I think gaming in general is a great way for socially awkward people to connect with others (maybe autistic people too, I don’t know that I know any or understand it well, I just consider myself awkward). Socializing with other people is a messy, complicated set of social rules that most people have internalized and it’s no sweat, but for others it’s just mentally draining. All that stuff you’re talking about: saying certain things for certain events, hiding aspects of our personality amongst some groups, having to be spontaneous and keep the conversation alive, the conversation just jumping around from person to person and going all over the place, not stepping on any social taboos, etc.

Gaming though (whether boardgames or RPGs or whatever), drastically simplifies the whole experience and makes socializing easy to manage. You usually have a set of specific rules & mechanics for how to handle different situations. I want to find out a thing from the barkeep: make a Persuasion roll with your Charisma modifier. I want to take over this land from you: make a dice roll and see if you score higher. You’ve got a very easily manageable structure for how you’re supposed to communicate and interact with other people in a semi-controlled setting. There’s specific phrases that you say when doing things or you let people know when it’s their turn to interact and speak. It’s just all very simplified compared to hanging out at a party with a dozen or so people you don’t know, everyone talking over each other trying to say something.