About us
# Find Your People Through D&D
## Build the D&D Social Circle You've Been Missing in 4 Weeks
Ludos is a Melbourne social group for people who love fantasy, games, books, shows and all the other nerdy stuff—and want a group of people to enjoy it with.
We play Dungeons & Dragons to help people meet each other, get comfortable, and actually see those same people again.
Because meeting people isn't necessarily the hard part in the city of Melbourne.
Meeting people you actually like, who are also looking for new friends, and then seeing them often enough to become friends is the hard part.
That's what we're trying to make easier.
> “I first joined Ludos as a way to make friends who share the same fictional escapism as me. Quickly did I realize the friends I made would be like a second home to me.”
> — Rudy, Ludos Member
## Why Does D&D Work For This?
There are a few things we're doing differently here.
First, Alignment.
People aren't randomly walking in off the street.
We ask people what they're interested in, what they're looking for, their availability, and whether they're actually interested in building a Social Circle in Melbourne.
That means you're being put in a room full of people who already have a fair bit in common with you—and importantly, actually want to meet people too.
You don't always get that at a normal social event.
Some people are there for a fun night out. Some already have plenty of friends. Some aren't really interested in seeing anyone again afterwards.
At Ludos, we're specifically looking for people who want the latter part.
Second, D&D makes meeting people way less awkward.
You aren't sitting around a table trying to think of something interesting to say to five strangers.
You've got something to do. Within the game you'll be making decisions together, solving problems, arguing about terrible plans, rolling dice, saving each other's characters and probably creating a few stupid jokes along the way.
It naturally creates the shared experiences that usually take much longer to get when meeting people normally.
Third, we make it easier to see people again.
We run games throughout the week and match people around their interests and availability.
If work throws your schedule into disarray, that doesn't necessarily mean D&D is over for you.
The entire point is to make meeting the right people, and then continuing to play with them, easier and faster than trying to organise the whole thing yourself.
## Start With a Beginner Trial
Your first step is one of our D&D trial sessions.
These are optimised for complete beginners.
You've never played? Great.
You don't need to watch a 40-minute YouTube video before you come.
You don't need to read the Player's Handbook.
You don't need dice, a character, miniatures or anything else.
Just show up.
We've spent over two years teaching hundreds of people how to play D&D, and we've taken a lot of steps to streamline the annoying parts of learning it.
Our GMs can help you while we play and answer questions as they come up.
You won't be expected to remember every rule after one session—and you definitely don't need to worry about slowing everyone down.
Everyone at these tables is learning too.
> “The atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming, which made it easy to jump in even without much prior experience.”
> — Emily, Ludos Member
And if you're worried because you're not particularly witty, theatrical or good at improv—that's also fine.
There are lots of ways people enjoy D&D.
Some people love roleplaying. Some like solving problems. Some get obsessed with the game mechanics. Others mostly enjoy hanging out with the table and seeing what ridiculous thing happens next.
You don't really know which one you are until you've played.
## D&D Is Notoriously Difficult to Organise
This is probably one of the biggest problems with D&D.
Playing D&D is easy. Keeping a D&D group alive is not.
Normally you need to:
Find five people who actually want to play.
Find someone willing to spend hours preparing and running the game.
Find somewhere to play.
Get six people's schedules to somehow line up.
Teach anyone who's new.
Deal with someone cancelling.
Then somehow do all of that again next week.
There's a reason so many people say:
“I've always wanted to play D&D, but I've never had a group.”
Ludos has handled most of that problem for you.
We organise the games, find and vet the players, provide the GMs, help people learn, provide what you need to play and work around people's changing availability.
You get to do the fun bit:
Show up and play D&D with people you actually want to play with again.
> “Jope had me hooked from the start… the storytelling lit up my brain with such incredible detail and had me thinking after each session for days.”
> — Chris
## What Happens After Your First Game?
Your first trial is just that—a trial.
