From the article archive
Strengthening the Herd 2.0: The 52 Gamer Pledge
I'll begin this one simple.
The Background
The 52 Gamer Pledge is an idea born from the desolate wastes of living in Lawton, OK. You see, I have been a gamer since I graduated from high school in Anadarko, OK, and I always dreamed that college would be an opportunity to sow my oats. I would be able to experience and play all those games I had only heard about on gaming forums across the world. College would be my opportunity to chunk dice and neglect my studies.
Unfortunately, my short year and a half in the dorms came to a dismal end. I lost my scholarship (which was actually a good thing) and moved out to my own apartment. In my exciting time in the dorms, I merely played one game of AD&D, and the game was constantly interrupted by a gaggle of weed smokers who had somehow been invited to game with us. They did not really game -- rather, they sat there and interrupted everything.
Later, my gaming life became enriched. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and teach some folks how to game. I picked a killer guitarist god who I knew loved Monty Python and his roommate (who also shared Python tastes) to be my first test subjects. Later, I added my two sisters (who I lived with) and my girlfriend to the mix. While the games were often strange and amateurish, a new gaming group was born.
The next level was even more ambitious. With the help of the guitarist god (who really rocks on the guitar), we hogtied about six more gamers into our bursting gaming group mix. Things were transforming quite nicely. I had been faithful, and indeed, the desert of gaming exploded with milk and honey.
As our group enlarged, Chris (guitarist god) and I decided that there had to be another level. Indeed, I came up with the idea of Lawcon, a simple one day convention for the Lawton area that would usher in an even better age for gamers everywhere. Unfortunately, the idea didn't take quite so well - we had 5 gamers show up (one new guy). In the back of my mind though, the seed had been planted.
The Realization
Lawton, Oklahoma is a military town. In military towns, gaming is usually a fairly common thing, even if it is just on the level of wargaming or some such. I had expected that the hard part would be teaching new gamers how to game and the easy part would be finding gamers already here. Lawcon was an effort to capitalize on that -- if I built it, they would come.
I was wrong.
I soon discovered that it was easier to teach new gamers how to game than it was to teach old gamers how to chunk dice differently. To break it down for you slow folks out there, I suspected that gamers who already were established in their age old gaming mafias were not likely to move away from that structure. Why try something new when the stale games you already play are just fine?
Then, one morning, the seed bloomed into a beautiful aloe vera plant. I could build my own convention! My mind crackled with the intensity of the breakthrough. My original goal for Lawcon was about 50 gamers. If I merely teach one new gamer a week for a full year, my dream would be realized.
It was simple.
The Pledge
For one full year, I hereby pledge to introduce an individual each week to the gaming hobby.
The Dreamy Results
Let's say you take this pledge, and you are successful. What does that mean?
Simple -- you have 52 names you can call up now if you want to start a game. In theory, you could form 7 gaming groups for each night of the week with 7 players each. If 25% of those new gamers could GM once or twice a year, you would easily have about 13 one shot games you could enjoy. If you wanted to start that nice game convention, you have 52 gamers to build off of (without counting yourself).
Let's talk about 52 gamers in terms of the game industry. I want to preface this by saying I am only going to give raw numbers, because I don't want to worry about profit margin and this and that. Let's say all 52 gamers go out and buy a Player's Handbook from their local entertainment store. Player's Handbooks are $19.95, so for that single day, they spend $1037.40. I'd say not bad at all, but I'm pretty sure most gaming stores could not supply 52 Player's Handbooks in one day (which is the point). For Alex Knapik's courtesy, let's say you are going to run Ars Magica so you order your 52 gamers to go buy Ars Magica. They decide to order a hardcover version direct from Atlas for a whopping total of $2340.00. Again, I think Alex will get paid that week.
On a larger scope, let's say that 20 gamers have taken the 52 gamer pledge, and they are completely successful. Wow - a grand total 1040 new gamers introduced to this wicked hobby. You can only imagine how nice that would be for game shops around the world. If in our fantasy dream land they all ordered Ars Magic direct from Atlas, in a single day, Atlas would have made $46,800.00. Cha ching!
