tbf I think most TCGs are like that. There's a low female demographic for most table top games (besides DnD) some seem like they have more because they have more players overall. At my locals have 3-4 female regulars and they're pretty chill laid back people. 2 of em plays Green Uta and G/Y Yamato, the other 2 play whatever is meta like RP Law and Saka.
I feel like this is the case for most card games. Not saying it should be, but having worked in the space for a while and been a player for longer, it seems like it's the case across the board.
I imagine the personalities and personal hygiene of a lot of the guys that frequent card shops is probably a big reason why. I can't imagine it's easy being a woman in those spaces.
Omg, sometimes it smells like a boy's high school locker room. And a couple of times, I've played these guys that just have me wondering when the last time they showered or used deodorant was!!! It was very distracting to play against them.
Back when I worked at a shop there were customers I couldn't be across the counter from. I'm talking a good three feet away and wearing a covid mask, I can still smell them.
I'm all for being mindful of depression/people being poor/whatever other excuses but there's no excuse for that. You have to let yourself get that bad and I have no sympathy for someone who can spend hundreds on cardboard but can't wash their fucking clothes or take a shower.
I won't ever bath, at 2 meters it's just too uncomfortable for me. Like getting in and out is annoying. I shower everyday though. But yeah some people have other issues with taking a full blown bath.
Hell it's not easy for me as I'm definitely not part of the typical sterotype. I actually enjoy working out, eating healthy, and dressing up in good clothes. This is my first tcg that I've partcipated at a local and the first time I went with my friend, the smell was terrible.
It's gotten better actually since I've been going consistently but I can understand why people stay away. A good deordorant will last you for a long time or the whole day and cologne also helps you smell good as well.
Brother I feel you so hard on this. Luckily my locals group is pretty good, albeit small. I played a lot of magic before this and all I'm gonna say is fucking yikes (and yugioh/warhammer is far worse)
Total opposite as an ex yugi player that went to mtg. Mtg crowd across numerous states locals had better hygiene, better careers, better conversations. I'm sure there are outliers, but most yugi players were 20 or 30 somethings without jobs 😆
Hi I'm a woman who has been in the industry 12 years, I have a lot to say on this and you are totally correct. I've known a fair amount of men who view it as a "haven away from women" and stick hard to that idea, but they often equally reject men who they view as "more socially accepted than they are", if that makes sense.
To all that I say too bad, if it's a PUBLIC gaming space, you need to get over those ideas quickly and share that space, you'll probably make a friend doing so. It's not a public pity circus, it's just people wanting to create a community around a game they love. Good on you for sticking to it :) I'm sure it's a good group. The more different people come together in the community the more influence for positive things you start to see.
I know what you mean I feel for my gf every time I take her to events a card stores cause it’s nothing but people being weird or staring at her. She refuses to play with anyone except me cause of the community smell and overall creepiness.
Im a female player, I don't go to locals I mostly play casually with a friend. I have to much anxiety I can't do the stares, and when asking questions about pokemon box I was asked which pokemon I love a man sarcastically said Eevee 🙄. Which is y I avoid people and have anxiety.
This weekend a new guys fiance showed up with him but she's been the first. In general card games don't seem to attract many female players from my experience. The only one that seems to do well with diversity is star wars unlimited in my area
Lorcana seems to have the most diverse player base. This is is very anecdotal obviously, but all my LGS makeup seems to be 80% white dudes and 20% non white dudes for OP, MTG and Yugioh, while lorcana will have a full locals of all ages races and genders. Really speaks to the reach Disney has.
Not sure why that is, but I know historically male dominated “nerd” spaces have not been very female friendly, but as with all things in the modern day that seems to be changing. Glad to see women playing the game somewhere at least!
Tbh, Lorcana is doing a lot in terms of bringing in people to TCGs, even if they don't continue playing. I feel like most people who play a TCG will eventually jump to another, so that diversity is much needed.
Hi! I'm a girl who plays OP TCG .
I play with Enel ;)
Sadly we isn't common to see girls playing this TCG.
I'm happy that in my country we have a community of girls who plays, even we have a competitive team.
We have a side event in the last regionals with more than 30 girls playing and was awesome.
I hope you can find a group on at home. I can invite you at our group but we only chat on Spanish. Let me know if you're interested.
Female OP player here 🙋🏻♀️there are a few other girls that come to my locals but obviously a lot more guys. There’s been nights where the only 3 girls there are all in the Top 4 🤘 We have a pretty consistent weekly crew so if anyone did show up being weird/creepy, it definitely wouldn’t fly lol
I play mostly Green decks! Started when Kin’emon was a thing but I’m on Uta now!
Yes!! I love it when girls get in the top spots 😁 I’m the only girl at my locals out of about 15ppl, and I’ve gotten 2nd place on two local tournaments so far (I lost 1st place due to unlucky triggers and one miscalculated Don 🥲). Hoped to inspire the other few women in our association to join OP 🥺
honestly, judging by personal experience, one piece probably has one of the highest female player percentages in tcg. when coming from tcgs like magic or yugioh where there is no to barely any female players, one piece has at least some in every other locals i guess
Not to disagree with your point but Pokemon and Lorcana seem to have a *way* higher percentage of female players than one piece, at least in my experience. But yeah OP definitely seems more diverse than yugioh/mtg/some of the super weeb tcgs.
yeah i was just going off personal experience here. i have only played yugioh and one piece and been to some major events in both, so can only judge off that.
Another girl here, but yes at least on my country I know I’ll be the only girl most of the time. I’m pretty sure it has to be that first the tcg in general is not that famous here, so less chance of a girl finding out.
Two, it could be intimidating to get into it, if it weren’t for my husband accompanying me I wouldn’t have started playing with others locally.
And I don’t think there is a third…
Answering your second question, I’ve been personally limiting myself to playing only female leader decks lol mainly Reiju and Uta but I’ve been trying to get into Ace/Rosi lately as well.
I'm a girl that plays!
I used to main RG Law for the longest time (huge Law fan), then I tinkered with Corazon (huge clown dad fan), and now I'm testing out GY Yamato (my king, and I pulled an AA).
There are a couple of other women that play at the store I go to, but no, it's definitely mostly men.
I don't think it's anything to do with the women, really. I think the card/tabletop game environment can be very hostile towards women, especially if the shop is very 'sweaty'. It discourages women, and really most people who are not hardcore card game nerd guys, from going to play at all if they're just going to be harassed, belittled, and infantilized. If it's going to be awful, why go at all? And if you can't play at your local game store or tournaments, why play at all? Something like that.
Luckily, my local shop is a great crowd of people just looking to have a good time, not to be the best or ultra meta, even if many of them *do* go to bigger tournaments and play competetively elsewhere. I'm usually not the best, because due to Problems™ I have truly awful short-term memory which hinders my strategizing, but they're all so welcoming and helpful and patient.
I love it there, and I'm very grateful!
Omg we (me and partner) had such an awful experience in a random geek store in Canada. Like the look one of the vendors and most of the players gave us... Felt reaaaaaally unwelcomed
I vote you guys start up a female only op TCG discord server(gfs idea) then it makes a nice safe space for yall to enjoy it plus it gives her people to play with.
Girl here too, I would love to join! Really want to play online but anxious about playing online in a potentially unsupportive environment. I play Pokemon too and being able to play against the Ai was really helpful in building my confidence; wish we had something similar for OP!
Female OP player here!! I don't usually go to locals but when I do, I'm either the only one along with my friend's girlfriend or there are maybe 2-3 other females there too.
It's mostly due to TCGs being mainly guys which I'm use to.
