tetsujin28
First Post
I'm a classical archaeologist. Brings in the dough, let me tell you.Buttercup said:
"older" gamers
- Thread starter DonaQuixote
- Start date
This has probably been said, but I think you'd be surprised how many older gamers there are out there. In our group in San Diego we have a 'waiting list' of three folks who want to play, but our group is as big as is feasible (5 players + 1 dm).
I think the biggest hurdles are flexibility (can you handle leaving the game for, say, two months if someone has a baby?) and time commitment (people have to secure that 'every other friday' with their families). It can be worked around - our group has been going for three years straight, with a month or two off now and then. You just have to handle all the negotiations up-front.
We also have a new rule that the game goes on if one person can't make it. Someone else plays their character. It's turned out to not be a big deal at all.
I've also cut out all unneccessary bookkeeping. I don't track XP - characters just level every once in a while. It's hard enough to prep for high-level characters as it is without throwing in tiresome math. I wing rulings for things like XP for Permancy and Crafting, and since I've won the trust of my players, they just go with it and get back to the game.
I think the biggest hurdles are flexibility (can you handle leaving the game for, say, two months if someone has a baby?) and time commitment (people have to secure that 'every other friday' with their families). It can be worked around - our group has been going for three years straight, with a month or two off now and then. You just have to handle all the negotiations up-front.
We also have a new rule that the game goes on if one person can't make it. Someone else plays their character. It's turned out to not be a big deal at all.
I've also cut out all unneccessary bookkeeping. I don't track XP - characters just level every once in a while. It's hard enough to prep for high-level characters as it is without throwing in tiresome math. I wing rulings for things like XP for Permancy and Crafting, and since I've won the trust of my players, they just go with it and get back to the game.
GrayIguana
First Post
While I don't consider myself an old gamer yet (I'm 34), some of my friends have managed to re-establish our old group. In fact it is a great excuse for old friends to get together. Some of us have been playing together for 17 years.
My first comment is that we do have one player who is older than all of us. He's 54 and he is my father. While he enjoys the game, I think he is sometimes embarassed by some aspects of the game. At the end of the last campaign he wanted to quit playing as he said it was silly to be playing games with people who were 20 years younger at his age. To remedy this, I created a character and a plot line that I knew he wouldn't want to miss out on. Now my father never played until he came across some of my friends and myself playing. Being well read in fantasy literature, he was a natural at playing. I think he just feels that it is not something that he can share with many people other than my group. I'm hoping it is a phase he will grow out of
I also feel for people who don't feel that they can be very open about their hobby. Many people don't get it and are unwilling to be very open. I work in the investment / insurance industry, and I am a bit guarded about sharing ut my personal interests beyond what is also related to my career.
I'm lucky to have a group of college/ high school friends who still get together every now and then. Like many on this board, I hope to be in the same retirement community with these friends, and to pass some of my last days rolling a d20.
My first comment is that we do have one player who is older than all of us. He's 54 and he is my father. While he enjoys the game, I think he is sometimes embarassed by some aspects of the game. At the end of the last campaign he wanted to quit playing as he said it was silly to be playing games with people who were 20 years younger at his age. To remedy this, I created a character and a plot line that I knew he wouldn't want to miss out on. Now my father never played until he came across some of my friends and myself playing. Being well read in fantasy literature, he was a natural at playing. I think he just feels that it is not something that he can share with many people other than my group. I'm hoping it is a phase he will grow out of
I also feel for people who don't feel that they can be very open about their hobby. Many people don't get it and are unwilling to be very open. I work in the investment / insurance industry, and I am a bit guarded about sharing ut my personal interests beyond what is also related to my career.
I'm lucky to have a group of college/ high school friends who still get together every now and then. Like many on this board, I hope to be in the same retirement community with these friends, and to pass some of my last days rolling a d20.
Krieg
First Post
GreyWanderer said:
33
Former Goverment employee, USMC, DOD & NSA (in that order). Still working for the goverment as a contractor in a similar capacity.
Most (90%) of the gamers I have played with as an adult have worked for the goverment in one form or another at some point during their lives.
Last edited:
pogre
Legend
We had a thread a while ago about the professions of folks in your groups - I think it may be archived. My group is very diverse with no government folks.
Three of the guys in my group are 36, we have three players older than us, and three players younger than us.
I never thought age was an issue until last Summer when we had an eighteen year-old at the table for a couple of sessions. I had to send him the polite "Thanks, but I do not think it is working out" line.
The funny thing was he always bitched about his parents, and I think most of us sympathized with his folks' positions
Three of the guys in my group are 36, we have three players older than us, and three players younger than us.
I never thought age was an issue until last Summer when we had an eighteen year-old at the table for a couple of sessions. I had to send him the polite "Thanks, but I do not think it is working out" line.
The funny thing was he always bitched about his parents, and I think most of us sympathized with his folks' positions
Envy
I truly envy all of the gamers here that have full-time groups. I myself have been going through withdrawl for the last year. We managed to maintain a gaming group that began in college for nearly 10 years, though the last 4 years it started to fall apart, meeting less and less often, more and more outside responsibilities, work schedules differentiating, etc. Finally last year it completely fell apart as we scattered to the winds across the eastern seaboard.
