Meeting new players & establishing a group

[DDK]

I swear that I have done almost everything when it comes to meeting new players. I've gone to shopping centres for coffee, cafes, gaming clubs, irish pubs, through friends, relatives, meeting at my place, meeting at their place, meeting at a neutral place, meeting at gaming stores, hobby stores, through universities, colleges, TAFEs...

Sigh, will I ever find a decent group?

Next Saturday I will be meeting five people I've never met before and only briefly chatted with online. This is a new one for me even. We're having dinner at some pub/club/pokies venue. Dinner for six thanks, and do you have any Mountain Dew?

Should be interesting. I hope they serve a decent steak. I haven't had a decent steak in quite a while. Medium-rare is the go. Never tell a chef to cook meat 'well-done', you may as well have the diner next to you spit in your plate and just eat that: it's an insult to the cook, you see, takes no talent to make leather.

Anyway, I digress. How do you meet new players? What methods do you have to identify one another? Do you take a PHB with you and ignore the stares? Do you go to gaming clubs and poach people? Through schools?

I think the hardest thing about gaming is getting a group that not only gets along, shares the same type of gaming interest (low-fantasy, epic, etc.) but who sticks together for longer than three months. What methods do you use to get new gamers? How do you inject new blood into the group?

 

[arwink]

I convert friends. then they convert friends. And in recent months, through enworld and converted friends of Capellan.

I don't really look for players. I start a game, and the players slowly seem to find their way to me. The players just pipe up once or twice a year about how they've got a friend that'd be perfect for the group, would it be cool if they came along...

 

[diaglo]

i advertise.

in the local newspaper.

on the bulletin boards at the gaming stores.

and on the internet.

try www.accessdenied.net

or the RPG Classifieds in the community forum at www.wizards.com

 

[KnowTheToe]

I hope they serve a decent steak. I haven't had a decent steak in quite a while. Medium-rare is the go. Never tell a chef to cook meat 'well-done', you may as well have the diner next to you spit in your plate and just eat that: it's an insult to the cook, you see, takes no talent to make leather.

Amen brother. Steak and burgers should be medium rare, anything else and it is not worth it. It is easy to get a good steak, but the chain restraunts are only serving well done burgers. The best part is they ask how you would like it cooked and when you tell them, they say it has to be well done. I think they do it just to make me angry.

 

[diaglo]

visit my homepage:

www.cdc.gov

and look for problems with improperly prepared foods. here is an example for more check the references for this outbreak:


http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00038146.htm

 

[Buttercup]

visit my homepage:

www.cdc.gov

and look for problems with improperly prepared foods. here is an example for more check the references for this outbreak:


http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00038146.htm

Well maybe, diaglo. But the fact is, I've been eating rare beef and lamb my entire life without getting sick. And I notice that the article you're citing refers to an outbreak in 1994. So I think I'll continue in my evil, carnivorous ways. If it ain't bleeding, I ain't eating it.

I was wondering, though. Why do you refer to cdc.gov as your homepage? Are you the webmaster?

 

[Lalato]

Nearly a month ago I decided I would return to gaming... despite the fact that I currently have no gaming friends to speak of.

I have yet to find a group... and because of the holidays, I have yet to meet anyone beyond e-mail. One thing is for sure, though. I will be joining a group in the coming months. I don't know who they are yet... and they don't know me, YET.

Here are a few things I've done to find a group thus far...

1. Check with your local gaming outlet. If you're too shy to talk to the staff about it, just post something on their bulletin board. If you're not shy... talk to the staff. They may be able to point you in the right direction. I should note, however, that posting on store bulletin boards rarely works.

2. Gamer Databases on the internet can be useful. Here are a few. Accessdenied is very clunky, but it works. I'm not sure how well the other two work.
accessdenied.net
fathomgate.com
wickedclean.com

3. Messageboards can help, too. Check the major messageboards for either a gamers lounge or a gamers seeking gamers board. The following have such boards...
ENWorld.org
Wizards.com
Mortality.net
Kenzerco.com (if you're into Kingdoms of Kalamar or Hackmaster)
Montecook.com

4. Yahoo Groups is just plain awesome. You never know if someone has already formed a mailing list in your area or your province/state... Yahoo Groups is the most widely used mailing list on the net. Just search for groups in your area.
Yahoo Groups

5. Not everyone likes it, but RPGA can help. Check to see if their is a local Living Greyhawk campaign in your area. You may not like playing Living Greyhawk, but there may be players there that are willing to form a separate group.


In conclusion... meeting people over the internet can be a little daunting. If you have any reservations about someone, try to clear it up as best you can via e-mail/chat prior to setting a meeting.

Here are a few obvious things you should find out (conversely, these are things you should be willing to share):

1. Age
2. Games you've played... and games you would like to play.
3. Style of play enjoyed (the classic rollplay vs. roleplay... and fantasy vs. reality)
4. Location (ou don't have to be specific... a simple answer like "downtown" or "eastside" will suffice). This just helps you figure out if it will be convenient to you.

The above should help you figure out if you want to play a game with someone. Obviously, there is a lot more to it than the above, but it's a start.

--sam

 

[Lalato]

Although completely off topic... I'm firmly in the rare to medium-rare camp. The only meats that should be thoroughly cooked are birds and pork.

As long as we're on the topic of meat... everyone (that's not a vegetarian) should try ostrich. very, very good.

--sam

 

[KnowTheToe]

I am sure I have been exposed to bad germs thru rarish meat, but if it happens once in a hundred times, I will live in the blissfulness of juicy red meat.

The great thing about the human body is that it fights off these things so well. Anyway, I saw a guy on ripley's Believe it or Not who only ate rotton food, meat that sat for over a year. Yummy!

 

[diaglo]

Well maybe, diaglo. But the fact is, I've been eating rare beef and lamb my entire life without getting sick. And I notice that the article you're citing refers to an outbreak in 1994. So I think I'll continue in my evil, carnivorous ways. If it ain't bleeding, I ain't eating it.

I was wondering, though. Why do you refer to cdc.gov as your homepage? Are you the webmaster?

that was just an example. visit the page and use the search or try the Health topics or try this one:

link.http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm

i'm a federal employee and here to help you.

i work in a lab. i'm a lab rat.

i like my meat too. but as someone who sees the bad side of disease everyday, it is hard sometimes to here people talk about something without giving them the facts.