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What we’re about

WHO ARE WE?


We started off as a dissident band of renegades from the Boston Social Strategy Gamers group (OK, many of us are members of that group, too -- but still) who were in search of fellow fans of gamer's games -- broadly speaking, stuff with more complexity and/or a nastier streak than you get from Settlers of Catan or Ticket to Ride. Since then, we've grown dramatically (close to 200 members at the time of this writing) and we have Meetup events to play all sorts of stuff. We're open to anyone with a good attitude and an interest in strategic tabletop gaming -- though being the sort of person not scared off by rulebooks with more than eight pages doesn't hurt.


WHAT DO WE DO?


In addition to an event almost every Wednesday in Porter Square, Cambridge, we periodically host get-togethers to play games we're interested in at various places -- time and availability permitting. All of our events are free and open to anyone who's interested unless otherwise noted. Newcomers are always welcome at our events; you don't need to be an expert in the games we play. A good attitude and a willingness to learn is all that is necessary.


We have a once-per-month session of 18XX games, and a kinda-sorta-once-per-month session of multi-player wargames. Apart from the longer time commitment, these events are like the others; everyone is welcome, including newcomers willing to learn the ropes.


We also have running online competitions for the games Brass and Through The Ages. Newcomers are welcome to be a part of these as well, and you can play them from the convenience of your own homes.


WHERE DO WE MEET?


We're a pretty urban lot, so the vast majority of our events are in the Boston/Cambridge/Somerville/Watertown/Brookline/Newton area. If this area is inconvenient for you, you are welcome to suggest an event for a venue more convenient for you; we just can't guarantee you'll get a big turnout.


WHAT IS A "CUBE CARTEL GAME?"


Basically, it's what you make of it.


We started out as a group to get together and play "heavier" examples of "Euro" (or "German-style") board games (think Agricola or Age of Steam) and that is still probably the majority of what we play. But, as mentioned, we also play some 18xx (complex, nasty "business" games with a railroad theme, like 1830: Railroads and Robber Barons) and some wargames (especially GMT's card-based wargames, like Twilight Struggle and Virgin Queen).


What we don't play much of: classic strategy games (like Chess, Go or Mancala), super-popular mass-market games (like Monopoly, Risk or Clue), traditional card games (like Poker, Scopa or Bridge), role-playing games (like Dungeons and Dragons) and collectible card games (like Magic: The Gathering). There are people in our group that like these sorts of games, and no one's going to give you a noogie if you suggest playing them, but they're not the focus of the group and are thus unlikely to make it to the table. There are some excellent local Meetups if you're interested in any of these.


In the end, we're less interested in drawing a bright-line distinction between what is and what is not a Cube Cartel Game than we are in playing what we like. The real purpose of this group is to be a sort of "safe space" where no one's going to look at you like an uberdork for pulling out your copy of Le Havre or Chicago Express.


Thanks for checking us out. We hope you'll join us soon.