Friday 26 July 2013

Who plays Tabletop Games? Part 2

But who are these people who play these games?

I'm a Project Manager in the Financial Services industry although have worked in Public Sector and for Technology companies.

People I know who play tabletop games come from all sorts of backgrounds and professions.
Doctors, Security Guards, Technology Techies, Historians, Joiners, Librarians, Nurses, Retail Workers, Telecommunications Workers and people who work in the Military.  So it's all sorts really.

That statement in the previous post about the demographic being "everyone" is probably better represented by "anyone" instead as really anyone could be a player of tabletop games.

Isn't it just a guy thing though?

No.

Ok so it's mainly guys, especially here in the UK it is anyway, but it's not just a guy thing.  In my experience of the hobby, women tends to be least drawn to miniatures games, I don't know why.
In saying that though there are plenty of women who play wargames and collectible miniature games so my experience doesn't necessarily reflect the hobby as a whole.  It's safe to say though that this isn't just a guy thing.

Are these games just for kids?

Again, no.

The age bracket of people I know who play tabletop games is 8 to late 50s.  As someone about to enter his 40s I find it refreshing to see the age bracket being so big.  Given that I started when I was 11/12 it's good to see that so many people are still getting into the hobby at a young age.

If the question was Are these games just for big kids? then my answer is probably Yes!
Why?  Simply because these games are supposed to be fun!  I mean they wouldn't be games otherwise if they weren't fun.  Plus there's nothing wrong with letting that inner child out from time to time to make sure you're not taking things too seriously.

Are these games just for geeks?

In simple terms the answer is No.  As I've said previously, tabletop games are for anyone.
It is true that some people who play Tabletop Games fit into the stereotype of "geek".  By that I mean those stereotypes listed here.
However, the majority of people who play Tabletop Games don't fit into that list of stereotypes but instead fit into the positive categories list here under Positive Stereotypes.

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