If you love a game, you can inspire others to love that game too. Right? Well, that might be wishful thinking, but we’ve got four big tips on how to build a strong gaming community.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one…”I would love to get into this game, but no one in my area plays it.” This sentiment is something I’ve heard a lot recently. Here on Spikey Bits, we have a wider focus on all miniatures, and all games, rather than a singular focus on a large game like Warhammer 40k or the like.
Infinity, Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire, Blood Bowl, Necromunda, etc. Great games with amazing minis that are wildly popular, but so many people can’t find a community in their area to get into them. Well, here are a few tips for getting the game community that you want.
4 Tips On Building a Strong Gaming Community
Location Matters
Building a community for a particular game, where there isn’t one, or a very small community, is a daunting feat. But it’s not impossible, trust me. Like a miniature Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. So, where to start?
This is important as sometimes a location is the first hurdle to get over when getting a game community off the ground. Ask yourself a few questions. How much space does the game need? Does the game require accessories like terrain? Does the location support community growth, with things like selling said game, or having an atmosphere that allows people to have a fun time while hanging out? Things like that.
A good location doesn’t have to meet all requirements to be suitable. But it does help. Sometimes just being the person who can host meet-ups is all it takes, then you can move proceedings to a neutral venue as the community grows.
Get Someone With Hype
The number one thing a community needs to get started is hype, or a hype man/ hype lady. If no one is taking the initiative to get a community started, then you gotta put on the big boy pants and be the hype man. A community can be started in an instant, all you need is to talk to people who have some interest.
It’s all about fun and assuring people of what the community has to offer. I’ll use Blood Bowl as an example. All it took to get me into it was one person saying, “Man, I wish more people would play Blood Bowl. It’s such a fun game.” Enter the hype man. Start forming ideas of how to get people into things. Simply asking people to show up and sit around playing the game isn’t enough.
“Yeah Bloodbowl does look fun, AND it’s cheap to get into!”
“You know what we should do, start a league! Then people can get into it at their pace week to week.”
“Oh you know what else, we should do little tailgating meet-ups once a month at the shop before playing, then that grabs the attention of other people”
Sometimes YOU have to be that person that gets things going. Making things fun and interesting seems like a difficult task, but it’s really quite easy if you can be brave. This applies to all sorts of other things in wargaming. People wish there were more organized events in your gaming community? Step up and start organizing! Sometimes people need that push, not necessarily a leader, but someone that takes the initiative and gets the ball rolling.
This is Sociology 101. When people gather in groups, they form a herd mentality, and if no one becomes the Shepard, YOU gotta do it. Be brave, be the HYPE. If you’re super excited about it, then others will feel that energy and get into it.
Use Social Media
Social media tools can help get things organized too, sometimes the community is already there, but it needs to get some life injected into it. One of the best things you can hear when looking for a community is “yeah there is a group on (X), but its kinda dead”
Wait, so you’re saying that there is a Facebook group or whatever, with a bunch of people already bought into the game, that you can instantly contact and give information to?! Step in there and bring the hype! All those people are already there, all you gotta do is get things going by bringing activity to the group page.
There’s An App For That
Another helpful tool that came out recently is a handy app called GameFor. It was created by the guys over at Tabletop Minions on YouTube. This app has lots of cool features that can really help get a community going. Lists of game shops in cities, the ability to form gaming groups that are geo-tagged to your area, so other people can see “hey there is a gaming group for (X) 5 miles from me, I should check it out.”
The ability to simply create a geo-tagged Looking for Games post, that shows what games you want to play, so other people looking for the same thing can connect and get games in. So at the very least if you really want to get in a game of Infinity, or Shadespire or whatever, you can find someone to play with. And like I said above, it can start with two people, then very quickly and easily become eight, then twelve, then twenty, and before you know it you have a thriving community!
If you want to get something done, you gotta do it yourself. An old saying, that still holds true. Never let a difficult situation hold you back from accomplishing what you want to do. If you really love a game and want to get a community going for it, get out there and bring the hype. Because that’s all it needs to get going.
–Hey there!
Hopefully, this gave some of you help on how to get a community going. I understand that sometimes it can be hard to get a community started, or in some cases, re-booted. If you have some specific questions feel free to comment below or contact me directly over at Jack of Clubs Painting on Facebook. Putting yourself out there and being the hype person or lead confidence personality can be difficult for people who don’t take to it naturally, if you would like some pointers and tips, don’t hesitate to ask. See yall next time!
About the Author: Wyatt Turk
