Assigned Seating at Game Night

Lord Vader knows to keep his trusted partner at his side, and the guy he needs to force choke within easy reach.

Assigned seating may seem stuffy, but having a place at the game table can be quite inclusive and provide a better experience for everyone. The name tags I showed before should be used to remember a player's seat during bathroom breaks, but having them set up ahead of time also shows that everyone has a place prepared and to put people close to where they need to be for convenience and ease of play.

The terrific Dungeon Masters Guide 2 from Wizards of the Coast offers specific advice for seating arrangement of specific player types. I won't go into all the details here, but that book is a wealth of useful information and techniques for use with any game. The gist of it is:

• Put players who instigate encounters and ask a lot of questions next to you, so they can have clear and easy communication with you.
• Place actors and storytellers across from you, so they can make better eye contact, and they can spread the energy and enthusiasm across the table.
• Set quiet players near the more involved participants and it will help to keep them engaged.
• Have the tactical, war-game types, and the explorers sit with easiest access to the map, tokens, miniatures and visual representation of the action.

Your best seating situation will depend on your group, but I have a few of my own bullet points to add:

• If you have players who tend to split off and create distractions, don't seat them together. You don't want your game night to break down into cliques, everybody should be able to enjoy the company of the whole group.
• Place new players near yourself or someone they are comfortable with. Make sure they are near someone who can teach the game.
• Don't force the players to sit somewhere if they don't feel comfortable. It's still just a game and you aren't the Grand Emperor. As long as people are happy, that's what matters.

Happy ventures!