Did you have a gaming group in your younger days? Would you like to get them back together? Read on, my friend, and I’ll tell you how to do it. I’ve been there, and done it, and you can do it too!

First of all, I’m going to assume that you were the GM, or you’d be willing to take the job over. If you have to convince someone else to be the GM you’re going to have a harder time. It’s not impossible, but let’s be honest, the GM has the biggest commitment, so get them (and their spouse, if applicable) on board before you go much further. When my group did it I was both the instigator and the DM, and my wife was a player, so that wasn’t a problem.

Once that’s out of the way, it’s time to round up the players. When you go inviting players it’s wise to keep a few things in mind. First, do you really want everyone in your old group back? That may sound harsh, but in my experience you may not. For example, we had two couples that used to be in our group. Both had split up, and one of the ladies was now my wife. Having her ex-boyfriend playing could have been a little awkward, so we didn’t invite him.

Secondly, you should expect some attrition. In our group one half of the other split-up couple politely declined, and another player just flat never responded to any emails. So it might pay to invite a few more folks to the game if you can. But don’t invite more people that you (or the GM) can handle, just in case they all say yes.

Third, keep your scheduling expectations reasonable. Maybe back in the day you had time to play 4-6 hours a week or more, but the chances are some of the folks in your group now have careers, or families, or other interests, or all of the above, and time is in short supply. Our group now meets once or twice a month. We still manage a 5-6 hour session usually, but we’ve gone as long as eight weeks between sessions due to schedule conflicts. It’s a bummer, but it’s better than not playing at all, which is what most of them were doing before we got back together.

Hopefully at this point, you have enough players to get a game together, and someone who’s willing to be GM. If not, you’re going to have to figure out how to invite more people without making them feel like they were second choices. I lucked out and got my quorum the first time, so I can’t offer much help there.