Like tabletop roleplaying games? GET ON GOOGLE PLUS!

 

There's really no other way to say it: if you're a pen-and-pencil gamer or used to be and can't find a group in your area? There's no more excuse for not gaming. Get on Google Plus if you're not already. If you've ever asked "Where can I find an online RPG game?" or "Where can I run an online roleplaying campaign?" You're answer is here!

Many of my readers have Google accounts--converting your account or signing up for G+ account is easy. There's so many Communities (big "C" as that's Google's name for groups with like-minded folks) out there for gamers of all stripes. 

Let this settle in for a bit: Just typing in "Dungeons and Dragons" is going to give you dozens if not hundreds of results for Communities to join.

Here now are many of the groups to which I belong on G+. If there was an official tagline for the group, I pulled it off their page. Some had nothing. I bolded at least one in each category that I think are good for getting you started. 

GENERAL RPG RESOURCES AND OLD SCHOOL GAMING 

• G+ RPG Hangouts Where people can go to game via hangout. 
• G+ Tabletop Roleplaying Games All Gamers Welcome 
• NEW: That's Gameable! Find and share inspiration --news stories, images, etc. -- you've stumbled across that can be used for roleplaying games, creative writing and more. All genres welcome!
• g+ Monster Manual Post or link to your D&D monsters here
• Game Master Tips Let's help each other improve our craft
• Gaming on the Cheap Can you spare a cup of dice? Saving yor table top gaming dollars. 
• The Library of Gaming Maps Gaming maps by Gamers, for Gamers 
• MEGADUNGEON Map, stock, share...
• Obsidian Portal Obsidian Portal is the award winning, free to use, online platform for running and organizing your table top role-playing games.
• Order of the D30 "One die to rule them all!"
• OSR Old School Roleplaying
• Pen & Paper RPG Bloggers For people who blog about pen & paper roleplaying games
• R20 Player Network Find Comrades for Roll20.net
• Roleplaying Games The G+ Role Playing Community
• RPG Session Prep All about getting your game prepped... 
• RPG Tables & Charts What it says on the can: Tables and Charts for Role-Playing Games 
• TableTop Fan Community Let's play more games! (Fans of the popular TableTop YouTube series
• Vintage Role Playing Games 

RPGs FOR KIDS

• DungeonDads Dads who play RPGs
• Gamer Parents It's not the end of gaming, just the end of gaming as you know it
• RPGs for Kids 

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS LATEST EDITION

• Arcady's Old School 5E D&D 5E for old school gamers 
• D&D Next  5e Discussions (Unofficial)
• O5R 5E D&D with old school muse

FANTASY & HORROR

• Adventure Fantasy Game 5MORE × the OSR Fun
• Barbarians of Lemuria A community for celebrating the Barbarians of Lemuria RPG and all things sword & sorcery
• B/X D&D Discussion of Basic and Expert Dungeons & Dragons
• Call of Cthulhu RPG 
• Castles and Crusades Society For players of the tabletop RPG "Castles and Crusades" published by Troll Lord Games
• Dungeons & Dragons (Unofficial) 
• Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition TSR's AD&D 2nd Edition Group
• DCCRPG Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG from Goodman Games
• Hackmaster 5th Edition The *best* roleplaying game ever made!
• Labyrinth Lord It's always 1981 here
• Original Dungeons & Dragons OD&D Fan Community
• Pathfinder An unofficial gathering of players and GMs. Administered by Loki
• RoleMaster RMFRP/RMS A community for fans and players of the RoleMaster versions known as RMFRP and RMSS. 
• Swords & Wizardry Discussion
• 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons 

SCIENCE FICTION

• Sci Fi OSR Gamma World, Stars Without Number, Terminal Space and MUCH MORE!
• High Space DEV SPHERE for Savage Worlds - Fast, Furious Fun...in the Far Future!
• Mindjammer Transhuman Adventures in the Second Age of Space
• Shadowrun Tabletop RPG For discussion and meeting new players out there
• Star Frontiers Now and Forever!
• Stars Without Number Discuss Sine Nomine RPGs/Stars Without Number! 
• Star Wars (see below)
• Traveller the RPG
• X-plorers Old-school science fiction gaming!

STAR WARS

• Game Mastering - Star Wars: Edge of the Empire 
• FFG Star Wars RPGs The new Star Wars RPGs from Fantasy Flight Games 
• Star Wars D6 Star Wars RPG from West End Games (WEG)
• Wildspace Magazine Star Wars D6 magazine

POST-APOCALYPSE AND SCIENCE FANTASY

• Gamma Crawl Classics
• Gamma World Rules 
• Metamorphosis Alpha Predecessor to Gamma World
• Mutant Future Science-Fantasy Condensed 
• Numenera
• Spelljammer A gathering place for Spelljammer players and GMs, no matter what system they use!
• The Strange
• Warriors of the Red Planet Sword & Planet Adventures on the World of Mars, and Beyond

SUPERHEROES

• Heroes Unlimited  
• Mutants & Masterminds Superhero Roleplaying
• TSR's Marvel Super Heroes The Community for the FASERIP Marvel Super Heroes RPG, along with other FASERIP-based systems!
• Villains & Vigilantes The Classic Superhero RPG 

ALL-AROUND SYSTEMS

• Fate Accelerated (FAE) (FAE)
• Fate Core All things about the Fate RPG
• GURPS

GAME CREATION & PUBLISHING

• Gamecraft Tabletop roleplaying, board, miniatures, and card game creation and refinements.
• Indie RPG Publishers 
• Map-Making in Games 
• One Page Dungeon A yearly contest of one page role-playing adventures. 
• RPG ZINES diy micro-press rpg publishing
• RPG Artists Group for game illustrators (as well as finding some to work on your game)
• RPG Design Network 
• Pocketmod Games 8 tiny pages of gaming goodness
• World Building Creating Fictional Worlds
• 25 Quick and Dirty Map Tutorials Guide Create stunning maps using any graphics software

I'm sure some of my "plusser" pals out there in Internet-landia can help fill in the comments with any that I've missed. (Note: please do comment from your computer, as posting from mobile devices gives a different address or some cases, doesn't work at all.)

Once you've joined Google Plus you should:

1. Fill out your profile and make it obvious that you're a gamer. Read THIS POST by Adam Muszkiewicz immediately.
2. Join some gamer Communities. Some may need to approve you to join, so make sure your profile is filled out first.
3. Turn OFF your 1+ notices and turn ON notifications for the Communities you've joined.
4. Take some time exploring posts, Get caught up on what the community is talking about--but also what ground they've covered. Post questions if you're in need of help.
5. Games are done via Google Hangout, so you'll need a good set of headphones and a webcam (most are built right into laptops nowadays).
6. See that "Recommended for you" link at the top of your Google Plus feed? CLICK IT. There's more Communities to join!

Join G+ and get gaming!

No longer do you need to scour the web looking for a game here or there. Now you can join Google Plus--and if there's not one already you can make one yourself!

Updated: November 4, 2015