The Future of Video Games

**​LEADERSHIP IN THE DAWN OF AI - For Leaders Carrying the Human side of AI Transformation** **Katherine Lynne, author of** *What Are We? Humanity in the Age of AI* **hosts this AI & Leadership talk and Q&A.** *Get tickets! https://luma.com/q3hmkm6c In-person and live streamed.* Corporate leaders, Teacheres, Parents & Anyone looking at the human side of this moment will appreciate this talk and opportunity to connect. *​“I’m responsible for leading people through a moment that nobody has ever experienced. I don’t understand it myself.”* This event is created for you, the leader holding the human side of AI transformation. ​Right now, leaders everywhere are being asked to engage with AI at a pace that feels impossible, steady teams who are worried about their futures, maintain culture in the middle of upheaval, and somehow project confidence while privately navigating their own uncertainty. You might be carrying the emotional weight of an entire organization including the fear and the questions no one wants to say out loud. ​Hosted by Katherine Lynne, author and coach to business owners and senior leaders for over 30 years, this talk and conversation speaks directly to the emotional, cultural and identity-level shifts happening inside us all. ​Drawing on themes from What Are We? Katherine invites leaders to reflect on identity, purpose, and responsibility now, as AI is shuffling the deck and rattling our ideas of creativity, intelligence, and value. This talk aims to inspire curiosity, courage and willingness to rethink what leadership is and will needfully become. ​This is your moment to take a breath, to remember what is important, to re-center and fortify yourself for the road ahead. ​The talk and Q& A will last approximately 75 minutes with opportunity for real-life connecting afterwards. ​**Theme:** Relevant to all industries ​**Audience:** This event will be of particular interest to leaders feeling the human impacts and delicate balances of this new and unprecedented time as AI accelerates. ​**Format:** Talk Q&A, Fireside chat, Networking ​**Event Access:** All are welcome. ​Toronto Tech Week is a citywide celebration of the people building what’s next. From May 26–29, 2026, founders, investors, and builders come together for hundreds of community-led events across Toronto, connecting tens of thousands of people around Canadian tech. [Torontotechweek.com](https://torontotechweek.com/?utm_source=luma).Come join this talk LEADERSHIP IN THE AGE OF AI with author Katherine Lynne Get tickets! https://luma.com/q3hmkm6c In-person and live streamed.

**Time:** 5:30pm until 9:30pm every Tuesday evening ​**Location:** Mitchell Field Community Centre **Address:** 89 Church Ave., a couple blocks east of Yonge Street [​](https://store.401games.ca/)**​​Transit:** About a 15 minute walk from either North York or Finch stations **Parking:** There are 2 parking lots near the community centre. Main lot along the east side of the building is nearest the main entrance. The other lot is located near the Arena. **Games** We play a variety of hobby or European style boardgames. Players of all experience levels are welcome. Games will be selected onsite from those available. All attendees are encouraged to bring a game or two that they can teach. Post on the meetup discussion to suggest games and gauge interest in specific titles. This weekly drop in event allows flexibility and no advance commitment. There is a core attendance of 5-10 players and new players are always welcome! RSVPs are not required.

Join us for friendly American MahJongg! Bring your 2026 card and let’s have fun 😀 For 2026, I am requesting $15 dues for the year, payable to Sabie by e-transfer to sgallo6877@gmail.com or cash. *Not sure if our events are for you? Come on down and join us a few times (before paying dues), we’d love to meet you.* **NOTE: The Guild House charges a $10 table fee per person to play each week. The drinks and food you purchase will count towards this so if you buy a latte for $5, then you will just pay $5 more (+ HST) for the table fee. See Sabie for details on discount available if this is a burden.** The Guild House has a great cafe! [Here's their menu.](https://theguildhouse.ca/pages/menu) Last but not least...PLEASE cancel your RSVP on Meetup if your plans change.

**[GrafanaCON Local](https://grafana.com/events/grafanacon-local/) Toronto - featuring the latest in AI Observability** Join us for a local edition of GrafanaCON — a recap of the keynote highlights combined with fresh voices from the Toronto community, all with an AI twist. We'll dig into actually useful uses of AI in observability, and how to add observability for AI workloads. Free to attend. Pizza and drinks provided. **Talks** 🎤 **Grafana 13: The road to AI-native observability** — Marylia Gutierrez, Principal Software Engineer @ Grafana Labs This talk will walk through Grafana 13 and the most impactful improvements across the platform. Learn how Grafana is continuing to invest in AI to become the first fully AI-native observability platform, and the default choice for agents. 🎤 **Scaling Grafana Assistant: Context, confidence, and AI observability** — Edward Qian, Staff Software Engineer @ Grafana Labs AI agents are only as powerful as the context they receive. In this session, we'll share lessons from building Grafana Assistant and offer practical tips for bringing the right context to get the most out of AI agents. 🎤 **AI tools to optimize your development workflow** — Cristiano Ventura, Senior Software Engineer @ Grafana Labs The way we write software has changed. AI systems read code, plan, execute shell commands, run tests, open PRs, and ship work end-to-end. This talk will showcase useful AI tools and concepts to improve your development workflow. **Agenda** 5:30 PM — Doors open, food + networking 6:00 PM — Talks begin \~8:00 PM — Networking continues 8:30 PM — Wrap *Note that by registering for this event you consent to related event & product communications from Grafana Labs and agree to our [code of conduct](https://grafana.com/events/events-code-of-conduct/).*

