How have you coerced your friends to play a Forge game?

[Daniel Solis]

The only time I've managed to get people to play an indie game is when I got two guys to test out a tactical mini game in exchange for pizza or thai food. They seem much more hesitant to play an independently published RPG though. What gives?

[Bill Cook]

I've mentioned this story elsewhere.

The way I did it was to buy three titles and toss them out on the table during a break.  The shiny hard covers made their eyes bug out.  Then I said, "These games are owned by the creators.  They're called 'indies' for independent.  It's the difference between Tang and Tropicana."  Then when someone picked one up, I said, "That's Sorcerer.  It's set in modern times.  Everyone's like a magic-user except all their power comes from the demons they summon."  (Gasps of "Whoa!"  and "I wonder what that's like . . .")

We've been happily playing TROS ever since.

[coxcomb]

Two things have worked for me:

1.) Bring the books with you to another game or function and loan it to someone when they ask about it. Getting someone to read the rules helps generate interest. This worked with Donjon for me. My group wondered what the book was, so I gave them a quick overview and let one of them take the book home. Voila.

2.) If you have a regular group, suggest a one-shot of an indie game as a replacement for a cancelled session. I have used the "There's this cool system I would like to try" technique.

[Argetlamh]

I wrote up Star Wars rules for use with Paladin. It worked well, if I do say so myself.

-Dan Vince

[DevP]

(1) Indie might equal homebrewed, and lots of homebrewed stuff sucks. (I've read it, and I've authored it, and it really, really can.) Folks don't want ot deal with the constant tweaking of platestetc, etc.

(2) Brand loyalty to BigBrands(TM). I mean, some folks PREFER MTV-approved music over my "eleet indie rawk", so that should extend still further to RPGs, where you're not THAT much cooler if you're an indie RPG snob.

(2a) Some folks say indie gaming should come off as egalitarian and open to all gamers. No, I say we all get official Forge trenchcoast and come off as elitist, superior, bad-ass and sexy as possible, and have elite invitation-only parties at the consuite.

(2b) My (2a) suggestion is mostly joking.

(3) Especially if you've thought of RPGs in the story of old-school mode, then RPGs sound like a lot of work, a lot of time, somewhat disappoint, or somewhat childish. My old D&D-gamer friends (from my bad GMing post earlier) have bifurcating into (a) regular play of mainstream games, acclimated to the Sim-by-habit/hard-core style of play, or (b) never touching them again.

I'm working on it, though. I think it's not selling an "indie game". I mean, who wants to listen to "indie music" or use "indie software"? Now if you show me http://againstme.net">awesome fearful radical folk-punk anger, or alternately, show me a game that lets me be kewler than Conan, then you're getting somewhere

[joshua neff]

I usually play with Mike Holmes. Getting him to play indie games is about as hard as getting a koala to eat eucalyptus leaves. The other people I play with, my girlfriend Julie & our friend (& my coworker) Ryan, have both made it clear that they'll play anything. This morning at work, I gave Ryan a bried overview of Clinton's Shadow of Yesterday. Ryan's eyes got wide & he said enthusiastically, "We should definitely play that." Before he started gaming with us, Ryan had only ever played D&D, & that was for about 6 months.

Getting people to play indie RPGs doesn't seem that hard to me.

[Judd]

My friends expect this shit of me.  When I go home to Jersey I regularly bring what they call, "those hippie games."  There are a few people who just don't show up, if tehy ain't playing their D&D game, they ain't playing.  Good riddance to them.

I've played Sorcerer, TROS, Dust Devils, and octaNe with people who had never played it before.

Hopefully, I'll run Dust Devils again when a friends come into town next week, fun game.

[Mike Holmes]

Getting people to play indie RPGs doesn't seem that hard to me.

Oh, I dunno. I've mentioned PTA that I've promised to test for Matt, and only gotten a lukewarm response.

Of course, that's because we're playing so many other indie RPGs. It's hard to get people to play a particular one - but not one in general.

As for non-Forge groups, I once took a group that had finished a game of Champions at a convention (only knew one of em), and played SOAP.

I think it's how you approach it. How do you get them to try a new video game, or see a particular film? Just be that enthusiastic. I often have this vision of some guy saying appologetically, "Uh, this game isn't a mainstream game, and it really only has a cult following because it's indie, and it's probably got some big problems with it, but, hey, wanna give it a try anyhow? No? Didn't think so."

That won't get you far.

Now, if we're talking die-hard grognards who are just waaay too into the one game they've been playing for 20 years, then don't even bother. They've made up their minds already. Play with non-RPG players instead. Newbs have no preconceptions.

Mike

[joshua neff]

Getting people to play indie RPGs doesn't seem that hard to me.

Oh, I dunno. I've mentioned PTA that I've promised to test for Matt, and only gotten a lukewarm response.

Of course, that's because we're playing so many other indie RPGs.

Yeah, that's why. At least, that's why I wasn't super-gung-ho about it. (I can't speak for Julie & Ryan.) If it weren't for grad school, I'd be all over playing any number of games. (Stupid grad school grumble grumble grumble...)