[1ed-3ed] How far are you willing to travel for a good game/group?

[newbDM]

First let me say thank you for the help guys/gals! A few months back I made a thread asking for helping finding a new group, and I was surprised that I got so many replies giving advice, help, and ideas. Much appreciated!


So, I've recently begun playing with two new groups. 3.x becoming rarer and rarer, it is becoming ever more difficult to find a campaign in my preferred edition, so finding a fun and enjoyable group is a blessing.

I need to drive about 1:20min back and forth for each, but while gas isn't so bad I find it is worth the travel. Getting home around 1am-2am isn't great, but again worth it.

So how far are you willing to go for a good group, or just for one that plays your preferred older edition?

[Ponce]

I wouldn't be keen on having to leave the city I live in. Given that most games occur after work/school for most people, having to travel great distances and coming home late only to have to get up in the morning again is a drag. Fortunately, there are multiple Universities and colleges where I live, and the city itself has a population of over half a million. Plenty of opportunity.

[BobVosh]

I typically travel about 1 minute to downstairs, as we usually play in my townhouse.

However, for a good game I would go about an hour, and have.

[Pink]

I don't think I could go farther than a half hour, maybe hour drive outside of the town I live in, simply cause I really don't like driving that much >.< I'm not the best driver. But if that was the choice I faced, for a good group and a good time, I'd do it. Less than good group, probably wouldn't leave town.

[Thurbane]

The farthest I've travelled was about 45 minute drive to a game. If the game was really good, I'd be willing to travel about 90 minutes, I suppose...

For my regular Monday night game, we have 2 weeks at my place, a 2 weeks at one of the other guy's houses. When I have to travel there, it's a bit under half an hour...

[Narmoth]

35 minutes each way

[Dixieboy]

2 hours each way but then it'd have to like... godly.

Realistically, 1 hour.

[Kantur]

Currently it takes me a fair whack of time to get to my weekly games, though a large part of that is that it's on a Sunday morning and I don't have a car so I'm using public transport.

So because I have to get the first train, I typically leave the flat at 8am, arrive at the train station at ten to nine, get off the train at ten to ten and thankfully get a lift for the last part of the journey arriving at five past. So about 2 hours. If the buses ran early enough on a Sunday admittedly it would be closer to an hour and a half overall, or an hour if I had a car and liscence.

[Kaiyanwang]

20-30 minutes or 0, if we play in my house.

A lot of people still play 3.x, anyway.

[Baalthazaq]

Living in Dubai means it is a struggle to find a good group.

Some members of the group I play with live in Abu Dhabi, which is ok for us because those members come to Dubai on the weekends anyway.

If I drive from my home (Int City) to Abu Dhabi, that's a 2 and a half hour drive, then two and a half back. We usually end up playing 5 hours.

I should prolly mention, that's about 160Km one way, so about 100 miles. (320Km, 200miles).

[Galileo]

10 minutes taking the bus. But then I got lost and spent a further 10 minutes wandering round small streets looking for the right house.

[bosssmiley]

Would that be uphill, or on level terrain? It's a right slog carrying all those books up a slope you know.

Seriously: ~40 minutes travel time each way is probably my limit.

[valadil]

I'm not willing to go very far to play D&D. But I have friends who only get together for game and live about an hour away. So I end up commuting an hour each way to hang out with them and hanging out happens to include D&D.

[LibraryOgre]

I have about a 45 mile drive from my Thursday night group (to is a bit shorter, since I'm coming from work; about 32 miles).

[Oracle_Hunter]

Hmm... I'm guess I'm unusual then.

I currently travel ~75 minutes each way for a game. To be fair, it is on mass transit so perhaps that's a lot less traumatic than driving?

[Thrud]

I used to travel about 100 miles to get to my group, but since I live in California that is considered right next door for us.



Anyway, it only took about an hour with 65 mile an hour speed limits because pretty much the entire trip was on a highway, another advantage to living in California. Of course, my group has split to 3 different states now, so I have no real game any more.

*Sigh*

[Kobold_Love]

I used to travel about 100 miles to get to my group, but since I live in California that is considered right next door for us.



Anyway, it only took about an hour with 65 mile an hour speed limits because pretty much the entire trip was on a highway, another advantage to living in California. Of course, my group has split to 3 different states now, so I have no real game any more.

*Sigh*

Wait. That math seems funny.

You needed to drive 100 miles.

You went at 65mph.

Yet it only took you one hour?

[Fjolnir]

with mass transit I will travel ~2 hours to game, but if I have to drive about 45 minutes is my limit

[Thrud]

Wait. That math seems funny.