*Games Schedule* Wednesday Event: - 1 / 3 NLH - 3 / 5 NLH - $500 Free Roll Thursday Event: - 1 / 2 NLH - Deep Stack - Min 100 - Max 1000 - $500 Free Roll Friday Event: - 1 / 3 NLH - 1 / 3 PLO - $500 Free Roll Saturday Event: - 1 / 2 NLH - Deep Stack - Min 100 - Max 1000 - $500 Free Roll Sunday Event: - 1 / 3 NLH - 2 / 2 PLO - $500 Free Roll Monday Event: - 1 / 3 NLH - 3 / 5 NLH - $500 Free Roll

🎱**TBC Tuesday Socials Are On for Summer 2026!** 🎉 Enjoy a night of getting out of the house, meeting new people, and enjoying a relaxed night of pool with **Toronto Billiards Club** at **Shoxs**. This Tuesday evening social is all about **good vibes, community, and accessible pool**. Whether you are brand new to the game or have years of experience, you will feel comfortable here. **What to expect:** ✅ friendly, inclusive, and welcoming social atmosphere ✅ beginners welcome ✅ instruction and guidance from TBC hosts ✅ casual pool games, conversation, drinks, and food ✅ no pressure, no leagues, no egos if you have ever thought *“I want to play pool but don’t know where to start”* or *“I don’t want to walk into a pool hall by myself”* this event is made for you. many of our regulars first showed up solo. 💬 **First time attending?** Our hosts will introduce you, help you get a game going, and make sure you are comfortable throughout the night. 💵 **Event Fee:** $15 per person Payable by cash or e-transfer (dean@tbcpool.org) Please contact the event organizer if you have payment questions 📋 **House Rules:** All attendees are expected to follow TBC Meetup Rules during the event. If you have questions about rules, fees, or the format, feel free to message an organizer. 👉 **Call to action:** Bring a friend or come solo. show up curious. Leave with new connections and more confidence at the table. See you Tuesday and welcome to the TBC community! **TBC Admin**

Tickets must be purchased in advance! [https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/life-lessons-from-a-cardiac-operating-room-by-dr-bobby-yanagawa-tickets-1989051291958?aff=oddtdtcreator](https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/life-lessons-from-a-cardiac-operating-room-by-dr-bobby-yanagawa-tickets-1989051291958?aff=oddtdtcreator) Life Lessons from a Cardiac Operating Room — Dr. Bobby Yanagawa Step inside the high-pressure world of cardiac surgery for an unforgettable evening of stories, insight, and conversation with renowned cardiac surgeon **Dr. Bobby Yanagawa**. Hosted by Stellar Socials Lectures, this unique social lecture experience blends intellectual conversation with a stylish nightlife atmosphere — bringing ambitious and curious people together to learn, connect, and engage. From life-and-death decisions inside the operating room to lessons on pressure, leadership, discipline, and the human experience, Dr. Bobby Yanagawa will share captivating stories and perspectives rarely heard outside hospital walls. Whether you’re in healthcare, business, entrepreneurship, or simply love meaningful conversations, this is an evening designed to inspire thought, spark curiosity, and create real connection. ## 🎤 What To Expect • A captivating live lecture by Dr. Bobby Yanagawa • Real stories from the cardiac operating room • Life lessons on leadership, focus, resilience & decision-making • Networking with ambitious, like-minded professionals • A stylish social atmosphere with drinks & conversation ## 🧠 About Stellar Socials Lectures Stellar Socials Lectures brings together professors, experts, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders for engaging talks hosted inside upscale bars, lounges, and social venues. Our mission is simple: create experiences where learning feels social, inspiring, and genuinely enjoyable. Because education shouldn’t stop after graduation. ## 👥 Who Should Attend? • Young professionals • Entrepreneurs & creatives • Healthcare professionals & students • Curious minds & lifelong learners • Anyone looking to meet inspiring people and experience something different ## ✨ Why Attend? ✔ Expand your perspective ✔ Meet new people in a relaxed social setting ✔ Hear fascinating real-world experiences ✔ Enjoy an elevated alternative to traditional networking events 🎟️ Limited tickets available. Early registration is strongly recommended. ## About Dr. Bobby Yanagawa Dr. Bobby Yanagawa is the Division Head, Division of Cardiac Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital and Program Director, Division of Cardiac Surgery, University of Toronto. He holds the SURE General Contractors Inc. Professorship in Infective Endocarditis. Dr. Yanagawa completed residency training at the University of Toronto and INOVA Fairfax Hospital (Fairfax, VA) and an advanced valvular fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, NY). His research training includes a PhD at the University of British Columbia and post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Wales College of Medicine (Cardiff, UK) and National Cardiovascular Center (Osaka, Japan). His clinical and academic focus is surgical revascularization and surgery for infective endocarditis. He is the Director of the Canadian Society of Cardiac Surgeons Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Taskforce. His research interests include clinical outcome studies of ischemic and valvular heart disease. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, 40 reviews and 15 book chapters. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Canadian Journal of Cardiology, Guest Editor - Current Opinions of Cardiology and Feature Editor, Annals of Thoracic Surgery. ### **Agenda** 6:00 p.m. - Arrival. Doors open as soon as 5 p.m. Come in, grab a drink, some food, and settle in. If you’d like to sit closer with your friends, we advise coming in early. 7:05 p.m.- Introduction, lecture begins, followed by Q&A 8:15 p.m. -One-on-one with the lecturer, socializing. You can order another round of drinks. 8:30 p.m. -Wrap up

