<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by trader jim:
i am going to try to start a group in sacramento, ca. there is a game store called
"great Escape Games" in town ther in the yellow page here. i am going to post notices at all game stores and hobby shops and and war gaming shops. we will see what happens.
great escape games has a lot of tables and space which they said we could use. i will really make a true effort to get something going here - i will get back to you all with a report. wish me luck!!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I've put together 2 large gaming groups in the last 4 years (had to move and start from scratch once.) I have a few pieces of advice.
1) Pick a day and time and stick to it. If even 1 person shows up, play the game. This saves you endless headaches on scheduling and gets the players in the habit of scheduling around you if they really want to play.
2) Make up a batch of pre-generated characters and, if you're playing in a game store, ask anyone who's hanging around if they want to play. This is really key and is the principal strength of playing at a game store.
3) If it looks like you have a lot of 30-something married men, consider scheduling the game every other week. Once a week can be too much of a commitment and once a month is more like a special occasion than a regular thing.
4) If you recognize the "GM itch" in some of your players, offer to let anyone GM a session or two now and again. It will help spread a little good will and give you a chance to play in your own campaign.
5) I've had a lot of luck recruiting players on Internet "player databases" give them a try.
6) If you still have trouble finding players, try starting a D&D campaign, and then switch over to Traveller once you feel you have a solid group of players. There are a lot of D&D players out there who are more likely to try something new with a GM they know then are likely to try a new game and a new group simultaneously.
Like I said, I put together 2 groups of 6-10 players withing a 4 year period and those are the rules I used and lessons I learned while doing it.
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Dave "Dr. Skull" Nelson
