Do I Have the Time to Play Dungeons and Dragons?

Finding Time for RPGs: How to Fit Gaming into a Busy Life

Many people love the idea of playing D&D but wonder if they can fit it into their schedule. In this episode, the RPG Blokes discuss how to balance roleplaying games with work, family, and daily responsibilities.

How Much Time Does an RPG Require?

Some believe that RPGs demand long hours. However, flexible session lengths make it possible to fit games into any schedule. The Blokes discuss:

• One-shots vs. long campaigns – Shorter sessions provide a way to play without heavy commitment.
• Weekly vs. biweekly games – Finding the right rhythm for your group ensures consistency.
• Character preparation – How to avoid spending unnecessary time on details before the session.

Making Time for RPGs Without Overcommitting

Many players assume they must dedicate entire evenings to D&D. Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy the hobby without disrupting responsibilities. The Blokes provide tips on:

• Communicating with your group to establish expectations.
• Scheduling shorter sessions that fit into busy lives.
• Managing game preparation efficiently to avoid stress.

Final Thoughts

Even with a full schedule, RPGs remain an accessible and rewarding hobby. By setting realistic expectations and planning ahead, players can enjoy immersive roleplaying without sacrificing other commitments.

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Episode Transcript

Mark:
[0:00] Welcome to RPG Blokes. Today we’re going to talk about the time it takes in Order to play it, not to learn it or to pick it up or to be a master of it. Just do you have the time in your life to play a role-playing game? I’m going to introduce the RPG Blokes to you now and they might tell you a little Bit about themselves. First of all, it’s Barry. Hello.

Barry:
[0:20] So like most people, full-time job. I work for Transport of London. We provide a transport service for people with disabilities i put in a 40-hour Week with three hours commuting a day it shifts early as middles late starting As early as six o’clock in the morning finishing as late as midnight so you Know fitting any kind of hobbies in around my work life can be challenging right

Mark:
[0:43] Okay and to.

Jon:
[0:44] John okay i thought i had the shit deal there so i’m a binman sorry waste and Recycling operative, fuck that, I’m a binman. So really early starts, but fairly early finishes. So the good news is, I’m old, I do need an afternoon nap, but I do have time for that. Other than that, gaming, reading, usual sort of stuff.

Mark:
[1:11] Okay, Sten?

Stephen:
[1:13] Hi, yes, well I work for myself, self-employed, I offer gardening services and Design, if anyone’s interested.

Jon:
[1:21] Company name?

Stephen:
[1:22] I won’t go that far yeah i suppose um hour is it does vary from week to week Obviously and it can be seasonal but yeah generally full-time working that i’ve Got two kids as well a bit older now so it’s uh more time in that respect

Mark:
[1:35] Okay my name is mark and i work From home graphic design wouldn’t classify myself as Being full-time at the minute but i do a lot of work with The kids so i’m a bit of a house husband as well time-wise yeah because i work From home i find i can fit in preparation as a dm fairly fairly easily quite Flexible but anyway that’s a bit about ourselves we’re now going to talk about The time it takes to play the hobby and you can make a decision on whether you think you have the time.

Music:
[2:03] Music

Jon:
[2:21] Of a session, the ones that we put on, are somewhere between three and four Hours, and that seems to work well.

Stephen:
[2:27] Yeah, I guess there is an optimal length for a session, I guess, To keep everyone interested. And it seems to have come out to about three hours, isn’t it? I would say it would be the average. Sometimes it goes on longer. Sometimes we’ve done, I suppose we play around people’s houses. Sometimes we have been known to do all-day sessions, but very rarely.

Mark:
[2:45] When we were younger, I think.

Stephen:
[2:46] When we was younger, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. but very rarely, if at all now. But yeah, three hours leave people wanting more, isn’t it? If you do too much, You know, if you use a slight six or seven hour games, people might not fancy the return. I think keeping it snappier and briefer.

Jon:
[3:00] Then you look at where’s a good cutoff point for the games.

Stephen:
[3:04] Yeah, around that area.

Jon:
[3:05] You don’t want to say halfway through an encounter, that can be a really bad place. I know we’ve had to, but it’s difficult to pick up that momentum. Whereas if you if you think of it like a film where you’ve got scenes if you Can finish a scene before you go on to the next thing that’s the the good place And if that’s an extra half hour or so yeah

Mark:
[3:30] Or even sometimes can the game can end slightly early if the dm is it’s not Quite so nice to do it that way but yeah it does happen.