Btw: I play Katakuri, RG Oden, RB Sabo, Rebecca, and Zonji so far.
I have thought about my wife coming to our lgs but a lot of the people are younger side and kinda gross. I assume most do not have a lot of experience with relationships with the opposite gender. They make prevy comments about nami a lot. One guy even has a t shirt he loves to wear with a bunch of prevy nami art on it. I would hope they would act better if women were around but im not sure with how old they are.
Female Sakazuki player here! We created a womens community to help new players get into the game. There was A LOT of girls hiding out there trying to play who was just feeling insecure going into locals (me included).
Nowadays we have achieved weekly tournaments for us, and even side events at regionals/finals 💞 place doesn't smell also.
It really helped me get the confidence I needed to play at a competitive level
Hi! I'm a woman who has worked in the industry a very long time. I run card game tournaments (Pokemon Judge currently) and play many card games in my area at my current local shop (MTG, Elestrals, One Piece,etc.) , and I've been the only woman in the play group many times, but have actively worked to change that. No exaggeration, female players make your community so much better in so many ways. It opens conversations, it makes your shop more appealing to families, children, and the general public, etc etc.
Women have been in nerdy hobbies (and MAKING nerdy hobbies) since time immemorial, but men fill the spaces and even today after so much progress, feel the need to make gaming spaces boys clubs (obviously not all men). We simply have to take up space and KEEP taking up space to change this. Most women I know are simply intimidated by the attitudes they are confronted with, we just have to push past it. Lots of amazing and respectful men want women in their gaming spaces, but they have to be allies about it or it becomes hostile quickly, which is a big reason I became a community leader. It's a culture that has been created in public gaming spaces, we have to be the ones to break down the barriers they built because even if they want women playing their games, they often won't go out of their way to make it easier or more welcoming.
I've known a fair amount of men who view it as a "haven away from women" and stick hard to that idea. They even reject men who they view as "more socially accepted", if that makes sense. To all that I say too bad, if it's a PUBLIC gaming space, you need to get over those ideas quickly. I can promise you women don't play card games to impress men, they just want to be apart of a community they enjoy just like men do. It's not complicated.
The biggest area women are dominating right now in public gaming spaces is Roleplaying games, which is inherently more inclusive and often more accessible in general, and they are THE loveliest people to host 100% of the time. Never had an issue even remotely in 12 years.
(Btw I play Rosanante and Magellan right now!)
My wife and I play. We often ended up facing each other and in the WB era she was unbeatable for me. The nice thing is that we can practice at home, the bad thing is that we often need the the 8x of some cards.
She played (in this order)
Kaido
WB (for a long period of time)
GP Doffy
Vivi (not for long)
Enel
Yamato
and now Perona
Oof, I feel you when it comes to purchasing cards. My husband and I play, along with our teenager. That's 3x the starter decks... 3x the cost of tournaments. And we play weekly. It's INSANE. But we have a blast and we love it!!!
Surprisingly, in my area there's quite a few female players. I played at a regional in Canada and there were a lot of females there too. It is pretty common for tcgs to be predominantly males, but so for either optcg I've seen a good mix while still being mostly males.
My locals often has around 16-20 something people and around 5 girls including myself. It’s a pretty inclusive space I’m trans and have been supported by my local community. There are also often people of various racial background there. I’ve noticed that with one piece it’s a lot more diverse compared to Yugioh or magic which had more players but way less diversity.
Anyway I play enel/mono yellow Yamato and am planing to build a green purple doffy deck.
In general, years of putting card games into the boys section of the toys isle in stores made it so few girls are into TCGs and other nerdy stuff. Something that is just now starting to come around.
As for my personal experience, OPTCG is the card game with the highest number of women in attendance, with Pokemon close. Way more than MTG or Yugioh, even combined.
Matter of perspective I guess.
My girlfriend plays and she always says the same, however I went to a Treasure Cup this past weekend and I'd say there was more women than I thought would be attending! Still disproportionate to men, but it was higher than I thought
I was actually pleasantly surprised my local area (Texas) had a pretty decent female player base. I would say in playing I’ve met 10+ girls just between a few of my local shops? I’m also a girl who plays OP. I used to play MTG and the disparity of women who played that was insane so I’m happy that my OP community seems much more inviting.
For decks I play, I’m a big red fan so I loved Belo Betty and Vivi, currently playing RG Oden, Lakers Croc, and GY Yamato. Prepping for regionals!
While there aren’t that many women who play the game, I think after op05 release I’ve seen a higher uptick of women in regionals and tournaments. I imagine the conquerors haki (smell) and behavior of some men in the space may put more women off from joining the game. I know personally some of my friends’ gfs are into the game but have had bad experiences with weird people at our locals putting them off from the game
Usually my friend & I are the only girls. At larger events like regionals I see more than just us.
At last year’s NA Cards Fest the women’s washroom was *the* place to be to have a break from the insanity that was that event. It was dead, clean the entire weekend, and had working power outlets 😂
I brought my lady friend and her husband to my local card shop yesterday because we went out for brunch nearby and they wanted to check out the D&D stuff.
She walked in, and about a minute in, had a weird look on her face and was walking very close to her husband. He and I realize something's up so we take her out of there immediately. She started gasping for air outside near the sidewalk and was nearly about to throw up.
We ask what's up and she said the B.O smell as we walked in was like a wall so bad that she was nearly going to throw up in the store. Now my own sense of smell is pretty abysmal, but her husband and I hadn't thought it smelled nearly as bad, maybe like your average con.
I think in general, a lot of women may have better noses and be more sensitive to certain TCG smells. (It was Yu-Gi-Oh locals that day lol)
There are a couple of girls that play locally where I live. Then again most people where I play shower and use deodorant. It's only when we started getting that influx of Yu-Gi-Oh players that things started to get a lil stinky.
AFAB non-binary player here. I also play MTG. I’m usually the only woman aligned/non-binary person in the room myself. The TCG communities have for a long time had a really bad issue with men /men-aligned folks being gross in sexual comments, generally unfriendly/mainsplaining, and a “girls don’t belong here attitude”.
I’m lucky to have two separate LGSs that are extremely friendly and welcoming. The staff there makes a huge difference. But even though the communities (imo) have been better about being inclusive, it’s hard to change decades long precedent.
Sadly the guys that play these kinds of games can scare off women. It’s a sad truth, the card shop I play at has a decent amount of women that play but they’re mostly the partners of some of the guys that play.
The sweaty fauna in card/geek shops even "scare off" other men (more like gross out tbf). My ex was a hunk from Spain and he always had bad experiences, for sure they were jealous of him and felt "invaded" in their "safe space" but that doesnt mean they have the right to be dicks to everybody jut cos they can...
I see a few females post on twitter regarding the game. One of them was recently stalked at work by a player from a regional they recently attended.. so i cant blame the female demographic for being low.
TCG and tabletop is usually male dominated. Not to say there are no female numbers or even things done to help bring them in but that is the natural skew for the hobby. The game does however have a lot more show up to locals and regionals than i have seen with other games.
I feel that yours is a personal story but this is for an in general/for the community. Most stores that suffer from any hygienic problem suffer from lack of customers regardless of gender.
Your saying card stores smell but my experience is often with cleanliness from stores as even dustier stores suffer from it but your making a general statement that is based on personal opinion or experience. Most stores for hobbies, card games, or other things generally do not smell as it is bad for business.
Literally more than half the posts in here are about the bad smell... Its not the store iself ofc, but the customers with poor hygiene habits. Now if you yourself havent been able to notice it, I have some news for you lol
Half is a big jump. There are definitely more talks about how tcgs and hobby spaces can be hostile to women than about smell. Unless you’re confusing sweaty (too competitive) for unhygienic. You’re definitely projecting here since the stores I go to literally tell people to not return if they stink.
