Ryan

Driden worked hard to build a compelling and well thought out setting. His table management skills and respect for his players were excellent. I feel that, as a player, as long as you are communicative he will work to make sure you're happy at the table. This isn't to say that he will give in on everything, but that he will attempt understand what you are and are not enjoying and adjust to make things better for folks or have the hard conversation that interests diverge too far from each other to make a given arrangement of players work. From what I have seen, he has worked very hard to try to find tables to make sure that folks can have fun together and I think that that's a valuable skill.

I had fun. I think others had fun. That's the important thing. It was a one shot, so I can't speak to great epics, but it was a fun time. She rolled with our ideas and made a good session, and honestly, if you can do that each time you're doing pretty darn good. Beyond just the entirely subjective "I had fun" part. I will say that she was well prepared and had useful tools for making sure that the game would go well and people were organized. To me that seems more useful to mention when leaving a review as fun is very personal. Things like setting up the environment to have fun are likely to be more widely applicable in suggesting that a given GM is good or bad for you.

Dan ran a solid and fun game. There were people new to the system and he did well helping them along. He was communicative and helpful before the session. As with anyone, I can't tell you who's going to be your kind of people, but he seemed like a solid guy to me. While our game was a one shot at the time, think he would be a good GM long term. After the session we chatted a bit and it felt like he was actively listening and taking in what we said which bodes well for folks who might play with him more long term.

We were playing a learning one shot, so keep in mind that that is the framework for the ideas presented here. To cover the basic, more universal, things first. I found that Mikey did a great job running the oneshot and was well prepared. Things went smoothly and I feel like even if I had been brand new to everything, the system, the VTT, etc. he had the skill to make sure that I could navigate and do what I needed to do which is great for beginners in whatever element you're a beginner in. Now on to the more individual things. I enjoyed talking to him and having him as a GM. The degree to which you get along with someone depends on both people and fine people can fail to click, so I can't tell you that you will absolutely love him as a universal truth, but I can tell you I enjoyed him. I can tell you that he was personable and patient. It was a oneshot, so I don't actually have tons of games under my belt with him, but I left the session feeling like I would enjoy playing with him long term and like we both loved much of the same things about the game we were playing. In this case, it was Savage Worlds with its fast and fun system and having fun with tropes. I may update if I end up playing a longer term game, if only to reaffirm that experience demonstrates that my thought was accurate, but even if I don't, I feel confident in saying that I had fun playing with him.

In our games together Dan has done a good job adapting to our playstyles and ideas. I applaud him for that. Potentially of value is the fact that he is easy to talk to, or at least is for me. He wants to make the game good for us and that is valuable in a GM, but even among GMs for which that is true, if you can't find a way to bring your issues to them, they can't really do much on that front. Actively requesting feedback doesn't work if the players don't feel comfortable giving it. Conversely, if you take the time to talk to players, occasionally in the course of those conversations, you can pick up signs of some underlying issue. Being easy to talk to helps make players feel comfortable giving that feedback when requested and sometimes even when not. Ideally, you don't have an issue, but people are people and very rarely is a game perfect right off the bat. Tables find their fun and their dynamics and that requires communication. A GM you can talk to helps a lot with that.