Barry:
[3:37] I couldn’t go for much longer than three or four hours like i i i know how my Tiny mind works and and and you know being attentive as you need to be when You’re at the table would

Jon:
[3:49] Be a challenge

Barry:
[3:50] For me to go on much longer than that you know i i i am in agreement three to Four hours seems to be pretty optimum for most people yeah i mean and also it’s It’s like i said in in in the intro you know i work shifts and that brings with It its own certain challenges, Like quite often I am literally coming straight from work on public transport, Which is, you know, stressy enough on its own to, Those constraints that can, you know, sometimes I’m fatigued by the time I’ve Sat down at the table, you know, let alone three, four hours later, Giving it the attention that it deserves. So I just think, you know, be honest with yourself about, you know, Can I make that, you know, is there, am I going to get as much out of it if It’s just an incredible stress to get there in my experience? Yes, normally it is. In fact, I think I might have said in a previous podcast, those ones that have Been where I really haven’t fancied it, where, You know, I’d rather be going home or I’ve already got home and I’m dreading The thought of having to leave the house have actually been the sessions that Have been turned out to be the most enjoyable and the ones that I’ve got the Most out of. So I do think there’s a lesson there. Yeah, it can be tricky to get there. We all have time constraints. Most of us have got kids and loved ones and pressures and stuff like that. Dig out a bit of time for yourself.

Mark:
[5:10] Talking about the length of an individual session, we can move on to the length Of what an actual game would be. We’ve already spoken like with a one shot obviously that’s Just one session but they’re very rare in reality we Can tell the complexity of the game very difficult to finish it off with one session So that the very minimum you’re probably going to be investing your time into Something that goes on for 10 to 12 weeks i’d say be a fairly standard length Of time but that’s let’s be clear it can go on for a hell of a lot longer than That and from the moment in which you play barry you the first game i remember You playing was a game that went on for about 15 months.

Barry:
[5:44] Yeah, you told me it was going to last six weeks.

Mark:
[5:46] So, you know, These games can go on for a very long length of time. The campaigns that are written for Dungeons and Dragons, for instance, They’re designed to be played, well, how long would you say, realistically?

Stephen:
[5:58] Seven months to 12 months.

Mark:
[6:00] Seven to 12 months. These books are there. They’re written to be played over that length of time.

Stephen:
[6:03] Yeah, definitely campaigns, I think you would call those. I suppose there’s Terminologies there with games, whether they’re one-shots or campaigns or a Scenario the old dnd modules were more five sessions maybe yeah yeah they were The kind of staple of the early early roleplay

Mark:
[6:18] Games so more than likely you’re going to be taken on some some level Of commitment as a game it just must seem incredible to you To hear that we’re playing a game and with the same people 18 months potentially that could be off putting to you but in no no way are You committing to that full length of that game we understand life changes and People drop in and out of the games that we we run don’t be put off by it but You’ve never found that off-putting barrier was that something if i’d set you In in the first place you know this is an 18-month game do.

Barry:
[6:45] You know honestly honest honestly i don’t know honestly i don’t know and and I don’t want to make it sound like you deceived me i think the plan was for It to last six weeks but there was like a continuation option and we all we All took it so i’m you know I’m going to assume you did a good job of DMing because everyone there was like, Yeah, let’s carry on. Let’s see where this goes. We’d reached like a mini campaign and then there was a further campaign that Was written to carry on from that point. And, you know, we all took it. I mean, and I would say, and again, I said at the beginning, I work shifts and it’s a pain in the ass. It is a commitment, but most DMs and players, in fact, in my experience, All DMs and players, but I haven’t experienced all DMs and players. I get that. Understand that you ain’t going to be there every week you know people know Like especially for someone like me so probably around about 25% of my shifts Are late shifts you know I’m finishing work when you guys are on your you know At home tucked up in bed probably some of you so interesting

Mark:
[7:44] Is there an attendance rate there’s optimum I guess 100% is and the best players Are where would it drop to a point where this may not be the hobby.

Stephen:
[7:51] For you you know I think if you approach it the mindset of, I want to attend Every session, then that’s a good starting point. If you can’t make it, That’s not such a problem. The problem becomes more of, I just don’t fancy it all the time. And that, yeah, maybe you’d have to rethink at that stage. But if your mindset Is you want to be there, oh, but I can’t, I think everyone can understand that.

