Board games at the Blue Shirt
posted October 5, 2016 1:00 PM   RSS | iCal | +googleCal

Sun October 30 at 2:00 PM, Blue Shirt Cafe
424 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA, USA (Map & Directions)
It's been a while since we had a board game meetup in this area, so let's see whether there's interest in a new one. One of us could host it, or we could meet at a restaurant such as the Blue Shirt Cafe on Davis Square or a conveniently large Panera Bread like the one near Fenway Park. Based on past meetups, Knight Moves seems to have been a bust. A weekend, which would allow for the most play time, would probably be best. When and where sounds best to you all? EDIT:Let's meet at the Blue Shirt Cafe on Davis Square at 2:00 on Sunday, October 30th! Feel free to bring any game or games you'd like to play.
posted by Rustic Etruscan to Meetup (25 comments total)

I'm interested! This weekend is out for me, but potentially next weekend or the weekend after? Work travel plans are a bit up in the air at the moment, unfortunately.
posted by backseatpilot at 6:21 AM on October 6, 2016


Cool! Next weekend or the weekend after would probably be fine by me. I still have to iron out some travel/vacation plans. How does Sunday afternoon at the Blue Shirt sound to people?
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 9:44 AM on October 6, 2016


I could do next weekend, and I do like the board games. (The weekend after has some stuff on Sunday.)

Blue Shirt seems fine, though the Knight Moves idea might work with the new Somerville location. I guess it largely depends on whether people have enough games to bring, or if people want to try something that isn't owned by anyone.
posted by cardioid at 1:06 PM on October 6, 2016


I'd be interested for next weekend (the 15th-16th) and Sunday afternoon at the Blue Shirt sounds good! (But so do other places/times.)

Is this the sort of thing where a board-game-interested elementary-aged kid could tag along with parents, or would a sitter make more sense?
posted by cogitron at 6:14 PM on October 6, 2016


I'd be fine with a kid tagging along as long as they could play a game at least as interesting as Settlers of Catan. If their presence excessively restricted the kinds of games that could come to the table, then that would be kind of a bummer, but on the other hand, it isn't as though we're going to play The Virgin Queen or Code Blue or something extremely involved like that.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 9:41 AM on October 7, 2016


Blue Shirt seems fine, though the Knight Moves idea might work with the new Somerville location. I guess it largely depends on whether people have enough games to bring, or if people want to try something that isn't owned by anyone.

The first time we tried to meet at Knight Moves, it was hot, crowded, and loud, making it hard to explain rules, such that one person left shortly after she arrived for the meetup. There was a mirror on the wall, making hidden-information games harder than necessary, and the games on offer were poorly maintained: For instance, the Ticket to Ride box had too many train cards in it and too few route cards.

The second time, only I showed up.

Maybe the Somerville location improves on the one in Brookline, but I think the Brookline location didn't justify the cost of entry.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 9:46 AM on October 7, 2016


The weekend of October 15-16 works for me. I would definitely prefer Davis Sq and Blue Shirt Cafe looks good.
posted by DiscourseMarker at 4:24 PM on October 7, 2016


Whoops, this fell off my radar completely. Let's meet at the Blue Shirt Cafe at 2:00 on the 30th. I'm flexible about time and location, so if anyone would strongly prefer a different location, I'm all ears.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 11:09 AM on October 17, 2016


I don't know if I can make it on the 30th, but I'm still a maybe.

I just wanted to say that I spent a few hours at the Knight Moves in Somerville today, and it seemed pretty great, BUT
  • I've never been to the Brookline location so I can't make the comparison
  • I can see it getting crowded/loud at other times. I was there from about 3-7 today (Tuesday)
  • There are a couple of mirrors around, and the previous comment mentioned that making some hidden-information games harder
The manager at this one seems to care quite a bit about a good experience, and maintaining the games, and helping out.

All I'm saying is it might be something to try sometime if we're interested. I can also check it out at other times and with more people.
posted by cardioid at 5:25 PM on October 18, 2016


If people want to try the Somerville Knight Moves, I'm willing to try it. I see a lot of "Maybes" - any thoughts?
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 11:19 AM on October 21, 2016


I'm not committing to even a maybe and not at all a game player but if other commitments do not intrude I'll slip in and rudely kibitz inappropriately until physically ejected. :-)
posted by sammyo at 10:21 AM on October 23, 2016


There's just too much happening for me this upcoming weekend. I can't even be a maybe. :(

Next time! Maybe?
posted by cardioid at 7:08 AM on October 24, 2016


Mr. pickles_have_souls and I will be there! I'll bring Codenames. Any requests for other games we should bring?
posted by pickles_have_souls at 8:18 AM on October 24, 2016


There's just too much happening for me this upcoming weekend. I can't even be a maybe. :(

Ah, that's a shame.

Next time! Maybe?

I definitely want to set up a regular game night in the area, so there will be a next time. Sorry we'll miss you this weekend!
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:14 AM on October 24, 2016


Mr. pickles_have_souls and I will be there! I'll bring Codenames. Any requests for other games we should bring?

Glad to hear you guys are coming! I have no particular requests, but I don't know what games you have. I'd like to bring Condottiere, Citadels, Modern Art, and maybe Samurai, but I'll have to review my collection to see what the group might enjoy.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:17 AM on October 24, 2016


On review, I'll definitely bring Citadels and Condottiere. I could also bring Modern Art, Carcassonne, Samurai, or Acquire. I also have Love Letter and Coup if people would prefer to play a lighter card game.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 4:14 PM on October 24, 2016


We've got Terra Mystica, Agricola, Le Havre, T'zolkin, Puerto Rico, Amun Re, Five Tribes, St. Petersburg, Stone Age, and a bunch of others.

I've seen Samurai around and it looks intriguing.
posted by pickles_have_souls at 6:16 PM on October 26, 2016


I've heard really great things about Terra Mystica and Agricola! I've decided to bring Cosmic Encounter as well, so I'll bring that, Samurai, Condottiere, and Citadels.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:01 AM on October 27, 2016


Bumping this one last time before tomorrow. See you guys at the Blue Shirt Cafe at 2:00!
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 8:17 PM on October 29, 2016


If I get a chance, I might stop by in my window between launching Somerville for Hillary events (I'm launching a canvass at 1:30 and then a phone bank at 4:00)
posted by firechicago at 8:08 AM on October 30, 2016


That's awesome on all fronts, firechicago!
posted by pickles_have_souls at 9:57 AM on October 30, 2016


Thanks to everyone who came! I had a great time. The Blue Shirt Café is a good venue for board gaming. Let's do this again soon.
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 2:33 PM on October 30, 2016 [1 favorite]


Tried to go by and say hi to y'all around 5, but it looked like you had cleared out. Hope you had fun!
posted by maryr at 3:12 PM on October 30, 2016


Yeah, we left around 4:30. Sorry we missed you!
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 4:38 PM on October 30, 2016


Yeah, we stopped by around 4:45ish. We must have just missed you (and also maryr). Glad it was a good time!
posted by Metroid Baby at 12:23 PM on October 31, 2016



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