Computer Gaming

CHANGED to WEDNESDAYS COLUMBUS RECREATION CENTERS require membership fee to play. Register & Pay at the desk when you arrive. $5 day pass is available. I have some extra pickle ball paddles and balls if you don’t have one. Definitely bring your own paddle if you have one and bring some balls if you have them. Legal Stuff: The event hosts/Organizers are just fellow member volunteers. By participating in any event, you assume all risks of liability and injury inherent in these activities. You are responsible for your own safety and for determining if you are in condition fit to participate. You are also responsible for knowing and abiding by all laws and rules during your participation in any event.
 Photos & or Video: by attending these events you acknowledge photos and or video may be taken and used on this and other platforms.

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 be challenging. There is a parking lot behind the building that is free and easy to walk from but it's a bit hidden.

**Doing KPIs Right: a KEY to Analytics (and AI!) Impact!** On the one hand, KPIs are such a Business 101 concept that it may seem a little silly to dedicate an entire session to the topic. On the other hand, KPIs get handled so poorly so often that a case could be made that this meetup could just be one of the most impactful sessions of the entire year! We’re starting off the year at a new location: [COhatch Upper Arlington](https://www.cohatch.com/locations/columbus/upper-arlington/) but with a familiar speaker, Tim Wilson! We’ll be back at Rev1 in February, when the speaker will presumably not be Tim. Tim will make the case that effectively measuring performance of projects, campaigns, and initiatives (and even meetups!) should be a foundation for any data analytics program. Topics covered will include: the “two magic questions” of performance measurement, how to help business partners distinguish between outcomes and outputs, and effective tactics for collaboratively establishing KPI targets. He will also stick his neck out by demonstrating some of these techniques in real-time by measuring whether his talk lives up to the promise of this description! All CBUSDAW events are free thanks to our 2026 Sponsors: Clarivoy, Conductrics, What Box Consulting Group, and Piwik PRO. Check out [cbusdaw.com](https://cbusdaw.com) for more information.

Our monthly PHP meetup. A virtual shindig courtesy of Zoom. Check back here for the details around 6:15 pm

Let's have lunch at Uptown Westerville's newest restaurant. Ampersand is owned by the same couple who owns Asterisk. They are known for ramen, rice bowls, teriyaki and small plates.

**PLEASE BUY TICKETS THROUGH EVENTBRITE. RSVP THROUGH MEETUP IS NOT A TICKET PURCHASE CONFIRMATION.** Strive welcomes you to 'General Business Networking', Columbus' hottest networking event! We are set in the perfect central location in Downtown for all to join. Are you interested in business? Want to elevate your career? Meet Consultants, Analysts of all types, Bankers, Software Engineers, Entrepreneurs, and more who are active in the space or are eager to get started. **\*\*This will be a multi-vertical event\*\*** **There will be professionals with backgrounds in the arts, finance, tech, real estate, healthcare, and more. Come with an open mind, and leave with connections that wouldn't be possible otherwise!** Pack some business cards and come with an open mind! Meet your future business partners, employers, coworkers, investors, and friends. You don't want to miss this opportunity to expand your network and create a brighter future. We will have a space for our event to check-in. The event will go from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM (feel free to come at any point in this timeframe). Name tags will be provided. Business casual dress code. Job fair attire. **Remember, it's not who you know, it's who you meet tomorrow!** We look forward to meeting you at the event! Sincerely, Strive Networking Team *Refund requests are permitted up to 24 hours after purchase, so long as we are not within 48 hours before the event start time. Refunds will be made in full and repaid to your method of payment. Note that we are unable to reimburse PayPal fees.* *Disclaimer: By attending Strive Networking events you agree to photos/videos taken during the event being used to promote future events.*

Come game with us !!! Your first visit is FREE!!! Let's play one of the 2000+ games we have on site or bring one of yours.

