why is it so hard to get into a game?

I have been trying for a long time now to get into a dnd game of any kind for what feels like forever now but every game is always weeks away or is already full. I don't even get why people schedules them weeks in advance especially for games were there only looking for like 4 players within just a little while there already filled with applications. I'm just looking to play a quick fun game but it feels like every single game is either full, has way to many players for it to be any fun or are weeks away from starting. the only proper game that I have ever gotten into had like 30 people playing. I joined in at 7:00 and my turn didn't come around until midnight.

Jack D. said: I don't even get why people schedules them weeks in advance especially for games were there only looking for like 4 players within just a little while there already filled with applications. A variety of reasons. For a game system that doesn't see much play, they may want to ensure they get enough people. Some GMs may want to make sure all the players have characters that can work together, or work within their world before the game actually starts. Et cetera. Jack D. said: I'm just looking to play a quick fun game I would recommend keeping an eye on the LFG forum for One-Shots, in that case.

The Player to GM ration is why. Likely 40 players to every GM.

Working a little on your application presentations might help a little bit too.  Often that's the only thing that really separates you from other players, and if a gm is choosing players solely based off of those applications well...

GMs are always hard to find, yeah. That's always been my experience doing any PnP online. That said, I'll probably be soon contributing to the problem given that I'm hoping to start a new campaign up by end of next month - but it'll be in a custom world and I know that those have a much lower adoption rate.  Worse, it'll be my first Roll20 game and my first 5E game (I've mostly DM'd FantasyCraft, 3.5E, and GURPS) so there's that working against me too. Sometimes it's also hard to find players! haha

thanks for the advise guys ill keep on the lookout for open games.

I'm working on a homebrewed world also but my situation is that I use a retroclone but on the flip side most of my limited run campaigns fill within hours of my posting.

I ran a Star Wars Saga Edition game awhile back. The first week I had 50 applicants. The problem is that there is a vast disparity between the number of players looking, and the number of competent DM/GM's willing to run games. Thus, there's always going to be someone that doesn't manage to make it into the game.  The best way to fix this is to run a game yourself, and once you have a decent online group, see if someone else in the group wants to run a game.

As a DM, here's what I check on an application: (1)profile picture, (2)hours logged in, (3)bio info, (4)if the applicant followed my application instructions.  You have 1 and 2 done. I would fill your bio info with something relevant to what you are looking for in a game. I hope you don't copy/paste a general application into multiple games.  I personally schedule my games to start a month away from session 1. I like to play with people who are aware of their own schedule, can commit to a date/time and don't come up with excuses one day before.  Best of luck!

B Simon Smith said: I ran a Star Wars Saga Edition game awhile back. The first week I had 50 applicants. The problem is that there is a vast disparity between the number of players looking, and the number of competent DM/GM's willing to run games. Thus, there's always going to be someone that doesn't manage to make it into the game.  The best way to fix this is to run a game yourself, and once you have a decent online group, see if someone else in the group wants to run a game. OP, This is how I started DMing. Run a game yourself and take it from there. There's a bunch of one shots published already. Better yet, read the masters vault by roll20 and then run it. It is very straight forward.

GMs often put in as much prep time as hours played.  But starting a new campaign requires a bunch of upfront work that you aren't considering. ~  GMing a pre-written module can often mean reading the entire thing before starting game sessions.  So, hundreds of pages of material, plus notes and outside research.  Developing your own full world and campaign isn't exactly less intensive. ~  Prepping that campaign in Roll20 can take more time.  Setting up character sheets for enemies and NPCs, scaling and lighting for maps, etc etc. ~  If you are intimidated by seeing 70+ people apply for a campaign, consider reading through those applications, setting up interviews, seeing who's really serious and available..... It can be frustrating for everyone.  My boyfriend and I both GM - but it's all but *impossible* for us to play in a campaign together.  Besides the issues that you bring up, a lot of the campaigns I do get into break up after a handful of sessions.  We've reluctantly come to terms with the idea that if one of us wants to play something the other has to GM it.  Or it just doesn't work out.  Sad.

You should put your time zone in your profile. It helps GMs and players choose you.

There are just a lot more players than GMs. When I post an opening i get an avalanche of requests. I eliminate most of them in the LFG posting. "Email me at:" on my posting means I want to receive an email. There are two reasons for a request. To obtain a valid way to answer them and to eliminate "green M&Ms".. When a band sets up a contract there are pages and pages of requirements, adding something like "A bowl of M&Ms with all green candy removed." allows the band's people to just look in the dressing room and know if they have to go line by line through the contract. If they missed the "green M&Ms rule" did they also forget the fire alarms?

Val said: GMs often put in as much prep time as hours played.  But starting a new campaign requires a bunch of upfront work that you aren't considering. ~  GMing a pre-written module can often mean reading the entire thing before starting game sessions.  So, hundreds of pages of material, plus notes and outside research.  Developing your own full world and campaign isn't exactly less intensive. ~  Prepping that campaign in Roll20 can take more time.  Setting up character sheets for enemies and NPCs, scaling and lighting for maps, etc etc. ~  If you are intimidated by seeing 70+ people apply for a campaign, consider reading through those applications, setting up interviews, seeing who's really serious and available..... It can be frustrating for everyone.  My boyfriend and I both GM - but it's all but *impossible* for us to play in a campaign together.  Besides the issues that you bring up, a lot of the campaigns I do get into break up after a handful of sessions.  We've reluctantly come to terms with the idea that if one of us wants to play something the other has to GM it.  Or it just doesn't work out.  Sad. I highlighted your second point. That's what I & my co-GM (who is my GM on another night in a related game) have run into.  For all our efforts of going digital, after being PnP GMs for so long, there is a learning curve. Luckily, we've been fortunate with both RL & online players who understand Macros & digital-GMing tricks and have been sharing.  But sometimes it seems like things go more slowly by going digital.

