Video Game Design

Join us for The Secret Meetup, a semi-monthly board game night at The Secret Lantern Books & Games in Cedar Park! It’s called The Secret Meetup, so you probably shouldn’t tell anyone 🤫 (…but you should absolutely tell people though).
​
We’re a safe, friendly, inclusive, and diverse group. New players are always welcome — we’re happy to teach games and help you find a table.
​
🕕 Games start at 6:00 pm and go until 10:00 pm.
​
📅 First meetup: Monday, March 9. This is a pilot, so potentially every other Monday after that!
​
📍The Secret Lantern Books and Games in Cedar Park. Housed in a former bank, this shop is now the very definition of “cozy.” Think comfy upholstered furniture, warm lighting, and tucked-away corners, perfect for settling into a long game. And yes — there’s a Vault Room, complete with massive steel door and spinning wheel handle, now reborn as one of the coolest places around to plot your next heist— err, move.
​
⏰ Good to know:
• You’re welcome to arrive earlier to hang out or play, but games will definitely start at 6:00 pm.
• The store opens at 10:00 am — if you want to make a whole game day of it, leave a comment!
• Coffee drinks and light food are available for purchase at the store — please support our host venue.
​
🎲 What to bring:
• Your favorite board games (optional)
• Or just bring yourself — there’s always room to join in
​
Whether you’re brand new to board games or a seasoned player, come roll some dice, learn something new, and enjoy a great Monday night with awesome people.

**Hey Singles!!!** Tired of the endless swiping on dating apps? Exhausted by the bar scene? Isn't breaking the ice just the worst? Then come meet and have fun with your fellow eligible peeps for Singles Game Night! ***This event is inclusive*:** We welcome all singles ***of all ages*** from all walks of life, including our LGBTQ+ friends! Know a single Austinite? Send them our way! **What to Expect:** We'll be meeting at the Main Event just off 183 North, where on weekdays they have multiple all-you-can-play activities for about $20! There's also drinks, arcade games, and so many ways to get to know each other! Perhaps you'll meet that special someone... and shoot them in laser tag! We'll camp out at the bar starting around 7 where we'll say hi, chat, and everyone can get some liquid courage if they're so inclined. From there, it's a free-for-all! Just go, have fun, and mingle hard! Make sure to bring what you need for whatever activities you'd like to enjoy. Want to bowl? You'll need socks. Want to play laser tag? Perhaps bring your flats. Any venue questions? Check out Main Event's info below **Main Event's website:** [https://www.mainevent.com/](https://www.mainevent.com/) Hope to see y'all there! **Quick Legal Disclaimer:** Attending this meetup is at your own risk. By attending, you agree the organizers, venue, or Meetup assume *absolutely no liability* for any matters pertaining to this event. If there is an issue, please immediately contact an organizer, and we will do our best to resolve it in good faith. Folks, let's all be smart, kind, and respectful so we can have a great time!

We’re still working to get more people into these Meetups, but our goal is to give PlayYourCourt members a few social tennis outings each week in addition to your practice sessions and Challenge League matches. These Meetups are co-ed, super laid back, and all skill levels are welcome. Post your skill level and a suggested court in the comments section so we can round up as many players as we can for some tennis fun! Also, if you’re looking to meet new practice partners or play some matches and you aren’t already in the PlayYourCourt Community, you can go here to see what we’re all about and sign up: https://www.playyourcourt.com/tennis-community/round-rock-tx/meetup/ If you love tennis, we’d love to have you! Be sure and watch the quick video that explains how everything works. Happy hitting! - Scott

