Blond Gamer Girl

The game that I currently run has been through some changes over the past few months. First, I had to ask three folks to leave because of their drive and a defective vehicle which made them unreliable. However, there were no hurt feelings because they completely agreed about the reasoning even though the mix of the group was pretty good.

Lesson learned: Never assume that between three people there would be more than one car. Just like a job application ask: Do you have reliable transportation?

Then a friend and fellow gamer contacted me about this game and he worked in fantastically.

Lesson learned: Go with who you know. Nepotism is a GOOD thing when recruiting.

Not too long after, I happened upon a gaming board with someone in the area wanting to play Shadowrun and based on their profile they seemed to be a good match. Actually, I saw a few folks and contacted them and one person responded. Once I met with him, he seemed like an excellent match. When he played, he fit in wonderfully with the group.

Lesson learned: Just like in sales, make several contacts because only 10 percent will respond back.

Not long after, two more folks then contacted me about joining so I met with them. Because of their age difference and such, I had a hinky feeling that they just wouldn’t work. However, they seemed very enthused and I went against my better judgment because of that and because I didn’t want to be age biased. During the game they played with the group, it seemed to me to be quite obvious that they weren’t meshing. One guy barely said anything during play and kept running out talking on this cell phone. The other guy didn’t want to be part of the group, not a team player at all. Once they left a couple of players stated that “they were not team players.” As GM I suggested that we just rip the band-aid right off and called a vote to see who wanted to boot them out. All hands were raised. Luckily, those guys admitted that it wasn’t a match when I emailed them.

Lesson learned: Go with your gut instinct. You’ll save a lot of time and trouble in the end.

For the last team addition, a player’s fiancée wanted to join. Funny thing is when I met with him, she joined us about an hour or so into our talk. After a little I said to myself, “Too bad she plays in another group because she would make a great addition to our group.” After a few sessions, he tells me that she wants to join the group. To introduce her to the other players, we all go out to lunch and things go well. However, the one sharp question I asked because I had dealt with so much nonsense in the past from couples was: “If one of you can’t play, will the other attend?” Obviously, a couple will go on vacation or such and let me know well in advance which is completely fine. However, often enough, the wife/girlfriend stubs her toe and the husband/boyfriend must stay at home and attend. [Often I wondered if I was the only one who said, “I got my soup, Gatorade, Nyquil and Kleenex – now leave; and vice versa.) They both told me that it was absolutely not the case.

Lesson learned: Not every fan couple is attached at the hip but many are, so sort well.

Anyone else learn these lessons or others?