Come play the game, meet five other people and see what you think.
If you enjoy yourself, you can continue through more trial games, meet more of the group and get more comfortable playing D&D.
We're not expecting you to walk into one room of strangers and magically walk out with five best friends.
The idea is to give you repeated chances to play with people you like so those strangers actually have a chance to become familiar faces.
And then friends.
> “The moment I arrived at my first beginners 1-shot, I felt genuinely welcome… I’m lucky enough to have made some amazing new friends through this group.”
> — Kat, Ludos Member
## Meetup Is The Front Door
The Meetup group is where people first find and trial Ludos.
Beyond it is the Ludos Fellowship, our private members' group.
The Fellowship exists to make continuing to play and see people easier.
There are longer D&D campaigns, flexible games for people with changing schedules, other tabletop RPGs, painting nights and socials throughout the year.
But those are really just different ways of doing the same thing:
Giving you reasons to keep seeing your new group of fantasy nerds.
We also match games around people's interests and availability, and if something isn't working for you, you can actually talk to us.
If your schedule changes, you're struggling with the game, you're not sure what to join, or you just need some help figuring things out, we'll work with you one-on-one.
We've dealt with all sorts of problems like this before.
> “My friends and I at the table get to participate in and shape a story… making our Sundays together the highlight of my week.”
> — Matt, Ludos Member
## What If I Don't Want To Join The Fellowship?
That's completely fine.
The trial still does its job.
You'll have played D&D, learnt the basics, met some people and have a much better idea of whether this hobby is actually for you.
And if you decide you'd rather go and make your own D&D group, we're happy to give you some advice on how to do that too.
You don't need to become a member just because you tried our game.
## Small Tables. Limited Spots.
Our introduction nights normally have 5–6 people per table, with up to 18 people across three tables.
We deliberately keep them small for higher quality.
It's easier to learn, easier to talk, and you actually get time to play with everyone at your table.
Our total capacity also depends on how many GMs are available.
Once those tables are full, they're full.
So if you see a trial you know you can attend, RSVP earlier rather than later.
## How To Start
1. Apply to join the Meetup group.
Answer a few questions about yourself, what you're interested in and what you're looking for.
2. RSVP to a Trial.
Once you're accepted, find an introduction game you can actually make.
3. Meet Your First Table.
We'll provide everything. You'll meet up to five other players and we'll teach you the game as you play.
4. Keep Playing.
If you enjoyed it, play more trial games, build your confidence and get to know more people.
5. Join the Ludos Fellowship.
If you like what we're doing and we think you're a good fit for the group, you may be invited to continue as a member.
An invitation is not guaranteed.
We're trying to build a Social Circle here, so we care about who ends up in it.
# From Empty Weekends to Weekly Hangouts
This group was built to solve a problem I once had.
Years ago, I was working a lot and travelling to and from work nearly every day.
Outside of work, I didn't really have much of a social life.
I spent a lot of my spare time watching podcasts and playing video games between working hours.
I didn't realise it at the time, but I felt pretty alone, disconnected and socially stuck.
Then someone at work invited me to their Dungeons & Dragons game.
I'd heard about D&D when I was younger, but I'd never actually played.
So I travelled out to Caulfield and sat down for my first game with a bunch of strangers roughly my age.
The result ended up being my life's creative obsession, the highlight of my week, and my first real group of friends after school.
Game day became the day I looked forward to every week.
I got to spend quality time with new friends, playing through stories and creating a bunch of memorable moments together.
That was about eight years ago now.
Since then I've run countless games and watched a lot of people meet each other through this hobby who probably never would have met otherwise.
Ludos is basically the thing I wish I'd had when I was trying to find those people myself.
If you're in Melbourne, love fantasy and have been missing a group of people to enjoy it with:
Apply to join, then come meet your first table.
— Jope
Organiser & Dungeon Master
Upcoming events
4
Past events
139
