#i just can not imagine a person playing cah and then after 10 years of life and growing and reflection turning around and going:

[mouse-wife]

didnt even read the joke. i was too overwhelmed with dread at the idea of someone playing cards against humanity for 10 years

[raleighliving]

Let Your Nerd Flag Fly

  Growing up Southern™ I always thought I’d have a hard time actually doing things that interested me.  I didn’t get into Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and tabletop games that weren’t “Cards Against Humanity” until about my Junior year in high school because of southern living stereotypes and my own social awkwardness; coupled with the fact that the way my classmates acted did nothing to dissuade these perceptions.  

   I always, looking back now, regret that I didn’t do more to get into these hobbies earlier than I did.  I could’ve been making new friends, interacting with a variety of peers, and learned about the world a lot sooner than I had now.  On top of that, I shouldn’t have let what other people think dictate my wants and interests.  

   So, little nerd who might be reading this, let me tell you about surviving as a Nerd in the triangle.  To begin with, count your blessings because the genetic lottery could’ve placed you in podunk nowheresville where the only game store closed 10 years ago.  One of the key factors in exploring your hobby will be finding a nice game store to frequent.

   Game stores are one part storefront and one part social club. They’re of course where you go to buy the newest editions of Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, what have you; but they’re also great places to go when you want to meet new people or learn a new game or skillset.  Both major stores in Raleigh are Game Theory and Event Horizon, with Event Horizon being more on the Raleigh/Garner line than actually being in Raleigh.  

  On the Cary side of things we also have Armory Gaming and East Coast Gaming, two wonderful stores in their own right.  There are a few smaller name brand stores as well like Games Workshop, but be warned ahead of time these stores might be niche as hell.  Games Workshop itself, for instance, has a strong community vibe; but the only games played in-store are Warhammer and other GW wargames.  

  Each of the stores mentioned has a strong and healthy nerd community, and the spread of stores means that there’s probably one close to you.  Shops like Game Theory and Event Horizon have sign-ups for weekly events like Pathfinder League and fledgling DnD groups looking for members, snacks and drinks for sale, and a variety of products to look at when considering what game you want to get into.   Some groups lean so heavily into the social aspect that East Coast Gaming has an actual bar set up in their store.  

    Of course, not everyone is good at socializing even in social settings. Signing a list in a crowded store, or asking some strangers if they have room in their group for one more (especially if the group is a different age/gender ratio to you). So what if you want to meet new people before you head to nerd Mecca? There’s meetup.com

   Meetup is a website dedicated to helping people find and discover, or if there’s not one, start their own groups for various activities.  Sure the website has things like 50s/40s hiking groups and Triangle Research Open Source groups, but they also have things like RDU Dungeon Crawlers, fan groups for the various stores, board game groups, anime fans, sci-fi fans, and poker.  As with any group finding website that encourages meeting people IRL, remember to exercise caution when meeting strangers for the first time. 

   Of course, maybe even that’s too much social interaction and exploration.  After all, it’s strangers; and you have to leave the comfort and safety of your home to find wherever the meetup spot for everyone is. That’s gas money, travel commitments, and depending on your family situation maybe you don’t have a car to get there in the first place.

  Thankfully, once again, you’re living in the age of the internet.  An age where anything you could possibly imagine (even the bad stuff) has been taken into account and created. Although if you’re reading this, you probably already know what I’m about to talk about.  

   Websites like The Giant In The Playground, my personal favorite, serve as a kind of nerdy hub online where you can find groups or join play-by-post games to join.  Other forums/webcomics with forums provide similar spaces, but what about actually playing?  For that, we have Roll20.

   Roll20.net is THE place for nerds.  A sort of holy stomping ground for nerds of all walks of life to get together and play some board games over the power of a wireless internet connection. Aside from giving players the tools to host, play, and manage games on an online cloud from any of their devices; it also has forums and game seeking tools built-in so the nerds will come to you.

   Not to mention, with how the site works you can easily meet new people and even learn from them how to play a majority of the games; with in-app tools meaning that if it’s REALLY necessary then someone can jump in and walk you through how to run the program.  It’s one of the best, if not THE best, applications of it’s kind, but it’s not the only one.  

   A lot of the features mentioned above and aspects are being used to develop similar apps, and some like Fantasy Grounds seriously improve the visual appeal at the cost of being a bit more expensive.  

   Hopefully, if you feel like I did so many years ago, these tips and resources will provide some ounce of help to you.  Or maybe you’ll stick with reading random Tumblrs and feel validated in that regard, whatever works for you in the long run.  Just don’t wait to explore potentially interesting hobbies because you’re afraid of social interaction with either new people or the people around you

   These games help individuals express themselves in ways other forms of play can’t.  They encourage creative writing skills, math, reading, and imaginative problem solving all while being a safe way to have some fun. 

P.S.  If anyone wants to play a game or two sometime of CAH or DnD or anything DM me