Tabletop games: Why are they fun?

[SerBrittanicus]

I've never played any DnD or anything although people are trying to convince me to play, so I don't know if I would find them fun or not. However I cannot understand why something such as for example getting blind drunk is fun either, but I am in the minority in that regard - some people just like different things. If you have the right group of people together you can make anything fun, but if not then I would probably find these kinds of things pretty dull as well.

Warhammer is a game where the publishers absolutely hate the players for no adequate reason, it's hideously priced for no defendable reason. City of Horror and Smallworld are just board games.

From what I have heard the reason prices are so high is because they shafted themselves when they started the Lord of the Rings line of models, which didn't sell as well as predicted, so they have had to make rather drastic and continuing price rises to try and cover themselves. (Which I would have thought will achieve the opposite of what they are aiming for by driving people away with high prices.) I do still enjoy the games though although that may be partly due to the fact that the place where I occasionally play is the HQ and is a giant castle on the inside.

 

[Bocaj2000]

The other day, I was reminded of the crap I endured trying to play these in the first place. I took a look online and it looks very boring. When I tried playing, the character creation took eons which seems to not have changed. Then there's the whole shitty DM thing I hear still happening(DM's making sure one or more players suffer just for the lulz). Can't you usurp a DM if he's acting like this?

Maybe it's just the fact that I hate playing with other people due to other people are just horrible in general, but looking online, tabletop games are still boring with spreadsheets and the fact that it takes 2 hours till you yourself can do something. So I'm asking, why do people consider these games fun?

Problem 1: You're playing D&D. D&D is probably one of my least favorite RPs and also one of my least favorite tabletop games. Character creation is extremely restrictive, it encourages munchkins and power gaming, combat is the only exciting means to an end, etc. If you want a better RP experience, find Dread, GURPS, or anything that isn't D&D. Dread is the most recommended because it takes minimal set up and supplies. I introduced it to my college and it took off.

Problem 2: You have a shitty DM. These games aren't fun if your GM is an asshole. The only thing to do is confront him/her about this saying that the game is about the group having fun in their own story, NOT for him/her to have fun in theirs. Burning Wheel has a lot of good advice for GMs and I suggest anyone who wants to take up the task to read it.

Problem 3: If you don't like playing these games with your friends, then get new friends. If you find that "people are just horrible in general", then find a collection of persons that aren't horrible. Trust me- they exist.

Problem 4: You seem to have limited knowledge of what a table top game can include. It includes everything from pen-and-paper RPs to board games. If you enjoy playing Clue or Magic, then you enjoy table top games.

I hoped that this helped you out. I'm sorry to hear that your first experience with tabletop games didn't go so well. Maybe my words will guide you towards a better experience.

EDIT: From reading other things that you have posted, I don't think that it's the games that are your problem, but your "friends". Try making new friends. Yes, easier said than done, but I think that if your current friend group is "ganging up on [you]" then you need to find a group of people that won't.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Well my only experience with these types of games so far has been just Warhammer, but I've been thinking of maybe getting into D&D and such.

Why WHFB and 40k are fun:

You really feel your time investment pay off. Seeing your army fully painted, based and assembled facing another army is quite a unique and immensely satisfying feeling. Just finishing painting that one squad you've been at for ages can be a victory all of its own. The games are tons of fun if you've managed to put together a decent roster and don't get fucked over by dice rolls. The hobby has leagues of depth to it, and best of all, you can give it just as much attention as you want to; no one is forcing you to learn anything or asking why you skipped practice. You can leave the hobby for years and then jump right back in. Plus there's no way, absolutely no way, that two games will ever play out the same, even if you're just using the same roster over and over again.

 

[Deacon Cole]

Maybe it's just the fact that I hate playing with other people due to other people are just horrible in general, but looking online, tabletop games are still boring with spreadsheets and the fact that it takes 2 hours till you yourself can do something. So I'm asking, why do people consider these games fun?

