Getting Busy Adults Together to Play Games

[mmadsen]

When trying to gather a group - especially for an RPG - the central focus is priority. It seems like many people can make it in time for the West Wing, but can never find time to role-play.

But his point is that his more flexible system yielded four fun game nights in as many weeks instead of one game night after months of trouble. Nobody changed their gaming priority, yet they got a lot more gaming in.

 

[Pielorinho]

Moderator's Notes
mmadsen, you know perfectly well that a thread about Gettin' Busy Playin Adult Games Together is NOT an appropriate one for this--

what?

oh.

Ahem.

Carry on, then.
Daniel

 

[mmadsen]

With my schedule, it's almost as hard to squeeze out the prep time, as it is to make it to the game session.

That's one of the explicit design goals of Savage Worlds:

"I want a game that it's easy to make up monsters, NPCs, magic items, weapons, etc. on the fly. If I have to look up lots of charts and tables, add up points and so on, it's too complicated."
"I want a game a non-gamer friend can look at and understand at a glance."
"I want a game that has a 'spine' capable of gaming any genre but allows me to insert special rules to tailor specific genres."
"I want a game that handles large battles fast."
"I want a game that provides real depth for characters. I want to see my character grow, gain new special abilities and skills and attributes."​

I think 30-something professionals want something else from their game than what teenagers want.

 

[lgburton]

This is going to sound extremely harsh but it really isn't meant to be. If you really want to play in a group that meets consistently with very few cancellations, you almost need to find a group where no one has kids. You have to expect some last-minute cancellations from the parents every once in a while.

as a gamer, and a parent, i find your remarks not harsh, but ignorant and offensive. the group i've been playing in has had the occasional cancellations, but EVERY group has those. 4 of the 7 people in our gaming group have young children, and one is a grandmother who occasionally has to bring her young grandchildren with her to game.

we manage, regularly, every saturday.

and in the groups i've played in (before i was a parent myself) where no one had kids, the serious player to flake ratio was much higher.

the end all is, find a group of people who want to be there and play.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I never understood this 3 hour "decompression period" people mention. I can understand the concept, but at most (if there isn't anything interesting going on) I might spend 15 minutes vegging out when I get home from work. If there is something going on (and gaming is nearly the top of the list) I have no trouble dispensing with it entirely.

Well, you're all set for a solo game, then. Unfortunately, everyone else has different needs, based on who they are as a person, what their job is, and other factors.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I'd bet that 90% of those people who claim they "just don't have time" manage to find time to watch 20-30 hours of TV a week. Probably 3+ hours at a time. If you can fit that much TV in your life, you can fit in a weekly game instead. It's just a matter of which you want to do more.

I must be one of the 10% cause I just laughed at the idea of 20-30 hours per week of TV. I can manage maybe 5-10 if I opt to stay up until midnight instead of going to bed and get the sleep I really need.

 

[GlassJaw]

as a gamer, and a parent, i find your remarks not harsh, but ignorant and offensive

Why is it either? Perhaps I should have prefaced it with "in my experience". I wasn't judging any type of gamer so I don't believe it was offensive and since it's my opinion, which is based on my personal gaming experience, it can't be ignorant.

I know it's a touchy subject but it certainly wasn't meant to offend. In my 17+ years of gaming, the people I've gamed that have the most difficulty making a committment to a game are those with children. I certainly don't seek out groups or gamers who don't have kids and usually it's not even a subject of conversation nor is a factor at all in who I choose to game with. Just the way it is IMO.

 

[Catavarie]

and in the groups i've played in (before i was a parent myself) where no one had kids, the serious player to flake ratio was much higher.

Thats because your standard D&D geek drops everything for a chance to meet a girl

 

[lgburton]

Thats because your standard D&D geek drops everything for a chance to meet a girl

lol, very, very true.

 

[lgburton]

Why is it either? Perhaps I should have prefaced it with "in my experience". I wasn't judging any type of gamer so I don't believe it was offensive and since it's my opinion, which is based on my personal gaming experience, it can't be ignorant.

I know it's a touchy subject but it certainly wasn't meant to offend. In my 17+ years of gaming, the people I've gamed that have the most difficulty making a committment to a game are those with children. I certainly don't seek out groups or gamers who don't have kids and usually it's not even a subject of conversation nor is a factor at all in who I choose to game with. Just the way it is IMO.

ignorant because you are discounting the many thousands of parents out there who do play d&d, reliably - even though they have children.

offensive because you seem to think that it's so important that the parents not be gamers if someone wants a regular session. offensive because you see this class of people as the worst offenders, when it comes to "some last minute cancellations once in a while."

prefacing it with an "in my experiance" would have seriously changed the tone of your post. but, i wonder - if it is not a factor in who you choose to game with, why are you advising others to consider it?