Forum: Public Forum

Unfortunately the main factor in not attending any of the Big Meets since I joined the group in March is that they usually fall on the weekends I am working.

Other more recent factors have been other things happening (in particular attending gamesday events) and the distance. Is there a way that the venue can be rotated between the various cities of the group (Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, even Loughborough).

Just a thought.

This group is responsible for getting me back into regular gaming after too long a hiatus, even to the point of helping me find a venue and players for my fortnightly game of D&D, for which I am immensely grateful and so glad the group has continued to exist beyond its "meetup" site.

Keep up the fantastic work guys, you are very much appreciated.

Mik,

The "rotating" Big Meet is a recurrent question. It is always answered in the same way: "We tried it before, people got confused, it did not work".

I joined last year around June and was always told so. So, I always come from Nott'm every month.

The crowd that believes it should always be in Derby have a lot of valid points:

• The local is pretty good and friendly (minus one grumpy employee ) of the publican.
• Derby is easier to reach by rail, coach and bus than Leicester or Nottingham, I mean for the return journey in the evening.
• Not many people are actually from Derby, but it is sort of central and makes everybody go there.
• If the Big Meet had to rotate, others might have to organise the venue.

So in the end, while originally in favour of rotating the Big Meet, I do not mind going to Derby for a £5.40 return rail fare.

Laurent,

I think once people get used to the new site, attendance will start picking up anyway. Summer months usually have lower attendance anyway, don't they?

But for what it is worth, I know that if I can get to a monthly meetup it is going to be very infrequently, so I'd rather play a one-off game. The games I see seem to be campaigns. Even if they are designed specifically for drop-in, drop-out, there will still be a core group of players all with their in-jokes of what has happened previously etc.

The other thing is that the D&D games aren't 4E. I don't want to learn a new edition of D&D to play D&D. I guess what I'm trying to say is that, for me, it is either 4E D&D or a non-D&D game.

However, I don't think 4E is too popular with monthly meetup people. The last time I ran a 4E game at the monthly meetup, there wasn't that much interest and I had to drag Toby, Shane and Jen (from my regular game) into the game for it to take place. Shane also offered to run a 4E one off and didn't get much interest in it.

So basically it looks like what I want from a monthly meetup and what takes place are different things. Which I am OK with, but it is part of the reason I don't come that often (the other and probably bigger factor is that I have moved out of the centre of Nottingham which adds even more time on to the journey to and from the meetup).

EDITED TO ADD: I just remembered Grendon was 4E and I even played in a session of that! So maybe it isn't so much 4E, btu something else then. Unless the only people who play 4E were all in Grendon hence the low interest in my 4E game. I shall stop rambling now.

Paul,

You got it the wrong way round I guess:

• There are games when there are GMs.
• GMs obviously propose games in the system they like.
• For the last meetup I was the only person offering games.
• I like D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder RPG.

Apply the rule of cause and effect to understand why there has been no 4ed game of late.

In the past there was always a game SLA and a 4e game (Grendon) for the Afternoon Session. I think Charles took over "Grendon II", which is still 4e.

Personally I always run published adventures. It is highly unlikely that a standard adventure can be run in three to four hours. So it is always going to be the case that there will be continuity between sessions.
I have "Pathfinder Society" scenarios that are four to five encounter long adventures, thus pretty well timed for a Big Meet session. Lack of attendees so far, so not many have been run at the Big Meet.

The Big Meet attendance has hard core and regular attendees, these people are entitled to have a bit of continuity in their gaming if they so wish.
That being said, I believe that my games, and the other Big Meet regular games such as "Grendon" and "SLA", are indeed "drop-in / drop-out".
I have also recently imposed pre-gens for new players, thus enforcing the drop-in/drop-out rule. However, it would be harsh if I decided to kick Len out of the game the next time he says "Crossbow time" because he would be committing the cardinal sin of an in-game joke.

