People who read games but don't play...are there more than me...

[JohnRTroy]

Hello,

I was curious about something.

I've been a fan of the RPG since I was 10 years old. However, after a few times trying to game, I didn't care for the experience and mostly stuck with reading and (occasionally) writing for games. I found that I enjoyed how they stimulated my imagination, but I didn't care for the tabletop play experience, regardless of DM. (I found I could enjoy computer games, though).

I normally don't talk about this, as it tends to open up myself to criticism especially when debating. ("See, his opinion is worthless, he doesn't even play the games").

What I am wanting to ask is--are there more of us like that out here? I remember hearing from somebody at TSR or WoTC said that there was an audience of people who just read and collected the games and didn't play them.

 

[weem]

I've known one person who liked looking through all my books but was not into playing (he tried and it just wasn't his thing)...

I'm definitely not that way - I pretty much read only what I play. If I do read something, it's because I am about to play it (when it's new) - otherwise, I would say I "skim" if there is no intention or possibility of playing something.

 

[Gilladian]

As a DM, I read a lot of books and then never actively use them at the game table, but I can't imagine reading the game and never playing it. But I know librarians who don't read books for pleasure, so I guess you're not totally odd...

 

[olshanski]

I don't buy "splatbooks"... for D&D, I've always only bought the DMG, PHB, and MM (for the last 4.5 versions).

With that in mind, I buy 9x more books than I actually play. I have many game systems, none of which I'll ever play. I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 adventures, including many box sets and huge campaigns.... probably in the rest of my life I may play 10 of them.

 

[Festivus]

I read a lot more than I play. Often I take an imaginary group of characters through the adventure as if I were reading a novel. Same with rule sets, Og, M&M, Traveller all are games recently talked about here, that I have no friends nearby interested in, but I still read the freebies and get an idea about the game, and then imagine playing something myself.

In fact, I'll say right out that I prefer this style of reading to sitting down with a novel where the story goes where the author wants.

 

[Alzrius]

I collect and read RPGs far, far more than I play them. This isn't totally by choice, as I've had a damnable time ever getting a group together.

Still, it's gotten to the point where I largely don't look anymore, being content with simply treating the game books as scholarly materials - that is, I read them and critically analyze them in terms of world/setting development and canonity, or fiddling with the math to see what different builds I can create. Actually playing the game doesn't really become part of the equation - the game materials become an end product in and of themselves.

Ironically, my fortunes may be turning. I've finally found a group I meet with semi-regularly, and as a player no less (usually I have to GM). I'm slowly discovering that actually playing the game can be a source of fun unto itself also.

However you enjoy it, though, viva la game!

 

[jdrakeh]

I do play games, but I easily read (and buy) more games than I play. Gone are the misspent days of my youth when I could game all weekend long or play for days at a time.

 

[Runestar]

I have only played dnd a handful of times over the 7 years it was released, due to friends losing interest and difficulty in finding new players.

There was a stretch of ~ 2 years where I did not play dnd at all, but continued keeping myself abreast of all the latest rules developments and released splatbook material. I would just tinker with the mechanics and stat out monsters for fun. This way, I was still able to participate in discussions and update myself on the game.

In fact, I am not really playing anything now, due to an extremely hectic work schedule which is sucking up most of my free time.

The thing I realised is that you end up being able to tackle rules debates and build queries fairly well, but won't fare so well in more rp-related discussions due to lack of personal experience to speak from.

 

[mach1.9pants]

I have heaps of RPG books I will never use and only read. I also 'only read' RPG books for many years but now, thankfully, I am back to playing again. But if I hadn't managed to find some fellow geeks in my small small town I would still be a reader not player.

Oppositely I play 4E but don't buy the books, anymore. I hate reading 4E books and all the info is in the DDi so I can't see the point.

 

[darjr]

I do find fun in reading and I will never play as much as I want. I do play quite a bit. There are one or two folks I play with that I'm not sure actually enjoy the play exp. Then there are those I've met that seem to only want to DM but they play characters or those that only like to play characters but end up being DM.

I get a large amount of joy from the materials, the ephemera, of the hobby. I think if I could not play I'd still enjoy that. Though I think I'd end up leaning a lot more towards fiction.

But what am I saying, I read a lot of fiction.