2007's gaming in review

[Kyle Aaron]

I began the year by laying out here the 10 campaigns I was keen to run, saying I wanted to run 4 in the year (9 sessions + 3 alternates each), invited players to them, and hosted the game sessions at my place for all but 1 or 2 of the sessions; they were the same place at the same time every week for each campaign. If any player was absent, we gamed on without them. I aimed to have 4 players for each campaign, and have not more than 2 of them stay for consecutive campaigns, rotating them through in the game circle spirit.

As a player I began this year with a revisit to Outbackalypse for 8 more-or-less fortnightly sessions, and then declined an invitation to game with the same players and GM in a GURPS Banestorm campaign. In the middle I played Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Dice for about 5 fortnightly sessions. Now at the end of this year I'm playing in AfterWorld, with 5 more-or-less fortnghtly sessions in all, and this is ongoing, but also planned to be of limited length, another 5 sessions in 2008.

As GM, this is how the game year went for me,

• underground, the Unknown Armies game of modern supernatural horror; this perished in a game group implosion after 3 sessions
• lofgeornost, a RuneQuest campaign, fizzled for me as GM but not for the players, so after 3 sessions I set it aside for the next one.
• Wasteland, a postapocalyptic game set in Australia using d6 and later GURPS, 10 sessions + 2 alternates - played by Aron, Emil, Graeme and Tyberious Funk
• CIVIS ROMANVS SVM, a game somewhat like the Rome TV series using GURPS, 8 sessions + 2 alternates, played by Chris, Matt and Tyberious Funk
• Osere, a modern-day private espionage game using a homebrew of mine, 10 sessions + 2 alternates, played by Dominik (who bailed), Emil, Matt and Nick

So after some New Year tumult and chaos I settled into a nice rhythm of campaigns around 10 sessions each, with a couple of alternate sessions each. Usually after each campaign there was a week's break for me, and then a week where we sorted out what we'd run next and with whom as players.

I find that having the closed-ended campaign with a rough guide as to the length helps keep players and GM committed, interested and showing up regularly. But I was only able to make this work by hosting almost every game session, so that everyone knew we'd be gaming at the same place and the same time each week; if anyone couldn't make a session, the game went on without them. If I'd tried to organise it each week not knowing when or where we'd play I'd not have had a quarter the sessions.

There were also Geektogethers.

Thus in all

• I GMed 34 campaign sessions
  • 28 of them part of 3 successful campaigns,
  • 6 of them part of two 3-session implosion/fizzles
• I played in 18 sessions of other GMs
• enjoyed 6 alternates
• had 3 Geektogethers and helped put 10 gamers into groups new or established.
  • the Winter Geektogether had 10 people, Spring 11, Summer 17.
  • in all, about 22 different people across the three.
  • From each Geektogether has arisen one entirely new game group, and at least 6 loose gamers put themselves into campaigns.
• I GMed
  • 11 different people more than one session each
  • drove off 3 of them but later mended bridges with 2
  • had 2 players for 2 different campaigns
  • 1 player for 3 different campaigns
  • the remaining 8 players for 1 campaign each
• I played with
  • 6 different people more than one session each
  • 3 of whom were players under me at some point

Of the 13 different people I gamed with, I genuinely liked all of them, and consider 4 of them good friends, 2 of whom I only met this year.

So though my gaming year began a bit rough as I made mistakes, once the tumults were over and settled down, I had overall very good gaming both as GM and player, had lots of game sessions, ate shitloads of cheetos, helped bring gamers together even outside my own group, and made new friends.

That's me, how about you lot?

Edit: corrected to make up for a mini-campaign I forgot to mention.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

I began the year by laying out here the 10 campaigns I was keen to run, saying I wanted to run 4 in the year (9 sessions + 3 alternates each), invited players to them, and hosted the game sessions at my place for all but 1 or 2 of the sessions; they were the same place at the same time every week for each campaign. If any player was absent, we gamed on without them. I aimed to have 4 players for each campaign, and have not more than 2 of them stay for consecutive campaigns, rotating them through in the "game circle" spirit.

As a player I began this year with a revisit to Outbackalypse for 8 more-or-less fortnightly sessions, and then declined an invitation to game with the same players and GM in a GURPS Banestorm campaign. Now at the end of this year I'm playing in AfterWorld, with 5 more-or-less fortnghtly sessions in all, and this is ongoing, but also planned to be of limited length, another 5 sessions in 2008.

As GM, this is how the game year went for me,

• underground, the Unknown Armies game of modern supernatural horror; this perished in a game group implosion after 3 sessions
• lofgeornost, a RuneQuest campaign, fizzled for me as GM but not for the players, so after 3 sessions I set it aside for the next one.
• Wasteland, a postapocalyptic game set in Australia using d6 and later GURPS, 10 sessions + 2 alternates - played by Aron, Emil, Graeme and Nick
• CIVIS ROMANVS SVM, a game somewhat like the Rome TV series using GURPS, 8 sessions + 2 alternates, played by Chris, Matt and Tyberious Funk
• Osere, a modern-day private espionage game using a homebrew of mine, 10 sessions + 2 alternates, played by Dominik (who bailed), Emil, Matt and Nick

So after some New Year tumult and chaos I settled into a nice rhythm of campaigns around 10 sessions each, with a couple of alternate sessions each. Usually after each campaign there was a week's break for me, and then a week where we sorted out what we'd run next and with whom as players.

