A lot of the problems in a game are caused by players who aren’t committed to the game, don’t play in a cooperative manner, or are being dicks in one way or another. By following the advice contained within, you can be a better player at the table.

In our ongoing series about paper cuts you may have noticed a trend. The one biggest factor controlling the quality of our shared gaming experience can be boiled down to Wheaton’s First Law: “Don’t be a dick.” While a simple concept, many people fail to abide by it, either intentionally or by accident. When a [...]

Many of the paper cuts we collected revolved around not having something you need when you need it. Maybe it’s pencils. Maybe it’s a new character sheet for a NPC created on the spot. Or maybe you simply have a new player over and don’t have dice for them. Fortunately, the solution to all of these problems is the same: proper preparation.

To be perfectly honest with you, I collect gaming crap. I try out lots of little tools to try and make the experience better, but in the end I just have a bunch of clutter. And so, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about a more elegant solution for my gaming needs. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ve finally settled on the three ring binder as the centerpiece.

The majority of environmental paper cuts fall into three categories: space, comfort, and distractions. You’re looking for an isolated environment, with room for all your supplies, and comfortable chairs and lighting. Essentially, you’re looking for a conference room.

Most of our blog is devoted to addressing bigger concerns and “major problems” with games, but last week we decided to start taking a look at some of the smaller things. We’re calling them “paper cuts.” For the sake of discussing them, we’ve broken them up into four major areas, “environmental issues,” “proper tools,” “distractions,” and “table manners.” Environmental issues are probably the hardest to control. Be it the weather, lighting conditions, or table space, each has their own challenges to overcome them.

As Jeff presented yesterday, we started coming up with a list of stuff that, while a bit bothersome, doesn’t kill a game. We’ve organized it into a nice list, categorized, collated and ready to present to you. We’ll be exploring these issues in the coming weeks while attempting to solve the unsolvable and maybe, just [...]

We spend a lot of time on this site trying to solve the big problems with gaming, such as dealing with players and writing encounters. But there are smaller things, too. Let’s call them paper cuts. Paper cuts are things that, individually, don’t have a huge effect on the game, but collectively they do diminish the experience. These are things like dice that roll off the table, cramped table space, or the inability to consistently remember an NPC’s accent.