Gaming

[Zarniwoop]

As I reflect on my life and hobbies I've noticed that when I first moved into Burton there was a hive of activity in all areas of gaming, There were regular meets, plenty of gaming at Spirit Games and a thriving on-line community across various sites like meet-up and a brief flare here.

Now though, there seems to be a shift and I'm not sure when or how it happened but it did. There seems to be more happening over in Derby, whilst it feels like its tapering slightly here. Certainly it is a lot less talked about, there seems to be less on-line chat about it in the old regular haunts, like the meet-ups. Seems a shame because now it feels like you almost have to already know there are games going on rather than finding them out via open discussions. Maybe the bubble is bursting on the tabletop gaming hobby, people have found their groups and getting into cliques becoming insular, I hope not but it feels like something is ever so slighly off lately.

Not sure I can put my finger on it but I'm starting to feel like I'm on the edges looking in again rather than in the thick of it having the same fun as everyone else..

...... Maybe I'm getting burned out or old or senile who knows......       

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

Well, there's been a game running every Wednesday night, almost every week of the year since shortly after Jim's Firefly "Shiny Show" campaign and I don't even want to think about how long ago that was now. We make a point of not really turning anyone away and always do what we can accommodate to random drop-ins. Those who have stuck around have topped up our numbers when necessary, keeping the session viable without hiatus in all that time.

It goes without saying that you should feel free to drop in at any point. You're more than welcome, though I understand your wednesdays are basically spoken for. Thursdays are currently running more reliably than they have in years, with a game running every single week and two games on alternate weeks, with talk of expanding to running a third potentially. Andy runs a more private game some other time of the week, Evil-Ginger does various online games with various international folks as well, though the details escape me. If anything, I'd say there's more gaming going on right now than almost any other time in the last ten years. There's only so much talk about it perhaps, given that both days have no web presence to speak of, but finding out about what's going on is as simple as asking someone, should the mood take you.

Personally, I lost all contact with the wider regional meetup groups during the big unnecessary drama that went down. I wasn't part of the group for the politics and work meant I didn't have time to do much other than attend the weekly burton-bound events and no-one else who attended those groups was even really checking the meetup site as there was basically no reason for them to need to do so other than to make those running the group feel good about visitor numbers. I've no idea what became of either of those two factions, and no time to do anything with the information if I had it.

I can see how you could feel that way though, because you did pull out of the Thursday scene. I can't speak for your reasons and I have no interest in making judgements about it, but I can emphasise with you feeling like you've found yourself on the edges because it did feel like that's where you were going from where I was sitting, if that makes any sense? Just remember that the door remains open and you're welcome back in the tent at any time, far as I'm concerned.

[Zarniwoop]

I guess the problem I'm trying to highlight is that when I first came to Burton, due to the high level of activity reflected in online chatter I was able to find and get involved in the various activities. Admittedly I had a head start already knowing about Spirit Games.

With the Burton games now mostly running dark new people seeking groups for information or join or see if games of any description happen in the area will find it harder, if they are not familiar with Spirit Games as a focal hub.

A casual observer would see that Derby is the place to go because they are being more online-vocal about their activities and it would seem more enticing. The issue with that is if we are not driving interest in our groups here as well as with the shop we become very insular and appear, at least very superciliously, unwelcoming. I know this is not the case but I'm aware of the people already and know what they are like

I am acutely aware that people struggle with time, as I am one of them, 'real life' definitely has a habit of getting in the way but posting details somewhere, obviously I'm biased towards it being here!, is always going to be helpful for lots of reasons:

GM's/DM's have a set of notes they can constantly refer to between sessions in order to help prep future games.
Players have a nice memory jog (though frequent games suffer less from this memory lag!)
It drives interest in the groups and games
Shows the types of games being played locally, where and how frequently.
With the boardgame side of things it shows what types of games, how many people etc.

The frequency of the posts does not have to be on any stringent regularity but an occasional catchup post would be more than enough. It's gotten that way with the boardgame posts by me and I am trying to get back into posting something about those more often.

In regards to my participation on the Thur nights games, I did intend to return at some point but there are a few life/work things that need to resolve to out my head back into a space that feels right.

Thanks for your response and I trust that my original message and this reply are taken in the spirit of helpfulness with which they were meant.

[Snakes in the Tiki Lounge]

I understand where you're coming from, sure.