I find that having the closed-ended campaign with a rough guide as to the length helps keep players and GM committed, interested and showing up regularly. But I was only able to make this work by hosting almost every game session, so that everyone knew we'd be gaming at the same place and the same time each week; if anyone couldn't make a session, the game went on without them. If I'd tried to organise it each week not knowing when or where we'd play I'd not have had a quarter the sessions.

There were also Geektogethers.

Thus in all

• I GMed 34 campaign sessions
  • 28 of them part of 3 successful campaigns,
  • 6 of them part of two 3-session implosion/fizzles
• I played in 13 sessions of other GMs
• enjoyed 6 alternates
• had 3 Geektogethers and helped put 10 gamers into groups new or established.
  • the Winter Geektogether had 10 people, Spring 11, Summer 17.
  • in all, about 22 different people across the three.
  • From each Geektogether has arisen one entirely new game group, and at least 6 loose gamers put themselves into campaigns.
• I GMed
  • 11 different people more than one session each
  • drove off 3 of them but later mended bridges with 2
  • had 2 players for 2 different campaigns
  • 1 player for 3 different campaigns
  • the remaining 8 players for 1 campaign each
• I played with
  • 5 different people more than one session each
  • 3 of whom were players under me at some point

Of the 13 different people I gamed with, I genuinely liked all of them, and consider 3 of them good friends, 2 of whom I only met this year.

So though my gaming year began a bit rough as I made mistakes, once the tumults were over and settled down, I had overall very good gaming both as GM and player, had lots of game sessions, ate heaps of cheetos, helped bring gamers together even outside my own group, and made new friends.

Sadly no Traveller - that campaign option wasn't chosen by many people, alas.

That's me, how about you lot?

Hi Kyle! (You know me as jeff37923 on theRPGsite)

Since this thread has nothing to do with Traveller (by your own admission) why is it here?

 

[Kyle Aaron]

Thanks Jeff for the long quote of text everyone interested will have seen already, and for your contribution.

The Lone Star
Meet, greet and socialize with your fellow Travellers in the Lone Star Lounge. Random Topics.

That's why it's here. That was my first post to the Traveller forums, seems like if you're going to meet, greet and socialise with your fellow Travellers and discuss random topics, the gaming you've done this year is a good place to start.

Yes?

But hey, thanks for the warm welcome.

 

[chshrkt]

Kyle, I for one enjoyed your gaming synopsis of the past year.
I wish I could be that prolific.

As for my past year, a new career put me back in school, so unfortunately there was not much time for gaming.

My wife and I were in a fun "Mage the Awakening" game for about 6 sessions, but sadly other commitments pulled us away. We were also in a Mage/Vampire type game using a custom gaming system put together by a good friend of my wifes.

She then GMd a 7 hour Serenity/Firefly universe oneshot when we were going through withdrawls toward the middle of the year, great fun.

She also is putting together ideas for a WhiteWolf system Werewolf/Traveller crossover with her best friend. They both have stories from an incredible werewolf universe when they were in college together (11 years ago) that they still talk about fondly.

I tell you, gaming chicks are the best!

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

Thanks Jeff for the long quote of text everyone interested will have seen already, and for your contribution.

But hey, thanks for the warm welcome.

Anytime!

Welcome Aboard, Kyle!

 

[aramis]

Lets see...year started out with a couple sessions of Star Trek (DTrek Rules, SFU setting).

Playing at least weekly, sometimes more
We also played 3 months of Pendragon, 3 of L5R 3E (1E setting).

2 months of Ars Magica, 3 of Tunnels and Trolls.

And a month so far of MoTrav.

Plus playing Gorrilla Games Battlestations! for 2 months, Day's of Wonder's Colisseum (frequent), Ticket to Ride: Europe (frequent) and TTR: Switzerland (recent), Memoir 44, Battle Lore and Shadows over Camelot, TSR's Great Khan Game, Mayfair's Domaine and Settlers of Catan, GDW's Mayday and Snapshot. There are several others, as well, in the board games category.

 

[pendragonman]

Well, half of last year was an rping drought.

In July, after getting a reply to my recruiting post here on CotI (faldialwadi), I began a CT (best described as proto Trav) campaign that lasted 10 sessions that met every two weeks (I am married with children, and for some reason those people like to see me too). I then played in a game of mostly Gurps Trav for the rest of the year, meeting on the same two week interval. The Gurps Trav was run by faldialwadi whom I met off this sight!

So, the recruiting office does work, for those of you unbelievers.

Right now, faldialwadi is running into big overtime at the kite manufacturing plant he works for (airplanes are just powered kites, after all). So he isn't gaming with us just now. We are hopeful of his return as soon as the o.t. wears out.

At this time, I am running a second edition D&D game on our biweekly cycle.