Wednesday Evenings @ 401 Games Downtown​

​​​Our group has been getting together at 401 Games on Wednesday evenings since 2009, providing the Toronto community with an opportunity to try an endless variety of games and meet other players.
Before attending, please read the details on this page, the Meetup Information and ​our Code of Conduct.​

Weekly Planning Overview

The game schedule is organized in advance in the week leading up to the event through these steps:
Thurs
Potential hosts post game offers​
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Fri - Sat
Potential attendees:
1. Join waitlist
2. Submit survey​​
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Sunday
Attendees' RSVP updated ​& schedule posted
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Sun - Wed
Schedule & RSVP changes communicated through Meetup DMs. 
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Wed
Arrive before scheduled start & play GAMES!
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​Location Details
Address: 750 Yonge Street, south of Bloor Street on the west side of Yonge

Website: store.401games.ca

​​​Transit: Just south of Bloor-Yonge station. Reference: TTC alerts

Bike Share: 3 docks within a block: east side of Yonge to the north, in the Green P garage to the east, and west of Yonge on Charles.

Parking: Green P garage east of Yonge, between Hayden and Charles.

Find Us: We're at the very back of the main floor, past the pick up area.
RSVP Details: The waitlist opens one week in advance of the event, but it's best to join when posting a game offer or submitting your game selection survey to ensure you are completing both required steps.  If your ability to attend changes, be sure to remove yourself from the waitlist.

You will be moved to an attending spot when you are added to the game schedule, so ensure you have those notifications enabled. If your ability to attend changes after you've been scheduled in a game, be sure to message your game host and the event hosts as well as remove your RSVP.

Event Start: Arrive between 5:45 and 6:00 pm and join your game host at their table if they are already there, or check in with the event host to be directed to your table. Arriving before 5:45 pm allows time to settle in at your table, browse the store, chat with other players, or play a quick game. Arriving after the start time of your game may forfeit your spot at that table and future events.

Event End: All games must be packed up and all players out of the store before 9pm. The retail store closes at 8pm, so any purchases or pick ups should be done on the way in.

Accessibility: The play space is on the main floor, with no stairs or curbs along the route.
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Noise Level: Anyone sensitive to noise will probably not enjoy this event as it can be quite loud, especially while multiple games are being taught. All participants are encouraged to keep their voice at a level where only the people at their table can hear you. We've had some discussion about installing acoustic panels;  message me if you have knowledge about doing this!
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Guests: Each attendee requires their own meetup account.
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Covid-19 Protocols
Masks are required throughout the event and must properly cover your nose, mouth and chin.

Vaccination: We encourage everyone to keep their vaccinations up-to-date with appropriate boosters.  

Screening: Do not attend if you feel unwell or suspect exposure to COVID-19. If you need to cancel your attendance, please provide as much notice as possible by messaging the event hosts and your game host.
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Food and Drinks
Food: Snacks that are quick to eat and will keep your fingers clean may be brought or purchased and consumed during the event by briefly lowering your mask. Food that requires prolonged or repeated removal of your mask are not permitted.

Drinks: You may bring or purchase drinks and briefly lower your mask for consumption. There is a dispenser to refill water bottles at the back of the play space. Avoid having open drinks on the table.
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Game Schedule
The game schedule is coordinated in advance, allowing everyone to research and choose from a range of games with different mechanics, themes and complexities within the scope of our group. The scheduling process may initially seem complicated but it ensures fairness for all interested attendees.

Survey: Join the waitlist to indicate availability and complete the Game Selection Survey to express interest in specific games for the upcoming event. The survey will be posted on Friday morning prior to the event. 

Schedule: Will be posted Sunday morning and confirmed attendees moved from the waitlist to attending.
  • If you are still on the waitlist, you will be contacted if there is a cancellation in a game you selected
  • If you did not submit the survey, you will be removed from the waitlist
  • If you were not on the waitlist, you will not be included on the schedule

Changes: You will receive Meetup messages if there are any cancellations or changes that affect the game schedule or attendance list after the schedule is posted on Sunday.

​Game Details
Teach Available: Most games are taught and players are not expected to know anything about the game, though watching a review or reading about the game may help you find the ones you enjoy more.

Learn in Advance: Games with longer playtimes or more complex rules may require players to learn the game in advance of the event. Players should only indicate interest in these games if they are comfortable learning rules from videos or rulebooks.

Game Start: All games start by 6 pm, unless the host specifies an earlier start.

​Game End: All games must be packed up before 9 pm. If your game is running long, you may need to find an alternate way to wrap up the game so that everyone is able to leave the store by 9 pm. If your games finish early, feel free to borrow a short game from those available at the front of the play space.

