Game Nights At Bars Melbourne

Beginners Guided Game: Dungeons and Dragons - Only 18 Free Seats Saturday Night

**Turn an Empty Saturday Night into Joining 5 Beginners in a Dungeons & Dragons Adventure** Here is Everything You Will Need to Know: This game night is a beginners introduction to D&D and the Ludos Guild - just bring yourself. **Dungeons and Dragons and Dinner** A cooperative role-play game, relaxed, fun - and optimized for beginners to learn how to play and enjoy their first game with new people. Played with dice, paper, maps and miniature figurines. (You won't have to bring any of these) We will also get dinner (pizza) ordered - it's tradition :) **Ludos Guild** We are helping people build their Social Circles playing D&D to meet and play with other fantasy loving nerds looking to do the same in Melbourne. Most of our members moved to Melbourne for work and University, and love fantasy, games, anime, etc. We are a private D&D community creating events tailored exclusively for our members beyond this Meetup group. **You will love this Event if:** You want to build your social circle at a relaxed/creative game night You like fantasy stories, novels, video games, anime and the like You are pretty busy, and want an exciting, structured event on your off time You got to Melbourne less than 2 years ago, and have experienced how hard it is to make friends down here (We've all been there) 82% of all Ludos Fellowship Members fit this description exactly, with the other 18% missing only one of these 4 traits. If this fits you, I'm even more excited to show the game made me my first friends after school. This night was made for you :) **If your new to Melbourne and want to build the D&D Social Circle You're been missing out on - Join the Group Now.** RSVP now so you don’t miss out (18 seats total) **What Exactly Happens? (Step-by-Step)** **1. Meet Your Host** When you arrive, we’ll greet everyone one at a time. This is your chance to ask questions, tell us what you’re looking for, and have a quick chat about D&D. We’ll give you a name tag and match you with a table. **2. Meet Your Table & Pick a Character** Everything you need to play will already be at the table. You’ll choose a character that looks fun to you and meet your Dungeon Master (DM). Your DM will answer your questions, teach you as you play, and guide your group through the adventure. **3. Play Your D&D Adventure** Then it’s time to play! You’ll spend the 3hr session exploring, making choices, solving problems, and getting to know the other people at your table. You don’t need to know the rules before you arrive. We’ll help you as you go. **4. Hang Out After the Game** After the adventure, we usually have some time to hang out and chat. People often grab some food, talk about the game, and get to know each other a little more. **5. Decide If You Want to Keep Going** There’s no pressure to decide anything before you come. At the end of the night: - You can choose to leave it there - deciding it's not for you. - You can join us for two more paid trial sessions to build your confidence and play more games and or... - You can contiue with the Ludos Fellowship and keep building your D&D social circle by joining as a member. Joining longer form games, custom characters and building your social circle with us fantasy nerds. Note: Attending this event does not guarantee you'll be invited to go beyond. If you're interested in trying Dungeons and Dragons, Learning it, and building a Social Circle of Fantasy lovers to play with, this is the event for you. **RSVP now to Start** We can only have 18 seats available in total, once they're gone they're gone. RSVPs Close Saturday (if there is spots available) We have a 2-Strike Policy, late leavers and no-show are forgiven, but flagged. **If you want to start Enjoying D&D this Weekend, RSVP right now to Start.