Mark:
[8:12] I get you. So rather than being lackadaisical about it and saying, You know, I fancy this one week and not the other, you know, Because I’ve got other things I’d like to do. It is a commitment. and that isn’t fair on the DM or the players. I think you need to approach this exactly like that.

Stephen:
[8:27] Yeah, I think the intent needs to be there that I want to play everything or Play it all, but it might not be that case.

Barry:
[8:33] Can I just, I mean, I just want to caveat that ever so slightly. You know, we do know this is a hobby that, you know, attracts higher than usual Quota of neurodiverse people. And, you know, if you’re talking about people’s social anxieties and stuff like That, I think you need to cut people that have, you know, genuine challenges, a bit of slack. Because it isn’t that they don’t fancy it. Exactly.

Stephen:
[8:55] Well, they would then fit into that. They want to be there, but they can’t be there.

Jon:
[8:59] True. And as long as we know about it, you can’t keep shit like that to yourself. You’ve got to come forward and say, look, I won’t be able to do it or I can’t Do it. And that’s fine. Yeah. But having everyone waiting. Now, I know I’ve been a particular person that Has occasionally done this because of transport issues. If you don’t turn up at all and everyone’s waiting and not knowing, that’s a problem. If you’re running late, like regularly, you’ve got to do something about that, man. And again, I’m one of the offenders on this, so I know what I’m talking about. If I’m a quarter of an hour late, that’s a quarter of an hour I’ve nicked off Of every bugger that’s sat around waiting for me to turn up. And not all games narratively You can go forward there’s one sometimes You’ll have a focal character for a Particular set of scenes like part of The story we had one recently in one of the Games someone was becoming initiated Into the thieves guild and it Was very focused on him for that sort of half a dozen sessions and he didn’t Show up for like three of them and it really threw the dm for a loop because That it no one else could step in to do certain roles

Mark:
[10:28] So there’s always an impact on not being at A session no matter you know what clarity you Have the dm will always be thinking about what your character is Going to be doing in advance of the session and you may You may the session may require you your character To be there so somebody might have to play it in your absence so Yeah having that attitude that you know you you Want to be there every session and that sometimes life gets in the way and you Cannot be i think is the best way to approach this i tend to i don’t tend to Have problems with ampersandism at all unless it tends to drop below 50 and Then i would say well actually this this player may not be the right person For this game my table because, I do feel it does have an impact on the game. So that’s from my experience. Do you feel the same, Stephen, with regards as from a DLS point of view?

Stephen:
[11:16] I think 50% is quite tolerant. But yeah, I would say it has to be higher than that. Personally, I come across as a little bit strict, but I think it has to be higher Than 50% attendance, maybe 70% minimum.

Mark:
[11:27] I think if you’ve got too many players that play at 50%, then you don’t have a table.

Stephen:
[11:31] You don’t have a game.

Jon:
[11:32] Depends on the source of the group initially.

Stephen:
[11:34] It does, but as you say, if you’re missing players, 50% of the time, I think it’s an issue.

Barry:
[11:38] And again, but again, it does depend on personal circumstances. It does. If my shifts change so that I was doing earlies and lates, I could literally only be there 50% of the time.

Stephen:
[11:48] But again, it’s kind of like, yeah, you have to decide whether you’d want to Play as in. You could fit in with the game with that kind of shift pattern.

Barry:
[11:54] And I just think as well, just like be, you mentioned this, just, You know, be honest and open with what you can and can’t do, Particularly with your DM, your ref, You know, from the absolute off, I was honest with you about shifts and attendance, And it’s never come up in a negative way because generally speaking, People know if I can be there, I’m there. I miss it big time. I’d much rather be sitting around a table with a bunch of Heroic morons than at work slaving away until midnight. I know where I want to be.

Stephen:
[12:27] Yeah, and that is it. That’s spot on. I think that’s what everyone wants in their game, isn’t it?

Jon:
[12:31] If someone can’t be bothered,

Barry:
[12:33] That’s what it is. Yeah, for sure.

Mark:
[12:34] So attendance rate, there is a responsibility. we suggest you take that seriously When you’re considering whether you have the time or not definitely aim for 80 90 attendance rate i would say 100 brilliant.

