Socialist Gaming Group

Socialism was the topic of discussion among my students a few weeks ago. A very outspoken redhead girl in the back row commented that she thought it was a “stupid system that could never work.” On the grand scale perhaps she is right, but I wanted to point out to her that I have indeed seen it work with my current game group. I am not about to come out of the geek closet at work just yet.

For a game group to survive you must understand that there is a division of labor among the members. In too many groups I have seen that one person who hosts the group, runs the game, provides snacks, has the minis, preps the accessories, and then cleans up at the end. This involves a huge investment of money, but more importantly time, and for those who have kids, that is an ever precious commodity. Add marriage to that equation and you are dealing with an issue that could be hazardous to your health! No, instead each role should be picked up by members of the group. I mean, in game each player takes on a role, why should it not extend to the real world.

First comes the place to play. If you are lucky you have access to a room where everyone can put out their stuff, a big enough table to play on (that will accommodate up to the 7 players), and a clean bathroom, do not be a jerk. Treat these items better then you would treat your own. I have seen enough people who rock back on chairs, put their feet up on tables, and demolish bathrooms that I wince at the prospect of playing with new people. So for a game group to have a dedicated place to play is thing #1.

Next comes the person who preps and runs the adventure. Some DMs will print off the adventure and maps. This costs money, or to be more exact this costs ink and paper which cost money. When was the last time you gave your GM some cash for doing this. Or what about when you print your character out using your GM’s Character Builder at their house. I know currently in our LFR group we have a guy who prints off and binds every adventure and that costs a few bucks.

Fine, lets pretend you are not the guy who provides the place to play or run. You show up simply to play . You still have a roll to play or fulfill. Be the food guy. In our own group we had a guy whom while he did not know all the rules, showed he was a team player by bringing copious amount of sugar. My diabetes doctor hates him, by the way.

I tend to be the mini guy in our group, so I play the role of the artist in my group by painting up minis of all the characters. Players love when you find a mini that not only fits their image of their characters but is painted to match.

The last and perhaps most important issue to Gamer Socialism is running. Groups tend to stick better if everyone runs at some point. Having multiple campaign storylines keeps things fresh. People can learn form the other GMing styles and that not only helps their games but prevents burnout. These are just my observations, your mileage may vary.

Related articles

• GM Burnout Hits Everyone- How I’m Dealing With It. from Wrathofzombie’s Blog ” Role-playing (wrathofzombie.wordpress.com)
• Player Responsibilities from STUFFER SHACK (stuffershack.com)
• Keeping Your Adventures On Track from Geekcentricity ” Role-Playing (geekcentricity.com)