12 ultra-modern ways to meet your match

couple drinking A wave of new dating games has swept the UK and more are set to arrive from the States. Do they work? We investigate the weird and wonderful world of the singles scene

How many times has a single girl heard that you have to give up, stop looking and then your dream man will appear? And isn't it funny how it's always your attached friends that tell you that? Well, for those who don't want to leave their love life solely to fate, there are plenty of modern dating methods on offer.

Gone is the stigma of singles nights being just for the strange or desperate. Nowadays there's a type of party to suit every taste. Flirt coach Peta Haskell, author of Flirt Coach's Secrets of Attraction, advises singles venturing out into the dating scene to approach 'events as practise arenas for developing your ability to talk to anyone, so that when the hunk of your life appears, you will find it easy to engage'. Keep an open mind and just enjoy the experience. Peta continues, 'try not to set yourselves goals to meet 'someone special'. Focus on having fun, being happy and sending out that vibe to others - no matter how geeky they are.'

Dinner in the dark
The old adage 'love is blind' might just come true for daters joining in on a dining in the dark event. By depriving diners of one of their senses, the organisers say people do not have to worry about their looks or what they're wearing. The night's are held in specially adapted restaurants and start in the light of the bar with a complimentary cocktail before guests, in groups of six to eight are lead into the darkness for dinner. Waiters wearing night vision goggles serve up a five course dinner to the sensory-deprived guests. It's all finger food, so you don't have to worry about dropping your fork. Candles are brought to the table in time for dessert so you do get a chance to inspect your fellow guests. Do hands wander under the table? Who knows, but certainly looking for the salt or pepper could lead to an innocent fumble in the dark.

Who's it for: Love seekers looking for a tactile experience. Age-ranges are bracketed.
Cost: £45
Website: www.cosmoparty.com/uk/dinner-in-the-dark

Mobile match-making
Face it, your mobile phone is the greatest dating tool ever, even if it sometimes leads to trouble (think 'drunk and dial'). So, can our mobile alone really lead us on the path of true love? It's nice to think our mobile could tell us if a potential love match was sitting right behind you on the bus, and that's what over one thousand single Singaporeans are banking on since they downloaded a software package called BEDD.com. The programme requires you to input your vital statistics; a photo of yourself and what you ideally want, switch on your mobile and it automatically roves the airwaves for potential dates. When it hits a match, both phones alert the users and the rest, as they say, is history.

Who's it for: For those who believe love is just round the corner
Cost: Not available in the UK yet, keep watching!
Website: www.bedd.com

Toothing
Bluetooth is a limited radio signal that is transmitted from your mobile phone. It is mainly used for transferring data from a mobile to a computer, however as with all new technology, people find ways of using it as they desire. And people found that you could send a message from one phone to the next without revealing yourself, thus 'Toothing', the craze for flirting with strangers on commuter trains, buses, supermarkets and crowded wine bars, was born.
Turn on your bluetooth and you can scan your immediate surroundings and if others have their bluetooth switched on, their ids appear. Some are dull registration for the actual mobiles, but a true bluetoother gives themselves a secret name; undercover, rumpy pumpy, flash Gordon - you can tell a lot by a toother's name.
Often a message appears - 'toothing?' and you text back to say whether you're game and then perhaps arrange to meet at a secret spot - a train toilet or somewhere like that. Rumour has it that the London to Brighton train line is the hottest place to tooth.

Who's it for: Big in the gay scene and now crossing over.
Cost: free to mobile users
Where:any crowded place

Speed dating
Speed dating is when you're paired off and given a short amount of time to get to know one another before moving on to the next prospect. You keep a score card and tick a box if you'd like to see that person again. This super successful formula has had to diversify in keeping with the times. The great thing about speed dating is that you have the chance to meet a huge variety of potential partners all in one night. Now, if you're after a Sugar Daddy, a toy-boy or a non-smoking vegetarian, there's a speed dating night tailored for your specific interests.

