If this was the brain to galaxy brain meme, the bottom one might be “a group of 3+ players who want to play more than just DND”
There are so many things I actively dislike with DND, but it’s way harder to find people to play other games. Luckily my Friday group has agreed to try other stuff. We’re currently doing this “year zero engine” thing and it’s great. Whole sessions go by and I have nothing bad to say about the rules. (I think the willpower rules might be kind of janky, but nothing is perfect)
Next up is a forged in the dark game someone wants to run, and then maybe a short go of Vampire.
Even Traveler beats DnD.
“at least once a week”?
That’s crazy lol. I’ve had a couple once a week games over the years, but most of the time we’ve done every other week. Everyone is just too busy. Granted we have a larger group going right now, 6 players in both my big games that play every other week.
This. My friends and I have sustained an every other Saturday commitment since 2008.
If there is one thing I can proudly brag about is that I’m part of the Elite that have that running for several years. With few hiccups of missing sessions, and sometimes extra games on the same week as the “main” game.
For those stuck looking for groups, just start it yourself, you’ll be surprised how many people around would like to try and will probably like, but don’t want to start the thing themselves.
Having a group is only half the battle, the other half is getting that group together when one person works odd hours, another has chronic illness with lots of medical appointments, and a third has a bitch of a commute during the week so often can’t get home in time.
For years we had games every Friday and Sunday, all it takes is a couple of people changing jobs to completely disrupt that setup.
My experience is that you’re much more likely to succeed if you find people that want to play and make friends with them than you are making your friends play.
If you pitch to your existing friends, they’re more likely to say yes because they’re your friends. They want to hang out. But they might just be saying that to be nice or because they’re afraid of confrontation. They might not realize you’re looking for a commitment on par with joining a sports team. If they don’t already play RPGs, they might not know they’re going to have to do some reading and writing. A lot of people just don’t read and creatively write. That can be difficult and embarrassing.
On the other hand, if you post online or in a local game store, you can find people who are ready to go. People who can already do your schedule and also know the game you want to play. There’s a small risk of getting a weirdo, but a quick screening catches a lot of that.
Sex too.
Edit: so I guess two things
Good, that’s what women want too
The secret is to do everything as improvisation. If there is no preparation, then there’s no lost time!
…
Who am I kidding? I’ve not played in months and haven’t GMed in years …
Once a week is a hard sell, really. I couldn’t even pull that off in high school.
It’s only a hard sell if you want it to be a hard sell. The fact my table plays once a week was a big plus for me.
What’s your session time? I used to play 12hr sessions and they were just too long for me
For most games, three hours is about the minimum to get anything done. It takes some time to get settled and ramp up into the game.
More than five hours is typically too long. Most people lose focus or get bored. Or just have other stuff in their life blocking that many consecutive hours.
In high school, Mom was always pre-empting game nights with visits to Aunt So-and-so or whatever. “You can play your game any time.”
These days I play 2 or 3 times a week. But I can stop any time I want.