** **Frequently Asked Question** (or message Jope your Q's) **How "beginner" is beginner**? You've never played at all? That is okay. You've played a few times and have the gist of it? That is okay. You've played up to a level 3 sorcerer with 2 levels in warlock so you could burn the short rest warlock spell slots for the font of magic sorcerer points… not for you, but you can message me if your looking to join the group. **Will I slow my group down if I don't pick up the game quickly**? Our game night is only for beginners and we've taught hundreds of people this game, we wouldn't expect you to fully remember every detail in one session. But you'll definitely be able to enjoy yourself even without learning all the rules. **Will I be the only girl there?** I usually see 30% to 50% of our attendees are women. I can't guarantee this on any given night, or any given group. But you'll find that the environment is super welcoming to all, and it won't affect your enjoyment of the game whatsoever. **How old are the other attendees? I don't want to be the only "old person"/"young person" there..**. Great question, no one wants to be the odd one out in their group. We usually get attendees anywhere from 22-49 with a pretty mixed crowd. I can't make any promises on any given day, but the Group beyond these Beginner Nights has about an 80% young-to-mature professional demographic with the remaining 20% older/retired and uni graduates **Will everyone already know each other?** Nope. Sometimes we get couples/duos. Only the game masters know each other. We also like to break cliques here. **Can I bring a +1 along to this event?** We cannot allow +1s at any of our events. Each attendee needs to be approved seperately, if you have a partner or friend you want to attend with you, please mention your affiliation in the application process to join the group. **I might potentially show up late - should I just miss out instead?** Message Jope as early as possible about being late. We can hold a game from starting for up to 20 or so minutes, do keep us informed **I can't do Saturday nights regularly because of other commitments, but I’m also super interested - do you run at other times?** So Ludos runs events every weekday evening, and every morning, afternoon and evening of the weekends. Which means we have up to 11 events running Message Organiser Jope directly via Meetup your question for an answer about what's going on at the moment. **I'm not the super witty/theatre/improv type, but I think I might like this - should I attend**? Yes! There are many ways to enjoy D&D. Everyone loves the story and characters, some really get into building their character from a games mechanics perspective. Others just like to hang out and chat about the game. People find different things here. What I can say, is that we don't know which type you are until you attend your first game : **I've been to other game nights and they've been hit or miss - what's different here?** Like most game nights, the quality of the night is a reflection of the attendees, so we often filter out people who we think are bad fit. If you're a mature, friendly person you're welcome at Ludos, we try to control this before people reach the table. **How heavy on rules is this game night?** We all play fairly light on the rules, you won't be pulled up for not knowing a niche rule, everyone generally leans towards the "rule of cool" if it won't break the game :) Afterall, this is a beginner session, so we expect you to not know anything. **I played D&D before and had a bad time at Fortress/Facebook Group/University Club…** Yep, we’ve heard this one a lot. Unlike Facebook and university groups we vet people a lot. If someone sucks the first time they come they aren't given the opportunity to come back again. If you've paid for a session of D&D and didn't have a good time because you were stuck with jarring people, immature kids, or a loud venue, you don't find that here. **I’m a shift worker and my schedule gets thrown around a lot - can I still play?** Yes, there are flexible ways to play D&D that are less regimented, though only available to Full Members of Ludos - Speak with Jope or a DM about our Anytime Adventure Access. If you have any other questions - message Jope Otherwise, make sure to **RSVP Right Now** as spots fill quickly. 18 total spots available. RSVP window closes Saturday. The earlier you begin, the sooner you can be placed in longer term games, and meet more group members. **So make sure to join the group and RSVP to this event ASAP**.

