Inspired by the discussion about 4e and intro roleplaying games, which pointed out that kids are a great market for the complexity involved in learning your first RPG because they have plenty of time and little of anything else (money, freedom, mobility), here are the four classic age-demographics for RPGs. #1,2, and 4 of these are received wisdom (in my case received from Anthony Valterra), and #3 is based on my own observation, but all of them are likely old chestnuts.

1) Kids age 10-16. Old enough to read and master complex stuff, not old enough to drive. So there's a high premium on things you can do by yourself (roll up characters, paint minis, pore over rulebooks) and things you can do at a friend's house after school. The driver's license is the end of this era.

2) College students. Again, more time than money, and dormitory living and flexible hours makes getting together for regular, all-night gaming sessions a snap (esp. if it's difficult to have a car on campus). People moving away/no longer living on top of one another and getting regular jobs is the end of this era.

3) Military personnel. Being on base is like being in college - restricted options for other stuff to do, plus close-quarters living making it easy to get a group together.  RPGs are even more attractive after deployment - the ratio of weight in your pack to hours of entertainment can't be beat. Dave Arneson has said that at one point every American nuclear submarine had its own D&D campaign. Leaving the service is typically the end of this era.

4) Freshly minted parents after the birth of their first kid. Once again, the limitation on mobility (and secondarily on money) makes this fertile gaming territory. After my son was born (and my best friend got out of the Army) I was extremely eager to find ways to convince people to come over so I wouldn't have to pay a babysitter before I could have fun, plus I had weird stretches of time in the middle of the night after being woken by baby ideally suited to sketching dungeons. I'm hoping this era won't end, just progress naturally into golden age #1 for the next generation; some threads on the OD&D boards about folks running campaigns for their grandkids gives me hope.

Open questions:
- What percentage of the total RPG-materials-buying market does each age-demographic contribute?

- What percentage of the total number of active RPG players does each age-demographic contribute?

- How much of the decline in the American RPG-materials-market since 2001 can be attributed to overseas military deployment?

- Does the male-dominated environment of the military intrinsically facilitate RPGing, or does the current form of RPGs merely reflect the historical connection between the military -> wargaming -> RPGs which is thus naturally attractive to guys in the military?

Not sure about overseas military deployment - presumably if you are stuck in a fortified compound in Iraq your alternative entertainment options are even more limited than if you are in Fort Bragg where presumably you'd have unlimited internet access, cable TV, outdoor sports etc.

A more important factor may be the drastic shrinkage of the military in general since the end of the Cold War - there are just fewer military around now, they have to do more with less and are recruited from rather different demographics.

While it may well have been true  in say 1982 that every US nuclear submarine had a DnD group, that would have just reflected the games penetration at that time - if millions of copies were sold almost exclusively  to teenage boys and young men, then any gathering of several hundred young males would  have had a DnD group.

If any subs have DnD groups now I suspect that they consist mostly of the grizzled veterans who began playing back then.

From everything I've heard, the US military continues to be one of the places where RPGs are still hugely popular.  I've certainly heard stories of groups of soldiers currently in Iraq and Afghanistan playing RPGs.  

It might not be every single submarine, but there's certainly a big presence of military gamers.

RPGPundit

We used to play Recon.
"Well, we've been soldiers all day working hard... what do you want to do?"
"Let's pretend to be soldiers!"
Strange, I know.

Heh, I know how that goes. When I ran SR2 for my fellow marines it was like watching a training video.

"We stack on the door, with our six covered by [Insert Player name here], then we roll concussion grenades through the door. He cuts right, i cut left, and so and so goes straight up the middle."

Heh.

I don't think I've run a game since getting out of high school that didn't have at least one guy whose gaming background started with "When I was in the Army/Navy/Air Force/Marines, I played..."

Quote from: RPGPunditFrom everything I've heard, the US military continues to be one of the places where RPGs are still hugely popular.  I've certainly heard stories of groups of soldiers currently in Iraq and Afghanistan playing RPGs.  

It might not be every single submarine, but there's certainly a big presence of military gamers.

RPGPundit

Huge.

The desert, Korea, Spain--no matter where I went or the size of the base, I could find gamers.  I'm not saying it was always quality, but it was there.  I also had more Palladium gamers than I've seen before or since.  D&D and Rolemaster were also popular.

I was also in a "nerdy" career field in the USAF, so I had a lot of gaming co-workers.

Certainly masses of anecdotal evidence - however I genuinely don't know how up to date that is.

Lots of ex-servicemen played RPGs back in the 80s - just as lots of non-servicemen did.

Not many posters at rpg forums seem to talk about their military life in the present tense though.

Well, our LGS was run by a guy who was ex-army. Great gamer, and the godfather to my kids

I will disagree with the parent bit, though.... Nothing more irritating than getting into a situation, and the baby waking up. Since mine were not bottle-fed, I couldn't game and feed Then again, most people here I don't think are going to have that problem, exactly

Quote from: Hubert FarnsworthCertainly masses of anecdotal evidence - however I genuinely don't know how up to date that is.

Lots of ex-servicemen played RPGs back in the 80s - just as lots of non-servicemen did.

Not many posters at rpg forums seem to talk about their military life in the present tense though.

Well in the last 10 years I've worked for the military as a contractor I've met some but largely heard about a fair portion that play.  It's not exactly something I keep secret because I carry game books with me to work to read in my free time.  Keep in mind though that I largely worked at a headquarters level with mid to high ranking officers, high ranking enlisted personnel, or elder government civilians.  Most of the people closer to my age would be easier to identify with in other shared interests even if they were familiar with RPGs.  My roommate who was in the Navy used to play but was more interested in getting hammered with me than playing RPGs.  There is a large potential pool of players but I'd have just as much luck on a college campus or comic store.

I found this topic fascinating when I thought it read 'The Four Great Apes of Roleplaying Games.'

But this one is good, too!

There are at least five Army and AF bases locally. A lot of GIs play.

Quote from: stu2000There are at least five Army and AF bases locally. A lot of GIs play.

last time I looked there was a suck amount of RPG gameshops in CS. It's off to Bonnie Brae in Denver. Made for a good road trip though, especially with the Renfest at Larkspur.