Gaming in the Military - Your Experiences?

[Drew]

Just like the topic says, how prevalent are RPGs in the military?

 

[ronin]

I was introduced to DnD while in the USMC back in the mid 80's. I'd be on guard duty and these guys would be up all night gathered around a table playing this "game" without a board. At that point I was just annoyed that one of them wouldn't take my place on duty so I could sleep. They were staying up anyway so why not? After awhile they talked me into giving it a try. After my first combat I was hooked and I've been playing ever since. I never had a problem finding a game at any place I was ever stationed.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

There recently was the first gaming convention in a combat zone.. if that tells you anything about how prevalant the gaming community is in the military...

But in reality its not quite like college campuses or FLGS... often games are hiding in barracks rooms or the day rooms. This can make it harder to find a group.

You also have the problem of turnover within the group... way to many times players..and sometimes entire groups get shredded by movement to another base.

On the flip side of the coin, most military gamers tend to have a very good tactical understanding

 

[CanadienneBacon]

The U.S. Army Garrison at Yongsan (in Seoul, Korea) has a PX, which is a chain of "Post Exchanges" that most every military base worldwide has. Said PX always carried fantasy and science fiction paperbacks, as well as the PHB, DMG, and MM books after 3.0 and 3.5 came out. The PX would also oftentimes carry other WotC supplements, though not always.

Speaking as a military gamer both when I was in the service and after I got out, I never had trouble finding a group.

 

[Ahzad]

I always had an easy time of finding gamers while I was in the service. Like others said you often had to overlook that some of the players would just up and disappear as people come and go with changes of duty station. I quit trying to come up with reasons why all of a sudden a pc would just be gone in the middle of a campaign, just hand waved it away, and we all understood the reasons for it.

One of the best games I ran was a TMNT game on what used to be the Iron Curtain in West Germany, we were stationed there for a 3 week stint of guard duty. It was great to be in the tower running an encounter and pick up the binoculars and see the russians watching us. I used to wonder if they had any idea of what we were doing

 

[Zulgyan]

I'm not from the US, but when I visited NY to see my brother and went out for a bit of shopping, I saw guys from the navy everytime I went to the "Compleat Strategist".

 

[stonehill_troll]

Just like the topic says, how prevalent are RPGs in the military?

Not sure nowadays, but when I was in the USMC 1983-1989, I played D&D and I saw others playing Traveller and Runequest.

 

[Hairfoot]

An airforce friend describes RPGs as the "unofficially official" recreational game for Australian armed forces. Encourages strategic thinking, ingenuity, teamwork, and all that jazz.

 

[Ceresco]

I was in the US Navy from 87-93. I've played at almost every command I was stationed except boot camp.

I've played at on-base rec centers, under a 5" gun mount two decks down in the magazine (surrounded by HE, BMP and WP rounds) while under way, the gun locker where all the small arms were stored, in the aft 0-3 level radar room of an AEGIS class cruiser (CG-47) and a few other places I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Needless to say, there was never a time when I was actively looking for a game that I couldn't find one. When stationed state side there was always a FLGS where most of the Navy folk played or at least frequented. I think a lot of gamers who aren't ready for college take some time and join the military.

 

[Pale]

It's hard to swing a rifle without smacking a gamer in the head.

My experiences were in an MI field, though, so your mileage may vary.