Unless you're fortunate enough to have a large local pool of players, such that you can essentially do whatever you like, hosting is always a balancing act. Some players will always want higher stakes, or different games, or different food, or different <fill in the blank>. You have to find that balance that will keep the majority of players coming back. This situation is really no different when you boil it down. I think the last 6-8 months or so (pre-vaccine), it's been pretty straightforward and black & white for hosts - you're either:
- Hosting like you were before - players can play at your own risk or don't play at all
- Hosting with masks & limited numbers with safety precautions - providing some protection to all your players since it wasn't possible for each player to protect themselves
- No hosting at all
This is an area where I feel for any of the hosts out there.
Agreed - I think these next few months are going to be tough for hosts, because we're now getting into a much more "gray" area, and IMHO if we're not careful, the potential for a lot of drama can arise. Almost everyone in the US will have access to the vaccine within the next couple of months, so everyone will soon have the means to protect
yourself, regardless of what others do (vaccine or mask) - a very different situation than what we've been dealing with the past year. However, I can almost guarantee that most hosts will continue to have some players at extreme ends of all this. Some won't play unless everyone is vaccinated, or will continue to insist everyone (or those not fully vaccinated) have a mask. Others won't get vaccinated and won't play if they have to wear a mask. And all (both sides) for a myriad of reasons - health conditions, comfort, anxiousness, politics, whatever - lots of very different personal reasons/decisions. What'll be important for hosts is offering a solution that will keep enough players coming back. You're going to lose players - you always do, you can't make everyone happy (nor should you try) - you have to find that balance you can live with as the host that works with most of your players. As with all other aspects of the game - talk with your players, conduct polls, do whatever you have to do to get that pulse to ensure your game is growing - and not dying.
In speaking with most of my players, a good deal of them are already vaccinated or plan to get the vaccine once eligible (supply was very limited here in Jersey up until the last two weeks). A few will never get it, nor will play with a mask, for various reasons (mostly comfort/claustrophobia). I personally would never require players to show a vaccine card - given that any player can now get the vaccine and protect themselves, I honestly don't feel it's my business to even ask. But if you
know your group won't play without that provision in place and you're comfortable with it, do whatever you think will keep your game going.
We've been playing live since August (with a brief closure during the holidays), and I felt I could offer
some protection to players by requiring masks and limiting attendance, and knew the majority wouldn't play without those measures in place (did a quick poll back in July). But now that the vaccine is available, I will likely be doing away with most of those restrictions, either this month or next. Now that the additional protection provision is there, everyone can be a big boy and decide for themselves what they want to do. I know a few more will start to attend again, and maybe a few will drop out until later this summer.
I got my first shot last week so I'll wear my mask again this month even if most don't; they don't really bother me and the last thing I want is to hold out for months just to get it (again, I think) at the very end of all this nonsense lol.