Take A Break: Navigating Stress and Fatigue in Role-Playing Games
My life has been hectic lately. Work has been busy. I have had some medical issues to take care of with my family, and I seem to always have something going that takes up my time. It has made it hard to find the free time to recharge, as well as being able to do my session prep. I found working on my session prep difficult. It was not an activity I looked forward to as much. So what did I do?
I put my game on hold, a tough choice, but one I knew was necessary. The stress and strain of life was taking its toll on me. So I say that if you are feeling the same signs I did, take a break.
Signs of Strain
As I have mentioned before Burnout can sneak up on any GM. Everyone reacts to stress in different ways. For me, the symptoms of my ADHD become a more noticeable obstacle in getting ready for game night. I struggle to put aside time to prep, and when I do, my mind will wander. As a side effect of this, my frustration will increase as I struggle to be productive.
While my ADHD contributes to specific symptoms, some signs of burnout are much more universal. All of my symptoms that I experience lead me to getting less enjoyment out of my game. I change from excitedly counting down the days until each session to seeing it as a chore, even dreading the idea of being behind the screen for my weekly game. On top of work and the other responsibilities of my life right now, it just feels like one more task. Once you hit that feeling, where the game changes from a fun activity to a chore, that is when you need to stop and reassess whether you need to take a break. So when these signs piled up, I knew it was time to take action. Here’s what I did.
Short Rest
I knew something had to change, and action was necessary. Since I have had this happen before, I knew that I would have to do something. For me, this involved putting a short hiatus on the game. I told my players that I was busy, and it was making it hard to prepare for the game, and that I needed some time. I made a tentative date to return to playing and told my players that we would check in then.
Making this call is easier for me since I know what burnout leads to, but it can still be a struggle. As the GM, sometimes I feel an obligation to keep my game continuing. Whether it’s for the sake of the story or the sake of my player’s enjoyment, I feel guilty about taking some time off. I also worry that once I take that time off, that is the end of the game.
I have been part of games in the past where a quick break turns into the cancellation of a campaign. Especially with games that have been going for years (like my current Curse of Strahd Campaign), there is a genuine fear in losing all of that hard work and build up.
Clear communication with everyone at your table can make this a much easier task. Speaking plainly to your group and letting them know you need a break will make you feel less like you are letting your players down. This also creates a place where you can discuss specifics of your pause and what it will entail.
While you cannot always plan out your time off (since life does not always go according to plan) you can make rough plans on when to check back. When that is will depend on your group, but this gives some structure that I have found to reduce the worry of the game never returning.
Downtime Activities
One of the larger worries that comes from pausing a game is losing the regular group activity that people will look forward to during their weeks. This can also be a contributing factor to the guilt that makes it hard to take a break. You may not want to take the fun away from your players, or you may look forward to those times to check in and have fun. But just because you are not running a game does not mean you need to stop meeting.
Alternate Gaming Options
Sometimes a pause in the game can be a great place for the group to do other activities together. That break in gameplay can allow for some time spent playing other games together. You could easily start up a cooperative video game, or even pick up a board game (though this can depend on if you meet virtually or in person).
The Other Side of the Screen
This can also be a place for someone else to step in and get some time behind the screen while you take up the role of player. Sometimes the stress of running a campaign comes from the prep itself. If you have another player looking to take the role of Game Master for a time, this can be a great opportunity. As I have talked about before, there are a lot of benefits of spending time on on the other side of the screen, with taking a break just being one of them. If you choose this, however, you will want to know when this interim game will end. While it’s nice to have a short story fill the interlude, if you are not careful, this can end up competing or taking the place of your game.
With immediate concerns addressed, it’s crucial to think about long-term strategies to prevent burnout in the future.
Long Term Solutions
Once you’ve resolved your current burnout, it makes sense to plan for if this occurs again. Even if you are not dealing with burnout right now, it pays off to have a plan in place, just in case. I am constantly looking for ways to reduce the chances of burnout, and have a few tips.
First off, the biggest factor in burnout is the length of TTRPG games. Longer running games require more work over a longer time period than a game that runs for only a few sessions. The sunk-cost fallacy will make the idea of pausing or even ending your game seem harder to do as you put more time and effort into your story. My solution is to run shorter games!
Shorter games allow for more story variety. Game Masters can try more stories and systems, while players can bring a variety of characters to the table. Shorter games might not be for everyone, but after running my current game for years, I will try them.
If you stick with longer campaigns, or are amid a long game, you can plan regular breaks. This can help if your table finds it hard to meet at certain points in the year. My current table has a lot of parents with younger children, and we have found the holidays, specifically late November to early January, to be a difficult time to meet consistently. Because of this, I intend to take regular breaks around those times. It avoids adding the stress around planning and running games on top of the chaos that the holidays bring.
Having these breaks in mind also means that you can plan other activities, like a guest GM or board game, to ensure that you still get to have the fun of socializing with your group despite putting your game on pause.
Conclusion
While I am still amid a break from my campaign, I am looking forward to getting back into it. The idea of preparing and running my game feels daunting right now, but I know that when I have the time and energy, it will be fun. This is because I was proactive and took a break. I could identify the signs of impending burnout, and that games were becoming a bit more of a struggle to prepare for. I communicated with my table and let them know that while we were not ending the game; I needed some time off. I have kept in touch with them to ensure that, while we are not playing now, we will be returning to the game itself. This helps me create an environment where I can rest, recuperate, and jump back in, and I advise you to do the same. The change in your energy levels might shock you when you remember to take a break.
I have my own methods for identifying burnout and how I take time to recharge my GMing batteries that work for me, but I am always looking to hear how others handle it. Have you ever faced burnout as a Game Master? What strategies have helped you recover, and how did your players react? Share your experiences in the comments below or on my social media channels.