Receiving the game this week and hope to have most of the basic rules ironed out by then. I'm going to be playing the OL so, from your play experiences, do the adventurers typically plan their moves/actions secretly? I would think this would be good and bad. Good because that way the OL does not know how the adventurers will prepare but bad because it would seem less interaction between the OL and the adventurers. So how do you guys play??

In our group the hero players discuss openly. That helps the OL a bit, true. But not enough to justify his absence for the time the heroes plan their moves. That poor guy is all alone anyway, nobody is ever happy with him or sorry for him. Let him listen to the heroes' chat at least!

Cool! Is there anyone that plays that discusses strategies in secret?

The way I figure it, the OL would probably not go without casting some sort of view-and-listen cantrip in his own dungeons.

I mean modern day bad guys have cameras and microphones all over their lairs, right?

We do not play with secret strategies by the heroes, but I wouldn't necessarily object to it as a house rule. Normally the hero players will wait until I've finished my turn as OL before plotting their next turn (openly), so we've already passed the point where I can do anything other than play traps in response to their actions. In theory, knowing what they plan to do might incline me to "save" a trap for a particular moment, but in general I don't hold back with traps anyway. If I see a good opportunity, I take it. If a better opportunity was coming: oh well. I still got my kicks in one way or the other. I know which heroes my monsters can handle and which ones need to be softened up with traps, I don't need to know what their big picture is to plan my reactions.

I'm not saying there's no tactical advantage whasoever, I'm just saying I don't think it's a big deal. If you want to play by RAW, though, there is no rule that says the heroes may strategize in secret, and I generally assume information is open unless explicitly made hidden by the rules. The execption, of course, being hands of cards, which are traditionally hidden in games that use cards unless explicitly said otherwise.

We mostly play it all at the table, but we do allow the players to ask the OL to step out if they are discussing a particularly cruicial bit of strategy. They also plot via email, minus the OL. I kind of like it as OL, anyway. We rotate roles and are currently in our third campaign working this way.

All depends on the group - our particular set likes the "fog of war" type of rules. We used to play Axis and Allies with two boards in different rooms, one only showing the allied troops and one only showing the Axis troops. You could only see the enemy strengths if you moved into a region, or if you flew a plane over a region. Led to some interesting strats!

We do everything openly. As OL, I love to make helpful suggestions to the heroes. That almost always guarantees they won't do it. Even if I am being truly helpful, which is most of the time. Mainly it's a social event for us, so asking someone to leave the room kinda blows the overall spirit of the gathering.

Our group doesn't plan in secret for anything either. It just doesn't seem a big issue for us. Perhaps its because we're not an overly competitive group, I dunno. I'm quite a lenient OL too, letting them go back and do things they'd forgotten (such as move familiars, buy a potion etc) which may help.

I must admit that I have used what they discussed against them but its things like "I'll rush the sorcerors, you just get to the chest" and I've made sure the runner falls in pits and the like. But then again I'd probably have done this anyway when I saw them running for the chest so is it a big deal?

As long as you and your group have fun thats all that matters.

We are playing a campaign. At the table we discuss things openly, but between sessions the heroes exchange emails in which the overland map strategy is planned and the dungeon combat tactics are refined.

We heroes therefore do conspire secretly, but only between sessions - or sometimes when the OL goes to the bathroom!