Please note that even in the days when we had a lot of people coming I had not always run my Pathfinder game. There is always the question of what people want to play. So if you show up one month with your 4e game and get no customer, it does not mean that the following month it would not attract many.

So it is back to the first statement: If there is no game advertised, there will be no players... thus no game.

Laurent,

Paul,

How dare you edit your post in the middle of my igniting an anti-4e flame-war!
This is not fair!

The "Hey, I was thinking of running X sometime - anyone interested?" school of proposing games nearly always fails. I know, it took me three months before starting "Rise of the Runelords" before realising that this kind of messages is very unlikely to attract replies. I think it was Toby who at the time told me: "Post your game on the calendar, people will show interest."
He was right.

There seem to be a threshold for the average, or new, member for them to participate in a game: people are pretty good at requesting joining existing games. However, there seem to be a social block, shyness or something, when it comes to be one of the first players to volunteer to play in a game that has yet to be confirmed.

So for a Big Meet, the advice to the potential GM is to have their game posted in a session and show up, whatever the number of RSVPs (even if zero).
If nobody wants to play, tough luck, the GM can become a player in another game; but the game has to be advertised as happening come what may.

Laurent,

I hope the discussion Laurent and I were having hasn't put people off of airing their views in this thread.

If I am wrong and the attendance won't pick up naturally and there are reasons people are staying away from the monthly meet, then the organising team want to hear them.

Cheers,

Paul

Nottingham has recently made the news because it is the city where fewest people are dependent on cars. (see report)

This backs up the view that fewer people in Nottingham drive, but it does not explain why they are so reluctant to travel at all. There are trains and buses and apparently people in Nottingham know how to use those. Just not to get out of Nottingham it seems.

The basic issue is that many members are still unaware that the main reason the group thrives is the big meet. No matter what other opinions people have about why they in particular don't need to bother attending, if the attendance does not pick up, the group will soon begin to dwindle. If there enough people attending, we have found that the range of games on offer increases. If the players don't come, the GMs stop offering games, its that simple.

The attitude that "I have my game, and that is all I need" is all it takes to slowly destroy the group. The group is the reason many people are back into enjoying a game. The group needs for the occasional return on investment by having people make the effort to attend the big meet occasionally. That is all it takes. An occasional effort to attend.

Strangely, we appear quite happy to have a Frenchman show the way. Don't let the froggy show you up!

I do realise that this appears to be a challenge to Nottingham specifically, so don't get me wrong, we all need to make the effort, no matter where we hail from. There are regulars, thank god, but there are also many who have never attended in years, yet you benefit from everything the group offers.

Len

So if that's the case I'll say on here now that there is a respectable self-drive place just down the road from me and if enough people show interest on this thread and are willing to chip in (and someone to drive (perhaps Laurent? I personally have nothing against the french)) I can talk to them and try to get somesort of more regular Nottingham contingent going. Although, I wouldn't be able to organise it all every month. Heck, with enough advance planning I can even try to run some 4e games but, the travel issue is very very real for me cause if I come I'd want to try and stay for the whole thing and everything I can find says that wouldn't be possible. Do we have Derby members that attend regularly? Would they be willing to give up space on their floor (as we have done previously in other societies?).

That would be for Derby folks to offer, but it certainly sounds like the sort of thing Leicester folks have been doing all along. We talk to each other, arrange lifts and plan trips together. At one point, there were three cars full of folks making the journey.

My offer always stands of lifts to and from the meet for Leicester folks. If I am going, I usually drive, and have space for others. We have in the past chipped in for taxis back from Nottingham and made a day out of it with a train journey to Nottingham. This is a Social Group of roleplayers. It thrives on people being sociable.

Len

Well thanks guys for starting the discussion...

Couple of things to add, please dont see this as a regional thing...there are plenty of Leic folks who no longer make the effort they used to in order to attend, and many more Derby folks. But Paul is right...

If there are things stopping people then we should look at them...

