How do I form a video gaming group?

Growing up, I had several friends and we’d all play video games together. Super Smash Brothers, LEGO Star Wars, Battlefront 2 (the first one), etc. My family moved when I was 13 and I was homeschooled for two years, then got into public school. However, I was rarely allowed to play games rated T or higher, and I had to buy my own consoles, so I couldn’t play with friends. When I went to college, a group of us would play SSB Wii U together freshman and sophomore year in the dorm. But again, when we all moved to apartments, it stopped.

None of my friends in adulthood are particularly into games and I’ve never been a fan of playing competitively, so attending a competition or playing with random people online is not particularly appealing. I’m not against those things, I just care more about having fun and will choose the most fun option even if it means I lose.

It’s been ten years since I’ve had a gaming group. Do you have any advice for forming a new one?

- Long Lost Gamer

Dear Long Lost Gamer,

It can be surprisingly hard to find or form a video gaming group, despite the huge population of people who play games. The hard part is not necessarily finding other people who play the kind of games you like to play, but rather finding friends who also happen to play the kind of games you like to play.

At this point in my life, I have the ideal scenario — the one you hope to achieve. I have a weekly scheduled Gamer Night every Thursday night. Once you do find your people, I strongly recommend putting a Gamer Night on your calendars, because the chores and commitments of adult life will always threaten to creep in. It’s important to actively make space in your life for friendship and fun. But that is not really your question — not yet, anyway. You want to know how I found this group of people in the first place, and by extension, how you might do so yourself.

I met almost all of them online, which is where I expect you’ll end up finding your people, too. There’s only one Gamer Night member whom I originally met in person, but we don’t live in the same state, so most of our friendship over the years has been online.