Come play pickleball and make new friends at Pickleland! 🏓 \*\*\* **Important: Please sign up on the Pickleland App ([iOS](https://pickleland.com/ios) \| [Android](https://pickleland.com/android)) or [website](https://play.pickleland.com) directly.** \*\*\* We divide our open play by levels! 😄 (All levels welcome!) If you've never played, come and learn the rules! We have other beginners join us every day. You don't need a paddle, we have some you can rent ($10)! If you are an avid player, come and find some nice and friendly competition. If this time doesn't work for you, we are open M-F 8am to 10pm, and Sat-Sun 8am-8pm. Find other times on the Pickleland App ([iOS](https://pickleland.com/ios) \| [Android](https://pickleland.com/android)) or [website](https://play.pickleland.com). The website and app will show the most accurate roster and sign up count! Follow [@picklelandatx](https://www.instagram.com/picklelandatx/) for more! **⭐️ Come see why we were recently named the "Best Pickleball Club" in Austin by Austin Pickleball Update and 750+ other players!**

plan for a good time of poker and fun

We play a wide variety of Euro-style board games, including anything new that's out there plus usual favorites. Bring your favorite game! Someone will most likely want to try it. Game Kastle has snacks and drinks, plus there is a Subway, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Wing Street and Wanfu in the shopping center. Sorry, no alcohol allowed in the store. There are usually 10+ folks playing games, regardless of the number that sign up. If you show up after 1pm, you may have to wait.

As we are having this event on the same day as Free RPG Day, it seemed fitting to have an event of games that tell a story. Not the stories that come from playing a game, a game that has quests, or a storyline. Note, as mentioned above, we will be sharing the store with the Free RPG Day Event. We will _not_ be in the back room, but on _a_ row of tables in the common area. 3 tables in total. And expect it to be loud. Because of the limit on space and seats, I'm capping this event at 12 people total. But, let's have some fun!

***[CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE DETAILS](https://pinballz.com/events/mixtape-music-bingo-lake-creek/)*** Get ready for a Friday night filled with music, bingo, and big prizes at **Mixtape Music Bingo!** This free-to-play event brings your favorite songs to the game of bingo. Join us **every Friday at 7:00 PM** in **Mikki’s Tavern at Pinballz Lake Creek** and put your music knowledge to the test. **HOW TO PLAY** Instead of calling out numbers, we play song clips! Here’s how it works: * **Get a Bingo Card** – Your card will have song titles instead of numbers. * **Listen & Mark** – If you hear a song that’s on your card, mark it! * **Multiple Rounds, Multiple Ways to Win** – We play multiple rounds each night, with new winners each round! * **Round 1:** Single Bingo * **Round 2:** Double Bingo * **Round 3:** Blackout (mark every song on your card!) **PRIZES FOR THE TOP 3 WINNERS:** Each round of Mixtape Music Bingo brings a chance to win awesome prizes! With multiple rounds every night, there are plenty of opportunities to take home a reward. Bring your best music knowledge and see if you can snag a win! * **1st Place:** $50 Pinballz Game Card * **2nd Place:** $25 Pinballz Game Card * **3rd Place:** $15 Pinballz Game Card **EVENT DETAILS** * **Date:** Every Friday * **Time:** 7:00 PM * **Location:** Mikki’s Tavern at Pinballz Lake Creek * **Cost:** Free – No RSVP required

Free, vibrant outdoor art event along Main St- Stroll downtown & browse work of 15 different local visual artists. Meet creators & enjoy charm of Round Rock.

This is the monthly design status and update meeting. Participation is both in person and online. Members of Austin Physics for Fun are now involved in the effort. -- https://www.meetup.com/physics-1/ The meeting will be held at a private makerspace, Diogenes. It is located in the same building as the adult club Colette Austin. The door is at the left end of the building, Suite C. Go to the back of the first floor workspace and head upstairs. If you have questions please feel free to submit them in the comments below or send them to me directly. Zoom meeting details will be posted about a half hour before the meeting begins. HABEX - High Altitude Balloon Experiments The reference to experiments is two-fold. The first is in regard to the actual balloon construction and flight processes. The second is a reference to the payload and what it does during the flight (e.g. images, environmental measurements, etc.). To be clear, there will be two design processes going on in parallel, the balloon proper and the payload. This initial flight is really focusing on the balloon to get that process pinned down and clearly defined. The initial payload should be simple (e.g. digital camera taking pictures). One of the primary design considerations will be the use of CanSat techniques in the design and construction process. We may need to build a technology demonstrator for this (i.e. dummy payload) before the actual flight process. Design Process: Design/Buy > Assemble > Test > Loop (Will it fly?) > Flight Plan Meeting Sequence: Pilot - Initial meeting (possibly two) to gauge interest and get first round of participants. Design - Group responsible for the first four stages of the Design Process. - Multiple meetings. Pre-Flight - Review process to date and verify readiness - Set the date of launch - Possibly two meetings Launch - Two teams (Launch and Recovery) Clean up - Launch team cleans up launch site and transitions to tracking and telemetry Recovery - Recovery team (possibly several groups) chases the balloon and tries to stay ahead of it. Post-Flight - Review, analysis, and release of flight report (including experimental results if any). Flight Plan: * Pre-Flight * Schedule * Assembly * Launch * Tracking * Recovery Constraints: * COVID 19 * Budget * Resources/Tools/Facilities * Legal (e.g. FAA rules about weight and number of modules) * People * Transportation * Review/Release Results