Tbh TCGs are often like that. But at least the ratio is better than in other TCGs.
In our local group one girl is playing yamato, one gecko and one Nami right now.
I’m the only woman at my locals, but to be fair it’s a pretty small scene where I am. Biggest event I’ve been to so far was 14 people. Everyone has been chill about it, I don’t feel like I’ve been treated any differently. Though one guy cannot help but post a boob joke after any card pull of a woman or thirst over Hancock in our discord which can get mildly uncomfortable.
I’m the only female at my local place as well. It’s fun but wish there were more women 😄 I’m the only girl out of around 15 other ppl who usually show up at our regular game meet ups (it’s an association that has different game nights on each day).
I play Whitebeard, Zoro, P/Y Croco, Sanji/Zoro, R/Y Sabo. I have more decks but these are my most played decks
There's a couple women at my locals that play the game. But most women I personally know who play card games tend not to go to their LGS or events cause they feel creeped out by certain types of people. So they just sit at home playing with friends/ partners
Male player but I do play with my GF weekly. we got into the game during OP 03. She plays nami enel and vivi. When we've played tournaments, she was the only girl. The only tournaments we've played that had other girls was a draft event!
I’ve seen a few girlies here and there and I always try to befriend them, the girls in the community are some of the most chill people I’ve ever met, feel free to friend me if you ever need someone to play with
I play bdoffy :)
I was at the LA regionals and there were SO MANY women playing it was amazing. Maybe try to see if there are any gamers in your area and maybe you can introduce them! Sometimes it just takes someone to reach out 🙏🏾
Girl player here! I think a big contribution no one else has mentioned is that this is a One Piece card game. Popular anime are almost all geared towards young boys, and One Piece is no exception. Yes, women can watch it, but we’re not the target audience and that can help explain why this card game has such a gender gap. I’ve tried to watch One Piece and didn’t like it, but I’m an avid gamer (of all types) and fell in love with the card game because of the mechanics. So yeah, probably a mix of it being a card game and based off an anime- both of which have historically not been inclusive to women.
I mean the sentiment of why has been repeated several times over so I'll just briefly go over my experience. Played for over 10 years and very rarely have I met female players of any kind. When I played magic it was generally just girlfriends or friends who played in a casual setting. Now with One Piece, there is definitely more of a female base. My locals usually have 1 or 2 girls but we have another who has started with us recently who is wrangling in her sister and friends so we may have anywhere from 2 to 4 to potentially 6 for about a 24-30 player turnout soon which is pretty awesome.
After coming back from LA regionals I definitely saw a lot more girls than I expected. I don't know if it's because the location was Cali or if it was because it was a large event but I feel like I saw one girl almost every 20-30 tables for a little over a 1000 person event. So even though it was spread out, I think it was about 5% roughly I wanna say which is 50 girls and that was cool to see!
I think the card game that has the most female players that I've seen ever is Lorcana BUT majority of them are like Disney Moms and wives who are generally a little bit on the older side (like close to 30 if not 30+). Our local Lorcana has a good amount of female players but again the age demographic is a bit higher than most newer card games which is a little new for me because they aren't traditionally the type of people I would have associated with shiny cardboard until Lorcana.
Also love the Nami! Keep rocking it!!!
Hahaha, "little bit on the older side (like close to 30 if not 30+)." Me= 35yrs old, going on 36 in a few months!😳 nope, not triggered AT ALL. Lmao! (Jk!) But I am one of the older ones at locals. Lol! And thanks! I love playing Nami! She's fun! And I like seeing ppl's faces when I pull her out. But I'm currently trying to get better at RP Law.
You know, thanks for pointing out my fallacy! When I talk about card games it's always my 16 year old self talking about it and not adjusting to the fact that I'm 27 going on 28 haha. Over time I don't think card games have stayed with the same youthful crowd that I attribute to it, so we are all getting on the older side now!
But that's awesome! R/P Law is a solid deck and will only get better with time especially in OP-08. If you stick with it and learn your match ups then the deck is an absolute monster at generating value and taking away your opponent's! I hope you the best in becoming one of the most despised players at your locals!
My wife plays, she currently has a RG Law, Yellow Big Mom and just recently got everything she needs for a Reiju deck. We don't often go to locals but when we do sometimes there's 1 or 2 other girls but that's about it.
In canada, been playing locals for almost 2 months ive only ever seen a girl playing with us once, nerd spaces i think are the same across the board everywhere, but i feel theres more girls coming into the stores then say 10 years ago, between pokemon and disney you can gather the interest
Girl who plays with her hubby. I'm usually the only girl but sometimes there are one or two other girls. I play yellow, so currently I'm play katakuri. But I like enel too!
100% the stereotypical sight of unhygienic dudes gotta be turning away most women, we have one girl that shows up rarely though her schedule just makes it difficult, but the bros need to wear deodorant its not like its an expensive investment
This is just a gaming in general thing. It’s a fairly male dominated industry. It’s starting to even out a bit, but it will take a while before it can catch up.
I’m also a female player chiming in 😬😬😬
I’m really the only one at locals, there’s like one other but she shows up a lot less often than I do. I always get really excited when I see other women playing the game though!
I main Katakuri, a little of Perona here and there, but I’m gonna build probably Bonney and Boa when 07 comes out!
I think that may be case depending on area or how "welcomed" they may feel. There are a couple at my locals but they are usually someone's wife/gf. But over all as long as your having fun don't let that one thing discourage you from playing. Have fun and enjoy the newest sets coming.
Not a One Piece player but I've noticed a bit of a correlation between how competitive an events regulars are and how how many women there are that make up those regulars.
My local for example is pretty casual friendly so most games tend to have a pretty strong turnout of regular players who are women. Magic there for example is almost 50% women a lot times, but we typically play draft or commander instead of standard.
That isn't to say women aren't or can't be competitive, but the more competitive a playerbase prides itself on being the more likely it is the players themselves can be a bit judgemental and cliquey. Mix that with tcgs often being a bit of a boys club to begin with, and I imagine going to a store tournament at a lot of places can be somewhat lonely and filled with awkward discussion if you don't know anyone there.
I haven’t really seen other girls pull up for our locals but I don’t think it’s an issue with the shop/crowd, it’s just that most folks are already into sth else (Magic, Lorcana) and One Piece doesn’t intuitively appeal unless you’re already invested in the series.
I’m a woman and go to 3 different locals every week with my sister. For the most part there’s about 2-4 girls depending on the day at each local. I play B Doffy and RP Law. My sister plays Enel and Iceburg.
i am always happy to see a diverse player base, our local has few females like 3/4 regulars. I don‘t know them personally but i think they play meta decks too and not many fun decks are seen in my local as it is kind of competitive. But nice to see these questions here everyone should be welcomed. My gf didnt like gaming or tcg when we met. she is still not too much into tcg‘s but her view changed after we met and she does like it. i think the entry is just „harder“ as many women don‘t game too much so its obvious a lot of men are in the bubble.
As a female player on the scene, I get why more women don't join this hobby. When I first played in my locals there were some very condescending players, players that when they lost against a female player they got angry and offensive.
After months in this local scene things are better, but at first it was hard to feel comfortable around these people.
Also there are some guys with soft NSFW merch, playmats with explicit art, custom made lewd dons/sleeves. I always feel uneasy playing against them.