Who's it for: anyone of any age looking for a fun night out
Cost: From £14 - £60
Where: www.speeddater.com

Wireless flirting
Apple Mac users have always had a reputation for being cutting-edge but this new craze takes dating methods to a new level. Popular with Apple Mac users found working in Wi-fi coffee shops in the States, this form of techno flirting is the definite way to make mac-headz swoon over their apple lattes. Wireless flirting is all about sharing music libraries via wireless connections. This intricate form of love letter writing involves creating a new library in your i-tunes folder that you then share. 'Try_the_new_dalek" song titles, 'pretty_brown_eyes_look_over' are the kind of secret flirtations moving across the wi-fi waves.

Who's it for: Apple Mac-headz with time to play
Cost: Apple Mac Power Book
Where: Wi-fi coffee shops across USA, coming soon!

Wine-tasting parties
Dating party organisers are always looking for new ways to attract people to their events and wine-tasting parties are the latest dignified offering. These parties are a good way to meet your match, in an upmarket, high-society kind of way. True wine-tasters don't actually drink the wine, but sniff it and roll it around in their mouth. Luckily these wine-tasting parties allow each guest six glasses of red or white, plus a selection of canapes. Also on offer are champagne tasting parties. And if you don't meet a match, at least you'll glean a few good dinner party wine tips.

Who's it for? The discerning dater
Cost: £30 for wine tasting, £49 for champagne
Where: www.urbansocial.com

I'm a singleton get me outta here!
These adventure weekends, packed with terrifyingly sporty activities, are popular with thrill-seeking and brave singletons. I'm a singleton brings together 20 single professionals, 10 men, 10 women. It involves a weekend away (normally somewhere cold and un-luxurious like Wales) and doing lots of sporty activities such as rock-climbing, kayaking and abseiling. Staying in a log cabin out in the wilds, the group is subjected to a series of challenges. There's not the remotest chance of trying to put on an act when you're dangling by a thin rope off the side of a cliff with you're bum straining through your climbing pants, but the upside of forsaking glamour is that you get to bond with your group and get to know everyone really well. And face it, sporty men are sexy....

Who's it for: Anyone with an open mind...
Cost: £200
Where: www.urbansocial.com

Pet parties
Davina MacCall famously met her husband whilst walking her dog, so for animal lovers, pet parties could be the best way forward to find new love! 'Yappy hours' is the latest niche dating craze Stateside. Doggie owners get together in parks with their pooches and swap pooch stories, and maybe phone numbers too.

Who's it for: Dog owners
Where: Coming to the UK soon

Lock and key parties
Activity is one of the best tips for singles. If you're used to arriving at a party and getting stuck with the world's biggest bore with bad breath for hours, then lock and keys might be the answer for you. It's not kinky, the formula works as a simple ice-breaker and helps party-goers to relax. Girls get given a lock and boys a key. You then mingle with the crowd and men ask if they can 'unlock you'! It's the perfect conversation opener, and a good escape too.

Who's it for: Everyone's welcome...
Cost: £14
Website:www.cosmosparty.com

Quiet parties
Fed up with being deafened in busy bars having to shout to make your self heard? Old-fashioned love letters are making a comeback at quiet parties. On arrival you're given a pen and notepad and all conversation is by note. This method harks back to Victorian times when men courted their dates via a series of coded love letters and flowers. If you want to be wooed with words, this could be just the method for you.

Who's it for: the literary lover
Cost: £10
Where: www.cosmoparty

Singles cinema nights
What's the one thing so many of us single girls want to do? Snuggle up in the back seat of the movies with one popcorn and cola deal between you. And now you can do that! Singles cinema nights have taken the USA by storm. Warm up with a drink, mingle and then take to your seats to watch one of the latest movies... and when the lights come up often the crowd descends on the nearest bar to continue socialising.

Who's it for: movie lovers and film buffs
Where:Coming to a cinema in the UK soon...