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I am a professional GM that uses Startplaying.Games and would be absolutely lost at sea without their support. First, As a "forever GM" I started as a player when I wanted to find a safe place for me and my kiddo to play online. Found a GM that delivered and everything was and is super easy and straightforward player side. Shortly after I started GM-ing there and have been full time going into year 4 in December (time of review May 2024). Ive seen some reviews here that say they take a huge chunk and thats just not true. For 10% of what I charge a player I get advertising, payment processing, security, and support from an amazing and active team. That is peanuts for a small biz owner like me to pay for a suite of services that I just dont need to think about. I think there are some improvements in player search that can be made and a few tweaks here and there but the team is always innovating and rolling out new tech and methods of accountability. SPG is the real deal. StartPlaying.Games changed my life and there isnt another place I would rather use to host or play games.
I had positive experiences with Start-Playing overall, despite the hefty charges they put on GMs and players, until I had a 'hostile' review; a player did not communicate any issues within the games for me to resolve, or ask for a refund - they just left a negative review. I wanted to refund the player's two sessions in the campaign as long as the misleading review (as I can't do anything to change my GM skills/style if I don't get feedback in the session) was taken off - and Start-Playing, despite given extensive evidence on my part why this review was not fair, refused to take off the review. This is why I signed to their website and agree to the heavy costs; for issues such as this, I expect the website to support both GMs as well as players to leave amicably from campaigns if there is a disagreement. I can't bring back the time the player invested for the player, but I will pay them back for their sessions (and Start-Playing for any costs involved for them) if the review is taken off. I feel like this is the best thing I can do to resolve the situation for everyone, and I am unable to do so. I truly believe this is not fair. Also, on their website, there is no way to comment on reviews from players to give a response so potential customers can assess the reviews - as such, I have to give the website a 1 star review until the hostile review is removed, or Start-Playing allow GMs to comment to negative reviews on their own page like Trustpilot.
This is by far the best platform for a pro GM to run games on. When I looked around at the beginning, all the other sites tried to cap your earnings or take 25% plus of your fee. SPG not only makes it simple to get players, but they also put tons of resources out to push potential players to the site. They are ready to help you run any game you like and are continually improving with better tools to match the right GM to the right player. I had no pro-GM experience, but through the tools provided by Startplaying, I was able to cultivate a full-time career running games. If they could help me, believe me, they can help you. My players love it because, after playing a few games, they were matched to the right GM. Even players with whom I do not fit contact me and tell me that SPG matched them to a great game. For players and GMs, Startplaying.games is the place to be.
SPG was something I had no idea I needed. The site is easy to use and its a very easy way to get to play the RPG systems you enjoy. Love it and recommend it often
I played my first D&D game on this site! It was super user friendly. The search filter was good to soft through one shots and longer games. Also provided user reviews of Game Masters, so one could have options of who they were playing with. The payment system was pretty self explanatory and very fast to issue receipts and refund/ game canceling was pretty easy to use as well. I would highly recommend Start playing.Games for any new player or veteran.
Through Start Playing Game, I found one of the greatest game masters I’ve ever played with. His campaign is the longest campaign I've ever played in, over two years now. I have also found a community where I have made meny great friends. All of made possible by Start Playing Games.
This site was a big help in getting my start as a professional Dungeon Master. It connected me to a lovely community of players and taught me a lot about what my audience is looking for. They're also always looking to improve the service with well thought out initiatives aimed towards making the experience easier for DMs and players.
A complete ripoff for DM's, convenient for players. Startplayinggames takes a large cut from the dungeon master, acting as a financial intermediary, and also has a say in the content of your games as well as how you advertise them. Just another rent-seeking middleman company providing little utility to people.