Games After Dark - Neighbourhood Edition

Join us for an evening of games at Watsonia Neighbourhood House. Every **Second Friday** we bring a selection of games from the club’s ever growing library as well as choice games from our own personal collections. Feel free to bring your own! \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- Where do we play? We play in the Eucalypt Room at Watsonia Neighbourhood House. What do we play? There will be a range of games available, from beginner to more experienced. We play modern board and card games that are fun and relatively easy to learn. We are more than happy for new people of all experience levels to come and we are always eager to teach. How about Food and Drinks? Enjoy some tea on the house. Or bring in your own meal or grab one from one of the fine local places in the neighbourhood.

Dinner & Board Games Fortnightly CBD (We Play Board Games Melbourne)

Hi everyone, Stella & Tarrant here 😃 It's board game and dinner time every 2nd Wednesdays! Everyone's welcome, new or experienced board gamer. Let's play board games together, meet new friends if you want, and also supporting local restaurant buying their food and drink, coz the event is free. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐒𝐕𝐏, 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐬𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐳 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 Meetup will be in the separate room at the back of their venue! 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘: 6pm - 10pm (but the pub is open till later if you want to stay around) 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧: Meetup for dinner & drink while playing board games. Here's a one page PDF document explaining how it works - https://loom.ly/hTHo2cM. Basically, find some friends or make some new ones. 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚: Bring your own games or play our growing board games library, teach others or join others games. We have flag system to help you find people to play with you. Here is the list of our growing games library, categories and with short description - https://loom.ly/fOKuaM4 𝗙𝗘𝗘: Zero. Nada. It's a casual get together, we're helping facilitating the meetup. All I asked is to please order food & drink from the venue, don't bring your own food and eat there, as the venue is a pub, they are providing the venue for free So please help local business 😃 𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗘: Feel free to post in the comment if you have games you want to bring and teach others, try to organise people to play. Or if you want to join other people's game. We have a group via Aftergame (app/website) where you can organise a game as well here - https://aftergame.app/groups/we-play-board-games-melbourne-meetup-by-meeple-university-1386 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘: Melbourne Central, level 3. Melbourne Central station underneath. There are various public carpark Wilson 300 LaTrobe and Secure Parking in the city. Or the Wilson carpark under Melbourne Central, entry is a set price after 5pm (at the time of writing). And then plenty of public transport in the city 🙂 To connect more to fellow board gamers, you can join the Facebook group that started the event here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/WePlayBoardGames Thank you and hope to see you all then! Stella & Tarrant

Board Game Night at Marché

Whether you're looking for a short, light game or a longer strategy-heavy game, come join the Melbourne Asian Board Gamers on Tuesday night at Marché Board Game Cafe for some fun! To **check in**, please head to the front counter and show your RSVP for the Meetup event to a Marché staff member. They will then point you towards the event host for the evening to take down your attendance. **⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ Cost ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆** Attendees who have registered for the event on Meetup can play at discounted rates, with the following payments to be made: * **$7 in total per session” to cover Meetup subscription and cafe costs. Payment of $7 should be made to Marche at the front counter upon notification to the staff member that you are here for the scheduled meetup. There is now no minimum spend on items at the cafe as there were before. The cafes menu can be found here https://mbgcafe.com.au/menu.pdf . Only attendees on the "going" list are entitled to the discount. attendees that are on the waitlist or didn't register on Meetup are still welcome to come, but will need to pay the regular Marche rate of $22 for three hours of board games (includes one free drink). **Attendance** As our events are highly popular, if you have RSVP as going but can no longer attend, please amend your RSVP to allow others a chance to attend. If we notice people are not showing up when they have RSVP, you will be moved to the waitlist the following week and give priority to those who actually turn up. We appreciate everyone's understanding and co-operation. We really appreciate your support and look forward to playing with you.

Team Up Tuesdays

*🎮 Play games. Make friends 🎲* Make new mates every Tuesday night at Team Up Tuesdays: A fun, social gaming night at Fortress. Hosted in our Tavern, you can enjoy friendly team-based games in a welcoming, social environment. **The Games 🕹️** After checking in with our host, you'll be sorted into one of two teams. These two teams will go head-to-head across 3 rounds of casual games every week! **The Prizes 🏆** \- Fun prizes for everyone on the winning team \- Spot prizes throughout the night **The Venue 🍻** Held in our Tavern, you can enjoy hot food and cold drinks in a fun fantasy setting. *See you next Tuesday!* **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress Melbourne is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm* * *No outside food or drinks.* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*

Games After Dark

Join us for an evening of games at Watsonia Neighbourhood House. Every fourth Friday we bring a selection of games from the club’s ever growing library as well as choice games from our own personal collections. Feel free to bring your own! **Venue change:** Due to works in the library activity room, we will be meeting at the Watsonia Neighbourhood House, 47 Lambourn Rd, Watsonia. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- What do we play? There will be a range of games available, from beginner to more experienced. We play modern board and card games that are fun and relatively easy to learn. We are more than happy for new people of all experience levels to come and we are always eager to teach. How about Food and Drinks? Enjoy some tea on the house. Or bring in your own meal or grab one from one of the fine local places in the neighbourhood.