Welcome to Casual Boardgames, where we enjoy classic tabletop games and social deduction games while bonding over good food, drinks, and great conversations. 
We started this group to meet new people and make new friends, and bonding over games in a relaxed atmosphere is a great way to do that. We currently meet near route 23 and Polaris Parkway, and this is close to areas like Powell, Lewis Center, Worthington, and parts of Westerville and Columbus. 
Feel free to bring your own games or play one of the many games our members bring. If you are inexperienced, we will help you learn. 
Here are just a few examples of the kind of games we play. 
Tabletop/board games: Splendor, Catan, Azul, Dominion, 7 Wonders… 
Social deduction games: Code Names, Chameleon, Werewords… 
IMPORTANT: 
1. While we love playing a variety of games and competing, we are not just about the games. We interact and talk while playing, and this leads to a lot of laughter and fun. If you just want to compete and focus solely on the game, then this is probably not the group you are looking for. 
2. Many people join groups like this and never (or rarely) show up after weeks or months. If you join and never really come, we will eventually remove you from the group as a courtesy to our members. Why? Because limiting group conversations (on the app) to regular members makes communication and planning much easier. Also, while it may be rare, it protects members from people who join because they are interested in following a person instead of having a real interest in our group. If you get removed, it is just because you haven’t come, and we follow this protocol as a courtesy to our regular game players.

This is a time where players of all ages, and skill levels can gather and enjoy a nice Sunday full of Chess!

NFT's are here to stay folks! This is a group for like minded people interested in understanding, leveraging, using, creating for, profiting from, trading too i suppose, NFT's.. everything around them, complexity, fear and exploits, best practices and more. **PLUS** This group will talk AI ART tools, techniques, artists, video, audio, prototypes and more in the AI assisted production space- ART specifically, but we can get into any aspect of some of the cooler things happening in AI in general.

Join us every Saturday of January for a day of boardgaming !!! You first visit is free and if you were not a member in 2025 you can join for the rest of the year for only **$40!!!**

Join us every Saturday of January for a day of boardgaming !!! You first visit is free and if you were not a member in 2025 you can join for the rest of the year for only **$40!!!**

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

This meetup is a collaborative Unity workshop focused on real projects and shared problem-solving. Instead of talks or presentations, attendees bring a Unity project they’re actively working on and collaborate through discussion, troubleshooting, and hands-on exploration. The format is flexible and community-driven. You might debug a tricky issue, improve your workflow, explore performance optimizations, or get feedback on architecture, tools, and implementation approaches. Learning happens by doing, asking questions, and helping each other. **What to Expect:** * Bring-your-own Unity project (any level) * Group discussion and peer feedback * Debugging, optimization, and workflow problem-solving * Shared tips, best practices, and practical solutions Example projects may include games, tools, or prototypes—personal or professional. All experience levels are welcome. Whether you’re just getting started or refining advanced systems, this is a supportive space to learn and build together. **Food and drinks provided. Join us to learn, collaborate, and connect.**

