Avoiding gamer burnout

David R · October 11, 2006, 08:01:40 PM

What helps me avoid gamer burnout it the folks I game with. We play once a week and that's it. Everyone attends the game or we don't play. We just meet up the next week. Most of the group does not share the same interest -besides rpgs that is, so although gaming is very important to us, we also do other things. And besides, the thing is, we rarely talk about gaming. We are more of the I'd rather play than talk about it crowd.

Also, I think that because I'm adapt at changing my style of gaming and have players who are willing to do the same thing, gamer burnout, although a possibility, has never really occured. We try different things - games, disagree about certain things and move on.

Regards,
David R

Aos · October 11, 2006, 08:38:21 PM

When I lived in California, we had a sizable group. One guy in the group pretty much sparked a mass burnout in everyone else. Years passed before any of the survivors felt like playing again.

Kyle Aaron · October 11, 2006, 09:05:54 PM

droog has got the right of it. Play lots of different games, and have a life.

My own group, every fourth session or so, we meet up at the usual time and do something different. Someone else GMs a game, play a board game, watch a movie, play football, whatever. And we run closed-ended campaigns. After one ends, we pitch others. If someone wants to go run a game with other players, that's fine. Last turnaround we lost three players and gained two, more or less even. We don't stick to Same GM, Same Group, Same Game, Same Day Each Week for years on end.

blakkie · October 11, 2006, 09:45:45 PM

Quote from: JamesVAs an aside and no slight to Geek, but RPGs is the only hobby I've seen where people have this kind of "I'm quitting right now and forever, and I'm deliriously happy this way!" approach to burnout.

Video games for one.

Smoking cigarettes, if you want to call that a "hobby".

joewolz · October 11, 2006, 11:35:35 PM

Quote from: joewolzI also don't understand the drama.

I occasionally switch game son my players. Like tonight, I really don't feel like playing C&C, so I'm going to give them the choice between InSpectres and Dogs in the Vineyard (set in the Firefly Universe).

If they really don't like either of those, I'll run C&C like usual, but it won't be as fun for me.

If anyone cares, we played the Dogs game and it went awesomely! Im really looking forward to next week's C&C game, although tomorrow is minis night, so I can look forward to that...but for tonight, homework!

RPGPundit · October 11, 2006, 11:55:06 PM

Without a doubt, I think "having a life" is a crucial factor in not getting burnt out on RPGs. Interestingly, if you're banking on RPGs to give you all your entertainment, all your socialization, or worst of all, all your personal meaning in life, you are bound to run into problems.

I know that for my part, the only reason I'm ABLE to game as much as I do (running games three nights a week) is because I have a ton of other things that I do all the rest of the time.

RPGPundit

RPGPundit · October 11, 2006, 11:55:35 PM

Smoking cigarettes is not a hobby.

Now smoking a PIPE, that's a hobby! :pundit:

RPGPundit

mythusmage · October 12, 2006, 05:04:41 AM

Variety. Not a variety in the games you play, but a variety of what you do in the game you do play.

Scenario: You just helped establish a caravan route to a once lost city. Your employer just promoted you to factotum at that city (company rep basically). Now a band of gnoll brigands is exacting "toll" from your caravans. Do you go and wipe them out, or do you hire them to keep an eye out for trouble on their part of the route?

What about their enemies? Other parts of the caravan route? Competitors in town? Officials? Taxes? Late or vanished deliveries? Early deliveries? Fakes and frauds? Natural or unnatural disasters?

Getting a trade route established is easy. Running it is the hard part.

JongWK · October 12, 2006, 09:43:07 AM

Quote from: SosthenesOr watch that new Robin Hood series.

What? Where? WHERE!?

Sosthenes · October 12, 2006, 09:52:09 AM

Quote from: JongWKWhat? Where? WHERE!?

BBC. They just aired the first episode. Words fail me...
I expected something similar to "Robin of Sherwood". What did I get? Just let me say that what little I saw of "The New Adventures of Robin Hood" was better...