Indie Games

Join your fellow LGBTQIA+ folks for a social evening of board games at Marché Board Games Cafe. We have access to the games library at the cafe. If you have a game that you want to share, please feel free to bring it along. We play all sorts of games - card games, party games, strategy games - and we're happy to teach new players. Groups for games usually form between 6:30-6:45, so it's important to try arrive on time to ensure you're allocated to a game/group. Anyone arriving late may have to wait for a game if all groups have started. The cafe has drinks and food available. Check out their menu here: https://mbgcafe.com.au/menu.pdf We only accept payment at the time of booking to reserve your spot. This means you will need to pay the booking amount via PayPal at the time of booking to confirm your spot. If you can't make it to the event, please ensure you get in touch by messaging the event hosts or emailing rainbowbg.melbourne@gmail.com at least one day before the event, and we can reverse your payment via PayPal. The cafe does NOT have a liquor licence. Consuming alcohol on the premises is illegal, and will result in any members being banned from future events. See you on Thursday!

Our regular monthly presentation night on the second Thursday of the month from 6:30pm! Thanks to Mantel Group for hosting us again this month. If you're coming in person we're there with food and drinks from 6pm. We will be live streaming the presentations as usual from 6:30pm at [http://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/live](http://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/live) \-\-\- In an unusual turn of events we have two AI-related talks this month — but I think both will be speaking to the state of our industry and offering perspective on where we are and maybe where we're going. **Agenda** \| 6:00pm \| Food \+ Networking \| \| 6:30pm \| Event begins\. Introductions \| \| 6:40pm \| Andrew Murphy — The five stages of losing our craft \| \| 7:15pm \| Rob Amos \(Bok\) — Forging a Sword Spirit: From AI skeptic to autonomy \| \| 7:55pm \| Wrap up \+ social time at a nearby venue \| \* All times are approximate. Presentation order will be confirmed on the night. \-\-\-\- We are always looking for speakers and believe everyone has an interesting talk hiding inside themselves. If you are interested in letting that talk out at a future event you can get in touch on the website [https://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/talks](https://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/talks) or on Slack.

Backgammon returns tonight from 7pm! As usual, $10 (please bring cash) gets you entry, drinks, snacks, coaching, playing materials, and as many games as you can pack into in 3 hours. We'll be starting a feature tournament this evening, so if you're keen to test your mettle for cash in an event lasting multiple rounds, tonight's the night to get your foot in the door!

We will be continuing our trial of our new venue - 3rd floor of MIT Mahjong at 139 Franklin St, just a short walk from Melbourne Central! Players of all skill levels are welcome, and no experience is needed. Stop by for one game or play for the whole 6 hours. Warmup and casual gaming from 5 to 5:30 pm, and the first timed and recorded game starts at 5:30 pm. If you want to learn how to play, we can teach, and if you already know how, then join our shuffle and monthly leaderboard! The games schedule is: * 5:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Setup, Freeplay * 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm: Game 1 * 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm: Game 2 * 8:30 pm - 10:00 pm: Game 3 * 10:00 pm - 11:00 pm: Freeplay This event has a $10 fee which you can pay on the night. This money is used to pay for our use of the store space, maintaining equipment and other meetup services, and organising larger events open to everyone! Members get a special discount, which you can sign up for on the website links below. We also take photos and videos at our meetups for posting on social media, you may potentially appear in these. Hope to see you all then! *** Scores tracking: [https://scores.vicriichi.org/](https://scores.vicriichi.org/) The mahjong ruleset we play with: [https://www.vicriichi.org/mahjong-meetups#meetup-rules](https://www.vicriichi.org/mahjong-meetups#meetup-rules) Join us on Discord and connect with other jongers! [https://vicriichi.org/discord](https://vicriichi.org/discord)

Come along a join us to play some board games and meet some cool people. If you don't like games, come along anyways haha. Its just a good excuse to meet new people and have fun.

