03 · Game nights
Three nights a week
Wednesday is for learning, Thursday is for the long games, and Sunday afternoon is for families. Each runs every week except the August fortnight.
Wednesday, Learn-a-Game Night
- Arrive by 19:00.
The door is open from three as usual; the night itself starts at seven.
- Sit at one of six tables of four.
Come alone and you will be seated with three others; come as four and keep your table.
- One teacher looks after two tables.
Close enough to answer every question, far enough that you make your own mistakes.
- The first game is taught at 19:15.
In the same three-part teaching we use every day: the goal, one turn, the ending.
- A second, shorter game after 21:00.
Something quick to finish on, usually under half an hour.
A typical teaching list: a tile-laying game for four, a quick card game about bidding, a cooperative deduction game.
Thursday, Long Game Night
Games of three hours or more only, the kind nobody wants to clear off their own kitchen table halfway through. Reserve a table by email until Wednesday at 18:00, and say which game you have in mind so it can be set out before you arrive.
A game that does not finish can stay set up on the numbered shelf by the back room for one week, with your name on the slip, and be picked up again the following Thursday.
Sunday, Family Afternoon
Two tables are kept for families with children under eight, with games picked for small hands and short turns. The floor person teaches the grown ups and the children together, which is usually faster than teaching the grown ups first.
If one game was the hit of the afternoon, you can take the one they liked home for the week from the lending shelf.
Table Manners for All Three Nights
- Drinks go on the side tables, not on the board.
- No food over the boards; toasties are eaten between games.
- Put the box back the way you found it, bags sealed and the insert in.
- Tell the counter if a piece goes missing. It usually turns up, and the spares jar covers most of the rest.