Join us on May 29th for the launch of *Vivisect*, by Vivi Partridge, published by Inservice Comics—a raw and rambunctious diary comic about a big breakup, making your first graphic novel, therapy, mental health, and befriending characters from manga, by the author of *Quiet Crossings* (Conundrum Press). Vivi will guide us through their artistic process in conversation with Mollie Cronin, author and artist of *Future Me is Fat* (Conundrum Press). We’ll have drinks, snacks (of course), and music. The event starts at 7 PM. After the conversation, there will be a Q&A, followed by time to mingle and celebrate yet another release from one of the most distinctive emerging voices in Canadian comics. **The ticket includes one copy of *Vivisect*. The author will be signing books at the event.**

**🎟 This is a paid event. Tickets must be purchased on Luma. Get yours:** [luma.com/techto-summer-social-may-27-2026](https://luma.com/techto-summer-social-may-27-2026) TechTO is BACK with its annual Summer Social at Bobby Bermuda's Sunset Bar. 🌊 **The setup** 600 people. Tacos. Drinks. Sunshine on Toronto's waterfront. One of the most coveted outdoor venues in the city. Need we say more? 🤝 **The crowd** Founders, operators, investors, and builders from across Canada's tech scene - all in one place, all in a good mood. This is the event where real connections get made. 🌮 **What's included** Every ticket comes with food and one drink (alcoholic or non-alcoholic). Just show up and make it happen. 📍 Bobby Bermuda's Sunset Bar (formerly The Slip), 235 Queens Quay W, Toronto 📅 Wednesday, May 27, 2026 · 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Welcome! We’re excited to have you join us for games, fun, and great company. To make sure everyone feels safe and respected, we ask that all attendees follow these simple rules: **💰 Cover Fee & What’s Included** * A cover fee of $12 will apply (plus HST and an 18% gratuity) - regardless of arrival time. Please arrive early if this is a concern. * Access to our full game library for the duration of your visit * $4 off any food or drink item (valid same day only) * Friendly staff on hand to recommend games and help you get started! **💬Be Kind & Respectful** * Treat others with courtesy, patience, and good sportsmanship. * All skill levels are welcome — help newcomers feel included! * Disagreements are fine, but bullying, shouting, or rude behavior is not. **🚫 Zero Tolerance for Harassment** * Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes: * Unwanted touching, comments, or attention * Hate speech, slurs, or discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, or background. * Stalking or intimidation * Inappropriate or sexual behavior **🧼 Help Keep It Fresh (Hygiene Policy)** * Please arrive clean, in freshly laundered clothes, and use deodorant. * Wash your hands before games, especially after eating. * We will take action on repeat offenders if hygiene becomes an issue. **🧍 Respect Personal Space & Boundaries** * Ask before touching someone or joining a game. * No pressuring others into playing or socializing. * If someone says “no” or seems uncomfortable, respect it immediately. **🎥 Photos & Privacy** * Always ask before taking someone’s photo or video. * Do not post images of others without permission. **🧑‍⚖️ A Message from the Venue** * The venue will close at 11:00 PM sharp. Please keep this in mind when starting new games near closing time. * Our staff are here to help. Please follow their guidance — especially if they step in to address a concern. * Repeated or serious violations will lead to removal from the venue and this Meetup group. 📍 Location: 3216 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M4N 2L2 🕖 Time: 7:00 PM – 11:00 PM 🍽️ Food & drinks available on site. No outside food, please. 🎟️ RSVP required — space is limited!

