Board Games Event FAQ

Historical Page

This page is now a placeholder for information that is no longer entirely relevant. Interest in this was insufficient to warrant its continuation so is indefinitely on hold, our reservation at the venue has been cancelled on good terms with the landlord. Perhaps one day if interest increases the even can be re-instated.

Intro

Something of an FAQ that I'm sure will come up on a semi regular basis. So onwards, what follows is a list of the questions in the order they further down the page. I can't see any way to make it linked table of contents style thing which is a shame but I figured some folks might appreciate the shortlist of questions:

1. ) How do I know who to look for?

A: Well I'll probably be there and the pictures in my profile are a fair guide. The same is true of Len and Ileandra (aka Leah). A sly dog might look in the photos section to take a gander at our previous events for mugshots of all attendees.

2. ) When do you start?

A: 13:00. Or 1pm for those who never like 24 hour clock notation. That is the official time at which folks should try and get to the bar area of the venue. Where we shall stand about and chat and drink and eat for about an hour. Catch up, socialise, greet new and old faces. All that good stuff. Around an hour later we head out to the skittle alley to the rear of the main building and break out the games properly.

3. ) When do you stop?

A: We don't have a set end point yet. We have the venue all day so we play until there are too few people, too little motivation or too little time before the pub closes for another game. Generally we will play for the whole afternoon until probably 17:00 - 18:00 and the evening is there as an optional extra if there enough willing, enthusiastic and able bodies around wanting more. There's no obligation to stick around though.

4. ) Can I be late?

A: Yes of course you can. Hopefully there will be at least one game around you can jump straight into or join with minimum fuss, and if not than you might want to ask around to see who is playing short games/ games that might be ending soon so you can jump into the next gap that comes up.

5. ) Can I leave early?

A: Of course. But it is really nice if you let folks know when you have to leave by. Don't know about you but I'd be pretty disappointed if I had to leave before getting to finish my game.

6. ) How do I get there?

A: Well this information(link to Black Horse info removed) on the venue should be all you need if you are driving. It can be easily reached from Junction 21 of the M1. One word of warning though - the end of Narrow lane that connects to middleton street isn't actually traversable by car - there are concrete bollards at the end of the street so you need to get in another way. For those who aren't driving and assuming you are coming from Leicester: Len (the group organiser chap) has offered at every one of these so far to run folks to and from the train station as it is mostly on his way. So you might like to take him up on the offer. That would probably be the easiest option. But if other folks who are coming are driving members of this meetup group are usually pretty happy to help out and offer lifts. So there will likely be several people who wouldn't mind helping out there or running a slalom trip to the station to pick folks up and drop them off. Best bet is probably to leave a shout on the meetup event and/or on the forum. This map shows the train station and pub - at only 3 miles it could be walked if you fancy some gentle exercise and the weather is fine, and it should make for a cheap taxi fare if you prefer that. Or there are buses, I believe the easiest bus stands to get to would be here (from the station). And actually you can take a more direct route than that as that 'U' shaped leg at the end is going around a park you could cut through. The arrivia bus services 84, 84A and 85 will all get you into the centre of Aylestone where you are just a few minutes stroll from destination: So there are plenty of choices.

7. ) What should I wear?

A: There are no formal requirements or anything daft like that, however you may want to bring something warm during the winter months. The skittle alley does have a couple of heaters that do a fair job of keeping the cold at bay but it can still get pretty cool in there so having a couple of layers to add/subtract as needed can be nice. Other than that come as you please.

8. ) I played an awesome game at this event and I wana copy, where can I get one?

A: Depends. Some aren't so easy to get hold of. But you can't go far wrong by getting in touch with Spirit Games - they even offer a discount to group members and they have a breath taking selection of other games too sure to tempt and tantalise you.

9. ) Can I bring games to play?

A: YES! Please do! Though I'll add a couple of caveats. This is supposed to be a board and card game event, so please stick to the spirit of the event. I'm not going to say NO to people trying, demonstrating and learning new games but I don't want to see a horde of folk turning up to play wargames or CCG's - this is no more aimed at those folks than it is rpg's which though I love them dearly are likewise not welcome. Also all games and possessions are brought at your own risk. For sure we ask all members to be considerate of other peoples property and show all due care and respect. While you almost certainly can leave such things unattended around meetup members I certainly can't and won't personally vouch for everyone and this is a public venue. I doubt that stuff will ever be an issue. I certainly hope it won't. But that is not a reason to get sloppy. And of course accidents can happen - there will be drinks around and people do try to be careful about that but an accident is... well an accident.

10. ) When is the next event?

A: The board and card game event happens on the fourth Sunday of every month. The event is usually only listed on our calendar about a month in advance but unless something happens to upset the norm it will be safe to assume there will be an event on the fourth Sunday of every month if you really want to look ahead to the future.

11. ) How much does it cost?

A: Well we don't charge people to come along and play but you will probably want to have some money available for drinks and snacks from the bar. And since the meetup group is sponsored these days we don't even ask for voluntary contributions any more. Ta to Shirts n' Stuff for that.

12. ) Is it child friendly?

A: We've had a few younger bodies (10 and above, and possibly a few younger too) come along and enjoy themselves, take part in games and so on. But the event isn't a crèche service and no one around is going to be officially responsible for young 'uns. So they will remain your responsibility. Your judgement is the best guide here - if you think the children will be able to play along nicely with us big kids we'll give them the same warm welcome we give everyone and try to play along nicely with them too.

13. ) Food?

A: Ample bar snacks are available at all times and the Black Horse now also serves food. I don't have a menu but will endeavour to take pictures next time I'm in there and post a copy here. The prices are very reasonable and the quality seems to be pretty high - I forced myself there to sample one of their considerable range of burgers and was left full and impressed.

Because the venue offers food they insist we purchase food and drinks from them which seems very reasonable to me given we get the play space for free. So no smuggling your own in. Offenders will be asked to leave.

14. ) So what have you played in the past?

A: Well I can't swear this is a complete list but all of the following have made at least one appearance:
Abuse
BANG! (Get a pdf of the rules, 4th edition rules at that, so more recent than what we've played)
Betrayal at house on the hill (Get a pdf of the rules etc here)
Bootleggers
Chrononaughts (online version rules here)
Cosmic Encounters (Rules and FAQ pdfs available here)
En Guarde ( .doc of rules available here)
Fluxx (+ Stoner edition) (assorted rules and other odds n' ends here)
Lost Cities (rules here)
Munchkin ( + Fu,thulhu editions, rules pdf available here)
Mwahahahaha! (get the rules here)
Power Grid (rules here)
Red November (rules here))
Robo-rally (rules here)
Settlers of Catan
Stone Age (rules here)
Stone Henge
Tantrix
World of Warcraft board game (or one of them anyway, I can't recall which exactly)

15. ) Finaly Do I need to know anything else?

A: I don't think so. But if you do let me know and I'll get you an answer. And maybe even update this page. So come, have fun, make friends, try new stuff, show off your mad crazy skills at old stuff. Warnings: This meetup may be mildly addictive Allergy advice: May contain Nuts. See you there - Alan

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