What we’re about
Join us on Discord, Board Game Arena, and Board Game Geek! Meet other board gamers and play games of all kinds! Exercise your brain, have fun, meet new people, and share your love of gaming with other enthusiasts in the Essex County Gamers! Our events take place at board game cafés, public libraries, and hobby shops across Essex County, MA and beyond! Though our group plays a lot of board games, we welcome and encourage gaming of all kinds--cards, Backgammon, tabletop role playing games, Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, etc. We welcome new event hosts if you're interesting in running your own events--reach out to the Leadership Team to ask about hosting! We look forward to seeing you at the gaming table!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- 11/14 Weekly Heavy GamingThe Castle: Restaurant and Bar, Beverly, MA
Do you enjoy heavy games on the strategic side of the hobby? Then join us Thursdays in Beverly at The Castle! The games are heavy but the atmosphere anything but!
Because we play heavy games, which we define as games weighted 2.5 or higher on BoardGameGeek.com, we have some rules to maximize everyone’s enjoyment. If this is your first time, read the Group Rules linked below, and the direct message the hosts will send you with additional details to help you understand how the group functions.
Here are the main things you need to know:
- Everyone wanting to come should RSVP by hitting the ‘Attend’ button by 2pm each Sunday. If you say you are attending, we ask you to make a firm commitment because it often spoils the games when someone no shows.
- We take turns picking games each week. We use the event chat on Meetup to coordinate game picks and seat selection. If it’s your first time, you will want to read the Group Rules below to help you understand the game pick and seat selection process.
- Games are not taught at the table. All players need to learn the rules to their game by Thursday.
- Games start NO LATER THAN 6:00 pm. Many of us arrive early for dinner, and games can start as soon as all players are there.
- The Castle charges a $6 gaming fee per visit. We encourage you to eat and drink at The Castle during the event! Due to the size of our group each week, The Castle will apply a gratuity to attendees' checks.
Other Tidbits
- Track the weekly picking rotation on our Pick List Google Doc
- Read the Group Rules Google Doc
- If you want to join the Heavy Game Thursdays guild on BoardGameGeek.com to see other regulars' game collections, go to: https://boardgamegeek.com/guild/3982. We often will bring games for each other if arranged beforehand!
- Game Day Extravaganza + Annual Member & Host Appreciation EventSalem Community Life Center , Salem, MA
We are excited to be partnering with Salem Park, Recreation and Community Services again to host another game day at the Salem Community Life Center.
For this event, the Essex County Gamers Meetup group is welcoming its members and the public to its Annual Member & Host Appreciation Game Day Extravaganza. The event celebrates our love of games, the hard work of our hosts and organizers, and the generosity of our members. Whether it will be your first time playing modern board games or you are an experienced gamer, all are welcome!
Here's what to expect at this event:
- Pizza, snacks, and drinks
- Board games and gaming raffle
- Game-giveaway table where you can leave games you want to give away for free
- Games taught at the tables by our dedicated members
- An optional GeekList no-ship board game & TTRPG sale/auction run on BoardGameGeek.com with the game/money exchange at 12 PM in the parking lot
The center has plenty of seating and circular tables that will work with most space hungry games. Bring any game you would like to play, or join in with a group day of. Coordination for longer games may take place in the event comments beforehand, so we encourage everyone to RSVP. This event is generally suitable for those aged 10ish & up, and families with younger children are welcome to come game together (childcare is not provided).
Games of varying difficulty are played with each game featuring a teacher. Games played can be anything from quick and easy-to-learn light games to multi-hour, heavy, brain-burner strategy games. If you plan to arrive late, please post your estimated arrival time in the event comments and the hosts will try to have a seat in a game ready for you. Game clean up needs to start no later than 5 PM. We have a hard exit from the space at 5:45 PM.
The community life center is a short walk from the Salem commuter rail station, has a large parking lot, bike parking and a blue bike station. This event is open to members of Essex County Gamers and walk-in members of the public.
