SF Games
www.sfgames.org

The San Francisco Games Group

Play Some Games and Meet Some Friends

Last update: Saturday August 20, 2011 


Meeting Weekly Since July 1995

Welcome to SF Games!
New?  Don't worry - we teach all games.
 

Meeting Times & Places

Friday SF Games - 7:00pm
Muddy's Coffeehouse, 1304 Valencia Street
, near 24th in San Francisco. (1 block from BART and Mission Street). This is the main group, getting between 20 and 40 people playing all kinds of board and card games. We meet Friday nights, 7:00pm (sharp!) to 12:00 midnight (yes, 5 hours!) at On or near the 12, 26, 48, 49, and 67 Muni lines. Parking within 3 blocks. If you like a large selection of games to play with a variety of people, this is the group for you. Muddy's Map (Valencia & 24th) 

Sunday SF Games - 2:00pm
Zephyr Cafe, 3643 Balboa Street
, between 37th & 38th Avenues, across from the Balboa Theater. Parking is okay within a block or two, On Muni lines 31 and 18, and 2 blocks from the 38 and 5 lines.  This group typically gets 5 to 15 people.  Bring your favorite games!  Zephyr Map (Balboa and 38th)

Note: Oakland Cancelled
Effective immediately (August 20, 2011), the Monday games group in Oakland is no longer meeting.

LA Games! - Friday Nights in LA
Visiting LA? Some SF Games people moved to LA and started the LA Games! Link to Website. It meets Fridays nights. LA Games recently moved to the west side and is re-establishing itself. Contact coordinator Cheryl for more information about LA Games.

DO NOT send email or snail mail to the cafes where we meet.
Send Email to the moderator: sfgames@yahoo.com


E-Mail Announcements
We have an e-mail list that's not very active, but we use it to announce any last-minute changes in the group, and for special events (parties, movie and museum outings, etc.) From time to time we move to other cafes, and sometimes on very short notice.  This is the way to stay in touch. Your name and address will not be sold or traded with anyone.

Subscribe to sfgames E-mail List - You do not need a Yahoo account; any email address works just fine. It's just a list.

Click Here for the Web Page version of the email list.


Our Story...
SF Games is a collective name for a group of people who get together and play board games and card games every week. We're not sponsored by any cafe or games company. Please do not contact the cafe where we meet and ask for information. They don't have it. The info is here!

Some of us have been playing games for years, others only a few months. What we share is our love of games, all kinds. We play social games and strategy games.

SF Games was begun not as a games group but as a social group with games. We feel this contributes to the longevity of the group (celebrating 16 years in July 2011), and the continued enjoyment by members year in and year out.  It has also helped the group become diverse group (a wider age range and a better balance of men and women) than most other games groups. 

SF Games is free to attend, but please buy something at the cafe. Bring your favorite games to play if you have them. Be prepared to learn a new game. Come early or you might not get into the early games!  Don't know how to play? We'll teach you. 

If you are late, hang out until you see a game end. In most games you're welcome to sit at the edge of the table and watch until the game ends. Be sure to introduce yourself. Since our main group runs 5 hours, you will be able to get into a game if you wait until the next break. Most people can get in 3 games during the evening.  


FAQ

1 - Who Attends? 
All kinds of people of all ages, male, female, straight, gay, bi come to SF Games. (SF Games has always been a queer-positive group.)  Anybody who can play games is welcome to attend. 

2 - What Kinds of Games?
What we play depends on who comes and what they bring. Generally, games can be divided into two groups: social games and strategy games. 

Social Games: These are for people who like lots of conversation and laughs, where having a good time is more important than refining your game-winning strategy. Examples of social games we play (or have played) are Taboo, Set, Fluxx, and Apples to Apples. Feel free to bring other social games.  

Strategy Games: Among the more common popular strategy games we play are Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Settlers of Catan, and Acquire. We also have been known to play Samurai, Air Baron, Illuminati, Caylus, Carcassone, Princes of Florence, Ra, Scotland Yard, Ticket To Ride, etc. As you can tell, we're hot on the various German style board games (aka Eurogames) and members are always bringing new ones.  

Card Games tend to be focused on these ones using traditional decks, though to be honest, we don't play a lot of traditional card games. We tend to play games that use special packs such as RoboRally, San Juan, Bohnanza (a German bean collecting game), and Coloretto (a color matching game).

We are not inclined to play Magic the Gathering or other collectible card type games. We also do not play long-form (more than 3 hour) games, though people from our group do meet independently for these kinds of games.  

3 - Does SF Games Meet This Week?  
Yes. This is probably the most frequent question. Yes, we meet rain or shine, including most holidays unless. Get onto our email list to be sure about holidays.

4 - Do You Play This Game?  
Don't ask us if we play a game -- come by and bring your game and see! Also, if we're not playing your favorite game, feel free to learn a new one or if you brought your favorite game with you, please encourage others to play with you!


Take The Games Poll!
Which games are the most popular? Why do you play games? This poll has been running for several years. You may be surprised at some of the results of this extensive survey. Take the poll and look at what other people had to say! It's free.

Take the Games Poll

History of SF Games
SF Games was founded July 5, 1995 by David Kaye, a community organizer who also founded the group now known as the QuickTricks bridge club, and is co-founder of the Pacific Center in Berkeley.  He has also produced the weekly Music Box Series live music series in San Francisco as well as other events.  

In The Press!
What they've said about us:
San Francisco Chronicle

 All photos copyright 2002-2011 David Kaye and may not be used without expressed written permission

 Back to David Kaye's Homepage Go to DK's Homepage



Visitors since 1/13/2000, 19674 on 7/25/06, 23019 on 8/15/07,24335 on 1/1/08, 25697 on 5/23/08,
27454 on 12/6/08, 29894 on 7/8/09, 32209 on 1-23-10, 39490 on 12-18-10, 46309 on 7/26/2011

This web page was written and produced by David Kaye.