**Every Thursday \| 6PM \- Late** *🎉 The ultimate weekly tournament for TCG players - new and experienced alike* Win big on booster packs every Thursday night at Card Knights: a weekly TCG tournament night hosted in Fortress’s Arena every Thursday from 6pm. **The Games** In collaboration with [Luna Cards](https://www.lunacards.com.au/), we’ll be running buy-in, swiss-system tournaments for the following games every week: * Flesh and Blood - $15 buy-in, 2 booster packs per entrant * Riftbound - $14 buy-in, 1 booster pack per entrant * Digimon - $14 buy-in, 1 booster pack per entrant * Gundam - $14 buy-in, 1 booster pack per entrant **The Prizes** Guaranteed booster packs just for entering a tournament, courtesy of our friends at [Luna Cards](https://www.lunacards.com.au/). There are also special winner packs for One Piece and Flesh & Blood, plus other exciting prizes to come! **The Cards** Cards, mats and other accessories will be available for purchase on the night (if your deck needs a last-minute boost). **Free Play** Not quite ready to compete? That’s okay! You can hone your skills on our free play tables. **The Venue** Held in our Arena, you’ll enjoy plenty of space, low-volume ambience, and cold beverages while you play. Stay fueled with food and drinks delivered straight to your table - no need to pause the game. Best of all, spending $15 on food or drinks gets you a spin on The Wheel: Your chance to win from a random assortment of trading cards (and other fun prizes). **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm* * *No outside food or drinks.* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*

Hi Gophers! We have started planning our May event at Atlassian. * **Agenda** **5.45pm — Food & Networking** **6:30pm — Intro + Go News** **6:45pm — Talks** **8.00pm — Wrap up then head out for kick ons** * **Talks** **🎤 Tristan Penman** **Robotics in Go** This talk will show how Go can be used for small networked robots. Everything will run natively in Go, on a Raspberry Pi using a simple MQTT message bus. In this whirlwind tour, we'll also see how Gobot and Periph can be used to perform IO. We'll finish with a sneak peek at how TinyGo can be used offload timing-critical IO to a microcontroller. **🎤 Yann Vigara** **Developer Onboarding That Doesn't Suck** You probably have a Makefile. It probably has a step that installs golangci-lint. Maybe goreleaser. Maybe buf. Maybe something someone added in 2022 that nobody's touched since and everyone's too scared to remove. And when a new dev joins the team, they clone the repo, run the Makefile, hit an error on step 3, spend 45 minutes debugging something that has nothing to do with the actual product, and then quietly wonder if they made a mistake joining. This month I'll show you how to fix that. Mostly terminal. Mostly live. Probably a few things that will go wrong in interesting ways. * **Interested in speaking at an upcoming event?** We will aim to have a mix of short (\~10min) and in-depth (20-30min) talks. If you’re keen to give a talk on a topic, share a project, or idea, please let us know [bit.ly/GolangMelbourneSpeakersForm](https://bit.ly/GolangMelbourneSpeakersForm)

'Evergreen Games' is back. This one day event is to raise money for the Cure Brain Cancer foundation. There will be open gaming space for everyone to come and play your favourite board games in, and we are planning other events to help raise money for charity, such as a raffle for some great games. A suggested donation of $10 will be charged for entry (children free), after which you can come and go throughout the day. For those new to modern board gaming, we will have volunteers ready to help select and teach new, interesting games from our extensive library of modern board games that will be available to play on the day. The Clyde has a large room to accomodate around 100 people, and a fully-licensed bar and restaurant, so food and drink can be purchased during the day (please do not bring your own food or drink along). Save the date, RSVP and please do spread the word - sharing this event or inviting others is a great way to let them know this is happening, and help make this event a huge success. This annual convention has been established to commemorate the life of a dear friend and gamer Simon "Evergreen" Pearce who enjoyed and gave so much to the hobby, before being taken from all of us far too soon, and to raise money to help fight the cancer that took him from us. Please note that if you are unable to make it down but would still like to make a donation the easiest way to do so is via the memorial page hosted by the charity at https://curebraincancer.org.au/fundraising/in-memory/in-memory-of-simon-pearce-5d15031c

