Anybody have any idea why I am having so much trouble with finding players?

Hi everyone! Have been running games for a while now, and finding players used to be easy (a few months ago) I am looking for a few players, 2 weeks now and only found 2. I am starting to wonder about what is happening... My game is based on a system I have been working on for 2 years, it has been playtested by many players before and is close to be fully developed. I know this might seem like the reason to not find players, but again it was not a problem before. This is my first time experiencing looking for players with the new  rules regarding discord links. Adapting to that new ruling, I have no such link in my LFG post now and I wonder if  this is the main factor why finding players has slowed down. Really frustating to have a RPG crafted over such a long time, with positive feedback, but struggling to find new people for a fully fledged campaign. Any help is appreciated!

Edit to remove now-superfluous info about discord links: I don't usually moderate in the LFG area, but hopefully another mod or user with more experience in attracting players than me will be along with helpful advice and tips.

Keith, hi! I am a bit confused by your answer... why you are pointing me towards the code of conduct docs? I am not having any relevant problems with infringing these rules, neither does my LFG post keep getting flagged or something like that. The problem should be somewhere else. What I stated about discord links might be a bit confusing though. I was just wondering if banning these links from the LFG posts might be te main reason why looking for players is slower for me now. Maybe just a misunderstanding? Anyway, thank you for your response :) EDIT: yeah the post was too confusing about that. Fixed it, thanks!

Advertise.  This is the first time many people will have heard of your game, they don't know what it is, what its about and how it works. You need to advertise the game in a way to give people the information needed and entice them to play-test your game. Advertise on the LFG forum, reddit and pretty much anywhere you can. Also factors like any other game has such as timezone, dates, and scheduling will effect the recruitment process. Be as clear as possible with your advertisement by making sure you label the game showing your intended time slot, the timezone you run on, the days you want to play on and frequency of play.  Yes you are definitely having problem due to the fact its a play test of something people have no idea about. Now you are also facing the issue of an insurgent of popularity towards bigger titles as well (D&D, PF, etc).  Best of Luck and Keep at it.

@Vegemite Dangerous Thank you for your tips! I will look into my LFG post again see if I can make it better. It already seemed solid to me, but I might need to highlight the reasons to try it out. The problem that confuses me is that I used to have no trouble finding people a few months ago. Same system back then. It is the difference of responses that got me confused. Maybe the problem might be related to a higher popularity of bigger systems.

What is your "Join a Game" listing, listed as? I'll take a look and see if I can spot any weak points or what the issue could be.

Thanks that would be great! This is the Link:&nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/87738/silent-sun" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/87738/silent-sun</a>

If it is a game you're developing, you're obviously going to grant access to the ruleset/book/resource for players who join, but it could be possible that it would lower the bar for wanting to try out if you provide access to the ruleset in advance, so people can check it out before committing to join. If you intended to release/sell the game in the future, I guess you'd be hesitant to have a link to the whole thing in your LFG post, but a free "player's guide" shouldn't be negative from any future business perspective. The required player size could be a deterrent also, as some see larger games as more chaotic and think that wouldn't work out(I'm personally of this opinion, viewing 3-5 players as optimal for the average DM or game.) Regardless of if this is the opinion of the masses, the high requirement of player will darw out the time it takes for you to fill out all spots, so consider dropping it down to 5, unless 6 players are somehow essential or central in the game balance. Last thing (which you can't change really), is that your gaming time cuts off large portion of the playerbase, assuming most on Roll20 are Americans, which results in games on weekdays being incompatible timeslot-wise with everyone working/studying regular hours.

thanks for the reply :) Well, I already have a player's guide, acessible on the discord server, a good idea to provide it here too though. Just need to see if that is in conflict with roll20 external link rulings. Also, I am aiming at 3-5 players! it says 6 players because that is counting me too - but my team size is stated as 3-5 players ;)

The only thing I see is that its a new gaming system and people looking for games have usually already invested in some materials for that game system. I would put a link to the players handbook or if that's against Roll20's rules, then say the Players Handbook is available after signing on to discord.

Personally I'd be put off by the listing. The Into the Myst section is completely unnecessary, and makes it sound less like a game your playing, than a product you're trying to sell in some way. The Salt and Steam &nbsp;section gives avery brief idea of what the setting is, but syas nothing about what the adventure(s) will be about, what the characters will be doing. It ends with, "The trade route has existed for over 100 years, and the question in everyone's mind still is: Will this fragile balance last?" and I'm not even sure what balance it's referring to. The Cogwheel and Guidebook &nbsp;sections collectively take up just under half the listing, but tell me nothing I need to know to play. You really should have a webpage that people can click to lean about the system. Novice game designers are often wary of sharing their rules, but trust me, there is more to a game than the system, and no one is going to steal your rules. So many indie game deisgners have gone to make successful kickstarters after making their rules (in beta form) completely accessible, because then people can play the game and become fans of it, without needing the game's creator to play it with. So in summary: your listing only has one short paragraph (salt &amp; steam) that tells me anything about the game I'd be signing up to play, and it doesnt tell me enough to get me interested.&nbsp;

Could be that a lot or players have veered off of Roll20 due to recent... events.

