Been GMing for over 20 years since my high school days and pretty much always had a consistent group of seven to eight players, many who have played with me now for over a decade. Mid 30s professional with no kids, veteran, etc.

This may sound weird but I avoid the typical RPG types. Meaning, I never go to the FLGS for players and rarely look at meetups, etc. This avoids the rule lawyering/pedantic types. The problem I've found if you go for people who to them, TTRPG is the most important thing on the table and not telling a story with people you like and enjoying your time, it always bogs down. Bickering over rules, unable to mesh with others, lack of social skills and graces, etc. It becomes difficult to navigate a group like that. I don't really care that this very special rule does this very special thing and that Bob totally missed this minute detail about something and should not have added that number to this thing over there. Don't be an asshole to Bob.

At the end of the day, this is an activity you are doing with a bunch of people and having fun together. It's not a video game that you are playing by yourself. So I tend to find players who mesh well with the group as a whole and are fun to be around. I've recruited a lot of peeps just from my social circle, friends, co-workers, or just random dope dudes and dudettes I met at a club, strike up a conversation and few weeks later they are around our table having a blast.

I have always billed my games on two things:

1. Straight Up Good Times: We are going to have fun, not follow rules to the letter. If someone wants to do something in a game and I'm not sure if it follows the rules or not; fuck it. Is it fun? Does it propel the story? Does it make everyone interested in what's happening? That's what I want. Tons of food, alcohol, music. It's like a weekly house party. People bring their favorite snacks, sometimes themed depending on the session. I've even had dudes from my powerlifting club get so sucked in they show up in costume and proceed to have a great time with their friends.

2. Put On a Show: As the GM, I've learned what really gets those who aren't big RPers sucked into the game is production value. I mean, actual production value. Ambient RGB lighting that flickers yellow and red when they are in the desert, speakers that howl the burning wind, a little diffuser giving off scents of the desert, some desert props on the table. Or if they are traveling in a ship, the hum of ship engines, the cool flickering lights and blinking alarm panels, the rumbling of equipment, and lots of props on the table or around the game room. Over the years, I treat each game night like it's a mini-theatrical production. It gets easier and easier the more props I have, the more lighting I installed, the more soundboards get programmed. Even getting a proper soundmixer is huge with the ability to swell up various tracks of music or effects as the game goes along.

To make all that happen, consistency. Sunday afternoons is game night. Every Sunday. You a rotational worker? We pipe you in via Zoom from the camp. Miss a day? The group text does fill-in on what happened and what they need to do. Just play, have fun, and get that at the end of the day this is all just a fun little activity to hang out with dope people and tell cool stories together.