I've been asking that question for a number of years. I don't have any answers, but I have some theories. Tabletop RPGs, or pencil and dice RPGs are a hobby for the socially inept. As such they delve into areas, that spreadsheet business, that the mainstream doesn't like to deal with because it is tedious. Having played pencil and paper RPGs, it is just as tedious, but the players endure it. Why? I think it's because they're socially inept. Much of RPGs is playing before you play. You read the source book and your imagination roams free. You fill out the character sheet thinking, this guy is going to be a badass. Why? Because I put extra points in his sword skill. Never mind that the character still gets its ass handed to it during actual play because the dice just do not favor him. He's still a badass. Numbers don't lie.

But they do lie. But their presence makes actual play an unnecessary and unwanted after thought.

 

[Scars Unseen]

Maybe it's just the fact that I hate playing with other people due to other people are just horrible in general, but looking online, tabletop games are still boring with spreadsheets and the fact that it takes 2 hours till you yourself can do something. So I'm asking, why do people consider these games fun?

I've been asking that question for a number of years. I don't have any answers, but I have some theories. Tabletop RPGs, or pencil and dice RPGs are a hobby for the socially inept. As such they delve into areas, that spreadsheet business, that the mainstream doesn't like to deal with because it is tedious. Having played pencil and paper RPGs, it is just as tedious, but the players endure it. Why? I think it's because they're socially inept. Much of RPGs is playing before you play. You read the source book and your imagination roams free. You fill out the character sheet thinking, this guy is going to be a badass. Why? Because I put extra points in his sword skill. Never mind that the character still gets its ass handed to it during actual play because the dice just do not favor him. He's still a badass. Numbers don't lie.

But they do lie. But their presence makes actual play an unnecessary and unwanted after thought.

You have a very odd perception of what roleplaying games are like.

 

[StreetBushido]

Looking through this thread, I don't think the tabletop games are the issue. It seems to me that there are some seriously nasty issues from all kinds of angles going on here.

I think that you, RaikuFA, may want to talk to somebody about the treatment you've apparently had at the hands of your friends. Furthermore, it seems that you are spending time with some fairly nasty people.

In the defence of tabletop games, I will say that they can be incredibly fun with a good group. It's basically hanging out with friends, playing a game and telling a story all in one.

 

[Xangba]

the best tabletop games are interactive oral story telling with the rules being an assistance.

BQE pretty much sums it up. tabletop gaming isnt for everyone and even then it depends entirely on the people involved AND the game. you can go from a hardcore D&D group who do the voices through to something of pure comedy and wackiness like paranoia (the computer is your friend citizen) or TOON.

generally the best way is to find a genre you find interesting from fantasy through to sci-fi, horror, etc and find a game that fits then a group that you fit with. the can be as serious as the group wants it to be and bad players or GM's can really screw things up badly

Aaaah paranoia. Good times. Imagine my reaction at my buddy Jacob's action. "Pull pins on grenades. Hope for best"

OT: Sounds like tabletop just isn't your thing. If you don't like roleplaying or learning a system like it, then don't do it. It sounds like you think that because you think it's boring and you had a bad experience that it's a terrible thing. Some people like DnD to have a relaxed time with some friends, some like it for serious roleplaying, some prefer more hectic comedic things like Paranoia, some prefer the World of Darkness, and so on and so on, and many many people just don't like tabletop RPGs. If you don't, you don't. Don't try to force yourself to do something you don't like.

 

[Marcus Kehoe]

It the act of just interacting with people. I find that shitting on the dm or troll polling my my through a game of risk is a truly entertaining experience.

 

[Deacon Cole]

You have a very odd perception of what roleplaying games are like.

That's because it's true.

I used to be on RPG forums and what I described came up. No one denied it, but many defended it. I would shrug and say to each his own, but this is like masturbating regularly and thinking you a great lover. It's why I left it and what keeps me from bothering to go back whenever nostalgia takes the reins. I can daydream just fine without buying $300 in source books and world material. It's cheap, easier to store and has less spelling mistakes.

