It’s no secret that Destructoid is composed of one of the most vibrant gaming communities out there. There are a ton of ways for you all to interact on the site through the forums, blogs, comments and so much more, but sometimes that’s not enough. This is where the NARPs (short for No Apparent Reason Parties) come into play.
NARPs are when we can get together and hang out in person rather than just in a digital space. We go on trips, go to restaurants, go to PAXs and of course, play videogames! There are over a dozen city based groups that you can be a part of, from San Francisco to everything in between New York. Beyond America, we also have Canada, Australia and Europe regional groups of their own, all of which is detailed below.
Dtoid New York — Managed by power-glove
Hello New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut! This is the Dtoid New York calling out to all people in these three states. We hail from the Southern tip of New Jersey, to NYC, to the great state of Connecticut and we want you to join us for all of the wonderful bro-tivities that we have going on. We have plenty of fun doing small events like random parties and karaoke gatherings. We also do bigger events like the New York Comic-Con and Blipfest (featuring our bleeping Chiptunes scene) as well. Although we are primarily based in NYC, we are always willing to hang out with the New Jersey and Connecticut crowd too.
Awesome places that Dtoid NY likes to frequent are the prominent arcade Chinatown Faire, the local hipster hot spot Barcade, the crazy toy store Toy Tokyo, and the New Jersey retro game store known as Digital Press.
Please say hello and join our Google Group e-mailer discussions. We have nearly 100 members that are constantly active with the most messages of any other Dtoid City Google Group. The Group is where we do most of our planning and all ideas for future events are welcome or could use it to just chat with us as well.
Remember, Dtoid New York is the only place where you can experience KittenNegro, Fistbumps, The Wall, Tummysticks, ATV Trails, Banksota, CakesterFan007, and the Guantanamo Basement.
Google Group
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr Photo Pool
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Dtoid Los Angeles — Managed by Jonathan Ross (blurb by Dexter345)
Live in the Los Angeles area? Love games? Join DtoidLosAngeles! Home to E3 and several development studios, Los Angeles is a gaming mecca of sorts. Among the millions of people in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, we are a group of people who all share common interests; namely, we love games and we’re not afraid to meet new people. We get together at least every couple months, usually at somebody’s house, for games and drinks and more games (and sometimes more drinks). Since 2009, Destructoid has had an annual KarE3oke, which we plan to attend in full force until they stop doing it. Other events include trips to Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, or any of the several other theme/water parks in the area.
If you’re interested in what you hear, follow our Blog, join our Facebook Group, or most importantly, join our Google Group.
Most of the event planning goes down in the Google Group, so join up there to stay in the know. If you think you may be too far, don’t sweat it; we’ve got members as far east as San Bernardino, as far west as the San Fernando Valley, and as far south as Tijuana. So no matter where you are in the greater Los Angeles area, you’re likely to find somebody nearby. If nothing else, join our Google Group and shoot the Internet breeze with some like-minded individuals.
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Dtoid San Francisco — Managed by Tactix
Live in the Bay Area? The Destructoid Army in and around San Francisco wants to meet you! DtoidSF is comprised of a group of gamers who love to get together and do what we do best … play games! Past events have included road trips to Sunnyvale Arcade to play DJ Max Technika, having NARPs at various group members homes for some Rock Band fun, and even fighting game tournaments in almost every fighting game imaginable.
Not only do we have a good time with community, but seeing as San Francisco is a hub for the gaming industry, we love rocking industry events too such as the 4th Anniversary Destructoid GDC party, Giant Bomb’s anniversary party and various Capcom community events! So come join us! There are many ways to get involved and we’d love to include YOU!
Google Group Emailer
Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
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Dtoid Australia — Managed by FooLiz
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE!
GAME! GAME! GAME!
Australia’s gaming scene is rapidly expanding and DtoidAustralia is growing with it. We may be that out of the way country with the world’s deadliest animals, but those of us who have survived want to play games with you! We’re tired of being known for our archaic ratings system and getting games months later so we’re going to play the games we do have together! We have people from all over the country wanting to hang out with other Dtoiders and this is the way to find them all.
We have had many events in the past including regular Supanova meetups, Guitar Hero VS Rock Band parties and other nerdy outings! This year we have tripled in size and have big plans including our regular team at “Yahtzee Croshaw presents Video Game Trivia” at Mana Bar, Shitty Movie nights, NARPs and Friday Night Fights that are actually held on Friday Night! Events will be held in any city that Dtoiders can be found within Australia!
If you’re interested and want to be involved then join our Google Group, Facebook group, follow our blog or our Twitter!