Well for what it is worth I stopped going to the big meet eventually because there was nothing on that interested me. Granted I am picky there but it was a lengthy trek that was costing money at a time I didn't have a lot to go run a game and then go home. About the same time a couple of things started up that did interest me but being a stubborn sort I let my decision stand.

I had been planning on coming back and offering to run at least one if not two "true" one shot games at each meet. Being me they would of course have been non-dnd but I've a lot of other systems I want to run or run more of so a bunch of one shots would have suited me. No ongoing group or story however much it may be drop in / drop out friendly there was at the time and seems to still be a feeling that is not enough for those who want to drop in once in a while they want a complete in one sitting adventure. So I figured on providing the non dnd flavour and the one shots there seemed to be some interest in and see how that worked out.

Of course time may well have been an issue in doing those things but then I got a job in another country which makes getting to the big meet something of a moot point for me anyway at present.

I would agree there is a certain 'power' to having games up on display as it shows folk there is the potential for lots of games and if lots of players show up there will be adequate capacity for it. But that is a gut feeling I've nothing to back it up.

Certainly when I return if I possibly can I'll be there running stuff for all.

Glenn,

If someone is organising a car pooling solution, I would indeed chip in. If the car must be rented for the occasion, why not?
I could drive it, although that would mean no booze while playing. The problem is that I cannot park a car where I live and my Sunday mornings are taken by an activity Richard Dawkins and the BBC disapprove of, so I could not return the car the day after within the 24 hour renting period.

In any case hiring a car or van on a Saturday for a Saturday only is near impossible as car hire companies only open on Saturday mornings and are usually closed on Sundays. Usually they offer a secure box to leave the keys after opening hours, but not always. If your solution is not hindered by these restrictions, again why not?

I will not make the October meeting in any case, so this would only be of concern to me for November.

Laurent,

My main problem with the meet ups has always been my son. I either have to leave at 4 to pick him up or give up a day with him in order to play.
Other than that the games on offer in a similar vain to Alen don't really appeal and when I've offered games and indeed posted them on the calender pick up was low. I know my games aren't for everyone and thats fine.
Much as there are some nice people who go to the meet ups it hardly seems worthwhile traveling to spend an hour with gamers who are playing games I'm involved in.

Dear all,

Maybe we need to rejig the Big Meet offerings in order to attract people.

Let's formulate the following hypotheses:

• There is an interest threshold below which a member will not spend the time and/or money to attend the Big Meet.
• Members are unlikely to volunteer running a game if there is no display of interest for their type of game or any game on offer.
• As a corollary to the prior point, members do not sign-in at a Big Meet lest there is a wide choice of games.

The current/previous Big Meet format used to work because two things happened simultaneously: Enough players and enough games. And most of all, good gaming sessions, fun and all that made people say "See you all next month".

We have reached a point where not enough games attract enough players and not enough players are coming to motivate people to run games. Hence the perceived effect of the law of diminishing returns having switched to a spiral of oblivion.

I propose that we change the format of the Big Meet, a format that is "game centric". Let's have a format that is "social centric".

EMRPGG is here to facilitate the creation and running of games in the East Midlands. One only needs to look at the calendar to see that it is working, leaving Meetup or not. I mean, there is many a game being run right now for a mere eighty or so people signed in. Why should the Big Meet be "yet another game" to a member with at best people not from that member's area?

Allow me to throw an idea into the pit:

The Big Meet should "force" people to come to the Brunswick to eat, drink and talk to other gaming groups about one's gaming group or lack thereof.
Basically the one hour social should become the Big Meet.

In order to kick start discussions, just in case our gaming members fit too much the shy geek model, we could propose lines of discussions, such as:

"Tricks and tips on how to run a game for the first time."
"Trying new game systems."
"How to handle power gaming?"
"The effects of playing 4e on male potency."
"Derby scums and Nottingham supremacy."
"The olden days of D&D in the 1950s when women were in the kitchen, paedophiles did not exist and God fearing family men were gainfully employed making whippet flanges at the local steel-mill."

