The Detroit metro tabletop gaming community has one of the stronger FLGS anchors in the Midwest in Pandemonium Books and Games, and a year-round organized play scene that serves players across Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties. Finding your Detroit gaming group typically starts at a shop and expands from there through the community networks that have been operating in the area for years.
Pandemonium Books and Games: The Starting Point
Pandemonium in Garden City is the shop most frequently cited by Detroit-area gamers as the community anchor for RPG and organized play. Pathfinder Society and D&D Adventurers League both run there with consistent schedules. The staff have genuine depth of knowledge about the RPG catalog — not just D&D and Pathfinder but a range of systems — and can point new players toward the right organized play or campaign group for their interests and schedule.
The Broader Detroit Metro Scene
The Detroit metro is sprawling enough that "Detroit" gaming encompasses communities from Livonia and Westland on the west, to Sterling Heights and Warren on the north, to Dearborn and Allen Park to the south. Most major gaming communities organize by shop affiliation rather than by geography. Identifying which shops serve your specific corner of the metro and building community from there is more efficient than trying to access a city-wide community that doesn't really exist as a single entity.
Youmacon and Convention Connection
Youmacon each November brings the Detroit anime and gaming community together in concentrated form — making it a useful networking event for people trying to find their community outside organized play shop events. Motor City Comic Con in May (Novi) is the Detroit area's primary large-scale pop culture convention. See the Michigan guide for the full convention picture.