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Dtoid New England — Managed by Senisan
The purpose of these groups as you know is to set up a local community to get together for videogame or NVGR related shenanigans. It’s a great way to have fun with like minded individuals who carry the phrase “Also, Cocks” in their hearts. So, join me Dtoiders in creating something wonderful in the New England Area!
We’ve held a few events in the past year and I had them summarized in this C Blog
As for future event’s we only have ideas floating around and nothing really solid. Well try to update as soon as possible!
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Dtoid Europe — Managed by Hollie Bennett
Dtoid Euronoobs, Unite like the European Union!
We are DtoidEurope, a group for all you Europeans amidst this sea of Americans. We’ve got the benefit of free universal healthcare, so we don’t have to be as careful as those American pansies. Therefore each EuroNARP so far has been a race to see who crashes first, the drunk gamer or the overheated consoles?
Since last year we’ve even taken over the crown of the biggest gaming event with “GamesCom 2009” which officially had more visitors then E3 and Tokyo Game Show, so to celebrate that we’ll be having an organised visit over there to represent Dtoid!
If you’re from Europe, just join this group even if you’re currently not even thinking about joining in in any events, you never know if one will tickle your fancy and make you change your mind. You’d be mad not to join in our events, you can see what we’ve done before in the links provided below.
Please join our DtoidEurope Google Group e-mailer and to follow our blog: DtoidEurope-C blog, as well as our Facebook group
Regards, DtoidEurope
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Dtoid Baltimore/DC — Managed by Hitogoroshi
Welcome one, welcome all! This is none other than Dtoid Baltimore/DC group, servicing all those in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area to their fullest desires, and sometimes Delaware or Pennsylvania folk. What can we say, we are versatile! Keeping it real, we make sure we have the old school flavor with arcade cabinets to MAME machines galore next to the new stuff, cool action figures, lightsabers, and crazy stories by the grill.
From Parkon, MD to Baltimore, MD and even down to Alexandria, VA for the buffalo wings and our increasing presence to the best gaming festival around, MAGFest, we like to Venture out to new areas with our brothers and sisters.
So come and join us, partake in the meat, games, zombies, and debauchery. We have a Baltimore/DC Google Group as well as a blog dedicated to gatherings.
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Dtoid Northwest (comprised of Portland/Seattle/Vancouver)
Dtoid Portland — Managed by king3vbo
Microbrew capital of the world, UNITE!
Sup noobs, we’re DtoidPDX and we represent all the Dtoiders in Oregon (and maybe a few from Washington if we feel like it). Like every other group out there, our goal is to get together, throw down a few brewskies and act like idiots. We have NARPs, track and field throwdowns at Ground Kontrol, shitty movie parties — everything you could ever want to do with a group of socially awkward nerds. So if you want to hang out with some fellow geeks who bring the thunder, join us today!
Our Google Group emailer is where we plan our deadly raids into the greater Portland area, and you can join us by going here and joining. You can also follow our cblog.
Our chapter also has signed a non-aggression treaty with our Battle Brothers in the Northern Wastelands, in which we plan our NW MegaNARPs. These MegaNARPs are the stuff of legends, where memes are forged and gods are born. Your very weekend will be thrown as under as we come together and drink whole cities dry, whilst gaming into the wee hours. If you feel so inclined to come to these meetings of kickass and awesome, join our Google Group of win here, and prepare yourself for some god-tier fun.
Dtoid Seattle-Vancouver — Managed by Kai/DJDuffy
In the deep of murky night, the moon melancholy in its cloudy penitentiary, silhouettes file forth, like drops rolling out of shadowy condensation. Passing briefly through light, details emerge: fight sticks, Rock Band instruments, a mightly collection of hard drives. These then, are the doomed, the lost ones of dark portent, condemned forever to find solace in each others company and in a life dedicated to gaming. And drinking homebrewed beer. And eating delicious homemade food. And doing other stuff that, generally speaking, is pretty sweet. They are … Dtoid Seattle-Vancouver.
Oh, we also want to take you to the gay bar.
So far, we don’t do much in the way of local gatherings. But that’s because we start to think about partying, and then we talk to our Rose City brethren down south, and then the MegaNARP is upon us, and hope is lost. But where hope is lost, so is found chili, music gaming galore, and live rebroadcasts over the internet of Street Fighter: the movie, complete with our custom live commentary track.
Should any of this sound interesting to you — whether for entertainment or law-enforcement purposes — feel free to read our C Blog, get in on the Dtoid Seattle-Vancouver Google jamalama, or risk complete brain death by hitting up the Dtoid Northwest Google nabob. You were warned.