If people want to play a game or two, tables could be cleared, but gaming would not be the crux of the event anymore.

Well, this was my inspired contribution, please add to it or rebuke it as you see fit.

Laurent,

Knew you couldn't do October Laurent and knew I couldn't make it either which is why I posted in this thread. Wasn't suggesting it had to be you specifically either was just my attempt at a french joke counter-attack (or something). I did try to work through a sort of letting things be a little regional 3 weeks out of the month with the Big Meet being the big meet (sort of the way Camarilla UK worked). Allowing for car pools and stuff but, got shot down real quick with talk about how apparently it was tried once and didn't work so, to be honest gave up a bit on the Big Meet. Have brought it up a few times since but, I have to depend on either public transport which isn't really that inexpensive when you have to support a family (and obviously meets in pubs lend themselves to spending even more money). That was actually a big factor in moving away from venues like Ye Old Trip and the Salutation to be honest.

Obviously, Len has got some of the Leicester side of the transport issues sorted for people so maybe a thread for discussion about Car Pool and such for others could be utilised. I mean, not driving I couldn't even tell you how much petrol it would take to get to Derby but, if I knew people with cars that were definitely going then I would at least try to split the cost.

So how am I going to be "forced" to attend an event that realistically I still don't know a great deal about? To give a quick potted history, back in January 2009 I put the words "Dungeons Dragons East Midlands" into Google and found the meetup group. I read the forum, met them in a pub and 20 months later we're still going having played various different games and campaigns. Now, some faces have changed but that's the nature of anything.

Now, I've never really gotten involved in anything else related to the group, perhaps that was selfish or a little mercenary of me but I found a gaming group and I was very happy because of that. I recalled vaguely reading about a big meetup but never really pursued it. Like a lot of people on here, my weekends can be quite full, as I have a to spend one week in four on call, I LRP a lot, etc.

Now, how are you going to entice me to a big meetup?

1. Advertising, if the meetup is as important as some of you are pushing then I would imagine it deserves not to be lost in the miasma that's the events calendar, would it not be worth a stickied article looking forward to the next event giving people lots of notice.

2. Games, currently it seems that it's only RPG's at the big meetup, what about boardgames, stuff like Talisman, Castle Ravenloft, Blood Bowl, etc. I seem to recall seeing a boardgame event or was that just part of the "big meet"? Would there even be interest in setting up a league of some kind with something like Blood Bowl, something to galvanise interest.

I played the Dark Sun D&D at Gamesday recently and really enjoyed it so there is room for short one-off games, maybe there's room for a "tales from inn" style of campaign?

Hey James B, nice to see you on this site of the website line. I think that you post will be met with something along the lines of this;

Regarding point 2, non of those games are a problem, it just requires someone to say they want to do it. Perhaps if as well as organised games, a selection of board games would allow people to attend the meet up and not worry if they have a 'spot' at a table or not.

Regarding point 1. I think that making the monthly meet up 'featured' in some way would be great!

@Everyone else: Perhaps James B's admission that he didn't know much about the meet up and its importance suggests that the messages about the meet aren't getting out.

I definitely support the board game idea as well. Most of them you can play and socialise at the same time. Not quite as easy when RPGing. Card games like Saboteur are also good as they support up to like 10 players at a time and are relatively quick and extremely easy to learn. I think it is out of print now though so would rely on someone that already had it.

I would love to attend, but it’s an hour and a half drive each way and I have kids and a wife to entertain of a weekend

Being completely new to RPG's, I think it would be a great chance for me to get involved and find my feet playing.... .... and drink beer .

Rotation of venue may not have worked in the past but if the event was "advertised" more prominently on the site and by a community newsletter maybe it could. It could be every forth month or so in Leicester maybe? there seems to be a good player base over there and I for one would be far more likely to attend (not that I count much with my little pin on the map on its lonesome self down south in Corby ).