Yes, Women can Game!

Show me a female gamer and, eighty percent of the time, you will be showing me a woman who has joined a game with trusted male friends only to have their characters turn on her and rape her character. This is extremely uncool. So many guys at conventions have come up to me in awe because they do not see many female gamers, and I get asked again and again "Why aren't there more like you?"

You see, there is a stereotype about women who game just because they have a boyfriend or husband who games, and there is also a stereotype about wives and girlfriends who hate gaming on principle. The thing that many people don't seem to know is that many wives and girlfriends who hate gaming tried it once or twice and experienced character rape.

Now, consider: when you have spent hours developing a character, and you have just gotten that coveted item, and you are about to try out that new feat for the first time - and you fail and your character gets killed? You feel genuinely upset. You feel almost like this has really just happened to YOU. Imagine how a woman feels when she has put so much into making a character, and her character is raped.Especially since, as most gamers know, people describe what they are doing as "I do this to you" not "My [character name] does X to [other character]" it is very frightening and hurtful to go through.

Another problem women who are just getting into gaming can is animosity from the rules lawyers. For some reason, there is much less patience afforded a female gamer who has never seen a rulebook before than there is to a male gamer. Some people actually get hostile and nasty, and treat the female gamer as if she is stupid or insignificant. Try to remember the first time you picked up a game manual, guys! Sure, you were probably a kid, but you had to spend a little time getting to understand the concept. Don't be hostile to other people who are just starting out. You are the reason there are not more female gamers!

Now, when a female gamer is cohabitating with one of the male members of the group, she will likely be playing hostess as well. This is not a reason to take advantage of her! Many male gamers seem to have been raised in an environment where a woman picked up all of their messes and never asked them to take care of their own space. Try being polite to your hostess and not treating her as if she were your personal servant. Throw away your own garbage, and if you would like something, ask nicely. Don't demand.

Lastly on this subject, if a woman is joining your group, don't assume she won't want to get in on the adventure! Just because I have boobs, doesn't mean I won't make a character who can kick someone's ass! Keep that in mind.

That's right, everyone! Most women I know make wonderful game masters - because of the attention to detail, social situations, etc. Personally, I have written and run several campaigns and scenarios - both with a regular group and for conventions. It's great!

When I was running the Amber Diceless RPG for my group, i put together "travel brochure" CDs for them - complete with pictures of every suite and room in Castle Amber, along with a map, descriptions, and basic material on important NPCs. I also had everything statted out ahead of time and was ready for whatever challenges my players threw my way! It was excellent fun!

Believe it or not, we women are pretty good at world building. In fact, if you think about it, with the way that many of us were raised, the girls had more opportunity to build up this skill. You see, playing with dolls? That's like role playing. Many of us used to build up entire complex worlds and social structures and situations with our dolls. We have experience setting up what is going to happen and a contingency for everything - because what if Sally down the street brought her doll over for some serious drama one day? We had to be prepared.

Not trying to stereotype here, but those of us who played with dolls make excellent game masters - so this is something that people should consider before gawking and saying "Why would a GIRL run a game?!?"