Tabletop gaming  is still relatively new to a lot of people. It is also growing by leaps and bounds as more and more people are talking about the hobby and games become more accessible.

Why Start a group?

There are a lot of practical reasons to start a regularly occurring game group. For instance, if you’ve been collecting games for a while – there are some that are harder to get to to the table. If your group meets regularly, the likelihood that more people would be willing to learn and play these games grows with each time it’s seen played. It’s also a way to introduce people who are unaware of the hobby to what is currently available. A common complaint among gamers is that there aren’t any other gamers in their area. A regularly occurring group is a great way to bring out those who might just be curious and encourage them to learn more about it.

These are great if all you are looking for is an opportunity to show off your accumulated games. However, there is a deeper reason to get a monthly or weekly gaming group together. The real value has little to do with the games that are being played.

There will probably some people in the group that come and go from week to week, yet it will not take long before you have a core group of people who show up every time you open the doors. Whether friends, family, or random people that came to a game store– as the sessions go by, you’ll find new connections being forged between each of them. The true beauty of gaming group is that, no matter the format, for those hours you are gaming you have been knit together with these people for a common purpose. In a world that is increasingly disconnected despite a growing connectivity – A game group provides a safe place and time where a group of people are about the business of being unabashedly present with one another.

The depth of our relationships with those both in and out of the faith often has far more affect in their lives and ours than any sermon, study, or pamphlet handed out on a street corner.

So it begins…

Before we talk about starting your group – let’s handle some questions/concerns you probably have:

Do I have to have a large gaming library to run a group?
No. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have more games available for the sake of variety, but you really only need a handful of games. Your group will discover a favorite go-to game before long anyway.

But I don’t know a lot about games.
I’ve run gaming groups ranging from just a handful of my buddies all the way up to organized gaming events with a hundred visitors. And you know what? I still have to check the book sometimes.

No, really. I’m not a gamer. I just want to play.
Seriously. That’s all you need. People have a lot of preconceived notions about what a gamer is. At its core, all it means is that you like playing games — a lot.

How can I get people who don’t play games to come play?
Ask.

That last one gets brought up almost as much as “I don’t know any gamers.” You’d be surprised how many potential players are out there among the people you know. Some of them just waiting for you to ask them to play. You may need to ask a number of people, and some may be hesitant at first. But I promise you that they are out there.

Here are some quick tips to help you get going towards having  a successful group.

1) Figure out what you want your group to be.
Do you want this to be a private gathering with you and a handful of friends? Do you want this to be open gaming where people can invite others and all are welcome? What type of games do you want to play (Tabletop RPGs, War games, board games, etc)? More often than not, groups fail because people signed up expecting it to be one thing and found out it was something else.

2) Be consistent
You don’t have to meet once a week or play for a certain number of hours to be a game group. Groups are made of people, and people are all different. Just be sure that whatever you decide for a time is consistent. The way to make sure that people continue to come is to make sure they know you’ll be playing.

4) Be open to new/different games
Whether somebody brings a new game or the group wants to play something other than the someone’s favorite – be open to the experience. While people can suggest playing something else, or to put the new game to the side until later, it’s the group’s call.  If the group wants to play it, be open for the chance to learn something new. You might like it. If you don’t, there’s always next session.

5) Have fun 
It doesn’t seem like I need to say this . . . but I need to say this. It is important that the group remembers that you are there to have fun. I don’t have to go into too much detail here, but the general rule of thumb is that if somebody is making you or another person in the group uncomfortable by how they play, that’s an issue that has to be addressed.

There really isn’t anything else to it. So go out, gather your players, and start playing games.