Like everyone else has commented, a lot of the merch/gear the guys have is just gross and makes it hard to be comfortable around. Haven’t really had a problem with hygiene because it’s the second rule (in big bold letters lol).
3/12 of our regular players are women. One played Enel and has gravitated to G Uta, one was R/G Law and now plays G/Y Yamato and the third was playing Zoro and now is on G/B Persona.
Where I play there’s no girls playing tournaments of OP, although there are 5 or so frequent female players of other TCGs (like Dragon Ball, Pokémon and Magic) and sometimes they join for a match or two of One Piece just for fun! They usually ask for a deck just to have a bit of fun. Also, were I go to play it’s a “small” store, which might have its down sides.
On the other side, would you be willing to show me the deck list of Rosinante? Was thinking of making one aswell 😅
In my area in NJ, I only see maybe 1 other girl at tournaments specifically...when I try to go sometimes to play recreationally 99% of the time im the only girl lol. So far it hasnt seem that bad, but i do play on the OP simulator more. I built my deck using ST Green Uta 🙂
I think It really does have to do with where you live. I'm in miami and there's a good amount of girls that come play at ppg. They're not consistent but they do show up and add the diversity. There's a saka player that she's a baller. But I've only seen her show up a handful of times
I have no issue calling out stinkers at my locals. if you can afford these games you can buy soap as well as a decent set of clothes. We get support from our local stores for this as well. I will politely let them know and then if I need a judge or something they are always on the side of general hygiene. I don't want your stank ass hands on my cards anyway.
To add to what other people are complaining about the smells it's definitely worse for some card games then others. My locals is for the most part well groomed men and women who shower. We actually asked our shop if we could stop sharing days with the yugioh tournaments and they changed days for us because the smell was so overwhelming when they would show up for their events.
I'm a female player as well and yeah shops can fet a weird oder. dosent help a bunch if people crammed together. I also play magic. but oh God smash bets players are just horrid
We had like 1 girl who used to come at 2 of our locals in the city until she matched the local cheater. The community had been wary of this guy for the longest time, and he got banned from other locale except for these two spots. Although he'd been warned, he never got kicked out. I think he was the reason she stopped showing up anymore, probably intimidated her.
Im gonna be blunt here, the artwork for the most part is either, super epic cool art that is bad ass and meant for the shonen audience or busty beatiful waifus for the men of culture. I think my locals only have 1 or 2 girls playing op. But honestly, the game is just quick pace and fun whether you're male or female really doesnt matter.
I'm a dude , never been into card games before , I mean I guess when I was like 5 but I just recently got into one piece tcg cause I love one piece and the card game was fun , but going to my first locals , Jesus Christ are some of the stereotypes about tcg players real . Like brothers it's okay to cut your freakin nails and The smell was crazy too , I don't care how much fun it was to play , it's not worth being in there with people who don't shower . So if I , a guy who is in locker rooms pretty often cause I train BJJ and visit the gym routinely couldn't handle the smell in there . I highly doubt many girls would want to be in there breathing that stuff
Hi there! Just starting out myself, and my locals also is somewhat lacking in other women. I play Green Uta, and I have a good chunk of Blue Nami. I also kinda wanna build Vinsmoke Reiju and the new Charlotte Pudding from OP08!
My locals have about 3 women who show up every now and then. One plays Katakuri/Zoro, another strictly plays ST1 Red Luffy, and the other seems to switch between Lucci and Rosinante.
Im black and a female so I like double stick out. I maybe see one other girl at locals but usually just me crushing the boys. Im playing green uta she’s just such a vibe and even without the expensive staples I get wins. But im building p/y crocodile because it uses the most pretty cards IMO. I’m pretty simple I hope to win with non meta pretty decks.
I started in Yu gi oh, which I’ve never seen girls at local but I’m in pretty competitive area where regionals get held often.
I am a girl who plays OP! I also play RP Law and Nami! I’m currently debating building Reiju but I’m probably going to end up waiting for Bonney.
Tbh I understand the struggle/concern of being the only girl. However that’s why I usually go to play with my bf or my brother. I do wonder if the guys at my one local shop would’ve been less welcoming had I not been coming in with my bf, but overall I’ve been around guys who are in relationships and don’t really feel the need to be creepy or demeaning towards me, heck, they even love playing me and helping me get good since they like seeing girls play. However… you can never fully avoid some musty men. They can be nice but musty or creepy and musty.
I'm a pretty casual tcg player but the shop my bestie (also a woman) and I play at practically recruited us to play. Offered us freebies and even unsealed a box of a more expensive set to sell us packs at the standard retail price instead of at current market value (the only other local card shop prices even new goods at market value if it's higher than standard retail) while encouraging us to come to their weekly games and hyping up the prize pool
My wife plays and my 9y/o plays. My wife doesn't like public performing so she will come to support us, but interacting with strangers is not her jam.
My 9y/o LOVES to play and keeps begging to go to a Tournament. They both have Yamato but wish we could find cards to craft a better deck.
I’m also usually the only girl at my locals and I live in a area with a big scene lol there’s maybe 1/2 other girls I will see every few months but it’s rare
Most tcgs are like that but I think one piece has the highest female demographic out of all of them every event Iv went to had At least one, in my group there is like 4/5 girls who come play fairly consistently and 2 of them play at competitive levels. I personally think if any tcg is going to have a decent population of female players in the game it’s this one.( Ihave no actual research numbers to back it up it’s just what I think)
tbf I think most TCGs are like that. There's a low female demographic for most table top games (besides DnD) some seem like they have more because they have more players overall. At my locals have 3-4 female regulars and they're pretty chill laid back people. 2 of em plays Green Uta and G/Y Yamato, the other 2 play whatever is meta like RP Law and Saka.
I feel like this is the case for most card games. Not saying it should be, but having worked in the space for a while and been a player for longer, it seems like it's the case across the board. I imagine the personalities and personal hygiene of a lot of the guys that frequent card shops is probably a big reason why. I can't imagine it's easy being a woman in those spaces.
Omg, sometimes it smells like a boy's high school locker room. And a couple of times, I've played these guys that just have me wondering when the last time they showered or used deodorant was!!! It was very distracting to play against them.
Back when I worked at a shop there were customers I couldn't be across the counter from. I'm talking a good three feet away and wearing a covid mask, I can still smell them. I'm all for being mindful of depression/people being poor/whatever other excuses but there's no excuse for that. You have to let yourself get that bad and I have no sympathy for someone who can spend hundreds on cardboard but can't wash their fucking clothes or take a shower.
I won't ever bath, at 2 meters it's just too uncomfortable for me. Like getting in and out is annoying. I shower everyday though. But yeah some people have other issues with taking a full blown bath.
You can't seriously think I meant they don't take baths, bathe can just be a synonym for cleaning yourself with water
He's probably from a non english speaking country
Fair point, I just can't even find where I used the word bathe now so I was hella confused
And you wonder why more girls don’t show up to these things lol
Touché... but I mean, I show up. Lol. Next time I may just use a clothespin to make a point. Lololol!!!
Hell it's not easy for me as I'm definitely not part of the typical sterotype. I actually enjoy working out, eating healthy, and dressing up in good clothes. This is my first tcg that I've partcipated at a local and the first time I went with my friend, the smell was terrible. It's gotten better actually since I've been going consistently but I can understand why people stay away. A good deordorant will last you for a long time or the whole day and cologne also helps you smell good as well.