Back to Reality
With all that said, the 52 Gamer Pledge can only happen if you set a goal and work to achieve it. The pledge is not complicated. In fact, I would say that it is very achievable. Of course, the pledge is not easy. I am behind in my own pledge -- but I am planning on catching up in time for Lawcon III.
Let me return to Lawcon II. I pulled together the convention for #2 in early November, and we had a blast. This time we had about 12 gamers total, with easily half of those being brand new folks. Definitely, I was stoked and excited, because 20 is the next step. Lawcon III has already been planned in March.
Saving the Gaming Hobby
I think my article is winding down.
The 52 Gamer Pledge not only makes your gaming life much more interesting, it really does help our sometimes floundering game industry. The pledge is a way to be proactive about helping the industry flow, while not necessarily killing your pocketbook in the process. I think it is a perfect medium for everybody who is concerned about our hobby's future.
With that said, are you going to take the 52 Gamer Pledge? I want to know -- reply in the forums, in email, or by smoke signal. I'm waiting.
Before I leave, here are some final tips for finding gamers:
1) Ask about Lord of the Rings.
Simple. Clean. Efficient. Safe. Approach anyone who seems a target for gaming and ask quite innocently, "So, did you go watch the Fellowship of the Ring movie? What did you think?" If there eyes roll back in their head and they respond in Elven, you may have found a possibly inductee into gaming.
2) Ask about Harry Potter.
Same thing - but insert Harry Potter.
3) Look for "alternative" t-shirts.
If your target wears shirts that have radical or punk designs, they might be a candidate. I cannot stress enough that people who don't like to dress normal make great gamers. Look at Jared for example (see forums if you don't get it).
4) Drop a dice nearby.
Go through your wallets looking for something and drop a d20 by accident. Note their reaction -- if they seem interested, go for the kill. If they seem disgusted, quietly remove yourself from their premises.
5) Do they breathe?
Ask this question. If the answer is a yes, they probably will game with you.
The Background
The 52 Gamer Pledge is an idea born from the desolate wastes of living in Lawton, OK. You see, I have been a gamer since I graduated from high school in Anadarko, OK, and I always dreamed that college would be an opportunity to sow my oats. I would be able to experience and play all those games I had only heard about on gaming forums across the world. College would be my opportunity to chunk dice and neglect my studies.
Unfortunately, my short year and a half in the dorms came to a dismal end. I lost my scholarship (which was actually a good thing) and moved out to my own apartment. In my exciting time in the dorms, I merely played one game of AD&D, and the game was constantly interrupted by a gaggle of weed smokers who had somehow been invited to game with us. They did not really game -- rather, they sat there and interrupted everything.
Later, my gaming life became enriched. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and teach some folks how to game. I picked a killer guitarist god who I knew loved Monty Python and his roommate (who also shared Python tastes) to be my first test subjects. Later, I added my two sisters (who I lived with) and my girlfriend to the mix. While the games were often strange and amateurish, a new gaming group was born.
The next level was even more ambitious. With the help of the guitarist god (who really rocks on the guitar), we hogtied about six more gamers into our bursting gaming group mix. Things were transforming quite nicely. I had been faithful, and indeed, the desert of gaming exploded with milk and honey.
As our group enlarged, Chris (guitarist god) and I decided that there had to be another level. Indeed, I came up with the idea of Lawcon, a simple one day convention for the Lawton area that would usher in an even better age for gamers everywhere. Unfortunately, the idea didn't take quite so well - we had 5 gamers show up (one new guy). In the back of my mind though, the seed had been planted.
The Realization
Lawton, Oklahoma is a military town. In military towns, gaming is usually a fairly common thing, even if it is just on the level of wargaming or some such. I had expected that the hard part would be teaching new gamers how to game and the easy part would be finding gamers already here. Lawcon was an effort to capitalize on that -- if I built it, they would come.
I was wrong.
