Why Game?

[Rel]

And how's that working for ya?

Well, after we spent an hour and a half bouncing around ideas for my Eberron campaign last night, I went to bed with a warm and willing woman. So maybe that makes it a success.

But I'll note that she didn't bring three of her hot friends along with her. So maybe that makes it a failure.

Depends on where you're setting the bar. (<-Double Entendre at 9 o'clock!)

 

[jtone]

My players and I fit into that demographic. The two ladies play to kill things and take their stuff. The other guy plays largely as a tactical exercise. I GM to see what weird things my players will throw at me next. We all play for fun.

It's cheaper than seting up a four computer LAN. My wife doesn't like cards. Board games are at least as expensive as RPGs. It's easy to pause the action if a kid needs to be looked after. In essence it's a fun way for four friends to get together.

 

[Wombat]

Everyone has something they do in their spare time. Some watch sports. Some play card games. Some knit. Some garden.

Me? I game.

RPGs are the "perfect storm" for me -- social interaction, story telling, mythological components, a competition where most people have a chance to win, a chance to play mini-god, and an outlet for all my eclectic knowledge regarding folklore, mythology, history, weapons development, civic design, and general arcana.

Yep, love my games and always will.

I intend to be rolling dice in the nursing home

 

[Ranger REG]

Just curious...

Because if I don't game, I may have to go out and save this crappy world from itself.

And chicks dig gamers.

 

[Gothmog]

I mostly just do it to attract women.

Actually, I've found that to be true. No joke. My groups have always had at least 40-50% female players, and when I talk to women and tell them I game, more often than not I hear "oh, thats cool- tell me about it", or "dorky smart guys are so hot!" And when I show them my painted minis- that cinches the deal. They always think that is really cool.

Anyway, I game for fun and to have some time to spend with friends. There is also a big part of it that is a hobby for me (painting minis and collecting minis and books). When I was in grad school getting my PhD in Neurosciecne, I still made time once a month to game for a whole weekend, despite teaching a Human Physiology class, my own classwork, 30+ hours a week in lab, jogging 5 miles a day, and weightlifting 5 days a week. I haven't gamed as much since I landed my Assistant Prof job now due to getting my courses prepared and my lab set up, but I still find time to paint minis, and game when I can get friends together. Now that all of my class prep and lectures are done though, I'll have more free time, so I'm going to get another group together and run some Deadlands and WHFRP2, and maybe play some D&D.

 

[Tyler Do'Urden]

One of the arguments against middle-aged gaming seems to be that it's too time consuming for someone who has to raise a family and be successful in their career... I say that's a complete load of bull.

To take a common example of a middle aged man with a time consuming, obsessive gaming hobby, let's look at my father:
-he often spends his Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching athletic events on television.
-he often spends weekday nights doing the same
-he is a member of two country clubs, and usually plays 2-3 rounds of golf a week during the season
-during the summer season, he often has season tickets to the local minor league baseball team's nightly games, and often attends twice a week.
-he spends an evening at an Indian casino about once a month
-he subscribes to and reads three sports-related periodicals, as well as books on his favorite games

Yet his time consuming hobby has not stopped him from raising two (now grown and college-educated) children, holding together a marriage (now in it's 31st year), or becoming a self-made millionaire executive.

By contrast, my own RPG "habit" probably consumes half as much time as his gaming- and far less money- and doesn't cut in to my graduate school or work schedule.

It seems that RPG gaming should be a respectable hobby for adults; it's social, relatively inexpensive (anyone who complains about the cost of RPG books should look at what tickets for athletic events or country club memberships run for; not to mention the cost of motorsports, motorcycle collecting, etc...), thought provoking, often strategically challenging, and helps hone many mathematical and thinking skills that are valuable in a business environment.

Which leaves my question- if you enjoy it, why not do it?

 

[CarlZog]

It's a creative outlet. It's fun. It's a little bit of mental exercise.

It's not really escapism for me. I get that from other hobbies and sports.

carl

 

[MadMaxim]

Actually, I've found that to be true. No joke. My groups have always had at least 40-50% female players, and when I talk to women and tell them I game, more often than not I hear "oh, thats cool- tell me about it", or "dorky smart guys are so hot!" And when I show them my painted minis- that cinches the deal. They always think that is really cool.

I wish that was true for me too... Though the female portion of the gaming group has increased by one lately, it's not exactly a chick magnet... And the new player is a bit of goth-type as far as I can see. A pity, because she seemed cute, but I'm just not into wearing black all the time...

Back on topic: I run D&D games because I like all the preperation for a session; coming up with a plot, figuring out badguy statistics and tactics for encounters and then see if it survives contact with the player characters. Usually it doesn't (and it's not supposed to) but I have a lot of fun with it. If only some of my players would have the balls to start a campaign, but I guess my standard is too high for them

 

[warlord]

Don't be so quick to judge Mad. Chicks that are mildly goth can be hot. Anyway I game because its fun and its the only place my school can really be the center of hell.

 

[StupidSmurf]

Why do I still game, after all these years (started in 1978)?

Hmmm... good question.

1. It's a good outlet for my imagination, but in a way that has no pressure (e.g. no deadlines, no editors).

2. I enjoy talking. As a DM, talking is mandatory.

3. I love telling stories. Gaming helps.

4. It gives me something in common with my kids.

5. I love fantasy/sf/horror. Gaming feeds that animal too.

6. Although I don't do it to meet women, I should point out that I met my wife at GenCon. Long convoluted story short, she loved the RPGA Cthulhu tourney I wrote, wanted to meet the author. Met me, became friends. Abou ten years later, started dating, now married!

7. I love killing things, and doing it in real life is frowned upon in polite society unless you're in the armed forces (and even then, there has to be a war on).