Sabrina A. said: Val said: GMs often put in as much prep time as hours played.   I've GMed a single campaign for about three years now.  The Roll20 clock has me at about 4300 hours at present.  I'd say that three quarters or more of that time is during down time when I am setting things up. That means that over the last three years, I have put in about 3000 hours of work in addition to the 1000 hours of play time. I guess the players appreciate it because in all of that time, I have lost 2 of the 8 or 9 people that have played characters.  Not too bad right? The point I am trying to make is that DMing is huge commitment, and it sucks to have people flake out on you.

Barry S. said: I've GMed a single campaign for about three years now.  The Roll20 clock has me at about 4300 hours at present.  I'd say that three quarters or more of that time is during down time when I am setting things up. That means that over the last three years, I have put in about 3000 hours of work in addition to the 1000 hours of play time. I guess the players appreciate it because in all of that time, I have lost 2 of the 8 or 9 people that have played characters.  Not too bad right? The point I am trying to make is that DMing is huge commitment, and it sucks to have people flake out on you. Yeah... I have almost 7200 hours, but a good 4000 of that is just idling in my campaigns working on scripts. Since I stopped active development powercards my time spent inside Roll20 has dropped considerably. Now most of my time is spent actually prepping campaigns and playing finally.

Sky said: Barry S. said: I've GMed a single campaign for about three years now.  The Roll20 clock has me at about 4300 hours at present.  I'd say that three quarters or more of that time is during down time when I am setting things up. That means that over the last three years, I have put in about 3000 hours of work in addition to the 1000 hours of play time. I guess the players appreciate it because in all of that time, I have lost 2 of the 8 or 9 people that have played characters.  Not too bad right? The point I am trying to make is that DMing is huge commitment, and it sucks to have people flake out on you. Yeah... I have almost 7200 hours, but a good 4000 of that is just idling in my campaigns working on scripts. Since I stopped active development powercards my time spent inside Roll20 has dropped considerably. Now most of my time is spent actually prepping campaigns and playing finally. Hi sky, I would like to know more about these power cards!

Juan said: Sky said: Yeah... I have almost 7200 hours, but a good 4000 of that is just idling in my campaigns working on scripts. Since I stopped active development powercards my time spent inside Roll20 has dropped considerably. Now most of my time is spent actually prepping campaigns and playing finally. Hi sky, I would like to know more about these power cards! <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4285059/script-p" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4285059/script-p</a>... Just fyi, I'm only fixing bugs on that script now. Not actively developing it any more. And it requires a Pro subscription for api access.

Sky said: Juan said: Sky said: Yeah... I have almost 7200 hours, but a good 4000 of that is just idling in my campaigns working on scripts. Since I stopped active development powercards my time spent inside Roll20 has dropped considerably. Now most of my time is spent actually prepping campaigns and playing finally. Hi sky, I would like to know more about these power cards! <a href="https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4285059/script-p" rel="nofollow">https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/4285059/script-p</a>... Just fyi, I'm only fixing bugs on that script now. Not actively developing it any more. And it requires a Pro subscription for api access. Interesting. Thanks sky!

I have a Living World concept running around but those things are large, and they suffer from other problems with player engagement and scheduling

You may have more luck joining a home-brew. &nbsp;A popular game or system is going to be swamped with players. I ran a home-brew through the roll20 forums a couple years ago. I got 5 applicants and end up settling on 3 of the players. Also running your own game is an option. It is a metric ton of work ,but it's an extremely rewarding hobby. Preparing for and running RPG's has actually helped me in life. The process of just writing a cohesive story that actually entertains and wow's your players has developed skills that make me better at doing presentations in front of large numbers of people, and improved my vocabulary, my language and communication skills, and my sense of social awareness.&nbsp;

I had the same issue - I accepted the fact to look for games that starts about 2-3 weeks from now. Finally, I am in 3 games. YES WAITING SUCKS... but atleast, I am now accepted into the games. Gotta reserve your seats WAY IN ADVANCE. Don't expect to jump into last minutes games or even 1-2 days away games. Everyone and their mother is applying for.&nbsp;

I dont have very much faith in Roll20 because for the 2 years I have had a membership I have only played in 3 games. &nbsp;All of which I GM'd. &nbsp;I ran a few games for Roll20 Con. &nbsp;I would get interest for the games every other day for 2 weeks but they were full. &nbsp;All the way up until 3 days before then someone would drop but gain a pickup. &nbsp;Then come game day these enthusiastic to play players - only one of 4 or 5 showed up. &nbsp;Really? &nbsp;Needless to say I was pretty bitter as a lot of prep went into those games for story, jpeg uploads, responding to messages etc. &nbsp;So Roll20 is now like Meetup to me. &nbsp;Hundreds of people in the group but only 4 - 6 steady players each week playing DnD or Magic. &nbsp;Thankfully my G+ group converted to Roll20 so now I get to play once a week. &nbsp;Would like to get to know more people and play other games but sadly one needs a thorough screening application to make sure, or at least increase the odds, the GM will find reliable people who share same play style or needs. &nbsp;&nbsp;