Bonus points: if that place/activity is friendly for disabled people with limited mobility.
Your local discgolf club / community if you’re into that.
Kind of building on the D&D subject, if you look up your local game stores that have playspace, they probably have a calendar on their website listing lots of “Open Play” events or something similar. Mine also has craft/hobby nights.
You normally just show up to these and play.
The card and army based games may expect you to have your own stuff, but I would get in touch with somebody because a lot of the time there’s going to be somebody who will let you try the game with their stuff and teach you how to play in hopes of getting you interested long-term.
Check out meetup.com for any particular hobbies you’re into.
Local gaming shops are good options if you’re in an urban/suburban area. Many run regular events for TableTop Role Playing Games like Pathfinder and DnD, Warhammer, board game tournaments, etc… Many also host discord servers so folks can make “LFG” (Looking For Game) type posts.
Obviously its going to depend where you are, but I’ve found it to be a great place to socialize when I’m bored.
Are they typically welcoming to people who have never played tabletop games?
I’ve never met a public-facing tabletop group that wasn’t enthusiastic to introduce new people to it. I think honestly my worst experience was when some dude brought his insanely broken D&D 3.5 character to play in a level one 5E game. The DM handled it very well; much better than I would have, I think.
The doorknobs are made of the skulls from those who dared to enter, but did not already know the game. Lol
Jokes aside, while I haven’t been to one myself I know people who play and they’re always welcoming of new people. I’m sure the attitude is “more people to play with!”
I appreciate all the responses!
I’ve heard of them having newbie games scheduled on certain days. I don’t know how welcoming general games would be to a complete beginner, though.
It really depends, but mostly yes because people always want more people to play stuff with. You don’t need to go to a games store to find tabletop games though, hit up roll20 and search their LFG section, they’ve got a filter on their LFG search for games that welcome new players, you can sort by what time you want to play, etc. It’s mostly D&D, but there’s a ton of other stuff in there too if you know what you want to play.
In my experience, it totally depends on the shop and what kind if environment the owners are trying to cultivate. I’ve been to super competitive shops that are crazy anal about sticking to game rules, rude to newcomers, etc, and I’ve been to others (like my current shop) that realize we’re a bunch of middle aged fucks playing with toys (40k is my shit).
More often than not, though, the vibe is going to be a welcoming one. As others have said, its more people to play games with! Especially in the plastic crack community, where there’s certainly a 30 year Warhammer veteran just waiting for a newbie to dump their lore knowledge into.
The tabletop game meetup I know of (in New York) is explicitly friendly to new players. One of the hosts said their first game ever was at the meetup many years ago.
My experience is that they generally are, but if they’re not they’ll be very friendly in suggesting that they’re not the right venue for you.
If that sounds weird, go (or phone) and ask them. If they say “Well we’ve got a pretty hardcore community here,” then that’s a sign that maybe it’s not where you should start. But gamers, on the whole, LOVE sharing their passion with new people.
Or look for sign up sheets for a campaign. It can literally be signing up for your new gang of friends.
I would argue that this can be any acitivty which can be done in a group setting and which you enjoy. Maybe check out urban gardening? They sometimes acommodate to people with limited Mobility.
Rock climbing assuming you have a little spare change for a membership & a local gym. Go boulder. Folks are chill.
Local sports leagues. I was chatting with a friend who was talking about how much fun they’re having with softball… Including how they can now hit the ball 50% of the time.
as one with limited mobility, i have made friends at the local, extremely small, music venue. tickets at the door are $20, beer is cheap, and everyone is super friendly.
because its a small place, the owner lets me take a chair with me when i am going to one of the stages that has no seating (i use a cane; its hard to stand for long periods). i usually sit next to the merch tables, and the friends of the bands usually strike up conversation.
this is a suuuuuper small place. it has 2-3 stages (depending on the night), but they are really close together, so only one band at a time can play (two stages are outside because the building is so small). even if its not music, go to really small local places that get decent crowds - they are a lot more personable.