*GOhio!* turns 8!! 🥳 Come celebrate with us at [Pins Mechanical](https://www.pinsbar.com/locations/easton)! 😄 **Summary** Pins Mechanical Co. is a social entertainment venue that combines old-school games like duckpin bowling, pinball, and other classic arcade and table games with craft cocktails, local beers, and punch. The vintage-industrial atmosphere is designed for playful, face-to-face gatherings with friends, family, and colleagues, offering a casual and lively alternative to a typical bar. Pins' Easton location spans over 38,000 square feet, making it the largest in the United States. This massive entertainment venue features two floors, a mezzanine level with stadium seating, and three full-service bars. It offers 16 duckpin bowling lanes, two indoor bocce courts, and more than 60 classic and modern pinball and arcade games. For additional fun, the location is known for its two outdoor patios, an indoor slide, and an expanded patio pong setup. **Activities** As noted below, some machines take actual quarters. Pins has two change machines (one downstairs and one upstairs) that accept ones, fives, or tens (only), and return quarters (only). * *Duckpin Bowling* [Like Bowling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duckpin_bowling) but with smaller balls, stubby pins, and no oil on the lanes. The cost is $9 per game per person. * *Pinball* [Who](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Who)'s a [wizard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball_Wizard) on these [retro machines](https://pinballmap.com/map/?by_location_id=15311)? At $1 per play, everyone! Takes quarters. * *Arcade* Play classics like Gorf, Pac-Man, Gorf, Donkey Kong, Gorf, Galaga, and Gorf! The best part is, there's Gorf! And all the arcade games are free! * *Patio Pong* The classic college party staple but bigger. Instead of tossing a ping pong ball into cups, you use a regular ball and oversized buckets. There are two of these upstairs, and they're both free! * *Ping Pong* The most popular sport in China! They have two ping pong tables downstairs and two more ping pong tables upstairs. For those of you who have studied topological spaces and set theory, you will know this means they have four total ping pong tables. They have bubble gum dispensers with ping pong balls in them for 25¢ each. The dispensers take quarters. However, they also have racks where they store the ping pong paddles, and in these racks are slots for ping pong balls. It's not uncommon to see balls already here, so there's a chance you may be able to play ping pong for free if you want to. * *Hookie* You can't put your eye out! The safe alternative to darts: Hook thrown rings on a board. Outdoors on the upstairs patio, and free! * *Bocce* Like bowling, except there’s turf and a lot more balls. You can also knock your opponent’s balls out of the way. There are two of these upstairs, and they're both free! * *Foosball* Everyone loves [foosball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_football)! 50¢ a game. Takes quarters. * *Giant Jenga* Stack massive wooden blocks into a tower, then take turns pulling out one block at a time without collapsing the tower. There are four of these sprinkled throughout the venue (two downstairs and two upstairs, with one on each patio), and they're all free! * *Skeeball* There are three skeeball machines on the first floor (near the Gorf machine!), and they're all free! * *Giant Connect Four* On the outdoor patio upstairs, and free! * *Bubble Hockey* This is upstairs. Up to four people can play at once, and it costs $1. Takes quarters. * *Cornhole* There are two cornhole lanes upstairs, and they're both free! * *Basketball* There are two basketball machines downstairs. They're tucked behind the downstairs bar, so they're not always obvious unless you go look for them. They're $2 per play, and they take quarters. * *NES and Sega Genesis video games* These are collections, downstairs (near the Gorf machine!), of video games that you can play for free! * *The Big Metal Indoor Slide* This large two-story slide is for kids, and certainly no adults would ride this. After all, it's not like it's free or anything. **Outdoor Patio** Pins at Easton actually has two outdoor patios. But for our purposes, only the upstairs one matters. See, it will be winter and likely cold. But their upstairs patio has multiple ceiling heaters and two massive gas fire pits that put out a ton of heat. Sitting out here may be a real option. As mentioned above, the upstairs outdoor patio has one of the venue's two Patio Pong setups, one of their multiple Giant Jengas, the Giant Connect Four, and Hookie. **Food** Pins doesn't serve food, but there's a [Mikey's Late Night Slice](https://www.latenightslice.com/) next door. This Mikey's is basically an extension of the Easton Pins; there's a large open doorway between both establishments. Mikey's has a fountain dispenser with Coke products. You can also get Coke and Diet Coke (but not Coke Zero, like you can at Mikey's) at the bars in Pins, but I think the quality of the soda pop from Mikey's fountain is better than that from the bar hoses Pins uses to dispense soft drinks. You are also quite allowed at Pins to either bring food in or order it in via your favorite delivery app. **Parking** I recommend parking in the [Worth Garage](https://eastontowncenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/parking-at-easton-updated-file-sept-25.pdf). It's literally right next door to Pins, and it's free as long as you park on Level 2 or above. They recently started charging people to park on Level 1, and you pay for parking on this level the same way you pay for street parking in Columbus, with the [ParkColumbus](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.parkmobile.parkcolumbus&hl=en_US&pli=1) app. I've seen them enforce this by ticketing people's cars, but I don't know how they actually compel payment. The garage is not a public street that actual cops can write you tickets for parking illegally on. If you have an actual ticket from a cop that you don't pay, they can go so far as to issue a warrant for your arrest. But all Easton has, seemingly, is, "[Please pay our ticket](https://eastonpreferredpark.com/)." Still, in my ongoing efforts to eliminate needless stress and aggravation from my life, I just park above the first Level. The actual address of the garage is [4049 Worth Ave, Columbus, OH 43219](https://www.google.com/maps/place/4049+Worth+Ave,+Columbus,+OH+43219/@40.0542293,-82.9137962,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x88388a86de3af559:0xc1dc8b4661fc834f!8m2!3d40.0542293!4d-82.9137962!16s%2Fg%2F11sgzjp4ml?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDkyNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D). However, your GPS is stupid. The actual entrances to the garage are on the cross steets Brighton Rose Way and Fenlon St, not Worth Ave. Just keep this in mind once you get to the garage. **Where we'll meet** I'll post in the comments where I am. People will obviously want to explore different areas of the venue over the course of the event (and there's a lot to explore), but please just let me know (as in, come find me) once you've arrived. **Peroration** Come on out and say hi! 😄

