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Getting People to Play
Sometimes it's just hard to get enough people together at the same time to play some good WOV. Well, if you're WOV starved like I am, I'll try to give you some tips you can use to get people playing on a regular basis.
First of all, take advantage of the extra time that people have over the holiday season. Most everyone is out of school and has at least a few days off of work. That means prime WOV time. Try asking those people who never seem to have time otherwise to play. They may try it and get hooked and then want to play on a regular basis. Hey, it's worth a shot right?
Secondly, only ask people to play if they want to. If someone really isn't that interested in WOV, don't force them to play just because they are your friend. We want people to play WOV because they enjoy it, not because someone guilt-tripped them into it. (This clause excludes Tolbert who we have to guilt-trip EVERY TIME!) If people actually want to play, they will make it a priority over other leisure time activities.
Time is always a biggie. Some people work or have school early, some people late. You can play Monday, but they can't play except on Tuesday, which is the one day you can't! Yeah, I know the drill. You'll want at least a 2-3 hour time chunk to play and I would suggest playing once a week, especially if you're in a campaign. However, if people can't commit that much time, try every other week. If there are still some people who can't play because of schedules, you may have to just let them play whenever they can. Yes that can be awkward in a campaign, but if they really want to play, I would let them. Who knows, they may GM the next one!
I would also suggest playing a campaign, even if there are a few first timers in the crowd. (Or all first timers for that matter.) Most people will be attracted to the idea of keeping their character and building them up. They will also like the idea of a strong story line that will follow them through. If you can hype up the story line without giving away too much, that will entice people.
Be flexible in how you play. Every once in a while, just take a break from the game and do something else. Remember, you can have fun without playing WOV. (Just not for very long!) Having breaks every once in a while will build the anticipation level of playing again. If someone can't make it one night, either be flexible by canceling for them or make sure you have their 100% permission to play without them before doing so. Then do them a big favor by taking notes and passing them along to that person so they know what happened while they were gone.
Yes, the GM has mooching privleges, but don't always take advantage of them. Every once in a while, why don't you buy the chips and Mt. Dew? Or take everyone to T-Bell for a methane-inducing dinner. Make it a hanging out event, not just a WOV game and people are more likely to show up, especially if you show that you care about them. (Everyone say ahhhh....)
My last decent tip is to switch playing venues so you don't over burden one house and make sure that each playing location has a game system on hand. When you send people to the other room because the party split up it helps to have something to do and not just sit there. People with nothing to do get bored very easily and don't want to play often. Plus boredom leads to anxiousness, anxiousness leads to loud, loud leads to annoying and annoying leads to suffering...(imagine a slightly Yoda voice over)
Finally, if all else fails, pay people to play with you. Yes, I'm serious. If you would like to play WOV anywhere within a 2-hour radius of where I'm at, I am available for $5 an hour. Please email me. Merry Christmas from WOV. (Don't forget to ask why we have Christmas!)
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