Select Games

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It is important to choose games which have a clear beginning and end so that your marathon has a purpose and a clear goal. Games where a character works through a quest and achieves an ending are the most effective. Watching someone play Grand Theft Auto might be fun at first, but when hour 21 rolls around, people start to wonder what the point is and when it will end. Game series' with many games are the most popular, but you can even choose just one game that takes 40 or 50 hours to complete as long as you make it entertaining. Even open ended games like the aforementioned GTA can be a good selection as long as you set your own goals to mark it's completion and give the viewers something to follow (i.e. achieving 100% completion).

Practice the games you intend to play and if you have the patience, play through them at least once before the marathon. Pay specific attention to the games that you're least familiar with. There's a fine line between watching someone make slow, but deliberate progress through a game, and watching someone completely stumped about what to do next and wandering around aimlessly. One can be interesting, the other can be incedibly boring and invite ridicule from the chat. You don't have to know the games inside and out or be any kind of expert, but some familiarity will ensure you don't end up stuck.