5 Helpful Resources for Finding a Local Gaming Group

Meetup.com — It may be unsurprising that this is the first on our list. While Meetup does not solely cater to gamers, providing an outlet for social groups interested in a wide range of subjects, it boasts a massive network. The Tabletop Role Playing and Board Games category alone connects over 400,000 members globally across 1,461 Meetup groups. Groups can range in size and scope, some may be small collections of individuals looking for a few others to round out their gaming group. Others may be large scale organizations which regularly host special events. Either way, this site offers the most user-friendly and straightforward experience to find larger groups of players.

FindGamers.us — This site targets gamers and tries to connect users to local individuals or groups looking to play particular types of games. When it comes to role-playing games users can even specify whether or not they prefer to run a game, or simply participate as a fellow player. For the best possible results users will need to volunteer their own zip-code, which is how the site’s system calculates how close other members are to your location. Once you find some interesting groups or people, send some messages and let the gaming commence! They even have a section for people looking for online games, for those who live in sparsely populated areas. Additionally, FindGamers.com provides a list of upcoming tabletop related events and conventions, so that you can meet other gaming fans face-to-face.

NearbyGamers.com — While the user interface is a bit dated and clunky, once an account is created and a location is selected, NearbyGamers provides a very large database of local individuals who are looking to game. Using a Google Maps view, members can click on icons representing other locals who have created accounts. Users can then read their profiles and learn what types of games they are interested in playing. Once that perfect sounding person is discovered simply send them a message and go from there. Since adding a location is pretty much required for the website to prove useful, those who are uncomfortable marking their actual address on the Google Map should probably pick a neutral location like a favorite game store, mall, or restaurant.

/r/lfg — Reddit users will probably already be familiar with Reddit’s Looking For Group subreddit. For everyone else, though, it can prove a useful tool to at least start some conversations with fellow gamers. While finding a local group may be hit or miss, this made the list as an especially direct place for gamers looking to find online gaming groups. Posts are separated by Offline and Online tags making it extremely easy to pick out online games from physical ones. Those looking to meet people in real life may get lucky posting their own message for the page’s 13,000 subscribers.

Your Local Game Store — As long as they have the room, most local game stores will be open to having some sort of board where locals can pin up advertisements looking for particular players to round out their gaming nights. Plus, if you are interested in gaming and don’t know about your local scene, you may very well be missing out on some good potential friendships, along with some fun events. Learn their weekly gaming schedules, suggest new ones, or even offer to come in to demo a game of your own that could use some extra players.