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Getting Started
Hi! It's been nearly 2 years since I have been able to get a good pen and paper game started. I have plenty of interested players in theory, but everybody is always too busy to be willing to commit. So I wondered, how do other people get around this? Any advice on how to actually find players able to join a game in the busy, busy adult world?




Run games as one-shots. This is similar to the premise of convention games, where instead of a long story or campaign, you are sitting down for a 3-4 hour session to tell one isolated story.
In my case I have friends who are all old an doing adult stuff like me, and we live in a city of horrible traffic, so scheduling is a complete pain. I ended up doing a campaign where each game night was an episodic encounter. E.g. In my case I wanted to run fantasy, but decided on: "You are all part of a crack team of special forces in the Empire's army, on a frontier filled with conflict." This way, no matter who showed up on a given night, it would be a one-off special "mission" to go do something. In my case I also had an overriding set of things going on with the world which were coming to a head, so as a GM I could also do world and campaign-building on the side.
Also, look for games that are specifically made for quick, one-shot play. Some are GM-less (no GM, just rules to adjudicate play) some are GM-based. Things like The Quiet Year, or Microscope, or Lady Blackbird, or Powered-by-the-Apocalypse (PbtA) games like Dungeon World... all these work really well at quickly and smoothly having a game session that fits in a small space.
Oh, and to that end, if these games are out of your wheelhouse, and you know nothing about this scene, go check out local game conventions if you are lucky enough to have some. They are a great way to introduce you to the one-shot form of play as well as new game systems that work well for that!
I've found online games to be infinitely easier to start, but you have to be careful to make sure you get the kinds of players you want. roll20.net is a good place to go for online games.
As for games around a table, it never hurts to spend some time in your local gaming store and seeing if you could talk to some people or put up some flyers. Maybe ask the owners if you can host the game there, which might draw some extra people in over time if you can get it off the ground. There also might be a meetup.com group in your area that you can make a post in. All things considered, I've found it's pretty tough to start and keep a local group going - but not impossible! Good luck!
@Radischia is right. I would try and find new players around your local gaming store first. Sometimes there are local gaming events hosted there or simply people with shared interests. Online gaming is commonplace these days but if you want to "come back" I would suggest you first try "analog" and if met with no success, then go to roll20.net or similar sites that provide online gaming.
Another thought is to focus on one shots and games that are designed to be played in a single session. Rather than asking people to commit to long stretches, just gather folks for one evening, with no ongoing commitment. If you keep doing this, you'll eventually find enough folk who have the appetite for something more long form.
I'd like to second roll20 as a good venue for tabletop RPG. But, you will have a LOT better luck finding players than as a player finding a game. Good luck, have fun and be safe!
Thanks for all the input. It sounds like in this fast paced world, it's not quite as easy to gather people together. And I moved away from my main gaming group, but I'm not someone that's particularly comfortable with gaming with strangers. So while I live right down the street from a gaming store, I tend to avoid that option.
I've definitely thought about one-shots, and it's something I've done with my own gaming groups in the past. Having them open up a tavern/adventurers guild, allowing me to give them quick one/two shot adventures if we didn't think we could commit to longer. It's a great way to handle that, but of course it requires being able to get that group together for even ONE shot
Still, it sounds like there are various online methods to use, and this may be easier to grab people for, especially since my friends across the state from me could potentially join. I do like the social aspect that comes with actually gathering around a table (not to mention my map mat, dm screen, and initiative tracker aren't terribly useful in that scenario), but it's still a whole lot better than no games. On that note, are there any good clients or websites for doing such a thing?
I agree with all the advice already given! I'd also add that I had a group for a while that met over Google Hangout--it was easier to get people to commit when they didn't have to put on pants or get in their cars. (It also meant we could get a larger group together--crossing state lines, etc.) Meeting once every 2-3 weeks seems to be the golden time that works for most people, most of the time, I've found.