Next month's issue of Words on a Screen will be the last. There are any number of topics related to PbP gaming left to be covered, but over the course of the last three years I've made the points that I started this column out to make and it seems best to wrap things up before I start repeating myself.

So, I'd prefer for the final issue to cover points that you think are important. Please ask any questions or throw out any topics in the comments to this issue, and I'll do my best to address them in the next issue.

Now, on to our regularly-scheduled programming.

New Game Energy

As is conventionally believed about romantic relationships, PbP games tend to run hottest when they're new. There's typically a relatively high level of excitement accompanying the formation of a new game, and this makes sense: players and GMs typically only launch into the project of starting games that they're excited to play. Starting a game is an investment of time, effort, and potentially money; players only make this investment if they anticipate a good return on these investments.

End of the Honeymoon Phase

Continuing with this strained analogy, as the game continues, that excitement fades away. The game doesn't quite live up to expectations. Players attrit away. Other distractions appear. As the excitement fades, so does the game's momentum. Players stop posting, the GM stops investing so much effort into keeping things moving, so on and so forth.

So - how to recapture the new game energy in an existing game?

Have the Conversation

As we've remarked several times over the course of this column, communication is key. Don't just go on pretending that the game is fine and let it dwindle to an unlovely demise. Talk to the other players about the slowdown and ask them what would help undo it. The answer may be "nothing," but it may be as simple as revisiting a favorite location or NPC or introducing a new antagonist or campaign goal.

Change Things Up

It may never be possible to truly recapture the excitement of a new game, but it is possible to revitalize some of that energy. A key factor in new game energy is the excitement of potential. Potential, in this sense, comes from the unknown outcome of the new game.

Recreate this by making a significant change in the game. Try out a new house rule; introduce an apocalyptic event; upend the campaign frame entirely. The focus here is on making a major change to the meta-state of the game that creates an impetus in the players to take that new thing for a test drive.

Bring in Fresh Blood

An old game is a new game to a new player. Excitement is infectious. Putting those two facts together means that a dwindling game can be fortified by the introduction of new players. Their engagement may well spark engagement among the original players.