Hey there.
Let us name the actual problem, because most articles about this dance around it.
You did not stop playing because the rules were difficult. You stopped because you painted four models, realised you had nobody to play against, and the case went on top of the wardrobe. That is how it goes for most people, and it has nothing to do with the game.
The models are the easy part. The opponent is the product.
So here is how to find one, in the order we would actually recommend trying.
Start With the Directory
Guild Hall is where we would send you first.
It is a directory of gaming stores and clubs that you can search by name or by location, with a distance filter so you can ask the sensible question, which is "what is within thirty kilometres of me". Clubs carry their upcoming events, so you are not just finding a name, you are finding a night.
It already lists over fifty stores and a real set of clubs. To make that concrete, here is what it turns up in my own corner of Florida, which is the area I actually play in: Bearded Squadron in Orlando run Star Wars Legion, MCP Orlando run Marvel Crisis Protocol, and Cozy Dragons Legion are up in Clermont. Three groups within driving distance of each other, and I did not know about all of them before I looked. Search your own area and you will get your own version of that list.
There is also an opt-in player finder, for the situation where there is no club near you and what you actually need is one other person.
And if your store is not on it, add it. The directory is only as good as what is in it.
Then Try the Obvious Thing You Have Not Tried
Walk into a game store and ask what night people play.
We know. But the number of people who buy an army online, never set foot in a shop, and then conclude there is no scene, is genuinely large. Most stores have a night for something, and if they do not have one for your game they usually know who does.
If that store is us, come and ask. If it is not us, ask them anyway. We would rather you found a game somewhere else than not found one at all, and any shop worth buying from feels the same way.
Organised Play Is Better Than It Sounds
Every publisher we stock runs some form of organised play, and it is chronically under-used by exactly the people who would benefit most.
The word "tournament" puts people off, and it should not. In practice a local event is four rounds against four opponents, most of whom are also there because they wanted four games in one day rather than because they intend to win anything.
One event gets you more games than three months of trying to organise something. It also gets you four phone numbers, which is the real prize.
Conventions, If You Can Get to One
The same logic scaled up. A convention weekend is a season's worth of games and the only place you will reliably see games you have never played being played well.
Go and watch something you do not own. It is the cheapest way to find out whether you actually want it, which is worth more than any article we could write about it, including ours.
The Thing That Actually Works
Here is the honest advice, and it is not a website.
Own two armies.
Not two of your armies. One of yours and one you can hand to somebody else. Every game we sell has a two-player entry point for exactly this reason:
- Moonstone has two: Dusk till Dawn at $105 and Life & Death Struggle at $125.
- HexaDome Legends covers both players in one $90 box.
- Marvel Crisis Protocol at $149.99 does the same.
- Star Wars Legion has two starter sets at $99.99 each.
The person who owns both sides is the person who gets games. They can say yes to anybody, including someone who has never heard of the game, and that is how a group of two becomes a group of six. Every scene we know started with one person who could hand a stranger an army.
It is also, by a distance, the cheapest way to actually play. An army you never field costs infinitely more per game than a second army you loan out.
The Short Version
- Search the directory. There is probably something closer than you think.
- Walk into a store and ask what night people play.
- Go to one organised play event. Just one.
- Own a spare army and be the person who says yes.
So: what is the game you own and have not played in six months? Tell us and we will tell you who near you is playing it, if we know. That is genuinely part of the job.
Happy gaming.