Anyone have effective closet gamer detection methods?

[DM_Matt]

I got "detected" recently by a guy who was discussing LOTR and slipped in the word "Halfling" a few times instead of "Hobbit." Seems to be a pretty effective one, considering that talking about LOTR is now standard (enough) pop-culture....

 

[Thorntangle]

Good question. I don't think I've ever met a gamer outside of a prearranged meeting or game store.

 

[Kamard]

I got "detected" recently by a guy who was discussing LOTR and slipped in the word "Halfling" a few times instead of "Hobbit." Seems to be a pretty effective one, considering that talking about LOTR is now standard (enough) pop-culture....

Eh, I'm unimpressed. The movie uses the word halfling at one point, when Saruman and Gandalf are walking the grounds of Isengard.

 

[Jeph]

I look for the nerdiest guys at the school, then ask them if they've ever played DnD. Seems to work fair enough. However, none of the girls that play DnD that I know are nerdy, so that doesn't really work all round.

 

[Terraism]

I've always found that lurking in dark corners, fingering a bag, and then drawing people close and saying "hey kid - want to buy some dice?" works pretty well. If you don't get beaten.

Honestly - I tend to bring it up in general conversation with some degree of regularity (if interests or work come up - I'm not one to just randomly tell stories about my characters! .) That actually seems to work well - even closet gamers, if they don't mention it then, often seem to find their way to me later to talk about it.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

Umm...

Check their closet: If they have D&D hard cover books in there, then they are a gamer.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Grim]

I can smell them out from miles away. Just kidding.

Actually, the only way I found some of teh gamers at my school was because one of them was statting up an NPC in history class and I recognized that trusty brown/goldtrim cover. And then he introduced me to the other two DND groups at school.

 

[caudor]

Just say the name of the game backwards (on purpose). "...yeah, that reminds me of Dragons and Dungeons". Any gamer can't help but correct you then. Or, you'll see that look of wild shock...one eye will be wider than the other.

When I was younger, my parents would always get it backwards and that would drive me nuts.

Mom: "Where's Chris"

Dad: "Ah, he's in there playing that..that..Dragons & Dungeons"

My Dad is 65 now days, and still calls it Dragons & Dungeons

[Sigh]

 

[maddman75]

Video games. A lot more people play video games than RPGs, and its pretty easy to get into a discussion on favorite games. Mention NWN or Baldur's Gate and see if they perk up. Heck, if they like the games even if they aren't a role player they'd probably be a easy convert.

 

[RSKennan]

I can tell a gamer by mannerisms, and once made a friend simply by asking him rather cryptically. "Do you play?". Another time was when a couple of guys moved into my building, and I thought, "They must play", but held off on asking. A couple of months later I was leaving for work, and overheard one of these guys talking about his latest campaign on a cell phone. I butted in, and we got a short-lived campaign started, before they moved back out of state. Because I didn't trust my instincts, I missed out on a few months of what was looking to be one of the better campaigns I've ever run.

Trust your Game-dar.