**Board Game Night (Beginner Friendly, Social & Structured)** Meet new people at our host led boardgame night, sit down, learn a game, and start playing within minutes. **Who this is for** - People who work a 9–5 and want to meet people after work or on the weekends doing something fun. - You want something social and structured - You want attend a host guided boardgame night. **The Event** This is a hosted board game night. You don’t need to know any games. We teach everything. provide name tags, and games. Most people are new and come alone. **Small groups (limited spots)** Tables of 4–8 people Usually 30 total spots If you see a spot you can make, take it. They fill. **What happens when you arrive** You don’t need to bring anything You’ll be seated shortly after you arrive A host will guide your table You won’t be left standing around. **Types of games** We run two kinds of games: *1) Social games 🟦* Easy to learn Good for conversation Great for bigger groups *2) Intermediate games 🟥* Strategy games that take at least 1 hour. Many Beginner friendly, but more complex. Recommended for people already in the hobby. Game hosts have some knowledge in both categories, and will spend the first part of the night empowering the social games going, and spend the second half floating or running intermediate Games. **What to expect** Friendly people Small to medium sized groups Clear structure Easy start, even if you are new-You’ll be playing quickly. **Attendance polic** Cancel early if you can’t make i No-shows or late cancels get kicke **Donation** We take donations to support the event and our host, so we can continue running this event to a high standard **Questions?** Message Anna on meetup - check the Meetup event to see the Hosts you can contact **List of banned gam** Monopoly (any version

First & Third Sunday of every month Time: 10am till 6pm Venue: 52 Wadham Parade, Mt Waverley, 3149, Victoria (Melway 61 E12 (http://www.street-directory.com.au/sd3/map.php?q=52%20wadham%20parade%20mt%20waverley)) * $5.00 entry fee \* * Tea & Coffee making facilities available \* * Heating and cooling \* * Bring own food \* * All details of attendees must be given on request \* * Numbers are strictly limited \* This is a COVID-safe event and will operate according to all relevant directions of the Chief Health Officer pursuant to the Health and Wellbeing Act Vic. (2008). What is Euro Games Fest? EGF Melbourne (http://www.melbournegamers.com/viewtopic.php?f=7) has been running for many years, almost 10 years here. We pride ourselves as a full day outing for any gamers wishing to find others who enjoy their passion. Whilst the name suggests Euro games, our play is not restricted to this genre with many wargamers, ameritrash fans, role players and others regularly attending. Do I need to bring my own games ? The club has a collection of games including titles such as 7 Wonders, Alhambra, Ra, Puerto Rico, El Grande, Wars of the Roses, Medici, Settlers of Catan, Looping Louie, Tichu, No Merci, Antike, I'm the Boss, Acquire, Terra Nova, Oltre Mare, Wrott & Swindlers, Bluff, Cash & Guns, Drunter & Druber, Undercover, Stone Age, Amun Re, Cleopatra & the Society of Architects, Power Grid, Ticket to Ride: Europe, Ticket to Ride: USA, Ticket to Ride: Marklin, Russian Railroads, Mombasa, Machi Koro, Castles of Burgundy, Bruges, Bora Bora, Trajan, Trans Europa, Trans America, Ysphan, Bombay, Kingdom Builder, Dominion, Hey That's my fish. Bring your own games or join in others. But I don't know any Eurogames ! Most games include someone who has not played the game before, so there is always someone new at the table for every game. Who's coming - No Limits except must be double vaxxed ? How to get there ! Plenty of parking available on site, obey the parking signs. 150m from Mt Waverley Railway station. Can I bring my own food and drink ? Yes, or purchase nearby.

**Welcome to Incubator Melbourne!** Curious about how board games are made? This is our regular event to test prototype games. Newcomers are very welcome and no experience is needed. You don’t need to bring a game to join and play. ***Please RSVP here and cancel if you cannot attend.*** *Total attendance is higher than the Meetup RSVP list, and we typically have a good-sized group on the day.* 🗺️ **HOW TO FIND US** The Lion Hotel is on level 3 of Melbourne Central. We’ll be down the back at Jac’s Bar. Look for our tables and grab a seat. 👀 **WHAT TO EXPECT** • Bring a game to test, or just join in others’ games • Two sessions: short games first, longer games after lunch • Quick intros, setup, lunch break, then afternoon games ⏰ **TIMES** • 11:00–11:30am: Intros and setup • 11:30–1:00pm: Short games • 1:00–1:30pm: Lunch • 1:30–4:00pm: Longer games

