Gamer's Fatigue: What can designers do about it?

I think it would be wise for folks to develop or involve themselves in a local hobby scene, designer-centric or otherwise. I personally don't think it's products that can bring people together. Rather it's [shared] experiences and interests that unite.

For example, I am part of a weekly writing meetup group with people I'd otherwise never have met, let alone be welcomed into their homes.But I WAIT for Tuesday evenings after the day job is done so I can be there, and I NEVER miss a meeting. Like my game design group, many are published authors, but not all of them. I make it a point to participate and hopefully augment the culture with my presence and input.

Being a friendly and approachable person is helpful in many areas of life, and I know that for lots of people it can be a serious challenge. But interpersonal skills are essential for gathering like-minded people together for any cause, interest, or hobby to persist.

I'd suggest people take it upon themselves to cultivate a culture centered around the hobby and shared experiences within it, and not depend on "someone else" like a big gaming convention, retailer, or publisher to do it for them.

I realize this goes a bit further afield from the designer-specific question, but it's a bigger-picture perspective that I think can help any hobby grow, independent of occasional economic shifts, market booms and busts, and the "cult of the new."

If you want to go further with that same idea of a book club: think of a nationwide or worldwide model of smaller "cells" that have a common branding or name that unifies them all. Imagine if there was something of the magnitude of "Friday Night Magic" for all tabletop games instead of just MtG. Shared values, principles, and even something like "game of the month" could be promoted by each cell of the group, regardless of location or size.

If there is one that already exists, I've just not heard about it. Sounds to me like it would take either an amazingly strong grassroots effort, and/or various industry partners to aid with promotions.

BGG ought to strive to do something like this. "BGG Baltimore" or "BGG London" or something like that.

One way I think designers can address this issue is by creating more gateway games that introduce more complex mechanics one at a time, combined with tried-and-true mechanics already familiar to most casual gamers.

Two games that come to mind are Sushi Go (which uses card drafting) and Machi Koro which cleverly conceals its deck building mechanic and mellows things out with dice rolling.

By gradually increasing a player's vocabulary of mechanics and methods to develop strategy, maybe there would be an increased tendency to find ways to combine those mechanics in more complex ways. Players might want to seek out some of the "older" games where those mechanics they like were first seen, and might be more willing to support games at their FLGS or Kickstarter when they say, "Oh, worker placement? Hidden agendas? Chit-pulling? I like that kind of stuff. Let me take a closer look..."

I don't mean to say that "casual" and "party" games are solely the way to go either, as objectively speaking they're more for entertaining and interacting within a social group. They're not designed for providing challenge. But there's no denying that these kinds of games have become excellent "openers" for game nights where more complex games can be introduced.

To refer back to my previous comment above: party and casual games can help build and fortify the hobby game culture in its formative stages, and help introduce new members and inject new energy into groups that may have stagnated.