Can your agents scale without bankrupting your API quota or your compute budget? Join this session to explore a production-ready architecture that uses the LLM Council pattern, Google’s Agent Development Kit (ADK) for Java and Spring AI, all deployed on Cloud Run. And discover how replacing probabilistic reason-and-act (ReAct) loops with LLM Council enable goal-oriented action planning (GOAP) creates agents that are not only smarter but also significantly lighter and faster – making them the perfect workload for serverless execution. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Dan Dobrin is an App Architect in Google Cloud, helping customer teams adopt modern AI technologies, cloud-native patterns, practices and technologies in GCP. Dan focuses on building GenAI applications, adopting AI coding assistance tooling with Gemini, Native Java Images, Spring AI, event-driven architectures, production-readiness and performance optimization. Prior to joining Google Cloud, he has built highly scalable, low-latency, frameworks for technology, security and financial services organizations.

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)

Thanks for being a part of the CABS Meetup Group! We meet @ the COFFEE UNDERGROUND on Indianola Avenue. We play many different games @ CABS - bring your own or play one of the OVER 2222 in our library. What are your favorite games? What was the last game you played? Hope to see and game with you soon! Check us out on Facebook! Doors open early on Saturday Mornings at 10am and around 4pm on Fridays if you are interested in learning new / simpler games ... or new to the hobby or just want to check us out come in early just after noon and we will show you around before the crowd grows. Stay for a game or two, an hour or two or for the day! Your first visit is free and after that it's $5 a meeting or you can join for the year! It's Your Move

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** Like it or not, AI agents are now capable of turning a quickly written paragraph of requirements into a pull request that is ready to be integrated into real-world production applications and it's now our responsibility to make sure AI doesn't go rogue and take down prod - or corrupt our data by misunderstanding the requirements or our existing schemas. In this session we'll explore strategies to protect our codebases through unit and integration testing, documentation, and code review along with additional ways of providing context and guard rails to our AI agents as they carry out the work we've assigned them to do. By the time we're done, you'll have a firm grasp of the problem and understand some helpful options for protecting your codebase from vibe coding mishaps getting YOLOed into prod. **YouTube Link** https://youtube.com/live/BltmWMH1zG0?feature=share

QA or the Highway is a one-day, affordable, regional, professional conference featuring real-world experience and thought leadership in the QA and testing industry. This is a ticketed event please register here: https://www.qaorthehwy.com/ Featured Keynote Speakers: **Matthew-Hope Eland** **(Wizard at Leading EDJE)** \- An AI Specialist and Wizard at Leading EDJE who is known to teach software engineering\, AI\, and data science concepts in the most ridiculous ways possible\. Matt has used machine learning to settle debates over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie\, reinforcement learning to drive the behavior of digital squirrels\, data analytics to suggest improvements to his favorite TV show\, and AI agents to play board games and create an AI agent with the personality of a dog\. Matt is the author of "Data Science in \.NET with Polyglot Notebooks" and "Refactoring with C\#" as well as several LinkedIn Learning courses\. Matt helps organize the Central Ohio \.NET Developer Group\, runs several blogs and a YouTube channel\, has a Master’s of Science in Data Analytics\, and is a current Microsoft MVP in AI and \.NET\. **Tatyana Arbouzova** **(CEO at Innovate QA)** \- Tatyana Arbouzova is an engineering and business leader with a strong background in Quality Engineering across multiple industries\, including Big Tech\, Healthcare\, and Entertainment\. She has held leadership roles at world\-class companies such as Microsoft\, VMware\, Disney\, and The Pokémon Company International\, where she focused on building quality\-driven cultures and scaling teams to deliver high\-impact products\. With decades of experience\, Tatyana has helped organizations transform their quality practices so teams can deliver software efficiently\, confidently\, and with measurable business outcomes\. Today\, Tatyana advises software companies on adopting AI to optimize quality practices and improve how software is delivered at scale\. She is also a passionate community builder and the founder of Innovate QA\, a thriving Seattle\-based community and conference for quality professionals\.

Boardgaming and boardgaming and MORE boardgaming .... we have over 2000 games onsite to play Join us !!!

Thanks for being a part of the CABS Meetup Group! We meet @ the COFFEE UNDERGROUND on Indianola Avenue. We play many different games @ CABS - bring your own or play one of the OVER 2222 in our library. What are your favorite games? What was the last game you played? Hope to see and game with you soon! Check us out on Facebook! Doors open early on Saturday Mornings at 10am and around 4pm on Fridays if you are interested in learning new / simpler games ... or new to the hobby or just want to check us out come in early just after noon and we will show you around before the crowd grows. Stay for a game or two, an hour or two or for the day! Your first visit is free and after that it's $5 a meeting or you can join for the year! It's Your Move