A Gaming Evangelist
Expanding the Hobby

The other night, my wife and I were out with another couple, and the conversation eventually found itself on the topic of Gen Con. Being the only one of the four of us ever having attended (and also the only regular gamer), I had the opportunity to talk about the convention, as well as the hobby itself. This, of course led to talking about the games I played, notably Dungeons & Dragons. As I have done in the past when this conversation comes around, I extended the invitation to show the other couple how to play, and run a session for them. They expressed an interest, beyond the normal courtesy given in such matters.

I fully intend to follow through.

This exchange got me thinking about what we, as gamers do to pay the hobby back. It's given us plenty of enjoyment over the years, and we owe it to the hobby to encourage and enlist new gamers into the ranks. Take a moment to think about what you can do to expand the "player base" in your area. Is it offering to run demos at your Friendly Local Gaming Store? Is it starting a club through your local library? Teaching people how to play a certain game via Community Education? Just offering to show some fellow employees how to play? There is a lot that can be done.

Pay it back.