Jon:
[12:44] There is the rare occurrence where you can have like a rolling set of players And characters if that would suit you you need to Put that forward if you turn up or if it’s a group of your mates so scheduling Conflict are the biggest death of well most hobbies but in particular this one So if you’ve got enough of you that you can’t all make it all the time but if Half a dozen of you can all the time you could take over playing a character It might result in some interesting character choices narratively speaking kind of sharing

Barry:
[13:26] I really like the idea of a character share especially if we go down I’m like A Jekyll and Hyde kind of,

Jon:
[13:34] I love that. I absolutely, I want to do that. You could actually do that in Character. You could have a condition, a curse.

Barry:
[13:40] So this is

Mark:
[13:41] About talking to your DM still, isn’t it? And finding the game that works for You. There are games that will accommodate you.

Barry:
[13:46] It can happen. As long as you’re enthusiastic,

Mark:
[13:48] Win the win of it.

Jon:
[13:49] As long as people know, they’re not getting ignored, stuffed over,

Barry:
[13:53] Stuff like that just work together

Mark:
[13:56] For some games work better with with lower attendance Rates i think dungeons and dragons i the way i play it anyway works very well If you’ve got players that missed the occasional session whereas other games That are more storytelling and a mystery at the investigation basis will require Players to take notes and maybe those kind of games have smaller groups too So the impact of a missing player is greater they’re not quite so good.

Jon:
[14:19] For If your note-taking player doesn’t turn up, everyone else is sitting around Going, what’s going on? I can’t hit anything.

Barry:
[14:26] That’s true. So, and again, I know this has come up a couple of times, Like pretty badly dyslexic. So I ain’t taking notes. That ain’t going to happen. But what I’ve always found helps is like DMs, In my experience, are very accommodating. And we talked about, you know, this being a, generally speaking, Quite a neurodiverse hobby. I think it wouldn’t work if DMs weren’t accommodated. But a recap at the beginning of the session, especially if you’re someone like Me who’s missed the occasional session i you know people will be on discord Filling me in what happened and you know i enjoy reading those i feel like i’m Missing out just ever so slightly less by still being kept in the loop um you Know i think stuff like that structurally can be really important there are

Mark:
[15:04] Important ways to keep people engaged if you miss a session you’re not playing For two weeks right so those things are useful.

Barry:
[15:09] Yeah well and i’ve i’ve i’ve ended up weirdly on a couple of occasions sort Of you know remotely very briefly role-playing by putting on discord well, Jubus is going to do this then because someone has just told me something that Happened in the game and it’s like, well, Jubus is going to bugger off and go With them for this session.

Mark:
[15:26] But there’s that engagement still there and I think that comes across and makes It easier on the other players knowing that you’re absent, not through choice, That you really want to play. So that enthusiasm comes across. Of course, if you’re new to the hobby, You don’t quite know just yet whether you’re going to have that enthusiasm and You will be given time to settle in and display that or feel that or not, There’ll be a trial period without any doubt. And then you can make that decision. But if you’re hooked on it, Which we hope you would be and we expect you to be really, because it’s such A brilliant hobby, then this is what it’s going to take off you. So be aware of that before you go into it.

Stephen:
[16:04] Yeah, I was just going to say, we are assuming here that you are hooked into the hobby. It’s true.

Mark:
[16:08] So yeah, considering you’re hooked, you want to play it, you love it, Then don’t get involved if you think it’s going to be once a month and people Are just going to play with that. You’re not going to get the same thing out of it.

Barry:
[16:20] But, you know, if you can find a group that can only get together once a month, Then go for it. Don’t, you know, if you need…

Stephen:
[16:26] Might see all those players,

Jon:
[16:27] Won’t it? But that becomes more important. It’s one thing…

Barry:
[16:31] Yes, no, of course. Of course, of course.

Jon:
[16:34] Yeah, we can miss one.

Barry:
[16:36] But when you’ve got a bigger interval between sessions, attendance is much more Important, but, you know, potentially more manageable. You know?

Mark:
[16:45] Yeah. Yeah, but talking then, so what kind of time it will take from you? Background prep, character generation, is everything done at the table or are There any expectations from you as a player in between the sessions? Would that be a common thing, an unusual thing? What do you ask of your player, Stephen?

Stephen:
[17:04] On character prep for a new game, I like to do it as a session zero. I guess that’s the trendy thing, isn’t it?

Mark:
[17:09] It’s a part of the actual game.