**Beginner Dungeons & Dragons Night (No Experience Needed)** Play a fantasy story with a small group. Make choices. Solve problems. Work together. It’s fun, social, and easy to get into. **What is this Event** This is a beginner-friendly D&D game. You don’t need to know anything. Most people are new. We teach as we play. **Small groups (limited spots**) Tables of 5–6 players, we wont take anymore than this at a time. Usually 12–18 total spots in total. If you see a spot you can make, take it. They fill. **What happens when you arrive** You don’t need to bring anything You’ll be seated shortly after you arrive Most people come alone You will not be the only one. **What you’ll do** Play a character in a fantasy story Make choices with your group Talk, explore, and solve problems Roll dice and see what happens Expect funny and memorable moments. **What you don’t need to worry about** You don't need to know rules new people won't slow the group down Don't need to bring anything We guide you the whole way. **Who this is for** You work a 9–5 and want to meet new people after work or on weekends. You enjoy fantasy stories, books or games You want to try dungeons and dragons You want a curated story games night with tactics and roleplay. If you like Baldur’s Gate or Divinity, you’ll have a strong idea about what your getting into. **Sessions** 3-hour games Run by experienced Dungeon Masters 2–3 tables each night This week’s games may include: *Cordelia* – Dark fantasy adventure *Isle of the Grave* – Mystery and survival *The Cost of Ascension* – Power, trust, and betrayal Before the event You may get a message from the organiser. Please reply to keep your spot. **Attendance policy** Cancel early if you can’t make it No-shows or late cancels may lose future spots **Donations** We take small donations to support the event and our hosts.

**🎲✨ Evergreen Games Day ✨🎲** Join **Bondaroo** for an afternoon of board games, good company, and community at **Evergreen Games** — a charity gaming event raising funds for people affected by cancer through the **Cure Brain Cancer Foundation.** Whether you’re a board game enthusiast or completely new to tabletop games, this is a fun and relaxed way to meet new people, practise English naturally, and enjoy a social Saturday together. 📅 Saturday, 16 May ⏰ 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM 📍 Clyde Hotel, Carlton **Notes:** * A suggested donation of **$10** applies for entry (children enter free). Once you’re in, you’re welcome to come and go throughout the day. * The full event runs from **12:00 PM – 8:00 PM**, so feel free to arrive earlier or stay longer if you’d like to explore more games and activities. 🎮 What to expect: – A huge variety of board games to play – Friendly volunteers teaching games for beginners – Casual social atmosphere & group bonding – Raffles, games, and charity fundraising activities – Food and drinks available at the venue Come solo or with friends — everyone is welcome! Let’s play games, connect, and support a meaningful cause together 🌟 More information about this event: [https://evergreengames.au/](https://evergreengames.au/)

Celebrate Melbourne's creative community at **The Artisan’s Guild**, running **every Sunday, 2–6pm** inside the **Fortress Melbourne Tavern**. Meet local artists and makers, discover unique handmade pieces—from prints and pins to jewellery and crafty curios—and chat with the people behind the work. Make an afternoon of it: order a pint or a mocktail, grab some legendary Tavern fare, and settle in amongst the cozy medieval vibes. Even watch our D&F tables pave their adventure together! Whether you’re hunting for a gift, building your hoard of treasures, or just here for the chill weekend vibes, this is the perfect low-key Sunday. Free entry. Family-friendly. Drop in anytime. Are you a maker interested in a stall at a future Guild? Get in touch with Fortress Melbourne to apply. hi@fortress.games **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm* * *No outside food or drinks.* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*

This meetup is a beginner-friendly session introducing version control for Unity projects, with a look at three common tools: Git, Perforce, and Unity Version Control. The goal is to help you understand what version control is, why it matters for Unity development, and what options are out there. The format will likely be presentation-style, with live demos and time for questions throughout. You'll see each tool in action and learn how they fit into a Unity workflow. What to Expect: * An introduction to version control and why it's essential for Unity projects * An overview of Git, Perforce, and Unity Version Control * Demos of each tool in a Unity workflow * Tips for getting started * No prior version control experience required * Resources for continued learning All experience levels are welcome. Whether you're new to version control or already using one of these tools, this session will help you understand what each one offers. Food and drinks provided. Join us to learn more about version control options for Unity.

