Last Saturday, the very first German Free RPG Day
("Gratisrollenspieltag", GRT for short) took place. It was loosely
modeled on the American/ international equivalent started in 2007:
http://www.freerpgday.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_RPG_Day
The German GRT was conceived and organized by Moritz Mehlem. He first
blogged about this in late May 2012, so between the idea and successful
event lay less than nine months.
http://glgnfz.blogspot.de/2012/05/deutscher-free-rpg-day-2013.html
The community response was very positive, publishers were quick to
participate. Gaming stores and organizations (mostly RPG societies,
naturally) signed up to receive a parcel of free give-aways. Some
publishers provided the quickstarts they also hand out at Essen game
fair or conventions, some whipped up new or even exclusive content.
Compared to the American Free RPG Day - as far as I can tell - the
participation of small, independent publishers was phenomenal. Four
persons asked the RPG community to contribute/ help fund the printing of
their material (each successfully, by the way).
In the end, about one hundred parcels of eight kilograms each (some 17
pounds) were sent out. Details about the event can be found at:
http://gratisrollenspieltag.de/
In Göttingen, my home town, I organized the event with the help of the
local Studentenwerk (student services organization), specifically their
office for cultural activities. They placed an ad on their homepage, I
asked the local gaming store to put up posters (they are to small to
host the event themselves). Also, we made it into the local newspaper
and radio station.
In the four hours we had designated for the event, at least 40 persons
showed up. I was busy GMing, so I can't be very precise regarding this.
At least half a dozen of them had never played an RPG before. Male/
female ratio was roughly 80/20, and people all were in their 20s or
early 30s.
Four gaming groups formed (GURPS; Call of Cthulhu; Plüsch, Power &
Plunder; NIP'AJIN), some 25 people sat at the tables. The overall
response was very positive: The games were fun, gamers had the chance to
meet and connect, and the free material was nearly gone by the end.
For the most parts, reports from other towns mirror this. In some cases,
the shop owners/ organizers didn't do a good job of promoting and
staging the event, but the general feedback is consistent: Great event,
and we're looking forward to next year. Also, the Gratisrollenspieltag
was an opportunity for the community to act in concert. This seems to
have some invigorating effect and counter (at least to some degree) the
complaint tradition and widespread sense of decline.
In one German forum, users already brainstorm what can be learned from
this year, and what might be improved next time.
One focus is on ideas how to reach newbies and attract them to the
hobby. My impression is that gaming stores are less successful in this
regard than events in general venues (in one town, the GRT took place in
a bookshop, and managed to attract many non-role-players). Apart from
this, due to individual efforts, many local newspapers announced the
event, and at least one journalist came by, sat down to play and wrote
an article about it. All in all, I'm thrilled.
Now I'm thinking about hosting the international Free RPG Day in
Göttingen... :)
Jonas
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