Enthusiasm.

I can work/instill/stoke everything else. As long as you come wanting to play.

But if you have all the other "stuff" - awesome.

Quote from: That Guy;792161so if you're putting up with, say, my Fate of the Norns game hoping I'll run Rifts for you afterwards, you'd best move on.

I got sick and tired of dealing with players like that.

For lack of a better description, they're typically individuals with a "you owe me" type of mentality to everything in life.

Commitment, Engagement and Social Intelligence.

Show up for the game, play the game and get along with everyone else.

Look most for in a player?

*Ability to suspend meta-gaming. We roll everything in the open, so:
GM: "Give me a find-traps roll"
Player: "Crap"
GM "...You fail? OK, there are no traps."
Player: "All right guys, no traps here, let's head in!"

*Ability to suspend player knowledge where it disagrees with character knowledge.
GM: "You see a grey lump of rock on the ground"
Player1: "I pick it up"
GM: "The rock is warm to the touch"
Player1: "Shit, I bet it's radioactive"
Player2: "What is this 'radioactive' you speak of?"
Player1: "Oh, yeah. Ummm, I put the rock in my backpack. Surely the elders will want to see this."
GM: "OK, lemme pull out the random mutation table here...."

*Players that know the rules. Not everyone at the table needs to know the rules, but it sure is nice if they do.

*Ability to show up consistently and on-time

*Understanding that once the game is on, it's on. Save you're socializing for before or after the game. I am weary of "Primarily, I'm here to hang out with my friends." I know not everyone is on board with this, but those of us with families or busy work schedules have a limited amount of time per week for gaming, and gaming is what I'm here to do. We can socialize at the playground when the kids are on the swings.

Quote from: Nikita;792226From my experiences in dealing with testers the single most important thing a professional tester has is ability to clearly explain (in writing) why something did not work and how to repeat it. It saves enormous amount of time.

That's for Beta testers, running/playing the game at a remove. These guys are Alpha testers, playing directly under me as GM. I can see for myself how they do what they do, and the effects of their enterprise. Alpha saves that whole step. I figure if I get a game ruleset past these bastards without unexpected explosions, anyone can. Then it's off to beta test to see if I explained that ruleset properly. Then people who can tell me "(in writing) why something did not work and how to repeat it" are worth their weight in gold.

Quote from: That Guy;792161The ability to attend at least 90%, ideally 95% of games. I really don't understand why some in gaming consider this weird. There are all kinds of leisure activities where regular attendance is expected, such as bowling leagues (well, really most amateur sports leagues).

I'm not a GM, but speaking as a player who strives for 100% attendance, the whole casual attendance/engagement thing has always mystified me. If you want a beer-n-pretzels experience, play a beer-n-pretzels game. There's a whole subgenre of titles labeled and advertised as exactly that for your gaming convenience. We play the games we do specifically because we want a more involved and/or immersive gaming experience, and we want it every other weekend (personally, I'd prefer we do it every weekend, but sadly the GM's schedule doesn't allow for that)

I would agree with most of the responses here.

A. Gaming is a social situation and I only want to socialize with folk I like. So I look for someone who is nice, intelligent and with whom I can be a buddy with. Don't be an A-hole and don't fight and argue with the other players constantly.

B. Enthusiasm. Enjoy gaming and want to take part. Develop an interesting character and join the group. Help to solve the mystery or advance the story. Don't just sit there like a lump.

C. Maturity. I'm in my late 40's now. I don't want to spend the day with teenagers or even early 20-somethings. I want buddies who have been around a bit.

D. Participation. I agree that it can be rough, adulthood has its difficulties and time constraints. But I would like at least 80% attendance. I also like long game sessions, 6 hours minimum. Again, not always doable, but preferred. The best game I was in was on Sunday starting around 1 PM and usually we didn't finish until 9 or later, with one dinner break in there somewhere.

In short: be nice, be smart, be mature, be on time.

I run live and online games.
so one would think these are different lists.   But one weird thing is that my online 'acquisitions' would almost all be invited home.  I don't know what I am doing right.  Both my last Steel ISle game and the current Collegium Arcana game include people from all over the globe, that somehow...are awesome.  I don't get how I am so lucky.  But Steel Isle ran for 160 sessions, and Collegium has had 32 group and some 22 intermezzo (one on one) sessions.  And we are, in my estimation, around chapter 3 of book one of 4.