 

[Naeras]

If you try to play tabletop-RPGs without a group of people with a similar mindset as you, things are bound to go badly. If you're playing with people who take this entire thing extremely seriously without doing so yourself, the entire thing will essentially end with the other players ruining your fun, and you're ruining their fun.

If I play, it's always with people who like this sort of thing, but doesn't take neither themselves nor the game all that seriously. It ends up being a good time.

 

[geizr]

...
Tabletop RPGs, or pencil and dice RPGs are a hobby for the socially inept. As such they delve into areas, that spreadsheet business, that the mainstream doesn't like to deal with because it is tedious.
...

I'm going to guess you have never been to GenCon, because there you would find that RPGers run the gamut of social demographics, from socially inept to social butterflies and just about everything in between.

OT: Sounds to me like the OP either just has bad friends to game with, or he just has a bad attitude about gaming.

 

[Syzygy23]

You have a very odd perception of what roleplaying games are like.

That's because it's true.

I used to be on RPG forums and what I described came up. No one denied it, but many defended it. I would shrug and say to each his own, but this is like masturbating regularly and thinking you a great lover. It's why I left it and what keeps me from bothering to go back whenever nostalgia takes the reins. I can daydream just fine without buying $300 in source books and world material. It's cheap, easier to store and has less spelling mistakes.

Y'know you can just use google to download PDF's of sourcebooks, right? Or buy them much cheaper from drivethrurpg. Or have your friends do that then send you a copy of the PDF.

 

[Deacon Cole]

Y'know you can just use google to download PDF's of sourcebooks, right? Or buy them much cheaper from drivethrurpg. Or have your friends do that then send you a copy of the PDF.

Or you can just make up my own shit, which was the point you so cleverly missed.

 

[vIRL Nightmare]

The fun comes in who you're doing it with, and an understanding that you make the fun. As a player of D&D I have to say that it is an activity more for bonding with friends then anything else. Let me give an example: we were playing a campaign that at one point involved us climbing a sheer tower. Using my ranger we were able to get a rope up there and start climbing up. Myself (the ranger), the druid, and the halfling rogue got up there when we were jumped by a mob. I stayed to fight as did the druid, but the rogue decided to steal the druids ring of feather fall and run away. The DM said, "ya you can steal one of the 18 rings in his bag". Not picking up on the threat he wen't through with it and stole the ring of water breathing, as he jumped off a 100 ft. tower. He makes a reflex save to grab the rope, but out of spite the druid cuts the rope so the rogue fell to his death. Now to us who were slightly inebriated from our booze as well as the the back-and-forth on the situation we found it all very funny. We were laughing our collective asses off. That was fun because we made it fun.

Table top games, from my experience, is more a game of what ifs. I've gotta say that it's some of the most entertaining things I've experienced. If you are not there to have fun with it, or you pick the wrong people to play with, you're going to be bored.

 

[Griffolion]

-snip-

Sounds like your experiences/observations have all been with bad people?

My local TT club are full of great guys, so the games are all a lot of fun.

 

[Scars Unseen]

You have a very odd perception of what roleplaying games are like.

That's because it's true.

I used to be on RPG forums and what I described came up. No one denied it, but many defended it. I would shrug and say to each his own, but this is like masturbating regularly and thinking you a great lover. It's why I left it and what keeps me from bothering to go back whenever nostalgia takes the reins. I can daydream just fine without buying $300 in source books and world material. It's cheap, easier to store and has less spelling mistakes.

I'm trying to decide whether or not you are being intentionally offensive here. You take a hobby - which you admit to having never actually participated in - and then call the people who engage in it socially inept and delusional practitioners of group masturbation. If that's why you left the forums then I dare say that they were the winners in that parting.

