool at hand to entertain themselves because they aren't being engaged by the GM's game.

As a GM, I take players turning to their phones (beyond using game apps) as a sign that I'm not engaging them with the adventure like I should be and need to take measures to get them re-engaged; either move the current situation along or throw in a complication to get their head's back in the game. Forcing them to put down their phones is just treating the symptom, not the core problem. When I'm doing my job as GM properly they aren't paying any attention to their phones either and the game is healthier than it'd ever be with a 'no phones' rule.

I'm fine with them and I would leave any game that bans devices. The last thing I would want is to find out an emergency happened too late because of an elf game.

Quote from: Winterblight;1037281For me gaming is about two things. Hanging out with/making new friends and escapism. Playing with mobile devices at the gaming table IMO gets on the way of that.

^This. With the exception of something to play atmospheric music, I hate seeing any tech at the gaming table. Phones, laptops, and tablets. All of it. It's an opportunity for distraction. Respect the GM (and the players) and pay attention to the game. That's what we're there to do. Nothing annoys me more than hearing 'oh sorry, I missed it...what happened?' because someone was checking their email, sending a text, or surfing the net and wasn't paying attention. Playing a .pdf game? Print out what you need ahead of time or get the book.

Quote from: RPGPundit;1037258I used to have an issue with this, where players would be on their phones during the game. But this has sort of passed for me.

Do you care if your players are on their phones during the game, presuming it's in downtime when their PC isn't doing anything?

I don't mind, especially when it's to fill some down time. But I'm not fond of it. Thankfully none of my players have been obnoxious with personal electronics.

Once upon a time, there was this MMORPG called Everquest. A few times while trying to GM, my players at the time would log into EQ to play at the same time. That pissed me off, and colored my attitudes towards such distractions.

With any live gaming I do (as opposed to Play by Post) being on Hangouts/Roll20 it would be hard to enforce no electronics...

I have to confess to extreme distraction as a player. Ultimately I dropped out of the game as I realized my distraction was coming from just not being invested in what was going on (a combination of somewhat arbitrary character deaths, and at least a couple times the direction of the campaign getting hijacked by one player, one who only made every 3rd or 4th session...).

Even back in the day, some players would have their heads buried in a book (sometimes at least the rule book for the game being played, other times another game book, or even a novel) so distraction isn't anything new. The best way to keep people from finding distractions is to not spend more than a short time on one person before calling on the next (so fast combat systems for example). Even then, there will be times when a player isn't actively involved in the current scene. It may be better for the uninvolved players to be able to quietly distract themselves rather than get fidgety or make too many comments from the peanut gallery (though some games do encourage such out of character talk, so if the peanut gallery is making a positive contribution, then that's fine, but then really the player is actively involved in the scene by virtue of the way the game works even if their PC isn't).

I totally agree that people should be able to have their cell phones active to receive emergency calls.

Watching you tube and laughing is no different than two uninvolved players telling jokes or talking about something out of game. People should just know better...

Frank

I honestly used to have more trouble back in the 80s with friends coming to a game after hitting the local comic store. Guys who'd read comics at the table when their character wasn't doing anything. That was irritating.

Now, as grown up type people with jobs and families and such, everyone who comes to the game comes -to game-. And if we bust out a phone at the table now and then, it's no big deal. Often I'm shooting a text to my wife or kids asking how they're doing, or responding to a text from them. Some of the other players might have to take a call for their business (two of my usual players are small business owners and basically need to be available by phone 24/7). It's really no big deal.

But we all respect the game, and the time to hang out with our friends. We keep the phone distractions to a minimum, but all totally understand when something comes up.

Yes, it's rude and disrespectful to the other people who are present at the table. Having your phone close by when you're expecting a particular important call is not the same thing as pissing around on your phone whenever it's not "your turn". When you engage in an activity, you give it your full attention out of courtesy to everyone else giving up their free time to be there.