Live, it has to do with waiting in line and dealing with Nepotism.  I have 2 live games, one for super old players, so no new players are invited in, and the newer, Igabrian campaign, which is only 12 years old, and occasionally has a changing of the guard and adds or loses a Player.  
1) must be a gourmand.  We blow through amazing dinner and 4-8 bottles of wine (and an occasional mead) per session.  This has a secondary effect of weeding out the riff-raff.  I might be kidding.  I'm not sure.
2) be in for the long haul.  I can't run anything not built for 5-10 years.  
3) my rules.  Not like some homebrew changes, literally, my main system was built around this setting and the type of game I play.

Trust. I need to know for certain that my players don't distrust or feel antagonistic towards me. Even in grittier or horror-themed campaigns, I'm not out to kill the characters for fun. While the dice control outcomes, I strive to make things fun or at least interesting for everyone at the table, even bad stuff like failure and defeat.

I practically lose my shit when a player gets upset when things go badly through no action of my own but through bad decisions by the players or just bad luck with the dice. If you don't trust that I'm trying to make sure that everyone's having a good time then get the fuck out.

I amend my answer: power, mystery, and the hammer of the gods.

A sense of humor and at least a little enthusiasm, but most importantly, tolerance and an ability to get along with others - or at least the others in the group.

Quote from: Saladman;792194This is why we can't have nice things.

But think   about it...


pictuure the perfect player.

A geek, through and through. No life, so they are always ready for a game, any time. No other responsibilities to distract them from gaming (ie no signifigant other vying for their attention). They always show up to the game on time, bearing Sun Chips and a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper. They spend their off time reading fantasy novels and books on ways to be a better roleplayer, or painting miniatures. They have the loveable disposition of Santa Clause, the tactical acumen of an Arneson or Gygax, the storytelling ability of a Kevin Smith, and the cheery enthusiasm of a big child.

Add all that together and what do you get?

boobs.

Brings snacks, and shares them.

If they do that they're less likely to be annoying in other ways, like arguing over rules, or being evil for the sake of it, or frequently late or absent to sessions, etc. Do they think, "this is a social occasion, how can I make it nicer for others?" If they do think they like, the other shit will fall into place.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;792352Brings snacks, and shares them.

If they do that they're less likely to be annoying in other ways, like arguing over rules, or being evil for the sake of it, or frequently late or absent to sessions, etc. Do they think, "this is a social occasion, how can I make it nicer for others?" If they do think they like, the other shit will fall into place.

Right on the money.

Okay, I want to amend my list with:

4. Not a freeloader.

Freeloaders suck. Peple who bring stuff just rock my world, not so much for the stuff they bring but for the attitude.

Quote from: TristramEvans;792334But think   about it...


pictuure the perfect player.

A geek, through and through. No life, so they are always ready for a game, any time. No other responsibilities to distract them from gaming (ie no signifigant other vying for their attention). They always show up to the game on time, bearing Sun Chips and a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper. They spend their off time reading fantasy novels and books on ways to be a better roleplayer, or painting miniatures. They have the loveable disposition of Santa Clause, the tactical acumen of an Arneson or Gygax, the storytelling ability of a Kevin Smith, and the cheery enthusiasm of a big child.

Add all that together and what do you get?

boobs.

Well played, sir.  Well played indeed.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;792352Brings snacks, and shares them.

If they do that they're less likely to be annoying in other ways, like arguing over rules, or being evil for the sake of it, or frequently late or absent to sessions, etc. Do they think, "this is a social occasion, how can I make it nicer for others?" If they do think they like, the other shit will fall into place.

+1, and it also reminds me of something else:  gainfully employed.  These past years I have enjoyed the heck out of gaming with people with steady jobs and families.  Occasionally it means family or work comes first, but on balance they're more reliable in attendance, and more fun to game with, than the semi-employed losers I got in the random mix I started gaming with.

Unlike someone else upthread, I'm not even asking for my own age.  I've seen twenty year olds with a job and a significant other fall into the good to game with category when older guys without their lives together don't.