On the 21st, I took four boys to play Dungeons & Dragons at Spacecrime again and this time I took a camera.
Once again, they had a great time. I was impressed at what a difference it made in the noise and confusion parameters: twice as many boys, four times as much argument about what to do. Today I chatted with the guy about the games. He is currently trying to analyze what it takes to make a good game: How much forward motion do you need? How much control should reside with the players versus the DM?
The last time I played D & D as a player, the pace was relatively even, but then accelerated faster and faster. We were trying rescue someone and until we found the cell, everything moved relatively slowly, but then a series of events happened that resulted in us being driven through the rest of the adventure: a running battle ensued with the guard as we tried to escape, eventually coming up against the leader. My character fired off three spells that made the difference and allowed us to escape. It was a great experience -- probably the best D & D experience I ever had.