St. Louis and St. Charles together form a gaming community defined substantially by Geekway to the West. The annual board gaming convention brings 3,000 enthusiasts to St. Charles each May, and the social networks it creates — gaming groups, Discord servers, regular game nights — operate all year. Finding the St. Louis gaming community means finding your way into the Geekway orbit even outside of convention season.
The Geekway Community Year-Round
The Geekway to the West Discord server is active year-round with channels for local game nights, rules questions, and community discussion. The St. Louis board gaming community Facebook groups organized around Geekway are among the more active regional gaming community groups on that platform. Joining these communities and participating in their year-round events is the fastest path to finding the St. Louis gaming community outside of convention week.
Game Shops and Organized Play
St. Louis and St. Charles metro game shops run organized play for Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, D&D, and Pathfinder with consistent weekly schedules. The board gaming community the Geekway has cultivated creates demand for shops that carry heavier and more diverse titles than mainstream retail, and the better St. Louis shops have responded to that demand over the years.
GalaxyCon St. Louis and the Fall Calendar
GalaxyCon St. Louis (October 23-25, America's Center) gives St. Louis a pop culture convention anchor in the fall. The community connections made at GalaxyCon supplement the gaming-specific connections built through Geekway and local organized play. See the RPG group guide for the complete approach.