Why is it so hard to schedule a D&D session?

Seriously, what's up with everyone's schedules? Why does it seem like it’s so difficult to schedule a D&D game? It feels like herding cats! There are memes about it, vidoes about it, blogs about it, so it’s not just you. Turns out, there's a mathematical reason why your D&D sessions keep getting postponed. Hank Green and the Sci Show team look at why it’s so hard to schedule your D&D session, and maybe give you some tips to finally get your game on. (Spoiler: it's not entirely your friends' fault.)

The problem is scheduling and science shows that the more people you have in your group, the harder it gets. We have all experienced it, in fact in my current game, we play whether or not everyone can make it. It’s only happened once where we have had the full group.

The likelihood of successfully scheduling your game session depends on the number of people in the group, the number of available time slots, and how many time slots each person rejects. There is a mathematical formula that can help you figure out what your chances of success are. It’s below but we’ll leave that to the science people.

Basically, how the equation works is, it takes into consideration the number of players, available time slots, and individual preferences. Finding a suitable time decreases as the number of people in the group increases and as individuals become more selective about their availability. Makes sense right? If you aren’t a mathematician, watch the video, Hank does an amazing job explaining it (as he normally does), with an example, he makes that formula above make sense.

In the end, knowing what the key factors are for successfully scheduling something, means you can do things to increase your success.

• Play even if everyone can’t make it (like we do), we just ignore the play incongruity
• Run one-shot adventures all the time instead of a longer campaign so that it works for whoever can make it.
• Agree to a smaller number of players or multiple parallel games 

So, next time your carefully laid plans for a D&D night go sideways, take a deep breath. You're not alone in this scheduling struggle – it's practically a universal DM experience! Just remember, knowing the factors that impact your chances of success means you have the power to adapt. Whether you're embracing a 'show must go on' attitude, juggling multiple games, or simply accepting the occasional absence, the goal is to keep the adventure alive. After all, a slightly imperfect session is still a session, and that's what truly matters. Now, go forth and roll those dice, even if the stars (or schedules) aren't perfectly aligned!

Happy Adventuring

Jesse