How do You Learn About New Games?

So I was thinking to myself that one thing I will miss from the print version of Dragon/Dungeon are (strange as it may seem) the ads...

Usually ads bother me, but RPG ads seem like they tend to be just artwork with a tagline. I like art, so... They were kind of cool.

Then I thought to myself- Hrmm did they ever actually work as intended? Did any of them ever actually inspire me to buy a new game they advertised?

I don't think they did... All the games I own I can remember buying because someone I was gaming with, or friends with at some point told me a story about the game that made it just sound great.

Like when a group member at a gamestore game told me about his experience as a player in this "new" vampire game. The game sounded awesome beyond words, and inspired another friend of mine in the game to go out and get the rules... We played the game that same night.

Or when a friend of mine told me a story about what was happening to his group in their weekly GURPS campaign. I just had to go out and get a copy of GURPS.

So how do YOU learn about new games?

Friends? Ads? Just see them and buy them?

I hear about things on line these days. There are so many games that don't even get to the local stores that going there is not a good way to see everything. I've found that RPG Net is usually a pretty good place to hear about games that people are talking about. They have a good review section there and it is a an active community for reviews.

Also, I may be a little biased here, but the ENnies also helps me out. Each year they nominate what they feel are the 5 best RPGs of that gaming year. I don't agree with everything on each year's list but they have many more hits then misses.

Yeah I guess the internet has been the source lately of most of the games I've learned about. I don't get as excited about the new stuff I hear of though.

It's not that I'm not into gaming as much anymore, because I still love gaming... But I think I just don't have as much human interaction with new players as I did in the past. (Due to lack of time for thinmgs like games other then my normal game, or conventions and stuff.)

I think there's nothing like an excited fan telling stories of cool that will sell a new system for me...

For me I need to know about the game. People can have fun and tell exciting stories about bad games. But for that type of thing I like to go to conventions. It can be very telling on what is the new hot thing by walking around a big convention and looking at what people are playing as pick up games and just reading.

Crothian said:

For me I need to know about the game. People can have fun and tell exciting stories about bad games. But for that type of thing I like to go to conventions. It can be very telling on what is the new hot thing by walking around a big convention and looking at what people are playing as pick up games and just reading.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I agree, I do like to see an actual review of a game now before I buy it more then I did as a kid...

I guess I don't have as much money to spend on games as a I used to, now that I have things like food, and gas, and stuff to worry about.

Wizards did a great series of ads in Dragon and Dungeon a couple years ago for the Icons line. I've scanned & attached the two-page ad for the garg black dragon. The colossal red ad in particular really made me want to get one - it had a plucked, raw chicken in place of the big red. (I did end up getting one eventually.)
-blarg