Hello, I'm a game beginner and I've been approaching for like 2 months now (at a somewhat low rate, trying to get myself out more), and probably the quickest thing I learned is that one of the biggest obstacles to get past when gaming is the friends a girl is out with. It's rare to see cute girls in an approachable situation by themselves, and I have taken several of those opportunities so far when I've seen them, but it's more common to see a girl you like out with her friends (or co-workers or whatever).

So can anyone give me tips or link to some good material on how to engage with the friends in a way that they feel comfortable letting the girl be alone with you? I find this is especially an issue when you aren't attracted to the friend(s) in the slightest. I actually skipped a potential approach today as well as 2 days ago because girls were with their friends that didn't interest me at all. Not because of approach anxiety, but because I just didn't feel like talking to the friends and having the friends maybe like me instead of the girl I liked. Obviously one start would be a less direct opener, maybe not totally indirect but not as direct as you could get away with when the girl is alone. How do you open the friends though, and/or should you open the first first? Should you address them as a group, or individually? How much should you engage the friends vs. the girl you like, and what should you do if the friends end up being into you?

And also it would be nice to hear some answer other than "Have great conversational and social skills with everyone and talk to everyone!". Yes, that's most obvious solution imaginable, I would like more technical suggestions for the exact situation, not some general "change your personality from introvert to extravert" advice.

A wingman is also a great solution that doesn't involve changing your personality of course, but I'm talking about times when you happen to be out alone and want to make the best of the situation.