Lord Zardoz
Explorer
I have found that it is very difficult to find a game lately, at least for myself. This is not a new state of being, but it has persisted for some time. I already have a post in the gamers seeking gamers thread, but it has resulted in nothing thus far. There are a number of reasons for this, I think, which I have decided are worth making a thread here out of.
First, my situation is about the least ideal situation possible for finding a new game. I recrently moved from B.C. to Ottawa for a new job. It turns out (unsurprisingly to myself), that I know no one in this city (total distance of move is given as 5 119 kilometers or 3 181 miles according to google maps for those who are curious). It helps to know people who are gamers when seeking a game, so I am at a marked disadvantage. And while I could be mistaken, it appears to me that the new workplace is an exceedingly unlikely source of gamers. I will probably find out as time passes and I get to know my coworkers. But for now, I consider hunting for players at work non-viable.
However, I do not think that my situation would be signifigantly better if I were located in a city where I knew people. My difficulties with finding a stable D&D game have been rather persistant for the last 7 years or so. And I have had plenty of time to consider why this might be.
The first reason, is that having a stable D&D game has some very hard requirements. First is that you have to have about 5 people or so intrested in playing such a game. People who are intrested in this sort of activity are a minority. Part of it is just personal intrest. A larger part is the preceived social stigma (OMG GEEKS!). However, this is not a fatal requirement. Personal experience has revealed that such people do exist in sufficient numbers.
The second reason is that these people must want to play the game. Being intrested in the game is not the same as wanting to play it. Not all players are intrested enough in the game to go out of their way to play it, to the point that they may suffer some personal inconvenience. There are a large number of people who would play if it was not for the inconvenience of playing in a live game. Casual gamers ususally end up not playing the game, and they cease playing simply because of the inconvenience. For some, they play just to hang out. They would be equally happy catching a movie, or a few drinks at the bar, or playing poker as they would be in playing D&D. So while these players often join a game for a short time, they usually leave after a few games.
Now lets say you have a group of 5 people who are intrested enough in playing D&D that they are willing to suffer some measure of inconvenience. The third reason its hard to find a game is that the game is time intensive. You still need to have a large block of time to play a game. Its not because its hard to find 4 or more hours to play the game. Its because it gets very difficult for 5 players to be able to free up the 4 or more hour block of time on a regular basis.
The 2nd and 3rd reasons are the game killers, and they are a huge obstacle for people, once you are out of high school and / or university. Its easy to run a game in a school setting. Students are usually chronically broke, and have loads of free time. They are also unlikley to have any external demands on their time. Not everyone will have a girlfriend, and almost no one will have a wife and children. And when the weekend rolls around, you have no money and not much to do. So you can run a game, and the casual gamer types actually make pretty reliable gamers. They will still miss gamers, but not often enough to matter.
Now fast forward a few years. As an adult, you have a job, which is a demand on your time, and with it comes a paycheque, so you can afford to do stuff. As a starving student, you could not afford to catch a movie, so you stay in, and you can often get away with staying up late to play a game. Showing up late to class is not a huge deal, since you cannot get fired from class. But with a job, showing up late is not a reasonable thing to do. And you have a car and money, so you can go and catch a movie whenever you want. This is what makes casual gamers unreliable as regular players. They only play for entertainment, and quite often, its more entertaining to do something else at any given moment.
And for the dedicated gamers, the job factor simply pushes games to the weekend. But now you may also have a signifigant other / wife, and maybe children. These present demands on your time that cannot rationally be put off. In fact, I dont think I want to play with a gamer who lets his gaming destroy his personal relationships, since it shows a lack of basic sanity. (Yes, there are more important things then D&D. Family is one. The use of soap is another. There are plenty more).
Now, its not that family and work will keep you from gaming. Even with those factors, its not hard to free up a 4 or more hour block of time. The problem is that all 5 players need to free up the exact same block of time. For 5 people who hold different jobs, this is a feat that is difficult to pull off. But being able to do so on a regular basis is very difficult.
In the past 7 years, I was able to get 2 games running, and both lasted for a few months. Both games consisted mostly of co-workers. But when crunch time hit at work, the game ground to a halt, and then it never got going again. The same thing happened at the second job, with the only difference being that the game was even harder to get going.
