One of my best friends is a die-hard female 40k player (late 30s) who plays Sisters and Necrons. Her armies are even painted. But you’re right, she’s said she’s

One of my best friends is a die-hard female 40k player (late 30s) who plays Sisters and Necrons. Her armies are even painted. But you’re right, she’s said she’s usually the only woman at any of the gatherings she goes to and she has to deal with gross boys slobbering over her (she’s cute and dorky). But she’s also made friends with plenty of guys who respect that she’s in a relationship because in your 30s most adults are mature enough to have platonic opposite-sex relationships. But I think what you’re talking about. I went through a similar transition, when hobbies went from a way to occupy time to a way to meet people. Once you hit 30, people’s lives diverge to such a degree you actually have to put yourself out in the world if you want to have friends. If you don’t have kids you have to seek out other child-free people (no knock on parents; it’s just not for me). I got back into video games over the pandemic because the situation called for occupying time in solitude, but totally leaving that all behind now that gatherings are a thing again. Personally I think it’s a bit of a mid-life crisis: the term has a negative meaning in the west as a stereotype where someone will go out and buy a sports car and get a younger boyfriend/girlfriend, but for many people it’s just a bit of feeling your own mortality and carving out a life that makes you happy now that you’re old enough to understand what drives you.