You needed to drive 100 miles.

You went at 65mph.

Yet it only took you one hour?

Hmmpf, that's what happens when you have to type the same note out 3 times cos you keep losing it when the dang thread won't load correctly. The first 2 times it said an hour and a half. Third time I apparently forgot to add that. Feh. Stupid board loading issues.

[Another_Poet]

40 minutes by car would just about be my maximum.

[Pink]

Hmm... I'm guess I'm unusual then.

I currently travel ~75 minutes each way for a game. To be fair, it is on mass transit so perhaps that's a lot less traumatic than driving?

Yeah, if it was mass transit I could probably go max of 2 hours either way. Driving is essentially a time sink, best you can do is listen to something. Mass transit though, you can read, play on a portable game system, even watch a movie on a portable dvd player or something. Or possibly even do work and homework on the ride. Infinitely more useful than driving.

[Keld Denar]

When I used to play Living Greyhawk, I used to travel all over. I once drove 4 hours with 2 friends from Boston to Montreal, QB for a LG convention. Cost be about $350 for a weekend of gaming by the time we covered gas, lodging, and convention fees. I also flew from where I was living in Kansas City to Washington, DC for DDXP. That was about a $400 plane ticket + ~$200 for lodging and food.

Then there's the number of times I've driven at least and hour for a single game. Adding them all up, and I probably spend about $2000 on gas in about 6 years of playing LG

[ocato]

Some guys were playing in Indianapolis (about 45ish minutes away) and invited me to join them, but I passed. Not that 45 minutes is a harsh drive, but I get lost in this town finding people's houses, and that's a fair trek to meet strangers. Especially considering I'm not exactly a social butterfly. I'd feel a little out of my element, almost stranded. But my anxieties aren't the topic here.

Also, I was fortunate and found a nice group that plays right down the road. Maybe takes 10 minutes to get there if I hit all the red lights.

Now, how far would I travel to game? If I knew the game was good and knew the people? I can see driving to Indy. Maybe further (2+ hours), especially if I was crashing and coming back the next day or something.

EDIT: Sorry you're having trouble finding 3.5e games. I know the frustration! Then I caved and started playing 4e. They're both fun.

[Jarawara]

My friends Terry and Melony would routinely travel from eastern Washington over the Cascades into western Washinton, probably a six hour drive minimum and sometimes through snowy conditions, just for the game.

That was before I drove, so they'd stop by at my house and pick me up. After six hours, what's a 30 minute detour?

It wasn't even a very good game. But it was a consistant one.

[ken-do-nim]

I play in one monthly game (30 minute drive), host one monthly game, and play in one bimonthly game (45 minute drive). In the past I've been in a game which required an hour commute.

Actually, now that I'm in the kids phase of my life, the bigger question is how much am I willing to pay for babysitting per month to get my gaming in. Right now it is $120.

Shortest commute definitely is to my play-by-post and play-by-email games.

[gibbo88]

At the moment I travel no where, since two of the players (inc me) live at my house, 2 of them travel about an hour each, and 1 travels like 10 mins. I think I'd probably go an hour each way, if it was a good game.

[Mobey_Wee]

Living in SW Louisiana, there aren't too many options. I would be willing to drive more than an hour, if it was a good group, and I considered the people friends also. The only group I really know, only plays every now then. We'll get together to play for a couple months, then won't play again for a year . And for that group, I would typically drive for about 50 minutes, and those were friends.

So, anyone around Lake Charles, LA, or Beaumont, TX, want to play ?

[oxybe]

30-40 minutes tops, since that's the time it takes to go from downtown to uptown using our transit system.

other then that it would require paying horrible taxi fares and unless it's the most awesome game evar (so awesome it busts the english language) i really don't feel like paying additional transportation fees if i can help it.

luckily all games i play are at the FLGS so i've only need to walk 5 minutes at a leisurely pace (though i heard rumors about moving it to the common area in our building).

[AslanCross]

Travel is horrible in Metro Manila. It's either too expensive, incredibly dangerous, or bogged down by so much traffic that it won't be worth it.

I'm not even willing to travel further than a 5 mile radius of my house, though I have a couple of times--because transportation was provided for. :P

Thankfully, I can get good players from the school I teach in. If only they were a bit more committed. :P

[Bluebeard]

An hour-twenty on a fixed-gear bicycle.
Along a street with bad shoulders and heavy traffic.
With 40 lbs of climbing gear on my back.
(Okay, maybe I'm not just going for the game.)

...Starting now.