Some Thoughts For Those Who Don't Understand Why I Game

Some of my games

I don't understand why people who don't play games feel it's their responsibility to tell people who play games that we are wasting our time and there is no benefit in what we choose to do as a hobby. I can speculate why, but I don't see it worth my time or effort. I was brought into a conversation because a younger gamer was defending themselves as a tabletop gaming and they just didn't have the experience of dealing with the situation. Being a gamer in their 50s with a career outside of gaming seems to add a little stability to an unwanted confrontation.

It isn't a pleasant situation when someone tries to push your buttons, we all get a bit flustered and feel like we have to defend ourselves. But having solid reasons for what you like to do, without telling others they are bad or have to do what I like, is a strong starting point. Here are some of the reasons I presented that may work for others.

It's a Hobby

Playing games is a hobby similar to hobbies other people have. There are people who are crazy about their sports teams. They can tell you about how each member of the team plays—many times with statistics going back to their college career. Other people do wood working, needle work, art, reading, or tracking their favorite television shows and celebrities. Playing games is a hobby like the hobbies other people do to pass the time. Some of us choose electronic games, some physical games, and I choose tabletop games.

It's Socializing

I can sit down with a group of friends and relax. We might not be at the bar or the club, but we can have a drink of our choice in a setting allowing us to enjoy each other's company over a game. Our games are usually interrupted by comments being made about current events in people's lives, what's coming up and the color commentary of what others just did. Admitted, there are times when we have a game scheduled that we are into the game, some require that level of committed participation. I game because it gives me a chance to be with friends.

It's Inclusive

One of the gaming areas at SaltCon

I agree with people that playing on team sports are great group activities. Take any cooperative game, and almost all role-playing games (RPGs), and you have the same atmosphere. I see an additional advantage to tabletop gaming that team sports don't have—the inclusive participation. Sports have more limitations on who can play. I was almost always the last person to be picked in gym class. I don't hold any grudges about that. I have bad eyesight which affects other aspects. My skills in throwing balls, catching them, skating, etc., etc. are affected by my eyesight (I don't play electronic games because first person games make me motion sick). But, none of these limitations stop me from playing games. The limitation we face is the number of players. Then, if a game doesn't support the number of people we have at a gathering, we just play more games.

It's Learning

Sport teaches people how to work as a team. The same applies in games, especially the role-playing games. RPG players take on many different roles in the games they play. Like in sports, we are more familiar with certain roles that are played. Then, there are the times we break out to try something new. We take on the role of the vampire, werewolf, the monster hunter, the starship captain, the reporter, and the list goes on. Each time we take on a different role we have the opportunity to learn, just like those other hobbies people are found of doing.

You learn how to plan ahead. Games are about strategy of one sort or another. Life requires to be able to plan ahead to accomplish long term goals, like winning a game.

The learning goes further. Playing a historic war game gives players the chance to learn about the war they are playing. Many war gamers I know also know more about the wars the play because they read about them. This is in part because they find something of interest, and it provides them with better understanding of the strategies of the time and how they impact their game play.

Many game themes teach. If you are playing a resource management game, you learn how to manage other resources. When you are playing a game like Coal Baron, you learn a little more about coal mining. You're not learning a lot, but it gives some understanding. Something that allows a person to understand a conversation, and learn more from what they are hearing.

I have seen businesses using cooperative games to help team build. I know where one department used Pandemicto teach concepts of working together and breaking out of silos. Only a couple of them were game players to begin with and none played RPGs. They now have a regular RPG group

Running an RPG teaches management skills. Sitting behind the screen and coordinating the activities of the rest of the players around the table uses many of the same skills used when running a successful business meeting: everyone needs to be involved, you can't let a single person dominate the entire time (just when their expertise in the area requires it), the meeting goal needs to be either successfully accomplished or progressed on, and everyone leaves feeling good about what has happened, (even when it goes against their desires). I have met a number of business managers who played when they were younger, or still do.

Part of SaltCon's game library

Writing an adventure gives opportunities of more creative learning. I like to research out parts of the adventures I am writing. In creating a knightly order, I read about the Knights Templar, Hospitallers, and the Knights of Rhodes. Other game masters I know do the same thing, especially in running games that are set in historic or current eras.

It's Fun

I define having fun by enjoying my time spent doing something, and that includes playing games with friends. I like playing all sorts of games. And, the games I play with one group of people are different than the ones I play with another. They all have the common thread of having fun. I know some who only like to play games that are more competitive in style. Those games designed to eliminate one player at a time until only one person is left. Some like to play the games that are humorous in nature with less strategy. For me the game isn't the determining factor, it's the people. Right back to the socializing, the fun of the moment with people I enjoy spending time with.

The reasons I play games are the same reasons I have friends who like to go to concerts, clubbing, sporting events, the gym. We like to have fun with people we want to be around.

Finally, gaming is not an exclusive hobby. Everyone I know who is a gamer does other things. We go to sporting events. We go dancing and drinking. We go to concerts.

Later in the evening after the conversation I was drawn into there was a shift. One of the people who initially making derogatory comments came back and expressed they really didn't know anything about RPGs, and wanted to know more. They became interested in the idea that they might even try a game that fit into one of the television shows they currently enjoy, The Walking Dead.

Overall gamers are like everyone else. We are a little weird about our hobby at times, but I still haven't bought a car to reflect my favorite game colors.

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