I can't find a game group!

[der_kluge]

Tulsa is a cliquish town. I moved here in March and haven't managed to find a group yet. I'm active in the Meetup, but it seems like there are more GMs than there are players. It also doesn't help that one of the co-moderators is disabled, and runs like 4 games a week.

My wife's "laid down the law" as it were - my kids are a holy terror when I leave in the evening, so she demands that I play "at our house" and she also does not want me playing on the weekend since "that's her time with me".

Ok, so that leaves Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, since I'll have community band practice starting up again soon on Tuesdays.


Not many want to play on a weeknight - a few do, but I can't get enough people to warrant a campaign. I posted a looking for players, and I had one guy respond with interest. I've met this guy - he's obnoxious. Plus, immediately after I posted, some other guy posted with a game on Thursday night - he already had some players, wanted a few more, and the one guy that expressed interest in mine will probably start playing in his.

I did manage to find a group that was playing d20 modern, but they only play once a month. And the one and only time I played with them, they spent more than half the night talking about movies - they were way too casual about gaming for my tastes.

What should I do?

Run a PbP?
Try to get into something like Fantasy Grounds, OpenRPG, or Klooge.Werks and host a game (or play in a game) online.
Buy World of Warcraft and play on one of the RP servers?
Re-install Everquest (I don't know how many people play this anymore, but I already own it, so at least the initial cost is free)
Continue trying to find a group
Kill my wife and take her stuff
Something else

 

[Henry]

...Kill my wife and take her stuff
Something else

While doable, I don't recommend it.

Your best bet might be to get into one or more Play by post games (at the Circvs or here) while still actively looking for a compatible group. That way, you get a decently high caliber of players to play with, while reducing your mechanics headaches.

Good luck, regardless. I can understand how balancing your family, a small pool of gamers, and an active social calendar can hurt the gaming prospects.

 

[Mark]

Run some one-shots and offer prizes. Once they get to know you, I am sure there will be a line for your games.

 

[sniffles]

Run a PbP?

At CM. (selfish whine) I wanna play in a PbP at CM!!

 

[dmccoy1693]

1) Return to the game's origins. Teach your kids to play D&D and get their friends involved. My first game, I was around 10 y/o and my next door neighbor's uncle was the DM. Who knows, maybe you'll get some of your kids' friends' parents involved in a seperate game. If your kids are too young for D&D, try Fairey's Tale. I plan on getting my daughter involved with that game about 2 minutes after she turns 6. This option keeps your wife happy and you help build the next generation of gamers. You might even be able to play elsewhere if your taking the kids to a different game place.

2) Take a good solid look at 4E D&D, specificly the MORPG part of D&DI. I don't know how you feel about upgrading, but that is what that part is built for, people that don't have the time or availability to play in real life.

3) Have you checked out the comic book shops or allied hobbies or even barnes & nobles in your area?

 

[der_kluge]

1) Return to the game's origins. Teach your kids to play D&D and get their friends involved. My first game, I was around 10 y/o and my next door neighbor's uncle was the DM. Who knows, maybe you'll get some of your kids' friends' parents involved in a seperate game. If your kids are too young for D&D, try Fairey's Tale. I plan on getting my daughter involved with that game about 2 minutes after she turns 6. This option keeps your wife happy and you help build the next generation of gamers. You might even be able to play elsewhere if your taking the kids to a different game place.

My kids are 4 and not-quite 2. I could try that, but I'm pretty certain the youngest would probably try to eat the dice.

2) Take a good solid look at 4E D&D, specificly the MORPG part of D&DI. I don't know how you feel about upgrading, but that is what that part is built for, people that don't have the time or availability to play in real life.

Oh, I'll definitely be getting 4e, and probably subscribing to the DI as well. Fantasy Grounds seems pretty good though, so I think it's gonna have some tough competition in that area.

3) Have you checked out the comic book shops or allied hobbies or even barnes & nobles in your area?

Well, I was thinking about today on the way back from lunch. There are gamers who game in this town that aren't part of the Meetup - the difficult thing is finding them.

 

[der_kluge]

At CM. (selfish whine) I wanna play in a PbP at CM!!

If I do run a PbP, it will be a CM.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Well, I was thinking about today on the way back from lunch. There are gamers who game in this town that aren't part of the Meetup - the difficult thing is finding them.

YMMV, but I have never found alot of gamers from Meetup. Infact, I've only heard of one gamer finding a group from Meetup, and I never met that guy. I've had much better luck with bulliten boards in comic book shops and online boards. Did you post an add on EnWorld or RPG.net or gleemax saying you're looking for a game?

 

[der_kluge]

YMMV, but I have never found alot of gamers from Meetup. Infact, I've only heard of one gamer finding a group from Meetup, and I never met that guy. I've had much better luck with bulliten boards in comic book shops and online boards. Did you post an add on EnWorld or RPG.net or gleemax saying you're looking for a game?

I wasn't aware that RPG Net had such a forum. Thanks!

 

[blargney the second]

I think there's a new thing that WotC will be releasing soon that will allow you to play games online.
-blarg