How Do You Inspire Your Players? RPG Blog Carnival Intro

(Thanks to Alan Kellogg for this topic suggestion)

What do you do to get players excited and eager to play each session? How have you gotten players keen to dive into that new campaign you just spent weeks preparing? And what approaches do you take to keep players' faces out of their cells phones and focused on your game?

Player inspiration is the topic of this month's RPG Blog Carnival.

To keep my players engaged, I try to give them the type of game they want. I understand most of their preferences. And I keep learning about my players' kicks so I know what ingredients to keep adding into sessions.

For example, one of my players is a powergamers. He needs a game system with lots of character build options. Another player likes to think. He needs lots of choices and dilemmas. A third player likes to experience small, in-the-moment stories. He needs roleplaying encounters.

From game system selection to plot type to encounter design, I try to help my players have more fun at every game. And when I miss, I duck behind my GM screen. 🙂

What do you do to inspire your players? Do you make handouts, use technology, suggest books to read, GM a certain way, use player surveys? Please join this month's blog carnival and write a blog with how to try to inspire. Then come back to this page and drop a link to your post in the comments below.

Happy blogging!