Barriers to Gaming

[Primarch]

Hey folks,
I've been thinking recently about a topic that has been an issue for me for some time and how to solve it. The topic is barriers to gaming.
Everyone on this site plays games in some form or another, whether its a tabletop wargame, an RPG or a collectible card game. However every game has some form of barrier preventing you from playing. The most obvious one is money. Most games aren't free to play. RPGs can be very cheap so long as one person has a copy of the rules, but CCGs and Wargames can be VERY expensive.
The next big barrier is time. Not just the time it takes to play, but time spent painting models, building characters or constructing decks. Since most of us have partners and families and jobs, time is a precious commodity.
Following that, location is a big hassle for a lot of people. I'm lucky that I live in the centre of Nagoya, but for a lot of people gaming = travelling (also costing time and money) and spending an hour riding the train each way isnt much fun. Even then, during a recent conversation with FeelTheAdrenalin, he commented that in his small town back home he could play games whenever he wanted, but in a city of 2 million people he was lucky to play once a month.
And now we come to the barrier that I personally find the most constraining. Availability. Not counting RPGs, I have armies/models/rules for 10 games. With the exception of the BIG 3 (40k, WFB and Warmahordes), I have maybe 2 or 3 people I can play against AT MOST. Even then, it can be hard to get a game in as those opponents usually bring the Big 3 out to events. As much as I love 40k, (and I LOVE 40k), I would really like to spend a day playing Uncharted Seas or Malifaux.

So, what do you feel is your biggest barrier and what can we, as a community, do to remove these barriers and play more?

[Colonel Voss]

Location location location. I'm really out in the boonies of the Nagoya group. The closest opponent is the Madmiral which is an hour twenty from here by car unless I feel like taking the express way. Of course I run the Tajimi events (an hour drive from here) but none of the regulars are coming anymore and since the event is on the same day as Mie and Nagoya, I know I can't con anyone coming out this month. Also, Tajimi only allows me to do 40k and Fantasy, not FoW which I so want to play (I've had an army for almost a year now and no games).

[me_in_japan]

The topic is barriers to gaming.

I swear, I had this up on the screen and the wife and I both simultaneously said

"women"




aheh.

but seriously, I think that for most of us money is not really the biggest constraining factor. If we really, really wanted to, we could buy a reaver titan. the reason we dont is that we think there are, when you get right down to it, better things to spend our hard-earned cash on. nights out with friends, dinner with the missus, trips back home to see folks (count how much those bad boys have cost you over the past few years...) - all of these eat cash far more than minis do. However, theyre all more important than minis, too, when all is said and done.

I do think that time is a huge constraining factor. this is an incredibly time consuming hobby. I paint most every day, for at least an hour. I have done so for years, and yet I am still in no way ready for nagoyahammer. How is this possible? Cos painting an army takes a damn long time, thats how. (particularly so when youre me )

With regards to availability, i think this is a factor of time. If we had more time, we could play more games. if we could play more games, we'd be much more able to throw in the occasional round of uncharted seas or whatnot. As it is, I havent played 40k since october, and the only thing i have done since then was winter blitz (warmachine). OK, that was a particularly dry spell, but still, we just aint got the time to play when we want.

I do think, though, that my first idea "women" merits some attention. For example, if Ash (lives about 10mins from me) and I were both single, we would almost certainly be round each other's houses on weeknight evenings for a spot of SpaceHulk or something. As it is, Im married and he has his fiancee (girlfriend? Im not sure. She's a lovely lass, whatever her official status may be) so only once has he ever come round here for a game of 40k (on a weekend) and i have never been to his for wargaming (altho I did a couple times for cthulu).Its just not done to invade your weeknights with your wargaming. (Obviously Yarrick is the exception to this rule. I cant imagine how that works...)

So for me, i think thr biggest barrier to gaming is: time.

what can be done about it? hmmn. not a lot, unfortunately. spend less time mucking about on internet forums answering impossible questions, maybe...

[Spevna]

I dont have any barriers to my gaming, but then again I am more than happy to game just once a month.

I think that if I suddenly got the urge to game more, the biggest barrier would be family obligations. When I have a day off I am pretty keen to spend it with the kids and the missus.

As it stands, working out is the hobby/interest I take part in most often and as I can do that at home, barriers arent really an issue.

[Admiral-Badruck]

I think location and work schedule are the biggest problems for making time for gaming...

[jus]

Do people want to game more? It would seem some people certainly do, I amongst others.

I think one of the barriers to more gaming is that the community has resigned to the ongoing trend of "everyone only have enough time to game once a month - no more!" and this attitude has become so commonplace that no one is really bothered to challenge it. unless you are Ashmie(bless him) who was willing to travel as across country to game every week.

If those of us who want to game more could be more active in the game finder forum, and just make it known that they are free and up for a game, then perchance some one else might be as well, and take them up on it?

Might be, some people are good enough to open their homes up for some games? I know, and thank those who have asked me over from time to time, and would encourage some gatherings if time and resources permit.

I don"t know if any of these suggestions are worth anything, but worth a try eh?

[Admiral-Badruck]

if you are willing to travel you are sure to find lots of Games there are 2 game days in Yokkaich run by the owner of Maoonomori the the only GW retailer in Mie Ken the guys play well and I have enjoyed every game I have played with them. plus it starts at 13:00 I do not know about you all but I like to sleep in on my days off... there are even more options Tajimi still has an event every month and there may still be events in Nagoya just a bit out of the way... Kyoto is a bit far but it is still a good place to get together to game... From what I understand Osaka games though events that are run by icconoclam... if you want more games than that come over and play me...I can normally set up a time...

[Seb]

For me it seems to be location, if there were more games going on close by here in Nagoya I would play more. Actually Nagoya for its size deserves more gaming!
Time is not really a problem because I dont work like a thrall anymore. Money is so so but not a big one, I wont invest in anything beyond Warhammer though but I would gladly play with someone who has another game.

[Grim Ironjaw]

In my case it's definitely time.

I have three major hobbies (gaming, music, and sports) but only enough time to do one semi-properly. So, I'm spreading myself thin in an attempt to keep up with all of them.

[The Other Dave]

Like Spevna, I'm actually pretty satisfied with the amount of gaming I get in, especially since I sort of consider all the time I spend painting and so on as part of the whole package. I'd happily split up one 8-hour session a month into two 4-hour sessions, but when I think about it, even when I was living in the States in a town with a good hobby shop I usually only played one evening a week, 3 or 4 times a month. I'm a geek slacker, I guess.