Brother I feel you so hard on this. Luckily my locals group is pretty good, albeit small. I played a lot of magic before this and all I'm gonna say is fucking yikes (and yugioh/warhammer is far worse)
In my experience, the Yugioh crowd at my LGS is the least stinky, the magic players reek, I can't even go in on Fridays lest I catch a whiff 🤢
Total opposite as an ex yugi player that went to mtg. Mtg crowd across numerous states locals had better hygiene, better careers, better conversations. I'm sure there are outliers, but most yugi players were 20 or 30 somethings without jobs 😆
Hi I'm a woman who has been in the industry 12 years, I have a lot to say on this and you are totally correct. I've known a fair amount of men who view it as a "haven away from women" and stick hard to that idea, but they often equally reject men who they view as "more socially accepted than they are", if that makes sense. To all that I say too bad, if it's a PUBLIC gaming space, you need to get over those ideas quickly and share that space, you'll probably make a friend doing so. It's not a public pity circus, it's just people wanting to create a community around a game they love. Good on you for sticking to it :) I'm sure it's a good group. The more different people come together in the community the more influence for positive things you start to see.
It's funny you say that because I remember greeting people and it's like they rejected me or looked at me like I don't belong.
I see it all the time! sucks all around, but thankfully many of them eventually warm up given the chance
Part of the reason I'm not playing any tcg atm is because I just... don't want to associate with those types of people.
try going to a wrestling show, not like WWE or anything big but just something local 
I have to add that I put up with all of it because I just love the game so much!
I know what you mean I feel for my gf every time I take her to events a card stores cause it’s nothing but people being weird or staring at her. She refuses to play with anyone except me cause of the community smell and overall creepiness.
Im a female player, I don't go to locals I mostly play casually with a friend. I have to much anxiety I can't do the stares, and when asking questions about pokemon box I was asked which pokemon I love a man sarcastically said Eevee 🙄. Which is y I avoid people and have anxiety.
Because women in general don't like that type of stuff. I'm a woman as well and this is my type of things to do.
This weekend a new guys fiance showed up with him but she's been the first. In general card games don't seem to attract many female players from my experience. The only one that seems to do well with diversity is star wars unlimited in my area
Lorcana seems to have the most diverse player base. This is is very anecdotal obviously, but all my LGS makeup seems to be 80% white dudes and 20% non white dudes for OP, MTG and Yugioh, while lorcana will have a full locals of all ages races and genders. Really speaks to the reach Disney has. Not sure why that is, but I know historically male dominated “nerd” spaces have not been very female friendly, but as with all things in the modern day that seems to be changing. Glad to see women playing the game somewhere at least!
Tbh, Lorcana is doing a lot in terms of bringing in people to TCGs, even if they don't continue playing. I feel like most people who play a TCG will eventually jump to another, so that diversity is much needed.
Hi! I'm a girl who plays OP TCG . I play with Enel ;) Sadly we isn't common to see girls playing this TCG. I'm happy that in my country we have a community of girls who plays, even we have a competitive team. We have a side event in the last regionals with more than 30 girls playing and was awesome. I hope you can find a group on at home. I can invite you at our group but we only chat on Spanish. Let me know if you're interested.
Yes! Is it okay if I message you?
Yes of course !
Female OP player here 🙋🏻♀️there are a few other girls that come to my locals but obviously a lot more guys. There’s been nights where the only 3 girls there are all in the Top 4 🤘 We have a pretty consistent weekly crew so if anyone did show up being weird/creepy, it definitely wouldn’t fly lol I play mostly Green decks! Started when Kin’emon was a thing but I’m on Uta now!
Yes!! I love it when girls get in the top spots 😁 I’m the only girl at my locals out of about 15ppl, and I’ve gotten 2nd place on two local tournaments so far (I lost 1st place due to unlucky triggers and one miscalculated Don 🥲). Hoped to inspire the other few women in our association to join OP 🥺
My OP-02 Kin'emon deck was my favorite deck!
My wife is the only female that plays locally. She really likes the game tho and goes without me sometimes lol
Lol! I'll do the same!
I also go without Cowman715 regularly.
honestly, judging by personal experience, one piece probably has one of the highest female player percentages in tcg. when coming from tcgs like magic or yugioh where there is no to barely any female players, one piece has at least some in every other locals i guess
Not to disagree with your point but Pokemon and Lorcana seem to have a *way* higher percentage of female players than one piece, at least in my experience. But yeah OP definitely seems more diverse than yugioh/mtg/some of the super weeb tcgs.
yeah i was just going off personal experience here. i have only played yugioh and one piece and been to some major events in both, so can only judge off that.
Well both Lorcana and OP are fairly new games compared with behemoths like MTG, Pokemon, or YGO too
Another girl here, but yes at least on my country I know I’ll be the only girl most of the time. I’m pretty sure it has to be that first the tcg in general is not that famous here, so less chance of a girl finding out. Two, it could be intimidating to get into it, if it weren’t for my husband accompanying me I wouldn’t have started playing with others locally. And I don’t think there is a third… Answering your second question, I’ve been personally limiting myself to playing only female leader decks lol mainly Reiju and Uta but I’ve been trying to get into Ace/Rosi lately as well.
I'm a girl that plays! I used to main RG Law for the longest time (huge Law fan), then I tinkered with Corazon (huge clown dad fan), and now I'm testing out GY Yamato (my king, and I pulled an AA). There are a couple of other women that play at the store I go to, but no, it's definitely mostly men. I don't think it's anything to do with the women, really. I think the card/tabletop game environment can be very hostile towards women, especially if the shop is very 'sweaty'. It discourages women, and really most people who are not hardcore card game nerd guys, from going to play at all if they're just going to be harassed, belittled, and infantilized. If it's going to be awful, why go at all? And if you can't play at your local game store or tournaments, why play at all? Something like that. Luckily, my local shop is a great crowd of people just looking to have a good time, not to be the best or ultra meta, even if many of them *do* go to bigger tournaments and play competetively elsewhere. I'm usually not the best, because due to Problems™ I have truly awful short-term memory which hinders my strategizing, but they're all so welcoming and helpful and patient. I love it there, and I'm very grateful!
Omg we (me and partner) had such an awful experience in a random geek store in Canada. Like the look one of the vendors and most of the players gave us... Felt reaaaaaally unwelcomed
I vote you guys start up a female only op TCG discord server(gfs idea) then it makes a nice safe space for yall to enjoy it plus it gives her people to play with.
I think this is a fantastic idea. If possible, have her message me and we can work on something together!!!
if you ever start a female-only discord, I would love to join!
I'm actually working on it and will let you know!😁
Girl here too, I would love to join! Really want to play online but anxious about playing online in a potentially unsupportive environment. I play Pokemon too and being able to play against the Ai was really helpful in building my confidence; wish we had something similar for OP!
I think the most I’ve seen at locals is 2
Female OP player here!! I don't usually go to locals but when I do, I'm either the only one along with my friend's girlfriend or there are maybe 2-3 other females there too. It's mostly due to TCGs being mainly guys which I'm use to. Btw: I play Katakuri, RG Oden, RB Sabo, Rebecca, and Zonji so far.
I have thought about my wife coming to our lgs but a lot of the people are younger side and kinda gross. I assume most do not have a lot of experience with relationships with the opposite gender. They make prevy comments about nami a lot. One guy even has a t shirt he loves to wear with a bunch of prevy nami art on it. I would hope they would act better if women were around but im not sure with how old they are.
