You aren't tonight's Special Guest Star

When you play in a game at your FLGS, there will likely be drop in players week to week. Whether they're new, and looking to try things out, or their usual DM is off, they likely won't be regulars at the table. Most of the time this isn't much of a problem. When I DM I'm happy to have a rotating seat or two for just such players. I know what it's like to be without a game, and given the chance I'd rather someone have the chance to roll some dice than not.

However...

Sometimes there's that random player that acts like they're the night's Special Guest Star at the table, not realizing that they're actually just someone keeping a seat warm. Their name won't appear in the opening titles of the episode, but rather in the closing credits, after the main cast, under the heading "Also Appearing"

At last night's game was just such a player. A player who ignored the fact that we were on session 40 of our campaign. A player who ignored the dynamics of the party, and tried to keep the focus of the game on them, even when their character wasn't actually there. A player who ignored the rest of the other players when they told him that they heard him, and no, we aren't going with your plan.

A player who made the night far less enjoyable than it should have been.

Chances are, if you're reading this, you aren't that player. But you might have to deal with him at your table, either as the DM or as your fellow player. While you can always hope that they got the message, and will just opt to play at other tables, maybe there's a better way to address it?

There's a lot of social pressure to be accommodating, especially when playing in public. Keeping the table rules and expectations front and center can help. Presenting a unified "this is what we expect, this is how we run our game" is necessary. But it's hard to do in the moment.

However, after the moment is a great time to circle around with your fellow gamers and discuss what it is you want and expect from your game, and from players who drop in, then next week, have a plan to handle the situation going forward.