Knights & Knaves Alehouse

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:
Does anyone know a "lapsed gamer"? Someone who used to play but doesn't any more? Because I've never met one.

Oh yeah. They're all around me, but I live in the American Midwest, specifically, a Great Lakes state, and its kinda ground zero. Here, it was, is, and will always be D&D territory, no matter what the edition, as far as tabletop fantasy adventure games go.

Since early last decade, I've pulled in a couple lapsed gamers back into the hobby, which has led to their own groups, pulling in more lapsed gamers, and of that, I guess "network" might be the right word, we've pulled in a half dozen new gamers as well, most of which are playing old-school D&D. Of course, I myself was a lapsed gamer (absent from 86-97) pulled back into gaming by a co-worker. Now that guy has been playing D&D since the late 70's, continuously, with the same group, more or less. They also play other games (card games, board games, minis, but rarely any other rpg.)

Hell, via facebook and GaryCon, I pulled lapsed gamer back in, along with his son.

I also realize I am an anomaly overall, but not in my immediate locale, and possibly not in my region.

Steve wrote:Yes, I know several lapsed gamers; I used to be one myself. Of all those I've played D&D with from back in the day, for those that I have current knowledge, are lapsed gamers (as far as D&D is concerned).

I got into contact recently with the DM of my 2E group from college (this was before the days of Ebay, where you have a ready supply of OOP books for sale), and I've talked him into attending NTRPGCon with me. It turns out he started with 1E, too. Currently, he is only playing a Supers RPG.

Steve, if you don't mind, where are you located, in general?

I know two of my friends who use to game but now only play computer games.

I'm currently in SC, but that will almost certainly change in the not too distant future. Who knows after that.

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:Does anyone know a "lapsed gamer"? Someone who used to play but doesn't any more? Because I've never met one.

Alas, yes.

Clangador wrote:I know two of my friends who use to game but now only play computer games.

That is so sad. I'd rather sit alone and read a bad 2nd edition AD&D book than play a computer game.

Oh yes, I know some lapsed gamers. Not directly where I live, but back in France, yes, absolutely.

Geoffrey wrote:

Clangador wrote:I know two of my friends who use to game but now only play computer games.

That is so sad. I'd rather sit alone and read a bad 2nd edition AD&D book than play a computer game.

HOLD IT RIGHT THERE. You're way off the rails. Elder gawds must be corrupting your dreams.

No way, man. I'll take ADVENT/Zork, rogue/nethack, the Ultima games, Telengard, etc... over a bunch of Maztica or the 2e Lankhmar crap.

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:Does anyone know a "lapsed gamer"? Someone who used to play but doesn't any more? Because I've never met one.

Really? I'd guess I know about 50, and if anything that's probably a low estimate.

T. Foster wrote:

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:Does anyone know a "lapsed gamer"? Someone who used to play but doesn't any more? Because I've never met one.

Really? I'd guess I know about 50, and if anything that's probably a low estimate.

Wow!

T. Foster wrote:Really? I'd guess I know about 50, and if anything that's probably a low estimate.

Good Lord.

I haven't met 50 gamers in my life, lapsed or otherwise. I can get up to about 30 if I include people whose names I can't remember any more.

I know way more recovering WoW addicts.

DungeonDork wrote:I know way more recovering WoW addicts.

I must admit I play Wow a little, but my main thing is Pen & Paper RPGs.

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:

T. Foster wrote:Really? I'd guess I know about 50, and if anything that's probably a low estimate.

Good Lord.

I haven't met 50 gamers in my life, lapsed or otherwise. I can get up to about 30 if I include people whose names I can't remember any more.

You may have and just not realized they are gamers. We need a secret handshake or something to identify us from the mundanes.

PapersAndPaychecks wrote:

T. Foster wrote:Really? I'd guess I know about 50, and if anything that's probably a low estimate.

Good Lord.

I haven't met 50 gamers in my life, lapsed or otherwise. I can get up to about 30 if I include people whose names I can't remember any more.

Well, I suppose it's a combination of 1) growing up in the American Midwest (gamer ground zero), 2) being right at the target-age when D&D was at its peak of popularity (actually I was about 2 years young, but still close), 3) being gamer-gregarious as a kid (our group wasn't insular - we were members of the local game-club (that at its height had about 200 members and was drawing 50+ people to its weekly meetings) and went to the local cons, and we also played and introduced the game around school and would invite "mundanes" to come by and play with us if they expressed any interest), and 3) eventually moving to a major metropolitan area (so, very very large pool to draw from) in which I work and socialize mostly with people who are both about my same age (thus also the target-age of D&D when it was at its most popular) and who work in the creative/arts field (meaning they're of the temperament and interest-set that would have tended to lead them to D&D as kids). That said, not all of these ~50 were hardcore players who owned all the books and read Dragon magazine and went to cons and all that -- I can only think of maybe a dozen of those -- I'm including people who probably only played the game a handful of times and never owned their own rulebooks or dice sets (at least that they'd be willing to admit to now...). But, at least IMO, those people count.