Stephen:
[17:11] Yeah, I think so because everyone kind of witnesses everyone else making up their character. It kind of helps them make up their own and choose or make choices that fit Together as a group as well. i suppose is important

Mark:
[17:20] Do you find that some players would spend more time developing their backgrounds Away from the table than others and does that yeah that doesn’t really matter Does it i suppose that when i wouldn’t.

Stephen:
[17:31] Demand a background for characters particularly it’s great if they want to do It that’s awesome because you can incorporate that into the game but i feel It’s more important where the character’s going rather than where he’s been For me especially they’re kind of like a shorter term scenario but

Mark:
[17:44] Yeah i can’t do i come to you because you’re the other side of the coin in a Second john but i just wanted to to move over to barry and you’ve often said That this is something you come and play and then in between the sessions you’re Not thinking about this really much at all apart from that integration into Discord with your mister session catching up on what’s going on well.

Barry:
[18:01] And quite often then i’m just catching up with the people as well that’s i think That’s worth you know there’s a lot of banter at our table and and and you know If if if there are insults being thrown around i want to join in so i do fuck all between sessions. Like literally everything is

Jon:
[18:15] Done at the table

Barry:
[18:16] For me and I might have a little think about you know if we’re levelling up And stuff like that I might have a think about it but generally speaking I do It all at the table I think it’s preferable to do it at the table. I think there’s a I’m not suggesting that There is dishonesty in the game but just helping to keep each other honest with Your dice rolls and everything like that you know doing it at the game but also There’s resources there there’s people who’ve played you know you might be playing A class that you’ve never played before and someone has played it and they’ll Say oh have you considered taking xyz because it’s freaking awesome and someone will

Mark:
[18:46] Save you all your homework basically there’s always.

Barry:
[18:48] Somebody that’s there listen i listen i’ve never done a piece of homework in My entire life and i don’t intend to start now so

Mark:
[18:53] Would a player like barry suit you as a dm john i know you’re curious they would yes to say.

Stephen:
[18:59] That he said that

Jon:
[19:00] No no because your your enthusiasm that’s the main thing

Barry:
[19:05] Oh and and sorry to interrupt but this is one of the other things i was talking About when you’re talking about, you know, people like, you know, character gen, I might come into a campaign with a really basic idea of what my character is Going to be like, but I quite like to let the experiences that happen to my Character actually end up defining who they’re going to be.

Stephen:
[19:26] Yeah, I think that’s more important, personally.

Mark:
[19:27] Okay, so everything happens in the game, you don’t need to think about it. No, that’s great.

Barry:
[19:32] I’ll come up with one silly little hook about him, like, I don’t know if you Remember when I started playing Jubus, Jubus came from another dimension, It’s all very complicated I decided Ijubis was going to have no concept of money No idea what money was for. No idea what you would do with it. No idea why people exchanging these shiny discs. Well, you robbed me fucking blind.

Mark:
[19:52] That was good. Yeah, so that sort of thing can happen in game. You don’t need to spend any time before or after the session preparing your Character. But then some people do and enjoy doing that, John. And I know you encourage that.

Jon:
[20:03] There’s lots of different ways. So you can go anything from a pre-generated Character, which is like, I don’t know, a scripted character. Character they’ve got their own motivations and stuff written Down some systems have Like a dice roll to generate certain aspects Like what your background where you learned this Skill stuff like that you can use those as Aids to develop to make you think about A certain thing or you can just ignore it if you’ve Got a concept you’ve seen the film you want to play that person with your twist On it again you can bring that in i like to do character session zero more often Than not if if possible on a one-on-one

Mark:
[20:51] Basis so just describe a session zero it’s a session that occurs before the Actual event at the adventure begins so it’s character generation background Issues relationships between the players at the table and you don’t start the game just yet sorry just.

Jon:
[21:06] I like to get if people Can identify with their characters if they can give Me hooks for storylines if I Can factor that in I’ll do that I’ll Put the work in and they will be rewarded At least narratively at some point And also it’ll give me as a ref rather Than an idea how to integrate that particular character but as opposed to that Someone just turns up and says well you know what do you need i’ll play one Of those and have it develop is again absolutely fantastic from a completely Different angle and they

Mark:
[21:45] Work side by side within.

Jon:
[21:46] Your games they absolutely do yeah

Mark:
[21:48] Just the basic time requirements then we’ll talk about now you’ve got your four Hours of gaming time the session and getting to and from nothing else i don’t Believe in a very basic level that you are required to give to the game.

