Where can I find other RPG players?

Question

I'd really like to learn how to play pen-and-paper RPGs. I know that it takes a few players to actually sit down and play, but I'm not at all sure where to find more gamers.

How do I find existing groups to join? Or, are there any resources online that may help me find existing RPG groups or players?

Answer 1

I found Nearby Gamers to be an excellent way to find a group last time I moved home.

If you find some people in your local area that are signed up for it, you can drop them a mail and explain your situation. Most gamers are a friendly lot and are happy to introduce new people to the hobby.

Answer 2

Meetup.com is a good place to start. Just do a search on RPG, Role Playing Games, Dungeons and Dragons; that sort of thing. You'll probably find a group nearby.

Message boards like ENWorld, Knights and Knaves Alehouse, Dragonsfoot, etc. are also good places to start. They usually have "gamers seeking games" sections and the like.

Answer 3

By going beyond the gamestore. Seriously, I consider this post and its earlier iterations on RPG.net classics in how to find players.

Bullet points of the process he describes:

1. Decide what game you will play, and when you will be playing
2. Contact gamers that you know, and ask your non-gamer friends if they'd like to play.
3. Make a flyer
4. Get the flyer out there
5. Screen potential players
6. Start playing.

Two notes of my own:

2 above: yes, ask non-gaming friends and colleges. Don't be embarrassed but do have a better explanation than just "want to play D&D". Invite them like you would a poker night and don't emphasis that it has be more than once (first one's free).

4 above: Starbucks, bookstores, lots of fast food places, other coffee shops, and laundromats are the big spots here. Also, make an HTML version and post to Craigslist and local activities websites.

Answer 4

Local game stores are a good place to find people. Many stores have tables set aside for people to run games in-store, and often there will be corkboards where groups looking for new players will put up notices. If the store owner is a roleplayer, they may be know people personally who are looking for new players, or be otherwise able to help you just by word of mouth.

If your nearest game store is far enough away that you can't drop in easily, call to find out what the place is like and whether they often host roleplaying groups or events. Ask if there are regular events at the store—many stores have regular drop-in game nights or host events like D&D Experience.

Answer 5

If you live in a German speaking country, consider http://www.spielerzentrale.de/.

Answer 6

What the answer comes down to is "exercise your social networks, both online and offline." You can be both looking for gamers/groups of gamers you can join and also registering your interest so that groups of gamers interested in a new player can find you.

Decide what you want to do and prep your pitch

Do you care what game(s) you will play, can you host, can you drive to a game and if so how far, etc? You need to decide on this so you know whether "I found a 4e game that meets in a library in Hoboken 60 minutes away" would be good or not. This helps you refine your pitch when you talk to other gamers from "I wanty the game" to "I'm a [new/experienced] gamer looking for [any RPG, a D&D game, prefer 4e but am open to others, etc] within [walking distance, a short drive, 120 minutes, etc.] of [where you are]. Also note what you have to provide - "I can provide a gaming location," "I don't mind GMing," "I am new but enthusiastic and really want to learn from an experienced group..." Note limitations, like "I am allergic to cats" or "No Republicans."

Shop It Around

Definitely use online resources.

1. Start with the everyday ones! Post on your Facebook, twitter, blog, or whatnot that you already have. If you don't do those, start. I am not sure why I need to explain this, but "being social" is the first step to "joining society" and plugging into the gaming community is no different. And a lot more people use these common social media outlets than use specialized gamer-listing sites.

2. Use normal looking-for-people sites, like meetup.com or special interest groups within facebook, foursquare, whatnot, even classified sites like Craigslist. Add "Looking for a RPG group" to your profile and status messages; look for other people doing the same; look for groups around the topic (ideally local).

3. Use gaming-specific sites or sites specific to your locale (ideally both). There's "listing" sites like nearbygamers.com and whatnot. I found my current group through the now-defunct austin-gamers mailing list. My company has internal forums and I've seen people posting for gamers there.

4. Be part of existing online gaming communities - general forums like ENWorld, RPG.net, etc., game specific ones like the WotC forums or Dumpshock - here's a nice "world map" of all the big RPG forums out there from ENWorld. Plus the big forums often specifically have sections or resources for "Looking For Games" - ENWorld, RPG.net.

5. Google search. You may find RPG clubs (like I helped start the FORGE in Memphis, a public gaming club. Simply searching for "Memphis roleplaying" gets the FORGE and a bunch of meetups and other likely looking clubs and resources. You may also find older posts or other leads on local gaming folks. I've had people email me "out of the blue" because they saw something I posted on a forum or mailing list years ago about having moved to Austin and being a gamer asking me to hook them into local games I know about.

But don't use them to the exclusion of offline resources!

Get off your chair.

1. Post a flyer at gaming stores, but also wherever else flyers are posted. Public bulletin boards, ones at work, for sure ones at nearby universities. Coffee shops, wherever local custom dictates - here in Austin every sandwich shop and whatnot has a bulletin board.

2. If you already know gamers in other groups, or even people that play "related" kinds of games like TCGs, network with them. I formed a gaming group originally in Memphis by telling our Magic: The Gathering play group I would like to run some real roleplaying.

3. Go to conventions! You may live near other gamers but it's hard to tell; if you go to a regional convention you may meet them (and it's a great place to post to meet gamers).

4. The WotC D&D Encounters program is really pushing game-store-run games regularly, look for one of these near you - even if you hate 4e, you can meet gamers. They used to push RPGA a lot and there were local RPGA-affiliated gaming clubs open to the public, I started one in Memphis for example. When I was in Living Greyhawk they were even organized by region/country as well. I know Paizo has an Organized Play campaign called Pathfinder Society that local groups plug into too.

5. This shouldn't be last... Make some friends and then see if they would like to game! I taught myself roleplaying from a Star Frontiers boxed set in 1982. It can be convenient to plug into an existing group or know some experienced gamers but it's by no means required.

Answer 7

Another source is Obsidian Portal.. It is, to me, a superb source for multiple campaigns and game types. The message boards need some work, but it is a very active community.

Also, if you're willing to invest in some time to learn how it works, RPTools has a very active community and a lot of gamer classifieds for a variety of different campaigns.

Now if only one of these sites could give me the time needed to play... sigh

Answer 8

After moving to a new city I found a lot of people to play with by attending local gaming conventions. Many conventions host a living campaign such as Living Forgotten Realms for Dungeons & Dragons or the Pathfinder Socity for Pathfinder. Look on warhorn.net for these events. Often there will be intro. mods geared for new players.

Playing at a convention gives you the opportunity to meet and play with a lot of different players and judges. After a con or two you may even find people to recruit into a home campaign or be invited to play in one yourself. At the very least you get to play a tabletop rpg while you search for players...

Answer 9

Consider joining a roleplaying organisation. I joined a local Danish one called Avalon, which is great.

First I tried finding people on facebook, only to realize that facebook mainly consists of people that I already know, and I was looking for new people, not existing ones.

Go out there, find a group. If you dont like what you find, look again. They are literally everywhere and often openminded and goodhearted.

Answer 10

What about where you work (if you work)? That's how I found my group 10 years ago! We're still gaming strong and having a blast.

I've also gone the route of posting to boards. I gamed with two groups, one was okay, another was wonderful then we kind of drifted apart.