Making Friends: Goblins, Ogres, Wizards – Oh My!

I recently started a local Tabletop Games club in the Cape St. Claire area. We’ve only met a few times so far, but it has been great! Of course, it would be a bit silly to write an article based on just this experience – but this isn’t the first time I’ve been part of a club like this. The four-year college I was attending has one, as did my high school. There is even a paid one at the local game store that I attended a couple times when I was younger. Some of them were better than others, but I can pretty confidently say that I left all meetings in a better mood than when I had arrived.

But what even is a “tabletop game”? Pretty vague, but they encompass the vast majority of physical games, like board games, card games, and especially tabletop role-play games (TTRPGs). Yes, I mean Dungeons & Dragons, though there are a multitude more such as, Warhammer 40,000, Pathfinder, and my personal favorite, the free-to-play and easy to learn Monster of the Week. The game doesn’t really matter though – it’s the people.

Clubs can be based on anything, of course, but nothing quite gets people together like a TTRPG. It’s a collaborative play and storytelling effort that requires a lot of thought from everyone, and a massive amount of collaborative effort, not to mention commitment. A normal session (meeting) usually takes three to four hours, and time plus exposure usually equals an easy way to get to meet new people and make lifelong friends, especially if you can meet weekly. It can also be a really fun creative exercise!

The hardest part really is just getting started and committed. I keep saying club, but it doesn’t need to be that big – all you really need are three to five people sitting at a table with their materials, and that’s really it! It can be hard to find a pre-established “club” to join, but starting your own can be as easy as making a post on the area Facebook page – you might be surprised how many people wind up responding.

As a neurodivergent individual, I have personally found this to be one of the easiest ways to make friends. This is a common group activity that is super engaging, so you have to work together and form bonds without having to do some of the harder things like small talk and having to focus on social conventions that can be really difficult. It’s also important to have established written rules and things like that to keep things fair for everyone – I have a lot of peers that feel the same way. 

Whether you are neuro-typical or not, TTRPG is a great way to connect with others and establish new friendships for people of all ages while having a lot of fun. Get started and you’ll be glad you did!

To learn more about D&D you can go to DNDBeyond and Dimension 20.