Why is it so difficult to find good groups?

[Stumblewyk]

The problem is that in fact, there aren't that many tables because there aren't that many game masters. The number of willing players exceeds both the number of willing dungeon masters.

Eh. I don't know about this so much...well, maybe I do, but there is a caveat. Maybe I'm just lucky, but in my one gaming group, we've got 6 people - 4 of us are GMs.

In my other group, we have 7 people, I DM primarily, but 2 others have taken the helm from time to time to give me a break.

I think there are plenty of DMs out there, we just tend to group up with like-minded gamers.

 

[Dedekind]

When I moved, looking for LFR games helped me meet new people. The FLGS had the usual mix of hosers and non-hosers playing. Of those new people, the non-hosers were fun to play with it and we exchanged email addresses. Now, I have two regular games with them (and others).

I suspect you'll get more traction with offering to DM yourself. LFR helps with that since you are only prepping 3 encounters and not an entire story arc.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Yeah I think there is truth to this. The good tables are full and people rarely leave them. So there isn't room. Ironically, even the most stable table can sometimes use a dose of fresh blood.

I know with my own group I hold onto my seat very tightly. I'm lucky and I know it.

There are other great points in this thread. It seems like there is always a trouble maker at every random table I sit at. People just don't always get along.

Finding a good group is very hard and usually you have to compromise. Especially when you are older and have kids and work and the responsibilities of life to make it more difficult to coordinate regular meetings.

Agreed on how new blood can add to the group. I was the new blood back in the late 90s and having been out of gaming for about 5 years. I think the players in that group were so used to the DM and his style that sometimes they tended to think, "what would Joe (the DM) do?" because they had gamed with him for 8-10-12 years or more and were trying to recall similar situations in previous campaigns. However, because I was new to the group, I brought fresh ideas and (sometimes) fresh thinking and thought about what my character would do in that situation instead of trying to outsmart the DM. (I hooked up with this group through the new defunct website www.webrpg.com )

That said, that old DM Joe always had big groups of players (9 or 10 was normal) and was always looking for one more. And, we tried adding a few more gamers after that on an adhoc basis and had some awful luck in meeting the worst of the gamer stereotypes. So, new blood is good sometimes, other times, not so good.