Finding Players

There are a number of useful online references for finding players. NearbyGamers is one of the best. Frappr Maps is also good. I'll start by contacting everyone listed on both those sites in the local area. In addition living in the United Kingdom I have the advantage of UK Roleplayers - a great resource, and there is a local forum for games in my city (I set it up myself so that the various gaming groups in the area could stay in touch with each other).

Most roleplayers at some point pass through their local gaming shops, many of them also buy comics. It’s worth checking out local gaming shops and comic shops, seeing if they have notice boards, and if they do advertising on them.

Friends who don't game may be interested in giving gaming a try. I have several work colleagues who play online games like World of Warcraft. Some of them have expressed an interest in roleplaying (normally followed by an excuse that they haven't got time for a regular weekly commitment unfortunately). Talk about gaming. If you don't talk about gaming you'll never find out if there are other gamers you deal with on a daily basis. You could see gamers every day and never realise.

The most important thing is to be active. Roleplayers won’t just come to you in your time of need. Unless you advertise your need for players, and talk about your gaming you wont find people. Each day we deal with dozens, perhaps hundreds of people. Each of those people is a either a hidden gamer or has the potential to be a gamer.

Assessing Players

Okay. Lets assume I've found a potential player. How do I know if I should let this stranger join my game? Will they be a good fit? Can I rely on them? I’m going to be picky. This is someone I'm going to hopefully be playing with for some time.

To begin with I need to know a little about them. Depending on the method by which I made contact with them I might phone or email him (or her). I'll tell them a little about my group, what we play, when we play and who we are (in general terms - nothing which will allow him to identify individual players). Then I'll find out what sort of group they are looking for, and ask whether this meets their expectations.

The next step is meeting them in person. I'm a little nervous about this stage. I'm not exaggerating when I say a gamer followed me and a friend home on foot from a comic shop (he followed us over 4 miles) because he overheard us talking about roleplaying. Thankfully he turned out to be harmless and friendly if a little obsessive. We told him about a local gaming club, he joined a game, and later dropped out when he discovered girls. You'll be pleased to know he grew up to be a really great guy, and later rediscovered roleplaying. The experience has taught me to be weary though. The next person to follow me home may be less 'harmless'. So - 'meet them'. I'm going to suggest that when you meet a new player for the first time it should be in a public place, somewhere quiet enough to talk and somewhere comfortable. Coffee shops are a good choice, but I favour a local bar thats got really comfortable couches and serves great coffee. A poor choice would be the local gaming sh

So what do I ask them? Well initially anything except roleplaying. If they are right for the group you'll be able to happily chat with them about life outside of gaming. I don't know about other groups, but my group meet for barbeques, to go to the cinema together, chat before and after games (often during if I cant keep them on track) and are happy to do favours for each other. At this point I'm not recruiting a gamer - I'm recruiting a potential member in a circle of friends.

Working players into the group

The first game with the group is potentially difficult. If you have a long running campaign the built up backstory can be potentially overwhelming for a new player. They'll be nervous and the other players won’t really get to see them at their best. There are various ways you might get around this, but I would suggest your first game with the new player either be a board game with roleplaying elements, or a short one-off convention length game. That way the new player is not at a disadvantage. You can work him into your campaign later - this is his chance to meet the group and you don’t want to detract from it. Like the first meeting I would suggest doing this in a neutral location. If this meeting goes well then you can start trading details and inviting them to real gaming sessions.

Summary

These are all thoughts based on my previous experience of recruiting players. My gaming group is now once again short of players and I'm back at the start of the recruitment process. I normally view this as a three stage process: Find the gamer, assess the gamer and introduce the gamer to the group. It’s an active process, and it involves talking to potential gamers and non-gamers about gaming. It’s also something I do with care since the wrong gamer will not work with my group and I've had experience with strange gamers before. I'll keep you updated on how recruitment goes this time.