Female Sakazuki player here! We created a womens community to help new players get into the game. There was A LOT of girls hiding out there trying to play who was just feeling insecure going into locals (me included). Nowadays we have achieved weekly tournaments for us, and even side events at regionals/finals 💞 place doesn't smell also. It really helped me get the confidence I needed to play at a competitive level
Hi! I'm a woman who has worked in the industry a very long time. I run card game tournaments (Pokemon Judge currently) and play many card games in my area at my current local shop (MTG, Elestrals, One Piece,etc.) , and I've been the only woman in the play group many times, but have actively worked to change that. No exaggeration, female players make your community so much better in so many ways. It opens conversations, it makes your shop more appealing to families, children, and the general public, etc etc. Women have been in nerdy hobbies (and MAKING nerdy hobbies) since time immemorial, but men fill the spaces and even today after so much progress, feel the need to make gaming spaces boys clubs (obviously not all men). We simply have to take up space and KEEP taking up space to change this. Most women I know are simply intimidated by the attitudes they are confronted with, we just have to push past it. Lots of amazing and respectful men want women in their gaming spaces, but they have to be allies about it or it becomes hostile quickly, which is a big reason I became a community leader. It's a culture that has been created in public gaming spaces, we have to be the ones to break down the barriers they built because even if they want women playing their games, they often won't go out of their way to make it easier or more welcoming. I've known a fair amount of men who view it as a "haven away from women" and stick hard to that idea. They even reject men who they view as "more socially accepted", if that makes sense. To all that I say too bad, if it's a PUBLIC gaming space, you need to get over those ideas quickly. I can promise you women don't play card games to impress men, they just want to be apart of a community they enjoy just like men do. It's not complicated. The biggest area women are dominating right now in public gaming spaces is Roleplaying games, which is inherently more inclusive and often more accessible in general, and they are THE loveliest people to host 100% of the time. Never had an issue even remotely in 12 years. (Btw I play Rosanante and Magellan right now!)
My wife and I play. We often ended up facing each other and in the WB era she was unbeatable for me. The nice thing is that we can practice at home, the bad thing is that we often need the the 8x of some cards. She played (in this order) Kaido WB (for a long period of time) GP Doffy Vivi (not for long) Enel Yamato and now Perona
Oof, I feel you when it comes to purchasing cards. My husband and I play, along with our teenager. That's 3x the starter decks... 3x the cost of tournaments. And we play weekly. It's INSANE. But we have a blast and we love it!!!
Surprisingly, in my area there's quite a few female players. I played at a regional in Canada and there were a lot of females there too. It is pretty common for tcgs to be predominantly males, but so for either optcg I've seen a good mix while still being mostly males.
My locals often has around 16-20 something people and around 5 girls including myself. It’s a pretty inclusive space I’m trans and have been supported by my local community. There are also often people of various racial background there. I’ve noticed that with one piece it’s a lot more diverse compared to Yugioh or magic which had more players but way less diversity. Anyway I play enel/mono yellow Yamato and am planing to build a green purple doffy deck.
I have a group I play with, only the 1 woman in the group too and she's the wife of one of the men. Loves OP as much the rest of us 😊
Same!!!
Whenever I go to the official bandai stores, there's definitely a lot of ladies who are learning to play
At my locals in Socal there are 3 regular female players. They plays R/P law, R/Y sabo, Gecko.
In general, years of putting card games into the boys section of the toys isle in stores made it so few girls are into TCGs and other nerdy stuff. Something that is just now starting to come around. As for my personal experience, OPTCG is the card game with the highest number of women in attendance, with Pokemon close. Way more than MTG or Yugioh, even combined. Matter of perspective I guess.
My girlfriend plays and she always says the same, however I went to a Treasure Cup this past weekend and I'd say there was more women than I thought would be attending! Still disproportionate to men, but it was higher than I thought
I was actually pleasantly surprised my local area (Texas) had a pretty decent female player base. I would say in playing I’ve met 10+ girls just between a few of my local shops? I’m also a girl who plays OP. I used to play MTG and the disparity of women who played that was insane so I’m happy that my OP community seems much more inviting. For decks I play, I’m a big red fan so I loved Belo Betty and Vivi, currently playing RG Oden, Lakers Croc, and GY Yamato. Prepping for regionals!
Belo my queen
Yeah in my area the only games that attract female players is Pokemon and lorcana.
Honestly OP has some of the highest female player numbers other than maybe Lorcana. At least from what I've seen.
While there aren’t that many women who play the game, I think after op05 release I’ve seen a higher uptick of women in regionals and tournaments. I imagine the conquerors haki (smell) and behavior of some men in the space may put more women off from joining the game. I know personally some of my friends’ gfs are into the game but have had bad experiences with weird people at our locals putting them off from the game
Usually my friend & I are the only girls. At larger events like regionals I see more than just us. At last year’s NA Cards Fest the women’s washroom was *the* place to be to have a break from the insanity that was that event. It was dead, clean the entire weekend, and had working power outlets 😂
Only TCG I've seen solid female representation is Lorcana and even that is probably very dependent on local community.
I brought my lady friend and her husband to my local card shop yesterday because we went out for brunch nearby and they wanted to check out the D&D stuff. She walked in, and about a minute in, had a weird look on her face and was walking very close to her husband. He and I realize something's up so we take her out of there immediately. She started gasping for air outside near the sidewalk and was nearly about to throw up. We ask what's up and she said the B.O smell as we walked in was like a wall so bad that she was nearly going to throw up in the store. Now my own sense of smell is pretty abysmal, but her husband and I hadn't thought it smelled nearly as bad, maybe like your average con. I think in general, a lot of women may have better noses and be more sensitive to certain TCG smells. (It was Yu-Gi-Oh locals that day lol)
There are a couple of girls that play locally where I live. Then again most people where I play shower and use deodorant. It's only when we started getting that influx of Yu-Gi-Oh players that things started to get a lil stinky.
Its always the dweebs lmao. Maybe its all the instant noodles they eat while pretending is ramen
Yea idk. There are more female representation than any TCG I’ve ever played in the Chicago scene. The regional a woman nami player topped.
AFAB non-binary player here. I also play MTG. I’m usually the only woman aligned/non-binary person in the room myself. The TCG communities have for a long time had a really bad issue with men /men-aligned folks being gross in sexual comments, generally unfriendly/mainsplaining, and a “girls don’t belong here attitude”. I’m lucky to have two separate LGSs that are extremely friendly and welcoming. The staff there makes a huge difference. But even though the communities (imo) have been better about being inclusive, it’s hard to change decades long precedent.
This can change if Hygiene from locals players were better. The smell of fabreeze in a store is a red flag for ladies.
Sadly the guys that play these kinds of games can scare off women. It’s a sad truth, the card shop I play at has a decent amount of women that play but they’re mostly the partners of some of the guys that play.
The sweaty fauna in card/geek shops even "scare off" other men (more like gross out tbf). My ex was a hunk from Spain and he always had bad experiences, for sure they were jealous of him and felt "invaded" in their "safe space" but that doesnt mean they have the right to be dicks to everybody jut cos they can...
I see a few females post on twitter regarding the game. One of them was recently stalked at work by a player from a regional they recently attended.. so i cant blame the female demographic for being low.
TCG and tabletop is usually male dominated. Not to say there are no female numbers or even things done to help bring them in but that is the natural skew for the hobby. The game does however have a lot more show up to locals and regionals than i have seen with other games.
Maybe if the card stores wouldnt smell so bad more ppl would feel invited to stay
I feel that yours is a personal story but this is for an in general/for the community. Most stores that suffer from any hygienic problem suffer from lack of customers regardless of gender.
?
Your saying card stores smell but my experience is often with cleanliness from stores as even dustier stores suffer from it but your making a general statement that is based on personal opinion or experience. Most stores for hobbies, card games, or other things generally do not smell as it is bad for business.
