A Mistake I Made

People are regularly intrigued when I mention that I play D&D every week. Most of my non-gamer crowds are just that, they have never played a role-playing game. Some of these people of various ages and genders will prod me to get a feel for what D&D is all about. I am not too bad up to now, I feel I have a fine way of describing the game and making it sound interesting. I am always open to expose people to the game, even if my particular game table is full. I may be able to take on a new player if they are a good match for my existing players. In any case, people are, to some degree, interested.

Where I have failed before is to invite people to watch the game as we play it. My players don't seem to mind, and it is not too much of a distraction. The game goes on, the guest watches, and that is it. At some point in the night, the watcher gets up to leave, with some fine platitudes about how cool it all seems, and then we never see them again. Others made it clear how parts of it are confusing - there is a strange language for the uninitiated. But frankly, the game is boring to watch. I am not talking about that situation where younger ones are going through the Tomb of Horrors and a bunch of grognards are over in the corner laughing.

So now if people are interested enough to come watch, then I will invite them to play. No more watching, no matter what they say. The best way to experience the game is, obviously, to play it. So, some afternoon sometime, I would invite the player over for a one-on-one situation. Characters would be made and a brief series of encounters would occur. If they need a friend along (I am an old guy inviting near strangers over to his house to play games after all), then that is fine. They will play too. The idea is to build interest and not just to confuse and bore.