Play Games With Your Friends

Most early 20s males that I know are simultaneously super lonely but still nearly impossible to get out of the house, and I get it. Staying in touch with people via text and whatnot is exhausting and unfulfilling, and most hangouts at this age seem to revolve around alcohol and, in turn, shallow conversation which is a habit I'm not interested in. That's life... right? Nope. The answer is so shockingly simple: PLAY!

For the past two months, me and somewhere between five to ten friends get together in-person every Saturday night to play board games. Who knew the thing we spent our entire childhoods doing would be the answer to this problem?

Now to be fair, this is not easy to coordinate; it takes effort. First, this didn't come together overnight. It started with just four people, but each weekend we would invite someone new. Secondly, every Saturday morning I have to wrangle everyone and find a good time and figure out whose house we are playing at. I know if I didn't, these games night wouldn't happen, so step up, be a leader, and take on the responsibility of caring for you and your friends.

Pro tip: call don't text. I know, I know, calling makes us Gen Z kiddos uncomfortable, but let me persuade you... You know that annoying feeling when someone hasn't responded to your text for three hours, and you don't know if they will be able to make it? If you call them, you'll know right away. People answer phone calls immediately because that is how they work. Another thing, you'll feel more connected to these real human beings you are trying to contact if you hear their voice and deal with the awkwardness of human interaction. I don't feel connected to text messages.

Now a disclaimer: it took some time after high school for me and my friends to get lonely enough and thus open minded enough to consider playing silly board games because on the surface it doesn't seem like a super fun thing to do, but what we all realized over time is that it is much less about the board games and much more about seeing each other. Also, games actually are fun – if they aren't, it is a you problem.