The KC clubs you didn't know existed
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Kansas Citians raised on swiping, DMing and streaming are doing something bold to socialize: hobbies.
Why it matters: Loneliness carries the same mortality risk as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, per the Surgeon General, and a niche club is a low-stakes way to sit in a room with people.
The big picture: We've written before that KC is lonely. Now, we're digging into the trendy activities bringing people together.
- From table top games to outdoor hobbies, check out these local clubs.
🀄 Mahjong
KC Mahjong Club launched in 2024 to give people a place to show up alone and play. It teaches American rules and hosts open play for anyone who's learned them.
- The Bam Bam Room is the metro's first club devoted entirely to the tile game.
- KC Riichi plays the Japanese version and is hosting the region's first Riichi Open tournament.
- OK Let's Mahjong teaches beginners in KCK and runs social league nights.
📚 Book clubs
Silent Book Club of KC meets monthly at bars and restaurants. Everyone brings their own book, talks for a few minutes, then reads without speaking for the rest of the night.
- KC Sci-Fi/Fantasy reads a new genre novel every month and runs a companion group, Classics on the Side, for older titles.
- The Book Club, a bookshop and cafe in Mission, opens its space for community meetups and workshops.
♟️ Chess
KC Knights plays free and casual Mondays from 6pm to 8pm at the Johnson County Central Resource Library.
- The Kansas City Chess Club meets the first Monday of the month at Kansas Christian College in Overland Park. Visitors pay $10.
🐦 Birding
Burroughs Audubon, the metro's National Audubon Society chapter, leads field trips for birders of every level and runs a sanctuary at Lake Jacomo in Blue Springs.
⚔️ Swords
HEMA KC meets weekly in Overland Park to study longsword, dagger and wrestling techniques pulled from medieval German manuals.
- Heartland HEMA holds Monday and Wednesday classes and lends protective gear to anyone who turns up without it.
The bottom line: You don't have to love mahjong or birding. You just need a reason to leave the house.