We sat down with Joaquin Lippincott, CEO of RPGMatch, to learn more about his new, free tabletop matching service.
What is RPGMatch?
RPGMatch started as a matching service for tabletop gamers— a way to find people who want to play like you do. Like a dating site, but not romantic. With the addition of our feed, and the creation of official accounts by brands like Paizo, Roll20, StartPlaying, Free League, and more, RPGMatch is becoming a social network, built from the ground up with tabletop games in mind.
How did the idea for RPGMatch come about?
The idea for RPGMatch came from a personal experience. In 2020, I got back into playing tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) after a 15-year break. I had gotten back into roleplaying as something to do with my kids during the pandemic. After a few months of that, I was having a good time, but I also wanted to play with adults. But after 15 years friends had moved, schedules had changed, and finding a new group was tough.
I looked into online options like Virtual Table Tops, Discord, and Zoom, but they mainly offered date and time listings. They didn’t cover important stuff like play style preferences, safety tools, and the balance between roleplaying and combat. Forums like Reddit and Discord didn’t encourage these discussions, making it hard to connect with others without feeling super awkward.
So, I came up with RPGMatch to address these issues and help TTRPG fans find compatible gaming partners in a more personalized way.
If someone is new to RPGs or curious about playing RPGs, how would RPGMatch help them?
I think there are a number of types people who would benefit from an account on RPGMatch:
- People who want to play something that isn’t D&D.
- People who live in areas where it’s tough to find players.
- Introverts, or people who feel awkward starting up conversations about roleplaying games.
- People with high standards or who are looking for the “right” match.
With the addition of our feed, RPGMatch has also become a place where people who’d like to learn more about what’s happening in the tabletop industry can get real time updates from all kinds of TTRPG brands.
For someone who is brand new to tabletop gaming, I still think the best introduction is with a friend. It’s really when people are ready to branch out in the hobby that RPGMatch is going to make the most sense.
What’s included with an RPGMatch account?
Everyone who signs up on RPGMatch goes through an interview process, and ends up with a profile, and it’s all free. Just like Twitter, Bluesky, or Instagram, they pick their name— but they also have a bunch of information that helps us match them with other people.
Users can then look at the list of other users, and filter for things like VTT, location, stylistic preferences and find people who are good matches. Fans of TTRPG brands can also unlock badges for the profiles. To-date we have over 21 badges including those for major publishers. We’re adding functionality now, to allow people who have unlocked those badges to also be able to do things like customize their avatar or profile banner using exclusive content authorized by the publishers. I think people are really going to like the gamification we are rolling out.
Is there a cost to participate?
For now, the platform is entirely free and will not be ad supported. As we are adding features, we will be adding some that will be premium features. We figure between 2% to 5% of people will see value in them or want to support the work we are doing, and that would be enough to keep it 100% for the vast majority of users.
What makes RPGMatch different from other online gaming communities?
The core difference is our focus on the people. Right now, you can drop into a Roll20 group, or a ‘Looking For Game’ Discord channel, or even sign up for a pro session on StartPlaying, but what do you really know about the people you are going to play with? You might be able to discern a little bit from the game description written by the GM, but what about the other players?
RPGMatch fills that gap by asking the right questions. For example:
- Is someone going to show up on time?
- Are people supportive of using Safety Tools? Are they required?
- Do people like combat or roleplaying or puzzles?
The interview takes about 5 minutes to fill out, but we’ve actually heard back even from people who have been playing for years, that they’ve come to reflect on and discover what really was important to them in this hobby.
How does someone get started on RPGMatch?
Creating a new user profile is easy: you just enter your email, pick a password, and you can get started creating a profile. I mentioned badges before, so if someone wanted to unlock the Gen Con badge, they could get started here, and it will show up automatically. If someone already has an account, they can still unlock the badge by clicking on that link.
Visit RPGMatch.org to learn more and start matching with other TTRPG players today.