RPG Evolution: The Quest for the Table

One of my goals that I've failed at year after year was finding an in-person gaming group. This year, it's time to change that.

Finding a Neutral Space​

I finally decided it’s time to go back to playing Dungeons & Dragons in-person. As an adult, this is a lot harder than it sounds.

The first challenge I had to address was finding a neutral space. But finding a space that would work for me as a Dungeon Master and for other players is no simple task. I decided I would travel no further than a half hour at most, since I will need to transport miniatures and maps. With those parameters set, I then searched places online that might be suitable.

I needed a place where I could play for a reasonable fee, have players join easily, have space to sit for at least 4 or more hours every week on weekends, and could be loud enough to play a game of D&D without disrupting others (but not so loud we couldn't hear each other). I also wanted it to be an adults-only game and needed some means of finding players. With these parameters in mind, I contacted game cafes, game stores, and libraries.

Roadblocks and Budgeting​

The two game cafes in my town closed, devastated by Covid, so unfortunately though their ghosts still linger online, they weren’t going to be any help. Two different game stores reached out and may still be an option, but the "catching" mechanism—how to actually organize and seat players—is always an open question (it was mentioned there is a very long list of folks who want to play D&D). My local library responded that while they offer 2 hours of free time in their rooms (for studying), for larger rooms it would cost $25 for the first two hours, with an additional $25/hour after that. $100/week ($400/month) did not seem feasible.

The Gamer’s Dream Location​

And then a librarian intervened. As we’ve discussed before, a lot of librarians are gamer geek friendly, and my local librarian jumped into the (typical response) conversation to ask if I wanted to run an adult-only session of D&D. With her help, things accelerated quickly: I now have a location with a dedicated room, a regular date and time, and a catching mechanism for players. The first weekend of every month will be to onboard new players, with the other three weekends the "regular" game. As originally envisioned, we'd have seven slots in total for the regular game, with the "session zero/onboarding" session having eight. The room had a TV I can use and even allowed snacks! It was a gamer’s dream, and it’s five minutes from my house.

It also wasn't going to be where I ended up, but more on that later.

Beginning the Community Build​

I cannot emphasize how challenging this is as an adult. Putting aside the extreme social anxiety of trying to game with strangers, having an ally in the library space help me set this up, even to just try it and see, is enormous. I may still resume a rhythm with the game stores, as the library hours will not always be the same in the summer, but for now, I am immensely grateful for my local library in helping me do this.

This will be good for me. But it will also be an opportunity to build a gamer community. I don’t have any players yet, which is daunting unto itself, but no matter. We have to start somewhere, right?

 

[MNblockhead]

Building a gamer community and finding an in person group are not exactly the same. I think communities are built around organized play. The advantage of that is no person is critical (perhaps except for the organizer). Players can show up at their convenience. New players are always arriving, old ones sticking or leaving, etc.. It's from this experience I build that regular gaming group with cream of the crop Id call it. Folks whose personalities gel with my own. Their gaming interests align, and they are reliable to attend a regular session.

In my experience, most FLGS are not only cool with organized play, but openly encourage it. So, finding a space isnt that difficult. (Though im in the twin cities and im finding out our FLGS per capita is off the charts.) Later on for my regular in person group, I usually resort to a residence for the privacy and convenience of hours. At this point, I should know folks well enough to trust and feel safe moving into this type of arrangement.

Emphasis mine.

You don't know how good you've had it until its gone. I moved from Roseville, MN to Milwaukee. I would have thought Milwaukee would be somewhat similar in terms of FLGS as the Twin Cities, but I've not found one FLGS in Milwaukee County with decent playing space for TTRPGs. There is one cafe for board games where you pay for the table and they have food and drinks and library of games to play, but it is not TTRPG friendly. Most game stores are just stores without play space. There is one or two places set up specifically for Warhammer Miniatures and some with tables for card games but none cater to TTRPGs.

The nearest TTRPG-friendly game space is excellent The Sanctum Tabletop Emporium in Racine, about a half-hour drive. I suppose a half-hour drive is nothing to complain about, but I was so spoiled in Roseville, MN with both Gamzenter (previously Fantasy Flight games) and The Source only a few minutes away.

I will say, however, that the TTRPG game-convention scene is much richer in this area. As much as I liked Con of the North, I now have Gamehole Con and Gary Con in easy driving distance. There are a few smaller cons nearby throughout the year, but I've not had an opportunity to check them out yet.

 

[MNblockhead]

I was lucky for my last time i ran in person the apartment building i lived in had a great common room. I got to game from home without having to let people into my home.

I ran a regulat campaign in a game store as well. It was fine, but being in a public spot lead to a lot of distractions from folks coming up to ask questions and such.

My first apartment since moving to Milwaukee had lots of nice meeting spaces and common areas but it was all modern glass walls and large open areas. I don't like running games in a fish bowl surrounded by non-gamers.

The place I'm moving to next has a nice closed off common room that gives privacy. But they only have the one space. I'll have to see how easy it is to book the space for a regular game day.

 

[MNblockhead]

But yeah, the libraries charge per 15 minutes ...

That sucks. The libraries in my county when I was living in MN had conference rooms of various sizes that you could book for free. It was limited to twice per month for the same group.

The main issue was that they would be booked up quickly, but if you had a reliable group, and were on top of submitting your bookings as soon as the 60 day max pre-booking period for them was open, it would have been doable.

The library a couple blocks away from where I currently live in South Milwaukee also doesn't charge.

 

[payn]

Emphasis mine.

You don't know how good you've had it until its gone. I moved from Roseville, MN to Milwaukee. I would have thought Milwaukee would be somewhat similar in terms of FLGS as the Twin Cities, but I've not found one FLGS in Milwaukee County with decent playing space for TTRPGs. There is one cafe for board games where you pay for the table and they have food and drinks and library of games to play, but it is not TTRPG friendly. Most game stores are just stores without play space. There is one or two places set up specifically for Warhammer Miniatures and some with tables for card games but none cater to TTRPGs.

The nearest TTRPG-friendly game space is excellent The Sanctum Tabletop Emporium in Racine, about a half-hour drive. I suppose a half-hour drive is nothing to complain about, but I was so spoiled in Roseville, MN with both Gamzenter (previously Fantasy Flight games) and The Source only a few minutes away.

I will say, however, that the TTRPG game-convention scene is much richer in this area. As much as I liked Con of the North, I now have Gamehole Con and Gary Con in easy driving distance. There are a few smaller cons nearby throughout the year, but I've not had an opportunity to check them out yet.

I’m in NE MPLS but only a few mins from Gamezenter and Source. You did have it very nice. I’m thankful for how great it is here.

I do enjoy Milwaukee for Adepticon too