D&D and the rising pandemic

[Retreater]

One of the bigger local game shops has been allowing folks to come in and play for a while. The mostly MtG one I used to frequent has had a few evenings with a handful of tables open, but hasn't really pushed it yet. Thank goodness for Spelltable and Discord for paper MtG and a couple different on-line options for D&D.

At this point, I'm unwilling to get together for any face to face games with strangers. I am testing the waters (against my better judgment) for a face to face with my closest friends a month from now, because it will likely be a few years before we get the opportunity again (due to babies, moving to different cities, etc.) Regular game nights are something that I just am not likely to do anymore. Going to a local store to play with strangers, not going to be doing that again, probably ever.

We aren't out of this, not by a long shot. I am luckily able to play online and have more gaming opportunities than I know what to do with.

I have stopped following the local brewery and pubs on social media, because they are all acting like "this isn't a big deal" and it angers me. I will not go to restaurants, community concerts, etc. I do not trust the organizers, I do not trust the public.

 

[Cadence]

At this point, I'm unwilling to get together for any face to face games with strangers. I am testing the waters (against my better judgment) for a face to face with my closest friends a month from now, because it will likely be a few years before we get the opportunity again (due to babies, moving to different cities, etc.) Regular game nights are something that I just am not likely to do anymore. Going to a local store to play with strangers, not going to be doing that again, probably ever.

We aren't out of this, not by a long shot. I am luckily able to play online and have more gaming opportunities than I know what to do with.

I have stopped following the local brewery and pubs on social media, because they are all acting like "this isn't a big deal" and it angers me. I will not go to restaurants, community concerts, etc. I do not trust the organizers, I do not trust the public.

We haven't done any eating out or face-to-face visits* with others in person since March -- and mostly getting curbside instead of going in to shop and only getting carry-out food we could reheat first. (*Annual vacation to see some family in August, but they were the at risk ones, and everyone we saw had been playing safer than most and had already been seeing each other, and we didn't have any of the more distant relatives that would be over most years come by. I still angsted about it.)

While I'm certainly avoiding gaming with others now, I hope it isn't too far into the spring when it gets back down under 1% with tracing finally and/or we get a vaccine with reasonable uptake -- I'm anxious to get back to face to face gaming, eating out, happy hour, and my little one being in school and playing with friends! I know my son is tired of us doing MtG pre-releases at home instead of with the shop regulars and the masses that just come in for those.

 

[Retreater]

I hope it isn't too far into the spring when it gets back down under 1% with tracing finally and/or we get a vaccine with reasonable uptake

I don't think the divisions of the country will allow that to happen, even if a vaccine were discovered, widely available, and adopted by enough people (which are all huge "ifs"). I'm of the negative opinion that this is the end of America, certainly as a world power. It will likely linger on as a plague state for a few years before complete collapse.

 

[Cadence]

I don't think the divisions of the country will allow that to happen, even if a vaccine were discovered, widely available, and adopted by enough people (which are all huge "ifs"). I'm of the negative opinion that this is the end of America, certainly as a world power. It will likely linger on as a plague state for a few years before complete collapse.

I wouldn't bet against you. I guess the question will be what happens when some states and/or school districts start requiring it. I'm choosing to remain cautiously optimistic. We'll see what happens in November. I just wish there was an economic and geographical buffer between the US and Canada as a non-seriously-considering-it-yet fall-back.

 

[Retreater]

I just wish there was an economic and geographical buffer between the US and Canada as a non-seriously-considering-it-yet fall-back.

Honestly, I think you'll get it when the U.S. splits again. I don't see another way around it given the divisions in our country.
But this is traipsing too close to political discussion on my end, so I'll end that line of thought there.
Just suffice it to say, I don't think it will become "safe" to game with strangers, attend conventions, or do any hobby gaming in years (in America). And so long as America keeps botching its response, I don't know if the rest of the world will be safe in doing it either.

 

[Zardnaar]

Gamestores open here but can't game in person atm.

Missed 3 sessions so far.

 

[ccs]

Just suffice it to say, I don't think it will become "safe" to game with strangers, attend conventions, or do any hobby gaming in years (in America).

With strangers? Probably not for a good long while. Conventions? Definitely not for the foreseeable future. A buddy & I nominally have GenCon penned into our 2021 schedule, but we'll just have to see what things look like a year from now on that.

ANY hobby gaming (in America) though? That's stretching it a bit.
In my group? Pretty much the riskiest thing any of us are doing is hitting the grocery store every few weeks. Still alive, not sick....

+ There's no-one protesting/marauding in our area, we're not in a warzone, there's no nuclear fallout ash, no zombies, and - if you want to believe the Govt. #s - the areas Covid #s are fairly low.
So we figure we're pretty safe getting together for pizza, beer, & a game or two each week.
Now were any of those conditions to change....

 

[Retreater]

+ There's no-one protesting/marauding in our area, we're not in a warzone, there's no nuclear fallout ash, no zombies, and - if you want to believe the Govt. #s - the areas Covid #s are fairly low.
So we figure we're pretty safe getting together for pizza, beer, & a game or two each week.
Now were any of those conditions to change....

Part of it is our decision to go all virtual is my wife's. She considers herself a member of the at-risk population. Both of us also work in fairly high contact fields with exposure to a lot of kids and families. The other considerations are a player who already has high anxiety about in-person interactions (agorophobia?), people who have to commute an hour to come to the game (convenience factors?), the fact that automation really helps in the systems we play, and that we're able to game much more frequently because of our work schedules (playing on weeknights for a few hours instead of committing to big biweekly games on the weekend).
What I miss the most is the casual hangouts, the character-based interactions (it pretty much devolves into all combat on a grid when we do the VTT), and the tactile feel of miniatures and terrain I've amassed and painted.
But the safety of all concerned, the convenience of more regular games, etc., all outweigh the other aspects for now.

 

[Umbran]

ANY hobby gaming (in America) though? That's stretching it a bit.

I have a small (4-person) D&D group I play with. We span only two houses, and are all doing proper social distancing and the like. In my area case numbers came down around the 4th of July, and since then we've been meeting in a back yard, with proper distance between us. As the daytime temperatures drop below 70F or so, we'll have to go back to Roll20, I expect.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have a small (4-person) D&D group I play with. We span only two houses, and are all doing proper social distancing and the like. In my area case numbers came down around the 4th of July, and since then we've been meeting in a back yard, with proper distance between us. As the daytime temperatures drop below 70F or so, we'll have to go back to Roll20, I expect.

Or play around a campfire...