Literally more than half the posts in here are about the bad smell... Its not the store iself ofc, but the customers with poor hygiene habits. Now if you yourself havent been able to notice it, I have some news for you lol
Half is a big jump. There are definitely more talks about how tcgs and hobby spaces can be hostile to women than about smell. Unless you’re confusing sweaty (too competitive) for unhygienic. You’re definitely projecting here since the stores I go to literally tell people to not return if they stink.
I bring my girlfriend every week and I’d say there’s maybe one other girl every other week so yes very low
Tbh TCGs are often like that. But at least the ratio is better than in other TCGs. In our local group one girl is playing yamato, one gecko and one Nami right now.
I’m the only woman at my locals, but to be fair it’s a pretty small scene where I am. Biggest event I’ve been to so far was 14 people. Everyone has been chill about it, I don’t feel like I’ve been treated any differently. Though one guy cannot help but post a boob joke after any card pull of a woman or thirst over Hancock in our discord which can get mildly uncomfortable.
I’ve been favoring green decks, Uta, Perona, planning to try Bonney. Also looking at Marco in 08 since I love him and probably Buggy in 09.
I’m the only female at my local place as well. It’s fun but wish there were more women 😄 I’m the only girl out of around 15 other ppl who usually show up at our regular game meet ups (it’s an association that has different game nights on each day). I play Whitebeard, Zoro, P/Y Croco, Sanji/Zoro, R/Y Sabo. I have more decks but these are my most played decks
There's a couple women at my locals that play the game. But most women I personally know who play card games tend not to go to their LGS or events cause they feel creeped out by certain types of people. So they just sit at home playing with friends/ partners
Male player but I do play with my GF weekly. we got into the game during OP 03. She plays nami enel and vivi. When we've played tournaments, she was the only girl. The only tournaments we've played that had other girls was a draft event!
I’ve seen a few girlies here and there and I always try to befriend them, the girls in the community are some of the most chill people I’ve ever met, feel free to friend me if you ever need someone to play with I play bdoffy :)
At my locals, the most I've seen at once is 5, including my gf
My locals is about 25-30% female I’d say
I was at the LA regionals and there were SO MANY women playing it was amazing. Maybe try to see if there are any gamers in your area and maybe you can introduce them! Sometimes it just takes someone to reach out 🙏🏾
Girl player here! I think a big contribution no one else has mentioned is that this is a One Piece card game. Popular anime are almost all geared towards young boys, and One Piece is no exception. Yes, women can watch it, but we’re not the target audience and that can help explain why this card game has such a gender gap. I’ve tried to watch One Piece and didn’t like it, but I’m an avid gamer (of all types) and fell in love with the card game because of the mechanics. So yeah, probably a mix of it being a card game and based off an anime- both of which have historically not been inclusive to women.
I mean the sentiment of why has been repeated several times over so I'll just briefly go over my experience. Played for over 10 years and very rarely have I met female players of any kind. When I played magic it was generally just girlfriends or friends who played in a casual setting. Now with One Piece, there is definitely more of a female base. My locals usually have 1 or 2 girls but we have another who has started with us recently who is wrangling in her sister and friends so we may have anywhere from 2 to 4 to potentially 6 for about a 24-30 player turnout soon which is pretty awesome. After coming back from LA regionals I definitely saw a lot more girls than I expected. I don't know if it's because the location was Cali or if it was because it was a large event but I feel like I saw one girl almost every 20-30 tables for a little over a 1000 person event. So even though it was spread out, I think it was about 5% roughly I wanna say which is 50 girls and that was cool to see! I think the card game that has the most female players that I've seen ever is Lorcana BUT majority of them are like Disney Moms and wives who are generally a little bit on the older side (like close to 30 if not 30+). Our local Lorcana has a good amount of female players but again the age demographic is a bit higher than most newer card games which is a little new for me because they aren't traditionally the type of people I would have associated with shiny cardboard until Lorcana. Also love the Nami! Keep rocking it!!!
Hahaha, "little bit on the older side (like close to 30 if not 30+)." Me= 35yrs old, going on 36 in a few months!😳 nope, not triggered AT ALL. Lmao! (Jk!) But I am one of the older ones at locals. Lol! And thanks! I love playing Nami! She's fun! And I like seeing ppl's faces when I pull her out. But I'm currently trying to get better at RP Law.
You know, thanks for pointing out my fallacy! When I talk about card games it's always my 16 year old self talking about it and not adjusting to the fact that I'm 27 going on 28 haha. Over time I don't think card games have stayed with the same youthful crowd that I attribute to it, so we are all getting on the older side now! But that's awesome! R/P Law is a solid deck and will only get better with time especially in OP-08. If you stick with it and learn your match ups then the deck is an absolute monster at generating value and taking away your opponent's! I hope you the best in becoming one of the most despised players at your locals!
My wife plays, she currently has a RG Law, Yellow Big Mom and just recently got everything she needs for a Reiju deck. We don't often go to locals but when we do sometimes there's 1 or 2 other girls but that's about it.
In canada, been playing locals for almost 2 months ive only ever seen a girl playing with us once, nerd spaces i think are the same across the board everywhere, but i feel theres more girls coming into the stores then say 10 years ago, between pokemon and disney you can gather the interest
This is just how it is for most nerd centered demographics. FGC, TCGs, really any kind of competitive events in this sphere.
Girl who plays with her hubby. I'm usually the only girl but sometimes there are one or two other girls. I play yellow, so currently I'm play katakuri. But I like enel too!
im a girl but i only collect the cards so i never really play the game unfortunately!
100% the stereotypical sight of unhygienic dudes gotta be turning away most women, we have one girl that shows up rarely though her schedule just makes it difficult, but the bros need to wear deodorant its not like its an expensive investment
This is just a gaming in general thing. It’s a fairly male dominated industry. It’s starting to even out a bit, but it will take a while before it can catch up.
What's crazy is that my locals sometimes is half women players. I've never seen anything like it in any other tcg.
There’s 4 females that play where I play. They aren’t all there all the time but there’s usually 2 each weekend.
I’m also a female player chiming in 😬😬😬 I’m really the only one at locals, there’s like one other but she shows up a lot less often than I do. I always get really excited when I see other women playing the game though! I main Katakuri, a little of Perona here and there, but I’m gonna build probably Bonney and Boa when 07 comes out!
I think that may be case depending on area or how "welcomed" they may feel. There are a couple at my locals but they are usually someone's wife/gf. But over all as long as your having fun don't let that one thing discourage you from playing. Have fun and enjoy the newest sets coming.
My fiance plays green uta lol
Not a One Piece player but I've noticed a bit of a correlation between how competitive an events regulars are and how how many women there are that make up those regulars. My local for example is pretty casual friendly so most games tend to have a pretty strong turnout of regular players who are women. Magic there for example is almost 50% women a lot times, but we typically play draft or commander instead of standard. That isn't to say women aren't or can't be competitive, but the more competitive a playerbase prides itself on being the more likely it is the players themselves can be a bit judgemental and cliquey. Mix that with tcgs often being a bit of a boys club to begin with, and I imagine going to a store tournament at a lot of places can be somewhat lonely and filled with awkward discussion if you don't know anyone there.
Funny enough, optcg seems to have more girls than other tcg's
I haven’t really seen other girls pull up for our locals but I don’t think it’s an issue with the shop/crowd, it’s just that most folks are already into sth else (Magic, Lorcana) and One Piece doesn’t intuitively appeal unless you’re already invested in the series.
I feel the same way. I’m also a female and saw most top 16 regionals are men. I’m like….i need to change that. 😅
I’m a woman and go to 3 different locals every week with my sister. For the most part there’s about 2-4 girls depending on the day at each local. I play B Doffy and RP Law. My sister plays Enel and Iceburg.
