Agreed with Doug. Game variety is definitely a big aspect to keep people interested. You can have the best 5 games in the world at your league location, but people are going to get bored playing the same games week after week.
I’ll also add that having a fun social environment is definitely helpful to make new players feel comfortable. The Cleveland league is held at a few different bars around town and the vibe with drinks, music, food, etc definitely makes it more of a “hang out” than a super serious competitive environment.
I think this depends. My 15ish players really don’t mind playing the same 10 machines all season long (8 total sessions), in fact, some prefer it. I do take us to private collections twice per season, but those are the most poorly attended nights.
Private collections mean more diversity of games, but in my case it means: lessor beer options, longer drive to the venue, random people coming into our normal location won’t stumble upon league play, players can feel a little overwhelmed by lack of game familiarity.
There aren’t any other 5+ machine public collections in town, though there are several within a 45 minute drive. So for me, different venues changes the vibe from: “hang out at the corner bar” to “traveling group of pinball players”.
That said, I think there is a place for both, but my experience is that the more casual players consistently fall into the former category.