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Dtoid Penn — Managed by JT Icefire
Hey, keystoners! If you live in the great state of Pennsylvania — from Philly to Pittsburgh, from Erie to the Poconos — then Dtoid Penn is the group for you! We’re one of the newly-released expansion packs to Destructoid Nation, so we’re looking for Dtoid members from all across the state to come on out for NARPs and get-togethers. We are the keystone state, so not only are we going to be building our own NARP scene, but we’ll be routinely making plans to join our older brothers in Baltimore and NY (and our fraternal twins, the Midwest) on their amazing adventures. Drop on by, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!
Blog
Twitter List
Google Group
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Dtoid Austin/Texas — Managed by Sean Carey (blurb by Blehman)
Dtoid Austin was formed by “Internet Phenom” Austin J. Smothersby in 1992, and was purchased by Destructoid.com in November of 2008 for three packs of smokes and a Delta Miles upgrade voucher. Constantly trying to put its notoriously racist past behind it, Dtoid Austin welcomes all comers, as long as they live in or around Austin, Texas, and don’t have anything to do with Lithuanians. Or maybe it’s llamas. How about both, just to make sure.
Sometimes the members of this group play videogames together, although why you’d need to be in Austin to do that, what with theI nternet and all, is beyond this bio writer. Sometimes they meet up and socialize, which again didn’t the internet take care of this? If you want to lug your hulking meatsack over to sit in a place with other stinking piles of animated flesh, be my guest. Shove some dead plants and animals into your gaping foodholes while you’re at it, and wash it all down with a flagon of rotting sugarwater designed to suffocate your brain. God you people make me sick.
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Dtoid Midwest — Managed by Jon Bloodspray
DtoidMidwest is your #1 resource for NARP planning and general merrymaking in the Great Plains. What constitutes the Midwest, you ask? Well, for our purposes, we’re including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, the Dakotas, Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio. We cast a pretty big net, I know. There’s probably more to it than that, but we’ve never met anyone from anywhere else, so they might as well not exist.
Anyway, if you live near a corn field and want to meet some other Dtoiders, add DtoidMidwest to your friends list, join the Google Group, check out our main Forum thread, and start talking to your fellow midwesterners! Rumor has it that we’re actually the sexiest regional group, but don’t tell DtoidSF. They get jealous.
Also, Facebook Page
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Dtoid Chicago – AwesomeExMachina
Chicago is more than elevated trains, over-sized shiny beans, and filming locations for the Dark Knight. It’s also a city of gamers and now Dtoid Chicago is here to give us wayward nerds a chance to unite! Still in its infancy, the Destructoid community here in Chicago is organizing to host gaming events, nerd gatherings, and take part in the video gaming subculture of the city. Come join so you can suggest ideas, meet like-minded gamers, host gatherings, or just show up to a party with a fight stick and a copy of Street Fighter IV. Welcome!
Facebook
Twitter
Google Group Emailer
A big thanks to the following people for helping in the organize these wonderful meetups and making this tremendous social venture possible: Adam Dork, Sean Carey, Jonathan Ross, Dexter 345, Dj Duffy, Fooliz, Hollie Bennett, JT Icefire, Jon Bloodspray, Kai, king3vbo, Mistic, power-glove, Senisan, and Tactix.
So, get out there and have a good time. Also, cocks.
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Dtoid Phoenix — Dexter345
What is there to do in a place so hot that spontaneous combustion is a possibility during everyday life? Stay inside and play videogames, of course! But if you’re sitting there playing Smash Bros., Rock Band or ‘Splosion Man by yourself then maybe you should check out Dtoid Phoenix! Situated conveniently in the middle of Arizona, Dtoid Phoenix is a place for people from Goodyear to Apache Junction, and everywhere in between.
Heck, we’d welcome folks from Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, Nogales, or wherever else around the state of Arizona you may find yourself. We play videogames and board games, eat delicious food, and drink especially delicious drinks. Check out our C Blog and Google Group so you can come hang out with us, and keep yourself safe from the nasty Sonoran sun!
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Dtoid Mexico — knives
Recently (finally) created, and full of enthusiasm, DtoidMexico is starting out with FNFs to get to know everyone, while planning up a meeting for later in year. It’s a big country with a lot of us gamers, so come on and join the fun! Asi es, dtoid mexico, empieza con FNFs, nuestro grupo y nuestro toidlet, en lo que nos organizamos para algún evento más adelante. Vamos, unanse!
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We invite you to step away from the monitor and hang out with some wonderful people at the next Dtoid City Group meetup in your area. Also, be sure to check out the various Google Groups, Facebook Pages, and Twitter accounts to help stay in the know of what is going on with your local group. And if you don’t see a group you can join, then how about making one? The community started these groups in the first place and you can make one happen too. Start up a blog/forum post and find out who’s in the same area as you. This map might help you out too.
*Special thanks to all the regional group leaders for contributing to this piece.