Jon:
[22:01] You do get out of the game what you put in. I think I’ve said this about every aspect of it every time. But if you put at least some thought while you’re not on the table into what Your character will do in certain situations or how they’ve changed and ratify that

Mark:
[22:20] When you go. It’s the sort of thing you can do while mowing the lawn. Yeah.

Jon:
[22:22] I mean, in my job, I’m very much on autopilot. So a lot of this stuff goes through Reffing, playing, all of those things. Not everyone’s, some people have got real jobs and they actually have to think That’s fine. but you know most of the time you can make stuff up as you go along That’s essentially what the game is

Barry:
[22:40] It’s very much essentially what the game is

Mark:
[22:42] Yeah that’s true and if you’re there at the table and you can do that everything can be done at the table.

Barry:
[22:47] There’s a there’s a very much i know we’re talking about the time that

Jon:
[22:51] It’s going to

Barry:
[22:51] Take from you but you know you also need to talk about what you’re getting back In return for that time but i also think there’s a different strokes for Different folks thing here like you can put a table Together of people and and like you’d know more about systems that Would lend itself to this who yeah they’re they’re Deep diving their characters are going to be fully fleshed out they’re thinking About stuff you know consistently they’re on discord constantly And that and you know that’s a great way to play the game and it you end up With a very rich world full of great role play but you know you can also come Along and smash orcs over the head with a stick if you want you know you can Find a group of players that will play like that and and i’m and we all know There are systems that will lend themselves more to one than to the other. And one type

Mark:
[23:31] Of player can mix in with another.

Barry:
[23:33] Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Mark:
[23:37] Stephen, from DMs, because we’re talking from a player’s point of view how much Time this will take you. We’re not going to go into that.

Barry:
[23:41] Oh, here we go. Man and boy. Man and boy.

Mark:
[23:43] We’re not going to go into what it takes you to prep a game and DM. We’ll do that for another session when we start talking about DMing and whether You might like to become one. But Stephen, from a… I’d like to be one. Once we’ve managed to make one of Barry, we can make one of any of you. I can tell you that. Stephen, so when you’re when you’re dealing with, when you’re playing, Playing the game because you do play. I do. What what what kind of input do you like to put into your characters and how Long do you spend thinking about things like that.

Stephen:
[24:10] I must about all i’ve been playing i don’t often really think about their Background too much like barry said you’d have maybe one thought About motivation about this character’s motivation which helps you Play the character whether that be on his alignment or His outlook from there i think it’s more important about how it Develops in the story of the game even if i come up with a hugely detailed list I’d probably change my mind two hours into the session anyway and does anyone Really care about what he did 40 years ago in his life i mean no so i think It’s more for the player if you want to sort of like develop your character To that level i think it’s more for you than anything else so it

Mark:
[24:43] All happens at the table i think so on the.

Stephen:
[24:45] Fly because if it’s not happening in real life in the table then it doesn’t Really nobody knows about it apart from you and then yeah it doesn’t really count so

Mark:
[24:53] Much so the requirements but on that level very minimal for your from your point of view as well.

Stephen:
[24:58] I think so yeah just the commitment to develop it in game. You bring it out in game if possible.

Mark:
[25:04] I agree. I think just be there and just commit to that time you are playing The game and spend that time enjoying it. So I’d like to finish off this podcast by just each of us telling you just how Long we spend a week playing the game. Just to put it into context, I suppose. And I suppose we should include our DMing hours as well as our playing hours. So I will start with Stephen.

Stephen:
[25:32] I say I DM a game on a Wednesday evening, and that’s, what, three hours? And I play a game on a Thursday?

Mark:
[25:40] But you get to and from, so you’ve got to add your travel time in here as well.

Stephen:
[25:43] Oh, blimey.

Mark:
[25:44] How much of your life does it take up? God.

Barry:
[25:46] If we want to add travel time, I’m going to have to send off to NASA.

Mark:
[25:49] Okay. We’ll separate travel time. I’m playing it.

Stephen:
[25:55] Probably at the moment. It’s been three games a week. occasionally but six hours To nine hours a week playing or actual in-game play and then if I’ve started A new game there’s a lot more prep So maybe a couple more hours a week preparation maybe more If it’s a brand new game i could do something every day sort Of like just look at it but once the game’s established that prep becomes a Lot less sometimes even nothing but generally i’ve done some sort of prep as A dm for the dm in games so we can have no reach sort of like two three let’s Have a four hours on for that then so what at the moment 10 13 hours a week maybe yeah okay

Mark:
[26:31] 10 to 13 i’ll yeah i’ll cover myself next because I think we’re fairly similar. We played two games together. I occasionally run an additional game, So maybe add another couple of hours a week on top of that. So that’s my commitment too. I’ll leave John because he’s trying to add it all up. He’s an abacus.