LFP posts can be fickle.&nbsp; I was running a game last spring that involved a group of players getting together every week just to stage battles against each other.&nbsp;&nbsp; I originally listed it as a "PvP" game, and got almost zero interest. Once I changed it to "Battle Royale" instead, suddenly I got a bunch of new players.&nbsp; Looking at your LFP post, my only feedback would be that it's really long.&nbsp; I'd try to boil down the essence of the game into a single paragraph, with link to the game listing for the full detail.&nbsp;

@Mike D.&nbsp; Thanks for the feedback! :) at least you liked the Post well enough! @G G I guess you are right about the Into the Myst section - that can be explained later on. I put that there to tell players there will be sessions for a long time. Probably I should write just that. I thought that describing the main traits of the system is important, so people know what they are getting into! What type of system it is. Most would be pleased to know it is somewhat close to D&amp;D's rules, at least. I think. This game is not necessarily becoming commercial. So one of the reasons I do not share the system's rules completely is that setup is not consumer friendly at all right now - I created it to gives others an amazing experience, to make others fall in love with storytelling, design and role playing with steampunk. I did it as a hobby until now, so I did not build with portability in mind. The rules are summarized in the players handbook I created :) it is available as soon as discord is accessed. A link might be tricky on roll20 unfortunately. Regarding the comment about salt and steam: getting some more excitement into the mix! I should give a better description of the setting and of the adventure.&nbsp; Thank you a lot for taking so much time to help G G. Always ready to lend a helping hand! (Don't know if you remember but you wrote a guide for one of my scripts hehe) @Jose L. I heard the murmurs... I hope it does not create problems for an otherwise amazing platform. I will keep a more detailed personal view on the topic out of this post to avoid the post looking it's focus. @Walrus Yeah I bet haha I also believe that the first info you write into the LFG post is very important as this shows up in the list of LFG entries. That is why the summary is right at the beginning with info most want to know about :) I might still make the post shorter... but I tried to make it possible to skip what seems uninteresting to readers.&nbsp;

The End result: RPG adventure // Setting: Steampunk // Newbies welcome // Alignment: not evil // System: custom-made, Cogwheel 8312 //&nbsp; Duration of Session: 3 hours // Team size: 3-5 players // GM Timezone: Berlin, Germany // Community: discord server, chat and voice channels. // Content rating: clean but complex. Salt and Steam: a basic setting description Working on a tradeship is hard work. But it keeps the family back home fed, and that is what matters. With the advent of steam engines, trading between Briarport and Imogen's Bay became more important than ever. The ocean was still untamed and ships had to carry heavy weaponry to scare away leviathans, but it allowed for fast exchanging of resources between the green North and the mineral rich South. The trade route has existed for over 100 years, and the question in everyone's mind still is: Will this silk road last? A shipcrew mans the Vallerie, a steam powered trade vessel. Briarport is the already familiar destination. But the Ocean they will face is not what it once was.&nbsp; Cogwheel 8312: the system behind this game Developed over the last 2 years. Tested many times with multiple parties.&nbsp; As a reference: The rules are somewhat similar to 5th Edition Dungeons n' Dragons. Some traits of the system: Volatile - Death is a constant possibility. New Character will be required upon death. Dynamic - A lot of partially randomized and complex events can be generated on the go. Creative - Creativity is encouraged all throughout the system, aiming at allowing almost any action. Sandbox Oriented - System can adapt to many combinations of events. Pacing - Verbose Gameplay for the most part, with some very fast stretches.&nbsp; A Welcoming Committee: before deciding to join the game - A sneak peak can be provided, solo session with me, no strings attached, from 30 to 60 mins.&nbsp; - Joining the discord server will provide a lot of info about the game. A detailed setting is provided, as well as a player's handbook. This is also the preferred platform to settle questions about the game. Again, no strings attached to joining the server. Curious? Want to learn more? Please create an entry on the stickied post to signal to me that I can send you the Discord link.

and school just started back up&nbsp;

@Blu Oh yeah, thats probably the main factor :P because it used to work much better in somewhat similar conditions. I have found enough players btw hehe