I'm shocked by the number of people popping out of the woodwork. I've been gaming consistently for the past 35 years, and while gaming was more popular overall in the early 80s and late 90s, I know more gamers right now personally than ever. I have a game group, of older people, on my fucking street!
I did play some RPG when I was a kid (born 1981) and I’ve been thinking about how to get back to it for the las 5 years. I was probably difficult not so long ago, but my friends are starting to freeze their fb accounts and restrict mobile use, might give a try!
I'm in a similar demographic and recently got back into it (D&D 5e). The impetus for me was that (a) it had been "long enough" since I'd stopped playing (probably 15 years, Jesus) that I was craving it and (b) I wanted an excuse to drag a group of friends over to my house on a regular basis.
Any resurgence is probably rooted in a number of factors, like the good design of 5e, but I wonder how much of it stems from the same cohort who played it in the 90's simply reaching some point in their life (spending less time at bars, looking for more of a break from work, wanting to spend time with friends "IRL", etc etc) that they fall back into it.
Close? Ann Arbor. Ok, so not close ... but close in spirit :)
Seriously, I could have 3+ groups of 6 players, playing weekly, without a problem. I know at least a dozen people at my work that play, and that are people I'd like to play with.
