When you were a kid, finding someone to play video games with was as easy as looking around for the other kids that brought Game Boys to recess. The rise of online gaming has made it possible to play video games with people from just about anywhere in the world, but it can still feel as isolating as ever if you don’t have anyone to play with. Lucky for you, My Dpad is here to show you how to find people to play video games with.
If you’re sick of adding randos that you had a good game with only to never play with them again, try one of these three easy methods:
Hobbyist Websites Like Reddit/ResetEra
The easiest way to find people to play games with is on hobbyist websites like Reddit and ResetEra. Both of these sites have “hubs” for particular games (subreddits on Reddit, OTs on ResetEra) where you can chat with a bunch of people who are also playing whatever you’re playing. Just hop in, introduce yourself, and ask if anyone is looking for a teammate! This can be intimidating, because it can be stressful to prove yourself in a game to a stranger, but just remember that if it goes really badly you can just move on to a different teammate.
Discord
If you want to get even more specific than hobbyist websites, the next level down is Discord. The vast majority of games nowadays have their own Discord channels where hardcore fans of a game intermingle with the developers. This might be the best way to find people who are really passionate about a specific game. Like hobbyist websites, just hop in, introduce yourself, and let people know you’re looking for someone to play with! After all, these channels partially exist to help people like you find each other, and people in a Discord channel for a specific game will be happy to welcome more fans of that game.
Local Video Game Tournaments
Finally, if you’re willing to do a little more work (and by that I mean leaving your house), there’s local video game tournaments. You can search online for “video game tournaments [your area]” and should find something, or you can find more information at your local video game/tabletop game store. While this method involves the most work, it’s likely to have the biggest payoff, as you can actually meet someone and decide whether or not you like them before adding them to your friends list and playing a round or two with them.
Finding people to play video games with can be anxiety-inducing, especially if you have this idea in your head that everyone already has all the gaming buddies they need. Just remember that there are tons of people out there who are also looking for people to game with, and if the first few don’t work out you just have to keep looking. Good luck and happy gaming!
