Female Gamers? Are there more of us now?

[Djeta Thernadier]

Hi there...

First, this might belong in Off Topic but I honestly was not sure since it is gaming related...

I've been gone from EnWorld for a while, and have finally come back and it seems like there are a lot more women posting (Yay!).

Are there? And have you always been here and just lurking or just found ENworld or just got into gaming or been gaming forever or what?

What are your characters like? What draws you to gaming? How many games are you in? Can I possibly ask anymore questions?

And guys - are you finding more women joining your campaigns now? Do you find it changes the feel of your game in any way?

As a female gamer, I was pretty happy to see what appear to me a lot more posts from women upon my return to the boards. I hope it means we are starting to get more into gaming in general.

Again, sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I really am curious about this!

(Some of you might remember that I have an interest in the sociology of gamers as well as in playing the game itself, from my old posts).

~Sheri

 

[Moleculo]

There are 2 girls in the group, and I was surprised at their presence. Its the first time I have gamed with girls before though.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

There are 2 girls in the group, and I was surprised at their presence. Its the first time I have gamed with girls before though.

Do you find that it changes the game at all, having both genders at the table?
How so, if so?

~Sheri

 

[ConnorSB]

My group has more girls than guys (3-2), including me, the male DM. I think its because they saw LotR one to many times...

And as for changing the game, yes it does. I hear this current mostly female group call NPCs "wench" much more often than in my last group (which was all guys). And the level of other swearing has not dropped much at all either.

 

[d4]

And guys - are you finding more women joining your campaigns now? Do you find it changes the feel of your game in any way?

strangely enough, yes. my group just added two new players within the past couple of weeks and they're both female.

does it change the game? nah, not really. i've found that most female gamers are just like male gamers. the idea that female gamers like more role-playing and immersive story-telling over hacking up orcs and taking their loot is just a myth.

i'm actually a bit relieved we've finally got some female players now. hard to believe, but this group (which i've been with for about a year or so) was pretty much the only all-male group i'd gamed with in something like 10 or 15 years...

 

[fba827]

If my fellow players now come in a variety of genders, I never noticed or cared more so than I usually do.

(i.e. makes no difference to me, really)

 

[Dirigible]

I could wear a dress and wig when gaming, if it would help the cause.

Though, come to think of it, I have seen more women in my FLGS, readng and talking about sci-fi/fantasy and so forth of late.

 

[d4]

I could wear a dress and wig when gaming, if it would help the cause.

only if you take pictures.

 

[Djeta Thernadier]

the idea that female gamers like more role-playing and immersive story-telling over hacking up orcs and taking their loot is just a myth.

I agree. I think I have games where I just feel more like rolling dice and killing stuff than talking politics with NPCs. Not always, but I certainly won't deny that I have times when I enjoy hacking up monsters.

 

[William Ronald]

Djeta,

I believe that the number of female gamers have increased since I started playing in 1980. Even back then, I saw some female gamers in high school.

In one group that I was in for many years, there were several regular or semi-regular female players at different times. Some were good gamers, others were not. Many of the women in the group played characters that were influential in the campaign -- for good or ill. (Including the player who decided to try to conquer several countries, and one of the many players opposed to her character.)

I think one thing that might be attracting more gamers, male as well as female, is that there are now more options in gaming and gaming action than some 20 years ago. In addition to combat and dungeon-crawls, there is also more of an emphasis on role-playing now, IMHO.

Also, when I have attended Gen Con and other gaming events, I now notice more women are attending and gaming than when I first joined the hobby.

As for the issue of whether having women at the gaming table changes group dynamics, I am not sure. I think group dynamics depend on much more than gender, but upon such things as the interests of the individual players and the DM. Some of the female players in my old group were strongly interested in role-playing and politics. However, so were several of the men.

Sometimes, new players can reinvigorate a gaming group. So, to all the new people on the boards, men and women alike, welcome and good gaming.