Too many applications, not enough games!

Needs to be a better system for matching players to games. The social distancing is going to push a lot of really strong tabletop players to the online format. Not sure how any DM can sort through the swath of applications and make the right choices rn. 

I think the real issue is that there are not enough DMs or too many DMs running one shots and short modules. A lot of the games posted are players trying to find a DM, some of them are just to draw attention to someone's twitch stream. If you cut out the games that are pay to play, which is a headache all its own, that eliminates over half the results. I've been a member of this site for almost a year and I haven't had any luck finding a game on Roll20. I only have 26 hours "played" and of those 26 hours played, 22 hours were spent on building characters or learning the basics of how to use roll20 - still no expert, 1 hour was spent waiting on a DM who never showed after we paid him, 1 hour was spent troubleshooting audio/video issues for a group, and 2 actual hours of playing the game with a group I met at a local game store - not on Roll20. I'd love to start DMing here, but I'm still learning the site and learning 5E. Maybe one day...

I have always thought pay to play should have its own sub forum like discords with advertisement channels that you can just ignore as spam. I have been a member for a bit more than a year and the games are hit and miss. Unless you're GM or you know one that is quality its unlikely youll get a game going that lasts.  I GM irl so when it comes to roll20 I dont want to. Which you might find is the same box everyone else is in. 

A huge problem DM/ GM's tend to run into are flaky players, players that ghost games. players that quit or players who just do not like the DM;s style. When I form up a group for a campaign, I tell the players that this group will not be the same in a couple of months time. Best advise I can give is just persevere, expect groups to fall apart in the first few months but be patient and by the 3rd month you should have a very good group.  With over 3 years of expairience I can probably get a good group together within a month or so. I wish I could say how to get a group up and going sooner but I cant say for various reasons. Anyway, good luck on finding a long term group, its hard work but rewarding in the end.

Good advice - much appreciated! Greyhawk DM said: A huge problem DM/ GM's tend to run into are flaky players, players that ghost games. players that quit or players who just do not like the DM;s style. When I form up a group for a campaign, I tell the players that this group will not be the same in a couple of months time. Best advise I can give is just persevere, expect groups to fall apart in the first few months but be patient and by the 3rd month you should have a very good group.  With over 3 years of expairience I can probably get a good group together within a month or so. I wish I could say how to get a group up and going sooner but I cant say for various reasons. Anyway, good luck on finding a long term group, its hard work but rewarding in the end.

I feel like this shouldn't be in LFG...it should be in suggestions.

It would also help if the search feature were improved.  There's not even any basic sorting possible, you get all the relevant search results with the OLDEST results first.  Then you have to wade into it...

Have you tried the Join A Game tool? I just took a quick look, and there are 34 pages worth of games most, if not all, of which will be looking for players. It's possible to filter Join A Game results by system, time, language, free or pay-to-play and text, voice or video. It's generally a better place to look for games than this forum. It is worth being choosy, though, and looking carefully at what the GM is offering, and how they're doing it - if it sounds too good to be true, sadly, it quite possibly is as the GM is going to bite off far more than they can choose. Where possible, find groups that have existing members and are re-recruiting to fill in drop outs - it's a good sign that at least the GM is in for the long haul. Hope this helps.

All I can add to this is that any/all who want to play are welcome to join my group.&nbsp; I can't say anything about any of the systemic issues of the platform, but I can keep offering and advertising the games I help run.&nbsp; With the recent increase in people having time to play my community is running 3-4 games a day.&nbsp; Would be happy to see more join.&nbsp; Campaign link:&nbsp; <a href="https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/17445/guild-living-campaign" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/lfg/listing/17445/guild-living-campaign</a>

Peter B. said: It would also help if the search feature were improved.&nbsp; There's not even any basic sorting possible, you get all the relevant search results with the OLDEST results first.&nbsp; Then you have to wade into it... If you use the sort by drop down box, you can select games starting soon and it will sort them in order of soonest to most distant time. &nbsp;You can also search by specific days and times to get a 3 hour window.

..also remember that not all games played on roll20 are posted here. It is not uncommon for games to be announced in (e.g.) Facebook groups. Especially in these corona-days, local groups that previously played together IRL, now prefer to do so online.&nbsp; In my (very personal) experience, the shortage of DMs aren't as bad in those smaller forums/groups, and I have even seen som places where there are too many DMs (my IRL-group has that problem).&nbsp;

I was speaking specifically about the forums. Thomas B. said: If you use the sort by drop down box, you can select games starting soon and it will sort them in order of soonest to most distant time. &nbsp;You can also search by specific days and times to get a 3 hour window.

Yup, your local community might have a bunch of DM's, but when you go world wide that is sadly just not the case. It kind of reminds me of my days of playing World of Warcraft and waiting hours for a Tank to get us through a dungeon. Well I guess instead of waiting hours you might wait days lol.&nbsp; Even now, I see a group that is looking for a DM to take them through Strahd, so I am asking myself, do I really want to take on a forth game or not. This is perhaps what many DM/GM's are thinking about. Jens F. said: ..also remember that not all games played on roll20 are posted here. It is not uncommon for games to be announced in (e.g.) Facebook groups. Especially in these corona-days, local groups that previously played together IRL, now prefer to do so online.&nbsp; In my (very personal) experience, the shortage of DMs aren't as bad in those smaller forums/groups, and I have even seen som places where there are too many DMs (my IRL-group has that problem).&nbsp;

Greyhawk DM said: Yup, your local community might have a bunch of DM's, but when you go world wide that is sadly just not the case. Well, the point is that you can get this online as well, you just need to search on a smaller forum.&nbsp; Match-making is easier on a smaller scale, either you are looking for a game, a job, a date or a language-exchange. On a larger scale it becomes complicated, because even if the numbers are balanced people will apply for more spots than they actually can attend, resulting in games (or HR) being swamped with applications.&nbsp; In addition, smaller groups tend to help the matchmaking by having a theme, either it is a certain type of game, or time-zone or language....