Game night scheduling is a counting problem more than a preference one: the number of players determines which games are possible, so the useful output is a live count of who can make each evening rather than a best date. Who can when? shows yes, maybe and no totals under every proposed evening, free and with no accounts, and it is easy to repeat for each session.
The count is the decision
Most groups do not need the best evening, they need an evening with enough people for the thing they want to play. Four and six are entirely different nights, and knowing which you have got before you set up is the difference between a good session and improvising.
Maybe matters more here than almost anywhere: three yeses and three maybes is very likely a full table, and a chat thread would never have told you that.
For a campaign rather than a one-off
- Post the next four sessions at once rather than asking every fortnight.
- Fix a weekday if you can. Recurring groups survive on habit more than on optimisation.
- Say the start time, because for a long game the start time is the whole question.
- Let players add dates when the schedule is loose.
- Set the next date at the end of the session, while everyone is in the room.
When you are one short
You will see it days ahead rather than an hour before, which is enough time to pull in a guest player, switch to something that plays at the number you have, or move it. The value is not the perfect date, it is not finding out at 19:30.
Common questions
- Can I schedule several sessions in one poll?
- Yes, up to 20 dates. A block of four to six sessions works well in one poll.
- Can people change their answer?
- Yes, from the same link, any time until the poll is closed.
- Does everyone need an email address?
- No. You can turn that requirement off and let people answer with a name.
Ready when you are
Friends, family and the weekend
The occasions where everyone is willing and nobody is free on the same evening.
Related
- Sports team scheduling Find out who can make which game before you book the pitch. One link, three taps each, no accounts, and the count is right there under every date.
- "When are you free?" The most expensive question you can ask a group. Here is what to ask instead, and a free tool that asks it for you.
- Study group scheduling Five people, five timetables and a room that has to be booked. Propose the slots, count who can make each, and settle it in an evening.
Read next
- How to get people to actually answer your date poll Most people who do not answer a scheduling poll are not refusing - they hit friction. Here is where the drop-off happens and what removes it.
Or see everything we have written in one list.