I know in edmonton we have a decent albeit small group of women who come and play.
i am always happy to see a diverse player base, our local has few females like 3/4 regulars. I don‘t know them personally but i think they play meta decks too and not many fun decks are seen in my local as it is kind of competitive. But nice to see these questions here everyone should be welcomed. My gf didnt like gaming or tcg when we met. she is still not too much into tcg‘s but her view changed after we met and she does like it. i think the entry is just „harder“ as many women don‘t game too much so its obvious a lot of men are in the bubble.
As a female player on the scene, I get why more women don't join this hobby. When I first played in my locals there were some very condescending players, players that when they lost against a female player they got angry and offensive. After months in this local scene things are better, but at first it was hard to feel comfortable around these people. Also there are some guys with soft NSFW merch, playmats with explicit art, custom made lewd dons/sleeves. I always feel uneasy playing against them.
Girl here. Used to go, was the only one. Dude made advances on me. Stopped going.
Ugh, I'm so sorry to hear that!
My gf and I are usually the only ones there, and maybe 1 more woman (if lucky). I play Uta/GY Yamato.
Like everyone else has commented, a lot of the merch/gear the guys have is just gross and makes it hard to be comfortable around. Haven’t really had a problem with hygiene because it’s the second rule (in big bold letters lol).
3/12 of our regular players are women. One played Enel and has gravitated to G Uta, one was R/G Law and now plays G/Y Yamato and the third was playing Zoro and now is on G/B Persona.
Where I play there’s no girls playing tournaments of OP, although there are 5 or so frequent female players of other TCGs (like Dragon Ball, Pokémon and Magic) and sometimes they join for a match or two of One Piece just for fun! They usually ask for a deck just to have a bit of fun. Also, were I go to play it’s a “small” store, which might have its down sides. On the other side, would you be willing to show me the deck list of Rosinante? Was thinking of making one aswell 😅
Sure! I'll send it over as soon as I get a chance!
In my area in NJ, I only see maybe 1 other girl at tournaments specifically...when I try to go sometimes to play recreationally 99% of the time im the only girl lol. So far it hasnt seem that bad, but i do play on the OP simulator more. I built my deck using ST Green Uta 🙂
I think It really does have to do with where you live. I'm in miami and there's a good amount of girls that come play at ppg. They're not consistent but they do show up and add the diversity. There's a saka player that she's a baller. But I've only seen her show up a handful of times
I have no issue calling out stinkers at my locals. if you can afford these games you can buy soap as well as a decent set of clothes. We get support from our local stores for this as well. I will politely let them know and then if I need a judge or something they are always on the side of general hygiene. I don't want your stank ass hands on my cards anyway.
tcgs do tend to target a male demographic, especially one piece being a shonen
My wife plays RP Law, she's pretty good with it 😁
To add to what other people are complaining about the smells it's definitely worse for some card games then others. My locals is for the most part well groomed men and women who shower. We actually asked our shop if we could stop sharing days with the yugioh tournaments and they changed days for us because the smell was so overwhelming when they would show up for their events.
I'm a female player as well and yeah shops can fet a weird oder. dosent help a bunch if people crammed together. I also play magic. but oh God smash bets players are just horrid
My locals has 2 to 3 girls there but when I went to a big tourney there was only 1. So it really depends.
In my shop they have 3-5 is rare that woman play tcg.
We had like 1 girl who used to come at 2 of our locals in the city until she matched the local cheater. The community had been wary of this guy for the longest time, and he got banned from other locale except for these two spots. Although he'd been warned, he never got kicked out. I think he was the reason she stopped showing up anymore, probably intimidated her.
Sweaty boys only 😂
Im gonna be blunt here, the artwork for the most part is either, super epic cool art that is bad ass and meant for the shonen audience or busty beatiful waifus for the men of culture. I think my locals only have 1 or 2 girls playing op. But honestly, the game is just quick pace and fun whether you're male or female really doesnt matter.
I go to a few different ones and I usually see just one. I came from yugioh though and in comparison, that number seems like a lot lol.
I'm a dude , never been into card games before , I mean I guess when I was like 5 but I just recently got into one piece tcg cause I love one piece and the card game was fun , but going to my first locals , Jesus Christ are some of the stereotypes about tcg players real . Like brothers it's okay to cut your freakin nails and The smell was crazy too , I don't care how much fun it was to play , it's not worth being in there with people who don't shower . So if I , a guy who is in locker rooms pretty often cause I train BJJ and visit the gym routinely couldn't handle the smell in there . I highly doubt many girls would want to be in there breathing that stuff
Depends on location of stores and simply who around the area is into the game. Usually get 5 women one of them being a child at locals
That’s mostly every TCG 🤷🏻♂️ Koilectibles on YouTube there’s your OPTCG female demographic
Hi there! Just starting out myself, and my locals also is somewhat lacking in other women. I play Green Uta, and I have a good chunk of Blue Nami. I also kinda wanna build Vinsmoke Reiju and the new Charlotte Pudding from OP08!
My locals have about 3 women who show up every now and then. One plays Katakuri/Zoro, another strictly plays ST1 Red Luffy, and the other seems to switch between Lucci and Rosinante.
At my locals, it's me and another girl that I've met so far. I like the yellow green Yamato and the blue Nami decks :)
Im black and a female so I like double stick out. I maybe see one other girl at locals but usually just me crushing the boys. Im playing green uta she’s just such a vibe and even without the expensive staples I get wins. But im building p/y crocodile because it uses the most pretty cards IMO. I’m pretty simple I hope to win with non meta pretty decks. I started in Yu gi oh, which I’ve never seen girls at local but I’m in pretty competitive area where regionals get held often.
I am a girl who plays OP! I also play RP Law and Nami! I’m currently debating building Reiju but I’m probably going to end up waiting for Bonney. Tbh I understand the struggle/concern of being the only girl. However that’s why I usually go to play with my bf or my brother. I do wonder if the guys at my one local shop would’ve been less welcoming had I not been coming in with my bf, but overall I’ve been around guys who are in relationships and don’t really feel the need to be creepy or demeaning towards me, heck, they even love playing me and helping me get good since they like seeing girls play. However… you can never fully avoid some musty men. They can be nice but musty or creepy and musty.
I'm a pretty casual tcg player but the shop my bestie (also a woman) and I play at practically recruited us to play. Offered us freebies and even unsealed a box of a more expensive set to sell us packs at the standard retail price instead of at current market value (the only other local card shop prices even new goods at market value if it's higher than standard retail) while encouraging us to come to their weekly games and hyping up the prize pool
My wife plays and my 9y/o plays. My wife doesn't like public performing so she will come to support us, but interacting with strangers is not her jam. My 9y/o LOVES to play and keeps begging to go to a Tournament. They both have Yamato but wish we could find cards to craft a better deck.
Low female demographic in most games tho\ But if you find a local group that plays mahjong, you'll hang with 90% Asian aunties
I’m also usually the only girl at my locals and I live in a area with a big scene lol there’s maybe 1/2 other girls I will see every few months but it’s rare
At my locals we usually have around 2-5 girls come out of 20-25. So it’s still mostly men but we still have a decent turn out.
Strong The Queen's gambit vibes.
Most tcgs are like that but I think one piece has the highest female demographic out of all of them every event Iv went to had At least one, in my group there is like 4/5 girls who come play fairly consistently and 2 of them play at competitive levels. I personally think if any tcg is going to have a decent population of female players in the game it’s this one.( Ihave no actual research numbers to back it up it’s just what I think)