Requests: If there is a particular game you've been looking to try, feel free to post on our BGG forum to try to make arrangements for a future event. 
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​Offering to Host a Game
First of all, THANK YOU! This event, and this group, wouldn't be possible without people who are willing to volunteer their games and time to host.
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To offer a game, please post the following information in the meetup discussion for that event:
  • the name of the game(s)
  • the player count you prefer, and the range you would accept
  • whether or not you will be providing a teach, considering the 3 hour event limit
  • whether your game requires 1 table, 1.5 tables, or 2 tables
It may be helpful to also include:
  • information about the theme, mechanics, or expansions that will be included
  • links to learning videos or rulebooks if you're asking players to learn in advance

​Timing: Post offers on or before the Thursday prior to the event. If you message me with this information on Friday or Saturday, your game may be added to the survey depending on expected numbers.​

Multiple Offers: If you'd like to offer a second option, please put the second offer in a separate post.​

Selection: If there are more games offered than supportable because of table space or demand, games will be selected based on complexity, willingness to teach, popularity, and space requirements.

Survey: Complete the Game Selection Survey even if you've offered to host so that you can be scheduled into a different game if your game isn't selected. Please select "Excited" or "Willing" for your own game. 

Saving Spots for specific players is generally discouraged.
  • To co-host, include both hosts in your post as "[Meetup Name] and I would like to host...."
  • If your offer is in response to a specific request, message me or include that information in your survey

Frequency: As a community group, everyone is encouraged to host occasionally. Of course we understand that not everyone is comfortable hosting, so regular hosts are greatly appreciated.

Borrowing games from our collection is an option if we have a game that you'd like to host.
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​Event Hosts

Sara VanderWal ​(she/her)
I've hosted this weekly event at 401 Games since its creation in Sept 2009, handling all the administration for this event and group. Message me with questions or comments.

Favourite games:
  • Sagrada
  • ​Grand Austria Hotel​
Picture
This 2010 photo may be old, but it will still help you recognize us!
Duncan McGregor (he/him)
Duncan helps with the on site logistics for this event every week. He started attending in Jan 2010, and has become my primary proofreader and sounding board.

Favourite games:
  • Terraforming Mars
  • Concordia

​​Event History

​We began playing boardgames at 401 Games every Wednesday evening in Sept 2009. The event has steadily grown along with the facility as 401 Games made multiple moves to expand with the hobby. 

​401 Yonge St, 3rd floor - Sept 2009 to July 2013
This weekly event began at the original 401 Games location. The gaming space was on the 3rd floor, accessible by an old, narrow staircase. There were a handful of people every week and a casual structure: attendance wasn't checked and everyone would decide what to play from the games that were brought. 

After a few years of continuous growth, the event was regularly hitting the event space maximum of 30 people and a lottery system was implemented to determine who attended each week. With that established in advance, many people started pre-planning games to reduce how many games needed to be brought and so that games could start sooner once everyone arrived.
518 Yonge St, basement - Aug 2013 to Nov 2014
There was a lot of excitement when 401 Games moved a couple blocks north to a more spacious location. Their space for displaying retail boardgames went from a couple bookcases hidden at the back of the store to multiple rows of shelving prominently displayed.
The play space was in the basement, split between multiple rooms, some of which featured overhead pipes that occasionally left bruises on attendee's heads. The increased space meant the event could grow again, but the growth and segmented space made it difficult for everyone to get into games when they arrived, so more and more of the games became pre-arranged, and eventually we had a fully scheduled event. 
518 Yonge St, 2nd floor - November 2014 to July 2018
After about a year, 401 Games also leased the space above them as a dedicated play space. The first week was spent assembling the new Ikea tables before we could sit down to play, but the ceiling height and space between tables felt luxurious and we never had to worry about an attendance limit. 
​2782 Yonge St @ Lawrence
​August to November 2018
There was a brief period when 401 Games closed their downtown store and moved to midtown. Like the loyal gamers we are, we made the trek every week to continue our event, though attendance dropped substantially.
518 Yonge St, 2nd floor - November 2018 to August 2019
After a few months, 401 Games moved back to the location near Wellesley Street. We returned to the 2nd floor and it truly felt like coming home! The front room, with floor-to-ceiling windows and fancier tables, became dedicated to boardgames so we could use the space anytime without interfering with card players or tournaments. They even had a boardgame library that you could borrow from for a small rental fee.
750 Yonge St - August 2019 to present
At their current location, the gaming space is on the main floor, making it feel connected to the store and improving accessibility. Initially, there was also some gaming space and a game library on the 2nd floor but the space has been reassigned and the game library sold off during the pandemic.

​We've had to pause the event twice during the pandemic when 401 Games has closed the playspace.
After our return in February 2022, it was obvious that the previous method of signing up for games, which was first-come, first-served for the event and specific games, no longer worked well for a few reasons:
  • Popular games could fill in minutes, giving an unfair advantage to people who were able to constantly check notifications
  • Hosts were disadvantaged if they offered a game that didn't fill cause they missed out on playing other games that they were excited about
  • Attendees sometimes joined games they weren't particularly interested in, which could affect everyone's enjoyment of the game
  • Meetup notifications were unreliable and some members were not able to reply to the discussion
The current system was developed within the first few weeks of our return and we're proud of this system where everyone has an equal chance at games they enjoy and hosts can be prioritized appropriately.
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