What gets me into a new game...

Hey everyone and welcome to another set of my ramblings.  Today I'm taking a more introspective look at the hobby for a couple reasons.  It's been a hectic week and I've not done a lot of painting as much as I would have.  Instead I've been spending some time doing some video game stuff and getting my WoW fix on.  I did manage to paint up the iron parts of Erebus (more detailed post coming later) but for now I started to think about what gets me into a new game.

I find that taking time to think about these things helps me stay grounded in the hobby.  It's quite easy to get lost when you think about it.  Hell starting a new game can be daunting, starting the right new game can be even more challenging.  Then when you start to think about what it takes to start one up it's quite a lot to take in.  First you find the game, learn about the game, see if anyone else plays it, pick a force, get the rules for your game and force, read the rules, keep reading, assemble models, play a game or two, read some more, read online about lists, paint models, and so on.  Throw on the cost of the models/rules/game and holy bajeezus how do people even start this crap sometimes?

How I feel when someone tells me ALL the rules at once

It's a lot like why people paint/don't paint, it'll be a personal reason in the end.  So instead of coming up with the ridiculous amount of what-ifs I'll just talk about my personal reasoning.  Of course that's not a simple 1 reason answer either.

See I like playing these games primarily for three reasons.  The first is that as I mentioned in my previous posts it's a big source of stress relief and community connection.  If my friends are playing a new game I'm more likely to start it up.  Hell that's why I have Bolt Action, it's literally the only WW2 miniatures game I have any interest in.  95% of that is because I have my crew of friends who play it and it's been a fun experience.  It's also a factor in not getting into games also.  The big reason I've not collected a Malifaux crew or started up a Firestorm Planetfall invasion force is because I would be the only guy on the block with them.  I mean sure I could get into those games but it doesn't seem like I'd be getting any games in.

Gencon brings the community together like this, great stuff :D

The second reason is that I have a pretty active imagination as I am sure most of us in this hobby have.  So I really get into the background of games and I just daydream about what battles look like in real-time.  I can't count the number of Warhammer 40k novels I've read or the articles in various magazines over the years that share some aspect of the lore in these games.  I get invested in this background information and it has a big draw for me.  I get my Grimdark fill from 40k, my spell-slinging from Warmahordes, and my sci-fi cyber from Infinity.  Usually if I am able to start day dreaming about the game's lore then it's a good sign that I would want to get into the game.

I can daydream about this picture all day long

Finally we have the good ol' mechanics being a primary reason to get into a game.  No one wants to play a dull or lifeless game, we play because damn they are fun games!  Now for me sometimes a quirky mechanic will get my interests going.  The Malifaux cards, Infinity using d20's, MERCS with their cards, Bolt Action's order dice, and so on are some examples of mechanics that are different enough to keep me interested.  It doesn't have to outrageous or complicated for me to want to play, it just has to be solid with a lot of opportunities and options to explore.  Rules that are written hastily with a lot of open holes for abuse are not my particular cup of tea (some 40k codices come to mind coughGreyKnightscough).

Quirky mechanics like cards instead of dice can do it for me

So ideally a game with solid and fun mechanics, played by my friends, and is mentally interesting are the ways to get me to spend my money on your game.  What about you, what gets you going for a new game or keeps you in the one you play now?  Leave your thoughts and happy gaming!