More people? More than what amount? When was this amount determined?
Let me see if I understand...are the same number of people playing this year as last? As the year before? As when the hobby began?
While official numbers for 2018 are not in as of yet, Gen Con set a record in 2017 for its 50th Anniversary having an attendance of nearly 208,000 people. The attendance for 2016 was 202,000. As someone who once worked for a pop culture convention management company I can tell you those numbers are incredible and the increase staggering.
I get the idea behind the question. What can we as individual fans of this hobby due to contribute to the hobby's growth? It's a great question, really, but I feel like we sometimes skip over the fact that whatever it is...we're doing it.
Tabletop gaming, be it RPGs or boardgames, is clearly on the rise. I look at the number of titles Modiphius has put out in just the past year, the sales on miniatures games like Fantasy Flight's X-Wing, and the incredible success rates of games on Kickstarter and I have to imagine that someone out there is buying and playing these games.
I think we as current gamers can get more people to play by asking friends and family to join in if they have an interest in fandom and pop culture things. Do you know someone who reads Fantasy Novels? Ask them to try Dungeons and Dragons. Have students in your class who are always talking about Star Wars and own BB-8 backpacks and folders with Rei on them? Maybe reward the kids with a session of the Star Wars RPG.
Post up signs at your local game store or comic book shop saying you're looking for more players. I've learned from experience that sometimes, in addition to veteran gamers looking for a group, you'll get new people looking to try it out for the first time.
Be inclusive. Let anyone with a passion for the hobby into the hobby.
How did you start? Give that gift to someone else.
Until next time,
AD
Barking Alien
I think we as current gamers can get more people to play by asking friends and family to join in if they have an interest in fandom and pop culture things. Do you know someone who reads Fantasy Novels? Ask them to try Dungeons and Dragons. Have students in your class who are always talking about Star Wars and own BB-8 backpacks and folders with Rei on them? Maybe reward the kids with a session of the Star Wars RPG.
Post up signs at your local game store or comic book shop saying you're looking for more players. I've learned from experience that sometimes, in addition to veteran gamers looking for a group, you'll get new people looking to try it out for the first time.
Be inclusive. Let anyone with a passion for the hobby into the hobby.
How did you start? Give that gift to someone else.
Until next time,
AD
Barking Alien
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