The only thing about a group of hobbyists that you can be sure of is that they are interested in their hobby. People from all walks of life are attracted to them, and trying to generalize them is about as effective as it with any group of people spread across the entire world. That is to say it isn't effective at all.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I remember playing Knights of the Old Republic. I loved that game, but the truth of the matter is the writing for the player choices is horrible. Five Options, usually 'get more information', 'explain this again', 'wait, what was that other thing', 'I'm totally going to do this because I'm Light Side Personified' 'Dude, I'm so really evil and about to fuck up your shit'.

That's not player choice. That might not be my actions or desires. I might want to choose something else.

In a tabletop game, my exact actions will have a result to what I'm playing. Not that the game won't allow me to do that because no one scripted it. It might cause my death, it might make the GM completely revamp what he was planning to do (happened to me... well.. every time I played a game), and it's always fun. If you're friends with your group, you can laugh at bad rolls, mess with each other, and just have a good time.

 

[DoPo]

Y'know you can just use google to download PDF's of sourcebooks, right? Or buy them much cheaper from drivethrurpg. Or have your friends do that then send you a copy of the PDF.

Or you can just make up my own shit, which was the point you so cleverly missed.

And make up shit you do - none of what you said makes much sense. There isn't 300 bucks investment in any system that has any popularity, at least from what I know, that is. D&D is probably the biggest dip at something like $50 in books (new) (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual) and add another ~10$ for dice and stuff if nobody has them. That'd be everything you need for the group...even then, you can go perfectly well with just the PHB and the MM, the DMG is more for beginners and not really needed. That's 4e, for 3.5 and Pathfinder, you get the rules and stuff absolutely free online, so you only need dice and stuff. That's the most expensive system, others are not much more than 10-30$ others still are free. That's the cost that either 1 person should pay or the group as a whole - you could very well join a group and not pay anything for the privilege.

There isn't "I play spreadsheets because it's fun", that's not what happens...not all the times, at least. Unless you mean rollplayers, in which case you should be aware that...we're talking about role playing games here.

All in all, I'm calling bullshit on your claims. Next time when you make shit up, please don't share it with us.

 

[Snowbell]

I have only played a tabletop game with a spreadsheet character once. I wasn't looking forwards to it and the character creation was hella dull - that is until we started playing. We were doing a homebrew Scion with the DM creating a scenario set in our town. We had to solve a mystery, seduce a demon (I succeeded but the DM decided that the demon was not allowed to join our party since she was a Bad Guy), fight a pack of demons and an evil Welsh fairy which saw me running around for ten minutes looking for a nail while my party had the stuffing kicked out of them! While my team mates were interrogating a water demon they were aiming to torture it into speaking and aimed for his kneecaps with a gun - and blew his head off when he rolled way too high with the dice!

It was fun, imaginative and companionable, now I look forwards to making my character all over again if I can only find someone to play it with :3

 

[Gatx]

The other day, I was reminded of the crap I endured trying to play these in the first place. I took a look online and it looks very boring. When I tried playing, the character creation took eons which seems to not have changed. Then there's the whole shitty DM thing I hear still happening(DM's making sure one or more players suffer just for the lulz). Can't you usurp a DM if he's acting like this?

Maybe it's just the fact that I hate playing with other people due to other people are just horrible in general, but looking online, tabletop games are still boring with spreadsheets and the fact that it takes 2 hours till you yourself can do something. So I'm asking, why do people consider these games fun?

If you want to expand your definition of tabletop games a bit, boardgames and card games are a great way to go. They have all the good stuff like player interaction while streamlining the boring number crunching side of things and the dependency on one person in charge (the DM) to keep things running smoothly.

This video gives a good idea of the possibilities out there:

This is all provided that your problems lie with the game itself and not the act of multiplayer. Also I saw that you were worried about getting ganged up on - a lot of games have "slingshot" mechanics so to speak like Mario Kart's blue shell that ensure that everyone stays in the game.