Getting people who don’t play games to the table is an important skill that any gamer has to develop. Regardless what the game is, there needs to be someone in that seat across the table or the game cannot be experienced the way it was intended. They are designed to be shared experiences that challenge, entertain, and connect us. So it is the business of gamers to put bodies in seats.
Therefore the goal cannot simply be to get people to show up. That philosophy leads to a revolving door for those who happen to have nothing going on at the moment. These wayward players may return here and there, but it will be at the mercy of their schedules. Should something better cross their path, they will have no reason to come back to the table. If you will forgive my Dickensian turn of phrase, if these events are not altered somehow, I see an empty chair in the corner and a set of dice without an owner.
When I sat down to plot some guidelines for growing new gamers, a strange correlation began brewing in my mind. There was a familiarity to the language I was using. And then, as if a voice whispered it in my ear, a familiar phrase began to repeat. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Some of the same principles at work to grow a passion for the hobby mirror those that bring people to a deeper faith in Christ.
For starters- the new gamer doesn’t know what to expect, but they’re excited to be there. They most likely haven’t seen any of the games being played, so they end up exploring every table to see what’s available to them. They finally settle into a game and feel overwhelmed as the rules are explained to them, but they’re still pretty sure that it’s worth getting through them in order to play.
Likewise, the new believer is often ecstatic that their eyes have been opened to something they never saw or experienced before. They feel the need to tell everyone they know because they were just like them only the day before. They want to learn more, so they sign up for Bible studies, retreats, and anything else they can get there hands on to learn more. They aren’t sure about all the traditions, doctrines, and rituals of the faithful, but they keep trying to follow along, looking to just be part of it.
Both of these fresh-faced innocents needs to be taken under the wing of someone who has been a part of that world and learned its ways. In the Star Wars universe, force-sensitive children learning how to harness their gifts are generally referred to as younglings. Borrowing that term to cover both the disciplines of gaming and faith, consider this a short manual for the proper care an maintenance of younglings.
-Let them be “new” for a while
If you have spent any time around small children, you know the undeniable buzz that grips your brain after the 473rd recitation of life’s great question — “Why?” The reason they ask the same question over and over again is because they are exploring a new world. They ask because they need to learn the rules and traditions. They want to know why people make the decisions that they make. They want to know how to get from point A to point B when they feel like they’re standing on point Tricycle.
Each answer will lead to more questions. Many plays will take longer and moves will be sub-optimal. There will be clarifications, explorations, and a general feeling of confusion hanging overhead. Do not think of it as an annoying drag on play time, for this is how the flames will be stoked to forge the next generation.
-Playing a sample round: demonstrating the ways
It is one thing to tell a person how to precede, another entirely when they are shown. Cards can be dealt out face up, allowing for clarification and suggestion without embarrassment. Instead of answering a rule question by blurting out the answer, the opportunity can be taken to teach the younglings where to find that information in the rule book.
Start simple. Start with a crawl. They will learn to walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before them, but they have to first learn what walking looks like. Embrace a humility that crawls right next to them for a while, and they will strive to walk. Teach them that, and watch them learn to climb mountains.
-Challenge them to go deeper
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” In a few sentences, Paul challenges the Corinthian church to go beyond the simple, basic teachings of the faith he spoon fed them when he was there. They had grabbed hold of the basic truth, but there was so much more available to them if they would just look into the depth of what God had revealed.
While the harsh tone to “put away childish things” might be too strong for the gaming discipline, the underlying principle remains true for both. There is fun to be had in even the simplest of games, but they are just the forerunners of an entire world just beyond their comfort. Every experience might not be embraced, but the chance to explore what’s just out of reach is a chance to find a treasure that they never knew was even possible.
-Play for real
There are those who approach first games with kid gloves. They hold back great plays, refuse to exploit openings, and give up the best pieces. The new player is handed victory on a silver platter for fear a loss would drive them from the table forever. There are still others that feel it is their duty to grind them into the dirt with the boot of reality. The only way to learn how to play is to be shown, first hand, the full power of the most effective strategies available.
If the challenge is removed, there is no growth – no call to learn more and play better next time. If the player has to dodge move after move they have no way of foreseeing, there is no room for exploration. Instead, the weight of the challenge needs to be felt while providing an underlying feeling of safety. Guiding someone down this road does not dictate the path to be tread, but shields the player from walking into an imminent disaster they can’t see in front of them.
-It’s their move, not yours
Advice can be given, suggestions can be made, tips can be shared. But the decision about what happens next remains in the youngling’s hands. For growth to happen, the ownership of that decision cannot be anyone’s but theirs. This means that mistakes will happen, victories and defeats will come and go, and choices outside of the accepted strategies will be tried.
Teach them how the game is played. Show them what it means to follow God, but when the day is done – it has to be theirs. A person who enjoys a game might come back – but the who came so close to winning if they hadn’t made that one move – they’ll be back to try again next time. A person who feels their faith during the power and worship of a church service is wonderful – but the one who has gone through hell and come out the other side knowing that God carried them through will never be shaken.
Gamers make gamers. Disciples make disciples. Encourage, build, challenge, and train – and watch them turn around to do the same.