2020 Survey Result Update #1 - Demographic of TTRPG Players

Hello! Welcome to our first research result update blog! We have gathered a total of 1006 responses to the survey. In this newsletter, you will find basic demographics of survey participants, three pillars of gameplay, top ten TTRPG games, and changes in online play since last year. Our following newsletters will explore roleplay, the impacts of COVID-19, and the technology of RPG players in more detail.
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​In summary: 
We found that there is a slight increase in female players (from 30% to 38%). A lot more people identified as both player and game master than last year (36% increase). We had survey participants from 48 countries with 70% from North America, 22% from Europe, 5% from Oceania, 1.4% from Asia, and less than 1% from South America and Africa. 

The ratio of interests in Roleplay:Exploration:Combat is about 7:2:1. We found that Roleplay is the most important aspect for TTRPG player across all age groups, with younger groups more likely to value it than older age groups. We delved into why people are interested in the pillar they chose and tabulated the most mentioned reasons. 
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We tracked changes in active online play, comparing last year’s data to this year’s. We found that 41.7% of the players who play online now had never tried an online session before COVID-19. The TTRPG community shows great adaptability and willingness to transition to new ways of play.
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About the players

While the vast majority of our responses are from young professionals, people of all ages can appreciate TTRPGs as seen by the wide range of ages in our responses. ​

We had a 5% increase of female players compared to last year and also 36% more people identified as being both player and game master.

We also see a significant increase of game masters compared to players. 

Three Pillars of TTRPG

Roleplay is an important aspect for TTRPG player across all age groups, with younger groups more likely to value it than older age groups. When we asked why they are interested in the choice. Here are the top three reasons for each category: ​

Types of Games

Top 10: 

1. Dungeons and Dragons (94.3%*) 
   
2. Pathfinder (17.9%) 
   
3. Call of Cthulhu (11.5%) 
   
4. Vampire: The Masquerade (7.6%)
   
5. Warhammer RPG (6.4%) 
   
6. Star Wars RPG (6.1%) 
   
7. Shadowrun (4.3%)
   
8. Starfinder (3.8%)
   
9. Fate (3.6%)
   
10. Honey Heist (2.7%)
    

*percentage of survey participants that play this game

Top Game Challenges

Some quotes from players: 

"For me, it's always been being able to fully commit to the actions of a character, specifically when their morals or demeanor differ from mine or when I know that their response isn't something that would be productive yet is something that they would do."

"Visualizing a complex area or battle without a map"

"Ensuring all players can engage fully, regardless of ability level (we have older and newer players in our current group)"

"Balancing good rule-following and "the rule of cool", because while the rules are there for a reason and fantastic, it's also nice to give players a break and let them play out something badass for themselves (forever DM here)"