Most people would agree that it can be hard to meet people they really click with. But what about gamers? As a lifelong gamer (and girl!), I’ve sometimes felt that it can be harder to make gamer friends who have the same interests as me. Gaming is popular, but not all girls are into it!

Here are a few ideas on how to make gamer friends!

1. Try Online Games

The method that has worked the best for me to find gamer friends recently is trying online games. Personally, I’ve been really into FFXIV, but you can play anything from Animal Crossing to Genshin Impact to Black Desert Online. However, MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games are perhaps the easiest option for this.

I’ll use FFXIV as an example. In the game, you can join something called a “Free Company,” which is basically a glorified club. Often, you’ll be invited to one before you even know what they are. (That’s what happened to me.) These groups have sometimes hundreds of members, each group with its own purpose. Some, like mine, are general, friendly groups in which players can chat and hang out. Others are for specific purposes, such as doing Raids or a shared love of Persona 5. There’s a Free Company for everything.

My Free Company has its own house that everyone can visit and help decorate. Perhaps the most fun I’ve had was attending the wedding of two Free Company members. All the guests were genuinely excited to be there–the Bards were playing music, Dancers were whirling and twirling, and the rest of us were seated and chatting. Before starting playing FFXIV, I would have never expected to have so much fun with other people in an online game.

If you’re not an MMO person (make sure you try before deciding though!), choose an online game like Minecraft or Animal Crossing that you love. Then…keep reading!

2. Find Online Groups

In order to find more gamer friends to play Animal Crossing with, I found online groups! My favorite website for this is Reddit. Reddit is a great resource for finding people with common interests. Just find the Subreddit for the games you love! Often, the Subreddit will list both Official and small Discord servers you can join to chat with people. Try not to be too shy!

Here’s a list of helpful links for some popular games.

• Minecraft Buddies subreddit
• Overwatch Discord Servers
• Dead by Daylight Discord Servers
• Fortnite Discord Servers
• Among Us Discord Servers
• Animal Crossing Discord Servers

Disboard.org and Discord.me both have nearly endless lists of Discord Servers for games, as well as anime and music. Even if you’re just looking for a general group to discuss a variety of things, they’re worth checking out.

Additionally, it may be worth trying to stream on Twitch! (And, here’s a step-by-step guide!) Even if you don’t plan on becoming super famous, it can be a good way to find some people who are interested in the same content as you.

3. Try Finding IRL Friends

This can be either the easiest or hardest way to make gamer friends, depending on your situation (and often, luck). Besides the obvious–school, work, etc.–where else are you supposed to meet people?

Your first choice is to find people in person. Join a class, visit a game or book store, or look-out for someone playing games on the train. Your other choice is to use social media. Reach out to people you already have connections with on Instagram or Facebook. If you’re like most people, you barely know anything about a lot of those people. Or try an app like Bumble. Use the BFF setting to match with people near you (note: the app restricts finding friends to people of the same gender).

Also, did you know there’s apparently a dating app just for gamers?

Make sure to treat your friendships like plants–water them with attention and they’ll grow.

Perhaps the most important part of all of this is to put yourself out there. Don’t be shy! I know firsthand as a gamer it can be easy to want to withdraw into your video games sometimes. The only thing better than playing a great video game is playing that video game with friends.