Related, many small(-ish) bars have a stage for live music on Friday/Saturday. There may not be enough seating for those nights, and there’s little/no standing room, so people randomly share tables. From there, you strike up conversation with other fans.
Find the small places where they advertise the bands by name, and make sure they aren’t just cover bands. Irish pubs have been lucky for me, but there’s another place near me that regularly has jam bands.
That’s interesting how do you get to know people? Doesn’t the music make it hard to hear people? I feel like in that scenario i would go listen to music and have a good time but would still be alone in a crowd.
usually a band plays for ~30-45m - enjoying music time - and ~15m-1h (depending on the setup for that night) of downtime for chatting.
Oh that’s cool i guess i didn’t think of it as live music only. I was picturing a place where they blast a DJ or playlist way to loud between bands playing.
You are in Dallas? The main redeeming quality of Texas is the music. I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion.
Also going out to the same places at the same time can pay off, you will make acquaintances and some may become friends. I see a group of old guys at the cafe I go to for coffee, pretty sure they are only friends because they go get breakfast at the Cuban place and ended up talking and sitting together.
I will say though, almost all my friends I met as adult came from work or from them going out with someone in my family. The medium level friends you are probably looking for. Do you not have work?
I recommend taking an improv class. I recently started taking classes and it’s been a lot of fun and pretty challenging at times. Taking classes and being that vulnerable with others basically streamlines the friend making process. My class group usually goes out to a bar to hang out and chat after class every week, and we have been inviting others to hang out periodically. It’s absolutely disabled people friendly too (At least my theater is, they have a ramp for the stage and everything.) you can also learn some skills to help become better at communication and ease social anxiety. I’ve really noticed the changes in my life.
It’s a daunting idea, but it so worth giving it a shot
Thanks you, this is a great idea, I really like this one. I am concerned though that my crutches would limit my improv versatility.
First off, you cannot attend any kind of event where women are involved.
I’m not doing a battle of the sexes thing, but the reality is that social dynamics massively change when opposite sex are involved. It is fundamentally impossible to have genuine interactions with other men, when women are around.
Before you get all triggered and decide to hit the downvote, remember I am not doing battle of the sexes…you cannot take women’s wine night for example, deposit a man in the group and expect the social dynamic to remain the same.
So go find something where women are not allowed. Find a clubhouse with a crudely written sign that says “no girls allowed” and the R is backwards.
Find a place where men are not in competition for the attention of women.
Archery. Relatively cheap sport to get into (no consumable bullets).
As for limited mobility, that depends on what you mean, wheelchair - not a problem, upper body - maybe a problem, depending on the extent. Crossbows can solve the strength part, but if you can’t aim, that will be a bit harder.
Join a group thing you like.
If you are musical or like music maybe find a local weekly jam or open mic. Play some tunes or just go and enjoy. Typically a very welcoming and open community and supportive scene, at least everywhere I’ve been.
Just throwing out a suggestion: choir.
Never tried it myself, but I have heard a lot of people build good relationships there.
Without bonus points: climbing. It’s always done in groups, the community is very open and you spend a lot of time just talking.
Basically you show up to a local climbing gym, try a boulder, some guy tries it after you, you say something like “I think you need to switch hands here”, you start chatting, ask him about outdoor climbing in the area, he says that he’s going to a nice stop this weekend, invites you to join, you go and hang out with people all day. It really is that simple.
Find a discord community that you share a hobby with. I found a small (<300 people) gaming community discord and have been hanging out there for a couple years now, made tons of friends, always have people to play games with, etc. But it doesn’t have to be gaming, I’m also in 2 movie clubs and a book club on a couple other discord servers, plus I play tabletop roleplaying games online with strangers and make new friends that way, etc. Iono if there’s a place you can physically go to meet people other than a bar or something, but there are lots of places online to meet people. Find yourself a knitting club or a biking club or a hiking group or whatever… tons of those communities exist online, and most of them are on discord.