## Learn Infrastructure-as-Code (the FUN Way) — Through Minecraft 🎮☁️ **Joint Meetup: Azure CBUS × Columbus HashiCorp User Group × DevOps Columbus** What if learning Terraform and Infrastructure-as-Code didn’t feel like a whitepaper… but more like a game? Join us for a joint Azure CBUS, Columbus HashiCorp User Group, and DevOps Columbus meetup where **Mark Tinderholt** \(Principal Architect\, Microsoft Azure \| HashiCorp Ambassador \| “The Azure Terraformer”\) shows how **Minecraft** can be used as a surprisingly powerful way to understand real-world Infrastructure-as-Code concepts. In this session, Mark will demonstrate how Terraform and Azure can be used to provision, configure, and manage Minecraft servers—while teaching the same patterns you’d use for production cloud infrastructure. ### What we’ll cover * Infrastructure-as-Code fundamentals using **Terraform** * Provisioning real infrastructure on **Azure** * Applying **IaC best practices** (immutability, repeatability, versioning) * How playful environments like Minecraft make complex concepts *click* * Why learning through experimentation beats click-ops every time ### Who should attend * Developers, platform engineers, and cloud engineers * Terraform users (new or experienced) * Anyone curious about Infrastructure-as-Code but tired of boring examples * Minecraft fans who want to see it used in a totally unexpected way No prior Minecraft experience required—just curiosity and a willingness to learn infrastructure the fun way. Come for the blocks, stay for the Terraform. 🧱➡️📐 Want to be a speaker? submit your talk to our Call for Presenters!!! https://sessionize.com/azure-cbus-2026/

**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 **Abstract** GitHub Copilot is rapidly changing how developers write, understand, and maintain code. Powered by generative AI and deeply integrated into modern development environments, Copilot acts as an intelligent coding assistant, helping developers move faster while maintaining quality and focus. In this session, we’ll explore what GitHub Copilot is, how it works, and where it fits into a real-world developer workflow. We’ll break down what Copilot can (and cannot) do, where it can be used, and how licensing differs for individuals and organizations. Most importantly, this talk goes beyond theory with a live, hands-on demo showcasing Copilot inside the IDE and on GitHub, demonstrating how it can assist with code generation, refactoring, learning new APIs, and accelerating day-to-day development tasks. Designed for developers, technical leads, and engineering managers, this session provides a practical introduction to AI-assisted development, highlights best practices for getting value from Copilot, and closes with guidance on how to continue learning and evolving alongside this rapidly advancing tool. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how GitHub Copilot can enhance productivity, improve developer experience, and fit into modern software teams today, not someday. **YouTube Link** TBA