D&D 5E How Do You Find Players?

[Morrus]

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I have a group of 8 long term players. 4 of which known since childhood and 4 of them I met via EN World. There are also 4 others I met via EN World (one sadly passed away, two didn't like us, and the other ghosted everyone he knows). It's worked really well for me.

 

[dhunton]

Real problem is that I'm just close enough to a big city that all of the meetups and such happen there (conventions and Craigslist, too). But if I go to one, no one wants to go "so far" to my place.

Library is definitely a good idea, since there's one really close to me.

Keep the ideas coming! I really do appreciate them!

 

[DEFCON 1]

I do a lot of improv and community theater, and thus almost all of my players are people I've done shows with. I've found that theater people (straight play or improv) all have that streak in them that inspires them to play (or try out) RPGs, so I'm constantly talking about my games and finding interested people and potential players.

If you like performing and have a theater near you, getting involved with shows allows you to meet new people/friends and once they find out you game (and wish to play D&D), you'll find yourself some players that way.

 

[Kabouter Games]

I do a lot of improv and community theater, and thus almost all of my players are people I've done shows with. I've found that theater people (straight play or improv) all have that streak in them that inspires them to play (or try out) RPGs, so I'm constantly talking about my games and finding interested people and potential players.

If you like performing and have a theater near you, getting involved with shows allows you to meet new people/friends and once they find out you game (and wish to play D&D), you'll find yourself some players that way.

Except for my wife, my Sunday group is comprised exclusively of people we've met through community theater. In fact, our newest player overheard me talking about D&D during a rehearsal and revealed he's been looking for a game for months. So now we have a halfling warlock.

Cheers,

Bob

www.r-p-davis.com

 

[eayres33]

Social Media is your friend, if you have an expansive list of Facebook friends that you barely know that may get you a player or two.
Other than that I have to second (or third) the comic book store approach; see if you can put a flyer up there.

 

[Fildrigar]

1 ) Social Media is invaluable. I ended up recruiting a player in my last campaign from a Facebook group. Look for geographic focused, Nerd oriented groups. You may be a little ways away from your local big city, but plenty of other people are, too.

2 ) Other Social Networking. ( Word of mouth. ) Talk to your friends. Ask them if they have friends looking to play D&D. ( I actually ended up recruiting a guy I went to High School with, 26 years ago. I'd run into him at craft beer festivals and such, and one time I asked if he'd be interested in playing D&D. He's now my most enthusiastic player. )

3 ) Put up fliers at area game stores and other places nerds might congregate. ( bookstores, libraries, colleges, etc. ) Even if it's a smaller game store ( like a Magic Card Clubhouse ) that doesn't carry RPG games, you might find some people who are looking to play.

 

[MNblockhead]

There is not Meetup.com in your area? Nonesense! Create a new meetup and bam! there is now a Meetup in your area.

Meetup.com was, by far, the most useful tool in finding new players. You should definitely create a meetup in conjunction with your other efforts.

It is fairly common in my areas for folks to run D&D events in their libraries. I used to run a group a my small-town library in the 80s, pinning up notices and all that. Many libraries today have on-line systems for reserving rooms and learning about upcoming events. But I find them to be a hassle to use.

Most coffee shops in my area have bulletin boards for people to post announcements. These are usually near the line to the counter, so they get looked at. Many grocery stores in my area also have community bulletin boards.

I used to post notices on public boards in the small-town centers where I grew up and also in the town where I went to university, but I think these are long gone. University's used to have tons of notice boards. they probably still do.

But I think nearly everyone, regardless of age, hits up Google first. Meetup.com is going to have the best Google juice for getting the word out about your game.

 

[dhunton]

There is not Meetup.com in your area? Nonesense! Create a new meetup and bam! there is now a Meetup in your area.

Trying to justify the cost in an area where I have no idea if there even are other gamers, not to mention whether or not they'll search meetup by the name of the small town...

 

[Quickleaf]

I'm looking to find out how people have found players if they don't have any of the following resources:

1. Gaming shop (i.e. there aren't any near you)
2. Work (i.e. you work alone or with non-gamers)
3. Previous friendships (i.e. you just moved to the area)

So given those criteria, what steps would you take to create a gaming group or find gamers to play in your game?

I find that over time gamers tend to be drawn to one another naturally.

I did meet a great couple who become gaming friends through ENWorld.

 

[S'mon]

You could probably post an ad at the website of the game store in the nearest city. Maybe a physical ad there too, since that's probably where gamers from your small town would go.