GAMER SURVEY - PLEASE HELP! - I received this notice of a hobby game survey conducted by Ohio State University yesterday. I encourage all gamers reading this to participate and help them out:

Ohio State University's School of Communication, in partnership with GAMA and The Wargamer, are undertaking a follow-up to last year's large and comprehensive study of hobby game players. The researchers are investigating patterns of motivation and usage by tabletop (card, role-playing, minis, and board game players), digital (computer, console, MMORPG), and other gamers (such as LARP). The survey takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Building on lessons learned from last year, as well as some ongoing analyses of the existing data, the project is seeking continue expanding the knowledge of the games world.

We invite you to participate at www.gamesurvey.org.

The study will be focusing on these key areas of motivation.

• What do game players like in a game? What do they dislike? And why?
• What motivates continued game play and preferences for types of games?
• Where are games bought and what influences those purchase decisions in light of preferences and motivations?
• What interactions do gamers have with others?
• With whom (and where) do gamers play, and how frequently, and how do these decisions influence preferences and motivations?

Official Q&A forum can be found at http://www.wargamer.com/forums/tm.asp?m=229482