Anyway, I would be intrested in finding out how many people on this board are in my situation, of wanting to play regularly but being unable to do so for whatever reason.
END COMMUNICATION
First, my situation is about the least ideal situation possible for finding a new game. I recrently moved from B.C. to Ottawa for a new job. It turns out (unsurprisingly to myself), that I know no one in this city (total distance of move is given as 5 119 kilometers or 3 181 miles according to google maps for those who are curious). It helps to know people who are gamers when seeking a game, so I am at a marked disadvantage. And while I could be mistaken, it appears to me that the new workplace is an exceedingly unlikely source of gamers. I will probably find out as time passes and I get to know my coworkers. But for now, I consider hunting for players at work non-viable.
However, I do not think that my situation would be signifigantly better if I were located in a city where I knew people. My difficulties with finding a stable D&D game have been rather persistant for the last 7 years or so. And I have had plenty of time to consider why this might be.
The first reason, is that having a stable D&D game has some very hard requirements. First is that you have to have about 5 people or so intrested in playing such a game. People who are intrested in this sort of activity are a minority. Part of it is just personal intrest. A larger part is the preceived social stigma (OMG GEEKS!). However, this is not a fatal requirement. Personal experience has revealed that such people do exist in sufficient numbers.
The second reason is that these people must want to play the game. Being intrested in the game is not the same as wanting to play it. Not all players are intrested enough in the game to go out of their way to play it, to the point that they may suffer some personal inconvenience. There are a large number of people who would play if it was not for the inconvenience of playing in a live game. Casual gamers ususally end up not playing the game, and they cease playing simply because of the inconvenience. For some, they play just to hang out. They would be equally happy catching a movie, or a few drinks at the bar, or playing poker as they would be in playing D&D. So while these players often join a game for a short time, they usually leave after a few games.
Now lets say you have a group of 5 people who are intrested enough in playing D&D that they are willing to suffer some measure of inconvenience. The third reason its hard to find a game is that the game is time intensive. You still need to have a large block of time to play a game. Its not because its hard to find 4 or more hours to play the game. Its because it gets very difficult for 5 players to be able to free up the 4 or more hour block of time on a regular basis.
The 2nd and 3rd reasons are the game killers, and they are a huge obstacle for people, once you are out of high school and / or university. Its easy to run a game in a school setting. Students are usually chronically broke, and have loads of free time. They are also unlikley to have any external demands on their time. Not everyone will have a girlfriend, and almost no one will have a wife and children. And when the weekend rolls around, you have no money and not much to do. So you can run a game, and the casual gamer types actually make pretty reliable gamers. They will still miss gamers, but not often enough to matter.
Now fast forward a few years. As an adult, you have a job, which is a demand on your time, and with it comes a paycheque, so you can afford to do stuff. As a starving student, you could not afford to catch a movie, so you stay in, and you can often get away with staying up late to play a game. Showing up late to class is not a huge deal, since you cannot get fired from class. But with a job, showing up late is not a reasonable thing to do. And you have a car and money, so you can go and catch a movie whenever you want. This is what makes casual gamers unreliable as regular players. They only play for entertainment, and quite often, its more entertaining to do something else at any given moment.
And for the dedicated gamers, the job factor simply pushes games to the weekend. But now you may also have a signifigant other / wife, and maybe children. These present demands on your time that cannot rationally be put off. In fact, I dont think I want to play with a gamer who lets his gaming destroy his personal relationships, since it shows a lack of basic sanity. (Yes, there are more important things then D&D. Family is one. The use of soap is another. There are plenty more).
Now, its not that family and work will keep you from gaming. Even with those factors, its not hard to free up a 4 or more hour block of time. The problem is that all 5 players need to free up the exact same block of time. For 5 people who hold different jobs, this is a feat that is difficult to pull off. But being able to do so on a regular basis is very difficult.
In the past 7 years, I was able to get 2 games running, and both lasted for a few months. Both games consisted mostly of co-workers. But when crunch time hit at work, the game ground to a halt, and then it never got going again. The same thing happened at the second job, with the only difference being that the game was even harder to get going.
Anyway, I would be intrested in finding out how many people on this board are in my situation, of wanting to play regularly but being unable to do so for whatever reason.
END COMMUNICATION
