"Where are the men?": SA woman's games night plans goes viral
A Cape Town woman’s simple plan to organise a games night took an unexpected turn after her search for male participants went viral.
Leslie Paterson regularly hosts games nights as a fun way to introduce people to Hoozhoo, a guessing game she developed.
After being encouraged during a marketing course to show her face on social media, Leslie decided to post an invitation to her next gathering.
“Are you alone in Cape Town feeling a bit miserable? The weather’s lousy. It’s freezing cold. Come to Rondebosch. Come and meet some people. Have a bite to eat. Have a drink. Play some games. Have some fun,” she said in the video.
The invitation initially attracted more than 20 women, who joined a WhatsApp group for the event.
There was just one problem. Not a single man had responded.
Leslie then shared a follow-up video asking: “Cape Town, where are all the men?”
“Come on. Where are the guys? Surely there are men out there who want to come and join us and have some fun.”
That was when things really took off.
The video received more than 400,000 views across social media platforms, along with plenty of comments from people sharing their opinions about games nights, dating and Leslie’s invitation.
“The whole thing just ran away, sort of like a runaway train,” she told Breakfast with Martin Bester.
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Some of the comments were less than friendly, with Leslie saying she had been called everything from “Granny” to a “fossil”.
Although she was initially offended, she soon realised that every new comment was helping the video reach even more people.
“I saw the numbers going up. I thought, ‘You know what? This is actually exactly what I want.’”
Unfortunately, the massive response also created a small logistical problem. Leslie had no idea how many people might arrive at the venue.
“I can’t have hundreds of people pitching up, so unfortunately it is cancelled,” she said.
However, that does not mean Cape Town’s games nights are over.
Leslie said she regularly hosts these events and will continue inviting people through a private WhatsApp group, allowing her to manage the number of guests.
She is also considering hosting a much larger event for everyone who showed an interest.
While the conversation included plenty of laughs, Leslie said the main purpose of the initiative was simply to bring people together.
“There are so many lonely people,” she said. “There’s such an epidemic of loneliness, especially amongst young men.”
For now, Leslie’s search for men willing to play games has certainly helped put her idea, and her game, in front of a much bigger audience than she expected.
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Image: Supplied