When I arrived where I live now, it was to find a seriously deprived gaming community. Even chatting with the owner of our single remaining gaming shop has only proven how rough it is here. The only thing really keeping him in business is the card game genre with the younger crowd. To give you an ideahow bad it is, its one game shop in a city with an overall population of roughly 1.3 million. You would think that if even 1/4 of a percent of them were gamers there would be enough to support one game shop.
So far the only "mature" game groups I have found either fit into the "freaky" gamers group (eptimoe of the gamer stereotype) or gaming zealots. I was actually told by one group that they meet every Saturday from Noon-9pm and if you miss more than 2 days a year, you're out. Who can do that and still have a normal life? Granted its much harder for me in that I cant game during the week since I work graveyard (Midnight-8am), but I never thought I would reach a stage in life where I couldnt find a game.
So hats off to all those still able to game regularly! I envy you.
PS: My Stats - Age = 35, Career = Software Support Engineer
I truly envy all of the gamers here that have full-time groups. I myself have been going through withdrawl for the last year. We managed to maintain a gaming group that began in college for nearly 10 years, though the last 4 years it started to fall apart, meeting less and less often, more and more outside responsibilities, work schedules differentiating, etc. Finally last year it completely fell apart as we scattered to the winds across the eastern seaboard.
When I arrived where I live now, it was to find a seriously deprived gaming community. Even chatting with the owner of our single remaining gaming shop has only proven how rough it is here. The only thing really keeping him in business is the card game genre with the younger crowd. To give you an ideahow bad it is, its one game shop in a city with an overall population of roughly 1.3 million. You would think that if even 1/4 of a percent of them were gamers there would be enough to support one game shop.
So far the only "mature" game groups I have found either fit into the "freaky" gamers group (eptimoe of the gamer stereotype) or gaming zealots. I was actually told by one group that they meet every Saturday from Noon-9pm and if you miss more than 2 days a year, you're out. Who can do that and still have a normal life? Granted its much harder for me in that I cant game during the week since I work graveyard (Midnight-8am), but I never thought I would reach a stage in life where I couldnt find a game.
So hats off to all those still able to game regularly! I envy you.
PS: My Stats - Age = 35, Career = Software Support Engineer
I'm DMing in agroup consisting of 6 players aging from 25 - 32 right now.
As soon as I was over 20 years of age I thought it would be difficult to find players for the game, especially since we always tried to play at a high level and were no friends of hack-and-slay gaming.
However, it turned out to be different. About half of my current group didn't even start playing before they were 20. It turned out, that there are a whole lot more "older" gamers then I thought.
BTW - none of us ever had a problem with younger players, as long as they had the same approach to the game as we had. Sometimes it can even enrich your game to have new players or player of a different age around.
Right now I'm pretty confident, that D&D will be part of my life for many years to come. I really don't see any reason to stop playing just because I'm considered an adult. It's fun and as long as it stays that way, I won't stop!
As soon as I was over 20 years of age I thought it would be difficult to find players for the game, especially since we always tried to play at a high level and were no friends of hack-and-slay gaming.
However, it turned out to be different. About half of my current group didn't even start playing before they were 20. It turned out, that there are a whole lot more "older" gamers then I thought.
BTW - none of us ever had a problem with younger players, as long as they had the same approach to the game as we had. Sometimes it can even enrich your game to have new players or player of a different age around.
Right now I'm pretty confident, that D&D will be part of my life for many years to come. I really don't see any reason to stop playing just because I'm considered an adult. It's fun and as long as it stays that way, I won't stop!
Shadowdancer
First Post
The group I've been playing in for the past 10+ years is (now) five people, all between age 40 and 50. One of the group members is the person who first introduced me to gaming 14 years ago. The other three people (his wife and two of her now-former co-workers) were all recruited and taught to play by the two of us.
We've had the same jokes going around in our group about playing in the retirement home. When those big 50+mm dice came out a few years ago, we started joking that we would all need a set in the retirement home just so we could read the numbers.
We've had the same jokes going around in our group about playing in the retirement home. When those big 50+mm dice came out a few years ago, we started joking that we would all need a set in the retirement home just so we could read the numbers.
johnsemlak
First Post
32
English Teacher in Moscow.
I game with mostly people from about 20 to my age. All of them are currently either expatriate students or workers in various professions (teaching, journalism, government work). While the group isn't formally limited to expatriates, the fact that we game in English makes it work out that way (though two of our members are from South America). It is very difficult to find gamers here.
I prefer to game with people my age, for a number of reasons (more common interests and experience when growing up being significant), but really, I'm just happy to game.
English Teacher in Moscow.
I game with mostly people from about 20 to my age. All of them are currently either expatriate students or workers in various professions (teaching, journalism, government work). While the group isn't formally limited to expatriates, the fact that we game in English makes it work out that way (though two of our members are from South America). It is very difficult to find gamers here.
I prefer to game with people my age, for a number of reasons (more common interests and experience when growing up being significant), but really, I'm just happy to game.
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