What we’re about
Seattle Board Games supports a vibrant and inclusive community of board game enthusiasts in the Seattle metro area. Our events and gatherings offer opportunities to have fun, make friends, and deepen our appreciation for the art, design, and strategy of board games. We seek to make games more accessible by removing barriers to enjoying and learning from them.
We host all types of boardgames, from lighter games such as Settlers of Catan and Lords of Waterdeep to heavier Euros like Brass Birmingham, Dune Imperium, and others. We also play thematic games such as Battlestar Galactica, social deduction games, Magic the Gathering, card games, and party games. If it's on BroadGameGeek's list of over 25,000 games (https://boardgamegeek.com/browse/boardgame?sort=rank), we might be playing it!
Anyone can become an event organizer and host events - either specific games or open gaming sessions. If you are interested, please contact the primary organizer.
We are member and organizer driven, and welcome suggestions for improvements and new directions.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Let’s Play Thebes! @ Anchorhead Coffee!Anchorhead Coffee & Bakery, Seattle, WA
Thebes is a game of competitive archeology. Players are archaeologists who must travel around Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East to acquire knowledge about five ancient civilizations and use this knowledge to excavate historical sites in the areas of these civilizations. The archaeologist who learns the most about the civilizations, claims the greatest-valued artifacts, and collects the most exhibitions will win out over his or her colleagues.
Thebes main mechanics are set collecting, variable turn order, & push your luck. The game uses a novel mechanism to keep track of the progress of the game which takes place over 2-3 years (depending on # of players). Actions taken by a player take a certain amount of time for which they move their player token forward in time. Players take turns based on being the one who is furthest back in "time". So, a player can go to an excavation site and spend 10 weeks digging for artifacts, but that will also mean that the other players will likely be taking several actions in the interim while that player waits for the "time" to catch up!
2 - 4 players
60 - 120 minutes expected play time, depending on turnout and player familiarity. New players are welcome, and the host is happy to teach if you haven't played before.
BBG Link
13-min How-to (Dice Tower)
(Don't worry, we'll go over the rules on the day, too.)A few important details:
- This event is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM PLEASE be on time!
Please factor traffic & parking into your commute. - Speaking of… It's Cap Hill/First Hill/Seattle U, so parking can be a challenge. Sorry, it's a walking neighborhood! Anchorhead is only a few blocks from the First Hill Streetcar (Broadway & Pike/Pine or Broadway & Marion stops are about the same distance) and very close to the #2 and #12 bus lines, though.
- Purchasing something isn't a strict requirement, but it's nice to do since we're using the space. Please support the business if you can!
- If you need to cancel please do so as soon as you know. People on the waitlist and playing that day will appreciate it!
- I open signups for most of my events 1-3 days before pressing the "announce" button here on Meetup; if you want to know about that when it happens and have the opportunity to claim a seat before others, you can join the Seattle Board Games Discord server, where I'll post to let users there know as soon as RSVPs open!
- This event is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM PLEASE be on time!
- Let’s Play Maharaja! @ Anchorhead Coffee!Anchorhead Coffee & Bakery, Seattle, WA
“Maharaja: Palace Building in India” takes place in India. Each of the players plays a raja, and each wants to build palaces and houses all over India in an attempt to impress the Maharaja, who will visit one city per round. Whoever has the most impressive buildings in that particular city at the end of the round gets the most money, which can then be used for more building. After the round, the city scoring doesn’t matter; as whoever builds seven total palaces wins, with money being the tiebreaker.
Maharaja is a game with elements of area influence, simultaneous action selection and variable player powers. During the game, the players take different roles and travel from city to city in India. Their architects build palaces and houses for the Maharaja. The first player who builds seven palaces is the winner. Players choose their actions simultaneously, but reveal and resolve them in turn. Actions include generating money, building houses or palaces, manipulating the Maharaja's movements, and choosing new architects.
At the end of each round, the Maharaja scores the city he is currently in based on the number of buildings, players receive money, and then he moves to the next city.
New players are welcome, and the host is happy to teach if you haven't played before.2 - 5 players
90 - 120 minutes expected play time, depending on turnout and player familiarity.
BBG Link
8-min How-to (Tim’s Boardgame Review)
(Don't worry, we'll go over the rules on the day, too.)A few important details:
- This event is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM PLEASE be on time!
Please factor traffic & parking into your commute. - Speaking of… It's Cap Hill/First Hill/Seattle U, so parking can be a challenge. Sorry, it's a walking neighborhood! Anchorhead is only a few blocks from the First Hill Streetcar (Broadway & Pike/Pine or Broadway & Marion stops are about the same distance) and very close to the #2 and #12 bus lines, though.
- Purchasing something isn't a strict requirement, but it's nice to do since we're using the space. Please support the business if you can!
- If you need to cancel please do so as soon as you know. People on the waitlist and playing that day will appreciate it!
- I open signups for most of my events 1-3 days before pressing the "announce" button here on Meetup; if you want to know about that when it happens and have the opportunity to claim a seat before others, you can join the Seattle Board Games Discord server, where I'll post to let users there know as soon as RSVPs open!
- This event is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM PLEASE be on time!
