starting a club

The Toronto Tamagotchi Club has been active since December 2022, and we grow with every meetup. Other chapters inspired by the Toronto's club have appeared in cities around the world. Tamagotchi clubs are free, chill, and easier to organize than you think! You do not need event organizing experience to start one. Here are some tips from Toronto's experience to help you maximize your success.

(Check out a video version of this information on our Instagram).

should you look for members first?

Short answer, no! This is a question of personal philosophy, but I do stand behind the motto that "if you build it, they will come".

New groups often wonder whether they should gauge interest or try to find local players before setting a meetup date, but it's very difficult to generate interest in a group that doesn't exist yet. People are much more likely to share a fun event poster than a notice that a group has formed with no plans to meet.

When I started the Toronto Tamagotchi Club, I did not know a single other Tamagotchi player, and was only vaguely aware of collector groups online. It may be intimidating, but setting a meetup date is the most direct path to finding your people!

design a unique poster

Our first meetup had a simple hand-drawn poster with a quirky title: My Tamagotchi has no friends - Tamagotchi Friending Meetup Event. It was succinct with the date, time, and location. Assume that most people will see this through Instagram stories (ie. without a caption), so include all pertinent information in the poster itself. Cluttering information (like transit directions or accessibility notes) can go in the description. I recommend including the name of your city more prominently than I did here. ("TORONTO TAMAGOTCHI CLUB" would have helped it circulate better in Toronto). Lastly, people see a LOT of Canva and template graphics online. A hand-drawn poster adds a personal touch that helps it travel outside your networks.

get on social media

Guests will need someplace to ask questions and stay updated on future events. When conducting outreach, don't rely on something private (like a WhatsApp groupchat) that requires people to request to be added to see information. Prepare to respond to last minute messages from lost people.

share on every platform

Toronto Tamagotchi Club shares our event announcements on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook groups, Reddit, Discord, and Tumblr. Use all the hashtags. Try putting up a poster in your local game shop, j-fashion store, or high traffic neighbourhoods in your city.

share beyond the tamaverse

I share events not just in Tamagotchi Facebook / Discord / Reddit communities, but in local Toronto Facebook groups, and communities that might have corresponding interests (general fandom groups, comic conventions, j-fashion meetups, nerd hangouts etc.)

consider the recipe

I engineered my first post to go viral by specifically NOT posting "hey, there's a meetup! Please share!" I had an attention-grabbing title: "HELP MY TAMAGOTCHI IS SO LONELY". The description was cheeky. People found it amusing and non-Tamagotchi people reshared cause it made them laugh. Including a photo of your face significantly influences the algorithm's decision to place your posts on peoples timeline. I included a pic of me holding my Tamagotchi and smiling.

personally invite people

I combed through #tamagotchi on Instagram and DMed people whose bios said they were from Canada to personally invite them. I also DMed big accounts that weren't from Toronto and asked them to reshare (ex. @tamapalace on Instagram).

choosing a thoughtful time

We generally meet on Sundays at noon, which works for 9-5ers. For our second meetup I made an oversight and chose the same date as a huge anime convention. Many of our members ended up going to the con instead, however, this also meant new people were in town. You can capitalize on such events, or plan ahead to avoid them.

choosing a location

Our first meetup was in December, so we needed to meet inside. I chose a public greenhouse near the subway line that I knew was mobility device accessible and not a highly enclosed space (for COVID safety). Our second meetup was a summer picnic at the park. I specifically didn't host at a cafe or somewhere you're expected to pay money to visit. Meeting somewhere public can help make participants feel more comfortable walking into an unknown space. Hosting near public transit is critical.

choosing an activity?

Newer Tama clubs often worry about how to "fill the time" at a meetup. In our experience, guests spend a LOT of their time connecting Tamagotchis, showing each other their collections, and generally nerding out about meeting other Tama players IRL, so there is no absolute need to structure a formal activity. However, some groups prefer to include an optional activity. Toronto's group has brought beads to make friendship bracelets, introduced a guestbook for people to doodle in, and has hopes of making a future zine together!

consider your policies

While it's not necessary to have an entire rulebook written before your first meetup, it's worth thinking about what you want (and don't want) your event to look like. Are you comfortable with kids coming? (Toronto Tamagotchi Club is all ages, but other Tama clubs have an 18+ policy). Do you need to have a Tamagotchi to take part? (Toronto Tamagotchi Club is open to the Tamagotchi-curious, but if you have concerns around venue capacity, you might prefer to prioritize collectors). Will the event require an RSVP, or is it open invitation? (Toronto Tamagotchi Club is open invite, but this means we are never quite sure how many guests to expect). Is the address public, or by registration? (If you host the event at your house, you might prefer to only provide the address after someone RSVPs).

document!

DO NOT forget a group photo. This will be crucial in future outreach. If you have time, a video compilation can have an even farther reach. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have all pivoted to video as their primary medium and you will be promoted to members outside of your audience this way.

follow up

After our first event, I returned to most of the online communities I'd posted in to say "thanks for sharing, look how successful it was!" with a group photo. I got MORE engagement and new followers from sharing the aftermath than I did for sharing the original event. After the second meetup, when I posted a follow-up thank you in a large local Facebook group, 3 news stations reached out. If possible, including a visible banner or sign with the name of your club boosts your photo's sharability factor.

contact media

Media hasn't found you? Submit to a tip line! News stations are always searching for lighthearted local stories to end heavy broadcasts. Try sending an email with the subject line: "Feel good story: local Tamagotchi club". It's great to have a message or a "why": "We believe that virtual pets offer an alternative to the isolating elements of social media", "it's hard to make friends as adults, let's use one way we remember how". Be sure to share your social media pages and contact info in the email, and invite the news station to your upcoming meeting. (This is by no means necessary, but the Toronto Tamagotchi Club has even assembled a media kit to show prospective journalists.)

Since the Toronto club started, we've done a dozen media interviews and counting, including TV, radio, and web articles. If you or anyone in the club is multilingual, try to get reporting in languages besides English.

connect with other clubs

The Tamagotchi Clubs are in a groupchat together where we ask questions and promote one another's events. Some of us did not have any prior event organizing experience, and now run successful regular meetups! If you decide to host a club in your city, we would love to promote your event and help answer your questions. Get in touch with us to connect.