- No-Ship Board Game & RPG Sale/Auction GeekList (In-Person Exchange in Salem, MA)Salem Community Life Center , Salem, MA
Link to GeekList on BGG: Essex County Gamers Board Game & TTRPG No-Ship Sale/Auction
Are you an Essex County Gamer member or a board gamer or RPG gamer in the North Shore area? Do you need to make room on your gaming shelves for more games? Or do you want to get a deal and add more games to your collection? Maybe you need a new adventure to embark on with your party? Then this is the BGG GeekList for you!
To make game sales more economical for both parties, this GeekList is meant to be a no-ship sale/auction where buyers and sellers will meet in the parking lot at the Salem Community Life Center in Salem, MA at 12 PM on Sunday, November 17, 2024 to exchange money and games. The street address of this location is 401 Bridge St in Salem, MA 01970. Make sure you are there, because if you, as the buyer or the seller, miss the meeting, you will be footing the bill to ship the games you are on the hook for. If you can't make it for some reason, make arrangements for a friend to deliver/pick up/pay for your game(s) for you.
What can be listed?
-Board games, board-game-related stuff
-TTRPGs, TTRPG-related stuffHow can I list an item on the sale/auction GeekList?
You must create an account on BoardGameGeek.com to participate in this sale/auction and list all items in the GeekList.
1. Make one entry per item you are putting up for sale.
2. In the description, you can include a Starting Bid and/or a Buy-It-Now price in US dollars. If you don't specify a starting bid, the starting bid is assumed to be $1.00. If you just list a price without a Starting Bid, it's assumed to be a fixed-price auction, sold to the first person to claim it. If a buyer and seller agree on a Buy-It-Now price, they may arrange to meet privately at any date and time according to their own discretion.
3. Including details about player count, gameplay, why they might want to buy it, or "if you really liked these other games, then you'll like this game" information will help sell your games and stuff.
4. Specify the condition. Games are assumed to be used, so specify if it is new or unopened. You must disclose if the game is incomplete, a different version than shown in the image to the left of the entry, the game or its rules are in a language other than English, if the game has an odor or comes from a smoker's home, the box has significant damage beyond shelf-wear, or the components are damaged.
5. If the game comes with an expansion, state that in the entry description--do not list the expansion as a separate entry. However, if you are selling an expansion on its own, please list it as its own item.
If you change your mind and decide not to sell a sale/auction item, make a comment on the listing that it is no longer for available and edit the item entry itself to notify others of that fact. Do not delete the entry because some GeekList participants use the item numbers to track what they're buying and it can cause major administrative headaches.How do I buy a listed item?
Make a comment on the GeekList item with the dollar amount you are willing to pay for it. Your bid must be at least equal to the listed starting bid, or $1.00 higher than the previous bid. Whole dollar values only.When does the auction end?
This auction will close on the Thursday prior to the item/funds exchange date on Sunday, November 17, at a surprise, unspecified time between 12:01 AM and 12:01 PM so as to confuse bidding snipers.When & where do we exchange games and money again?
Buyers and sellers will meet in the parking lot at the Salem Community Life Center in Salem, MA at 12 PM on Sunday, November 17, 2024 to exchange money and games/items/stuff. The street address of this location is 401 Bridge St in Salem, MA 01970. If you plan to also attend the Essex County Games Game Day Extravaganza & Annual Member and Host Appreciation Event that's at the same location, make sure you RSVP via Meetup! Space is limited! You may participate in this sale/auction and not the Meetup event or vice versa.What do I do after the sale?
When someone marks an item as SOLD in the GeekList, that flags the transaction as such so that BGG gets its cut. Do your part to help support the site that makes all of this possible by entering in the actual price the listing sells for. DO NOT DELETE YOUR ITEM(S), participants track purchases by item numbers and deletions cause confusion and administrative headaches. No one wants that.Final thoughts...
Be kind. Be helpful. Be nice. This is Essex County Gamers' first attempt at doing a GeekList game sale/auction, so constructive criticism will be helpful.