Let's get together and listen to **[Eric Rico](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericrico/)** from Unity3D (**From Joints to Gestures: Reading Hands in Unity**). A hand tracker gives you joints, not a gesture. This talk shows how you get from raw joints to a "thumbs-up" in Unity: the pipeline that cleans up the data, how a gesture becomes a few 0-to-1 values within tolerance, and why orientation matters as much as finger shape. Includes a live demo of tuning gesture thresholds. Eric also runs the **[Columbus Unity User Group](https://www.meetup.com/columbus-unity-user-group/)**. Check it out! ***Bring your laptop and expect to write some (non-AI-generated) code!*** Food and drinks will be available. **LOCATION:** 6515 Longshore Loop, Suite 300, Dublin, OH 43017 **FREE PARKING:** 6725 Longshore Street, Dublin, OH 43017

PLEASE NOTE!!! This event will be In-Person for our 2nd 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 2nd event at this location so bare with us as we grow into this space. There's paid street parking on Saturdays 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](mailto: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)

*We'll update this with the specific topic(s) once they're set for the month.* A relaxed, community-driven Unity GameDev meetup. No strict agenda — just developers getting together to talk shop, share projects, and exchange ideas. Some topics that may come up (based on attendee interest): * Frame Debugger & performance tooling * Addressables & additive scene workflows * Input System, localization, responsive UI * AI integration approaches * DevOps & LiveOps experiences * Full lifecycle: idea → cross-platform publishing * Favorite Asset Store tools and hidden gems * Weird Unity quirks we've all run into Nothing is locked in. Bring a project if you'd like, bring a question, bring a lesson learned — or just come hang out and meet other developers. All skill levels welcome. Food and drinks provided.

Do **NOT** sign up to this one and sign-up at https://www.meetup.com/columbusjs/events/313386504/ ======================================= A hand tracker gives you joints, not a gesture. This talk shows how you get from raw joints to a "thumbs-up" in Unity: the pipeline that cleans up the data, how a gesture becomes a few 0-to-1 values within tolerance, and why orientation matters as much as finger shape. Includes a live demo of tuning gesture thresholds. Food and drinks will be available. **LOCATION:** 6515 Longshore Loop, Suite 300, Dublin, OH 43017 **FREE PARKING:** 6725 Longshore Street, Dublin, OH 43017

*We'll update this with the specific topic(s) once they're set for the month.* A relaxed, community-driven Unity GameDev meetup. No strict agenda — just developers getting together to talk shop, share projects, and exchange ideas. Some topics that may come up (based on attendee interest): * Frame Debugger & performance tooling * Addressables & additive scene workflows * Input System, localization, responsive UI * AI integration approaches * DevOps & LiveOps experiences * Full lifecycle: idea → cross-platform publishing * Favorite Asset Store tools and hidden gems * Weird Unity quirks we've all run into Nothing is locked in. Bring a project if you'd like, bring a question, bring a lesson learned — or just come hang out and meet other developers. All skill levels welcome. Food and drinks provided.

BACK TO CABS!!! Come to CABS Friday 7/10 & Saturday 7/11 - return to CABS as we come back from Origins and the 4th of July Holiday Break. Come play the new games added to the library at Origins!!!

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.