FREE event [https://www.ccad.edu/chroma](https://www.ccad.edu/chroma) Friday, May 15, 3–7 p.m. CCAD campus, 60 Cleveland Ave, Columbus, OH Join Columbus College of Art & Design for *2025* *Chroma: Best of CCAD*, our annual campuswide exhibition showcasing outstanding student work from across the college’s academic programs. This faculty-juried show features select work from CCAD students of all class years, and is a can’t-miss end-of-year campus celebration recognizing their tremendous achievements. It’ll be a night of fun and entertainment, with interactive games, animation and film screenings, art symposiums, poetry and prose readings, and more (along with some of the best local food trucks). *Chroma* is free and open to all. Many exhibitions including... **Game Art & Design:** **DSB, first floor, Welcome Center lobby and Room 115**

PLEASE NOTE!!! This event will be In-Person for our very 1st Improving collab! If you know the [Columbus Unity group](https://www.meetup.com/columbus-unity-user-group/) location, we'll be at the same place. This is our 1st event and are doing a soft launch with limited attendance. 1st come 1st serve. If you want to be there and we fill up, please email me at [info@thecogg.com](mailto:info@thecogg.com) and I'll be in touch. All street parking is free on Sundays but you can also pay to park in any of the local garages. See image of [parking map here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mr9_LFIggbs-0_Zd3AJTGNqEhgMf2TzQ/view?usp=sharing). \-\-\- On the last Sunday of the month, we're having our usual end-of-the-month social gathering with our GameDev Meetup meeting. There will be announcements and presentations followed by some social networking Let's continue the conversations with good vibes and friends. All are welcomed from all ages and backgrounds to this public event. If we can, we'll be streaming or uploading the video later via our COGG YouTube channel here: [https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams](https://www.youtube.com/@TheCOGG/streams) (Also please do subscribe if you have not done so!) No game development experience required! If you are interested in doing a 20 minute game development related presentation, please fill out our form online here: [https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1](https://goo.gl/forms/lVdTJZiNJewlPJuj1) Or e-mail us at info@thecogg.com with the following: Your Name, Company/Affiliation, Name of Your Game/Topic, Description, Tech Needs, and Your Contact. Be sure to check out our Discord for real time news updates: [https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ](https://discord.gg/NrBhuNQ)

Try new games, meet new people, and find out what story games are all about! Explore the reaches of space! Witness kingdoms rise and fall! Create and explore tragedies! All within a single game night. We play story games like Fiasco, Kingdom, Polaris and Microscope that encourage everyone at the table to participate creatively. We also have one-shots of indie, OSR, and narrative-focused RPGs such as Apocalypse World, Dread, Lady Blackbird, and Old School Essentials! Everybody's welcome! It doesn't matter if you've never tried story games before or never played roleplaying games at all! Just bring your brain and a good attitude and come try it out! *** **IMPORTANT** * When you arrive look for the marked Story Games Columbus Tables. Each table will have a separate game. Seating is on a first-come-first-serve basis. * If all tables are full, look for a Facilitator. We will find a way to get you into a game! * There is a flat $3 cover charge for events at Tabletop. *** **Facilitators!!** Please arrive early so that we can get you set up with a table. Please reach out to me ASAP if you would be willing to help facilitate. You can reach me on the SGC Discord here - https://discord.gg/jUTvWUu

The Forge does have a full bar and kitchen. There is no cover charge but they do request all attendees to purchase a minimum of ~20 per person. Soft drink refills are 1 each. Please support our hosts so we can continue to provide great events for the group! The Forge has a large library of games available for us to enjoy. Hosts and regulars will also provide numerous popular games but please bring any games you would like to teach and/or play. Doors open at 6, and we expect gaming to be rolling by around 630. Please promptly end your games and clear out the space at 10pm when the bar closes. We encourage socializing but do not permit disruptive behavior of any kind. Thank you for your continued commitment to providing a fun and welcoming space to veteran, newbie, and rookie gamers in the Columbus area. Parking can sometimes fill esrly. There is additional parking lot behind the neighboring Mexican restaurant that is free and easy to walk from but it's a bit hidden.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** TBD **YouTube Link** TBD