I’ve covered some really weird dating sites over the years (this list for example) and I couldn’t leave this one out for all you techies out there. This network is called AVMatch.com and it’s a dating network for video game fanatics. This review covers the good, bad and everything in between that you need to know.
My Review of AVMatch
If you’re someone who loves gaming online, you may lead a bit less of a “traditional” life than some singles do. Due to this, some of you would likely enjoy having access to a dating website that caters a bit more to online culture & “gaming life” if you know what I mean. I should mention that I’ve covered lots of games and apps on this page too.
Luckily, there’s a company that’s already seen the writing on the wall & has been working for years to offer exactly what single, online gamers have been looking for. AVMatch is a dating site that’s used almost exclusively through the popular social media game Second Life. It uses in-game currency & digital game interfaces to make finding a date while playing super easy.
Not every online game provides opportunities to make new friends, meet romantic interests, and even find a long-term partner, which makes AVMatch somewhat unique. Let’s see if it holds up under scrutiny.
Design
Taking your first looks at AVMatch, you probably won’t be wowed by flashy animations or sleek, modern designs a la OkCupid or Facebook, which is likely on purpose. Most of the practical usage done on AVMatch is done within Second Life, so it would’ve been a bit pointless for the designers to spend a ton of time on layout.
But, while AVMatch lacks visual flair, it makes up for it by being well-organized & easy to use. Sure, flashy websites can be entertaining to use, but intuitive user interfaces and uncluttered page views will frankly never go out of style.
Registering As A User
Looking at the registration process, it’s easy to see why so many people are opting to use AVMatch. Getting started is dead simple, as long as you’re already on Second Life. You’ll be required to put in some basic info like your email address, date of birth, location, and other typical dating details. Make sure you go through the verification steps for your Second Life account in-game, or you won’t have a lot of luck getting these accounts connected.
For those of you who are new to both AVMatch AND Second Life, it’s still not very difficult to get going. Second Life has a streamlined process for signup as well, and you’ll need the game credentials to use AVMatch.
Profile Setup
Once you’re up & running, you’ll be prompted to fill out two sets of details, one set about personal tastes, and another regarding your details in real life. Choosing a username, putting up a brief bio, and adjusting personal settings can all be done at this point. Real-life details are completely optional, but you’ll need to at least finish your bio to move forward.
Something to point out here is your “profile” name, which is wholly different from your AVMatch login information, and exists more like an attention-grabbing headline for your dating profile. It operates a lot like hashtags, in that you’ll be asked to use descriptors found in the AVMatch.com system. It should take you just a few tries to find some terms that pop and make you stand out as a dating candidate.
Complete Matches
There are a couple of different ways to check out users’ dating profiles, all of which are done through the AVMatch search function. You can choose to sort users by relevance, how long they’ve been on the site, the last time that they were last active, or any number of other choices.
Heads up, some folks have complained about the “relevance” option, saying that it’s far too ambiguous to be of any use. But seeing that you’ve got plenty to choose from regarding the searches, this really shouldn’t be of much concern to new users.
If you find profiles during your searches that you’d like to check out again in the future, you can add them to your favorites page & check them out whenever you’d like.
Reaching Out To People
Communication with potential dates is about as basic as it gets on AVMatch. Using the Second Life platform, you can choose to have a live chat, send a direct message, or “pass a note” which is a lot like a “poke” or a “flirt”. While not the most innovative, these options are certainly enough to get your point across or start a conversation.
Special Features
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot regarding special features offered here. AVMatch is a pretty straightforward dating site, which means that you’re getting the chance to meet a potential mate, nothing more, nothing less. The one bit of specialty they do offer is the ability to let users know you’re willing to take things off of the web and into real life.
Keep in mind that if you are looking to take things off of the Internet, you’ll have to fill out the real-life sections of your user profile as mentioned above.
The Cost
Payment for AVMatch is done via the Second Life payment system, which converts real money to “L” or Linden dollars. They use a token-based system, so the more tokens you have, the more actions you can take, like sending emails or chatting.
If you’d like, you can also opt into AVMatch’s premium unlimited service, which does away with the tokens and instead just lets you pay an upfront monthly cost. Regardless of which you’d prefer to use, you’ll have to use the in-game kiosks to do so.
Something else to keep in mind here is that Second Life dollars function a lot like more modern digital currencies. You’ll have to check out the current exchange rates to know exactly what you’ll be paying in either USD or L.
Conclusion: AV Match Second Life Hookups Are Cool
While not the most visually impressive or groundbreaking dating site available today, AVMatch does a solid job of providing a dating option to Second Life users. They’ve made a great effort to make their services work seamlessly with the Second Life platform, which is why they’re still going strong today. Interestingly, they’ve gone with in-game currency as your sole means of paying for a membership, which really is our only real gripe.
At the end of the day, AVMatch is definitely worth checking out, especially if you’ve never done anything on Second Life before. It’s also a heck of a lot safer and cheaper then visiting one the of clubs on However if you’re not into gaming and that type of lifestyle, then you’re going to want to head on over to one of my other recommended sites.