I soon discovered that it was easier to teach new gamers how to game than it was to teach old gamers how to chunk dice differently. To break it down for you slow folks out there, I suspected that gamers who already were established in their age old gaming mafias were not likely to move away from that structure. Why try something new when the stale games you already play are just fine?
Then, one morning, the seed bloomed into a beautiful aloe vera plant. I could build my own convention! My mind crackled with the intensity of the breakthrough. My original goal for Lawcon was about 50 gamers. If I merely teach one new gamer a week for a full year, my dream would be realized.
It was simple.
The Pledge
For one full year, I hereby pledge to introduce an individual each week to the gaming hobby.
The Dreamy Results
Let's say you take this pledge, and you are successful. What does that mean?
Simple -- you have 52 names you can call up now if you want to start a game. In theory, you could form 7 gaming groups for each night of the week with 7 players each. If 25% of those new gamers could GM once or twice a year, you would easily have about 13 one shot games you could enjoy. If you wanted to start that nice game convention, you have 52 gamers to build off of (without counting yourself).
Let's talk about 52 gamers in terms of the game industry. I want to preface this by saying I am only going to give raw numbers, because I don't want to worry about profit margin and this and that. Let's say all 52 gamers go out and buy a Player's Handbook from their local entertainment store. Player's Handbooks are $19.95, so for that single day, they spend $1037.40. I'd say not bad at all, but I'm pretty sure most gaming stores could not supply 52 Player's Handbooks in one day (which is the point). For Alex Knapik's courtesy, let's say you are going to run Ars Magica so you order your 52 gamers to go buy Ars Magica. They decide to order a hardcover version direct from Atlas for a whopping total of $2340.00. Again, I think Alex will get paid that week.
On a larger scope, let's say that 20 gamers have taken the 52 gamer pledge, and they are completely successful. Wow - a grand total 1040 new gamers introduced to this wicked hobby. You can only imagine how nice that would be for game shops around the world. If in our fantasy dream land they all ordered Ars Magic direct from Atlas, in a single day, Atlas would have made $46,800.00. Cha ching!
Back to Reality
With all that said, the 52 Gamer Pledge can only happen if you set a goal and work to achieve it. The pledge is not complicated. In fact, I would say that it is very achievable. Of course, the pledge is not easy. I am behind in my own pledge -- but I am planning on catching up in time for Lawcon III.
Let me return to Lawcon II. I pulled together the convention for #2 in early November, and we had a blast. This time we had about 12 gamers total, with easily half of those being brand new folks. Definitely, I was stoked and excited, because 20 is the next step. Lawcon III has already been planned in March.
Saving the Gaming Hobby
I think my article is winding down.
The 52 Gamer Pledge not only makes your gaming life much more interesting, it really does help our sometimes floundering game industry. The pledge is a way to be proactive about helping the industry flow, while not necessarily killing your pocketbook in the process. I think it is a perfect medium for everybody who is concerned about our hobby's future.
With that said, are you going to take the 52 Gamer Pledge? I want to know -- reply in the forums, in email, or by smoke signal. I'm waiting.
Before I leave, here are some final tips for finding gamers:
1) Ask about Lord of the Rings.
Simple. Clean. Efficient. Safe. Approach anyone who seems a target for gaming and ask quite innocently, "So, did you go watch the Fellowship of the Ring movie? What did you think?" If there eyes roll back in their head and they respond in Elven, you may have found a possibly inductee into gaming.
2) Ask about Harry Potter.
Same thing - but insert Harry Potter.
3) Look for "alternative" t-shirts.
If your target wears shirts that have radical or punk designs, they might be a candidate. I cannot stress enough that people who don't like to dress normal make great gamers. Look at Jared for example (see forums if you don't get it).
4) Drop a dice nearby.
Go through your wallets looking for something and drop a d20 by accident. Note their reaction -- if they seem interested, go for the kill. If they seem disgusted, quietly remove yourself from their premises.
5) Do they breathe?
Ask this question. If the answer is a yes, they probably will game with you.
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