Stephen:
[26:49] Let’s get his abacus out.

Mark:
[26:50] Barry, we will touch on the.

Barry:
[26:51] Fact that you

Mark:
[26:52] Just like touch to this, albeit to anybody at the table.

Barry:
[26:56] Firstly, I just want to share for the listeners what a wonderful sight it was To see John’s eyes roll off to the left as he started to calculate how many hours he plays a week. I’m not sure he’s finished yet. So, yeah, I think it’s come out and it’s quite a lot. I play for, you know, three to three and a half hours a week. Done. Thank you very much.

Mark:
[27:12] And so you’d miss, what, one session in a month?

Barry:
[27:15] Yeah, I mean, slightly less than that because there’s now, now there’s a lot Of shifts where I might finish at six o’clock and I can just about make it to The club for quarter past seven. So I’m missing half an hour rather than the entire session. So, yeah, but, you know, previously there were times where if I was, Because of where i was living if i was fishing finishing at six o’clock like I wouldn’t be with you until gone eight and it wasn’t worth it but yeah three Hours a week tickety boo living

Mark:
[27:41] The dream i think that’s what most people would consider for them to healthy.

Barry:
[27:44] And normal healthy and normal yeah normal normal is highly overrated john

Mark:
[27:49] So that’s that’s pretty much what you’re looking at the rest of us are just Outliers i think well the true outlier being john come on have you have you Put it all together have you had it all up are.

Jon:
[27:59] You sitting comfortably then we’ll begin. So, Purely reffing, playing, and transport gets on for about 30 hours a week.

Mark:
[28:11] It’s like a job.

Jon:
[28:13] I wouldn’t work those sort of hours for a job.

Barry:
[28:15] I was going to say, we did establish that he was bin man at the beginning of This. He ain’t never put a 30 hour week in. It’s a part time job, dude.

Jon:
[28:25] Trying to get rid of that.

Barry:
[28:26] Yeah, I bet they are.

Mark:
[28:27] So 30, that’s more than the rest of us put together almost, right?

Jon:
[28:29] Just the actual actions of reffing, playing, and travel. And prep time. Prep time.

Barry:
[28:36] Oh my God, he hasn’t included prep time.

Jon:
[28:38] Nothing like. No, no, no. The prep time, I mean, while I’m at work, Unless I’m doing something dangerous, risky, you know, crossing the roads and stuff.

Barry:
[28:48] Most of the time, I’ve got ideas. If I’m watching a film or a book,

Jon:
[28:52] I do a lot of reading up as well. I see, yeah.

Mark:
[28:56] Actual. And I suppose I could boost my hours by saying that if I’m.

Jon:
[29:00] Sitting in front of my computer and I wish

Mark:
[29:01] To procrastinate, it’s quite often picking up PDF and reading up on a game or, You know, getting into the hobby, watching a podcast or something. So, yeah, those things are the more enjoyable side. As a real commitment, As a player, I think Barry’s numbers are the ones that you really need to be looking at the most.

Stephen:
[29:18] Yeah, it’s just how many games you join after that.

Mark:
[29:20] Yes, that’s it. One game leads to two. You never play twice a week, have you Barry anyway?

Barry:
[29:25] So an enormous amount I’ve got out of it for actually what seems now, Listening to you guys, very minimum effort. I mean, I think I’ve nailed it.

Mark:
[29:35] Yeah, brilliant, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve thought full value out of this game. You’re getting the full experience.

Barry:
[29:40] Yeah, I’ve done well getting as much out of this for the hours that I’ve put in. But I don’t think I’m anomalous in that regard. I think that most of our listeners, You know, if this is for you and you are going for it, I think you will get As much out of it as I had with the kind of time input that I’m giving. Some of them may even become obsessed weirdos like you guys. Hardcore.

Mark:
[30:02] That’s good where you end up very quickly, actually, in my experience. So before I pass over to the Master of Outro Ceremonies. Wow. I’ve been promoted. We look forward to speaking to you again soon. Okay. So let’s…

Jon:
[30:16] Slice and dice.

Music:
[30:18] Music