Board Game Night at Marché

Meet & Geek Thursday @ Pixel Bar & Cafe

Hey friends, please join us for our Meet and Geek at Pixel! We run this event every four weeks and it's a great opportunity to meet new people, play some games, and have some fun. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Looking forward to seeing you all there! * **About the event:** Perfect if you're a solo gamer looking to make friends, or if you've never been to a Meet Up before! It's a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere where you can comfortably meet people and play games socially. There's a variety of games and player experience at all levels. * **Bring your own favourite game(s)!** There is a great selection of games provided by Pixel, but we encourage people to bring their own as well! If you don't have any, no dramas! Just join a table and learn a new game with help from our friendly community. * **Starting at 7pm and ending about 10pm** at Pixel Bar and Cafe. They have kindly let us use their space, so please show your support to this great venue by buying a drink or two (non-alcoholic options available!). If you're in need of a bite, you can order food to the venue too! * **Getting there:** Pixel Bar is opposite Huntingdale station, so there's trains, buses, and plenty of car parks! * **Regarding the Waitlist:** Please remove yourself from attending if you are unable to make the event. This allows others who are next in line on the waitlist to get a notification and be able to attend. We want the event as full as possible! * Dave

Monday Night Boardgames

We’re back in 2026! Come play games with us! This venue is definitely biased towards "euro" style games but any and all games are welcome. Members will bring games that they like. Anything that is fun to play and share is welcome! Don't have a game, don't worry. We've got a decent selection, but you're always welcome to bring a game if you would like. Never played a board game before or it's been 20 years? No problem, we'd be happy to show you how to play. We love beginners, because we were all beginners at one point. Life is full of stress, let Monday nights be a fun night. Some of the games our regulars own: Settlers of Catan Power Grid Dead of Winter Terraforming Mars Stone Age Elder Sign Resistance/Avalon One Night Werewolf Hanabi Race for the Galaxy King of Tokyo Puerto Rico Ticket to Ride Europe 7 Wonders Love Letter Red Planet Century Spice Road Dune and Dark Moon Also, come to a couple of Meetups and Grab your very own discount card for Mindgames in the CBD. For 10% off and other exclusive discounts.

Tricky Tuesday @ The Peacock Inn

Welcome to the **Tricky Tuesday** Meet Up! This is a smaller event but still the same sized fun! Come join us to play and explore modern card games (especially trick-takers and climbing/shedding games)! It's a great chance to learn a new game and meet some new people. You can usually find us at the tables in the side room! * *This event is made possible (and kept free for all members) via the support of [Pretty Tricky Games](http://prettytrickygames.com.au). An Australian online store for niche and unique imported and indie board and card games. Some of these you will be able to experience at our events!* Bring some games to this event if you can. There are none available at the venue. I will always have some packed - feel free to search for the rules and prepare yourself to play! These regular suspects include: Skull King, Farm Hand, The Crew, Space Dragons, VIVO, and Inside Job. Please consider others when coming and in the lead up to the event. We want as many people there as possible. If you are unable to attend mark yourself as such as soon as you can so others can be notified and attend. There's an FAQ below but if you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out. Your tricky friend, Dave **FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS** **What is a trick taking game? Good question you handsome person.** * Generally speaking, a trick taking game is a card game which is played in a series of rounds known as ***tricks***. * Each trick is evaluated to determine a winner or ***taker*** of that trick and then will usually start - or ***lead*** *-* the next trick. * The goal is usually tied to either winning or losing a number of tricks. This may also come in the form of you guessing how many tricks you will win - known as a ***bid***. * Some games may have a suit that always wins - known as a ***trump***. * Most trick taking games are **competitive** needing between 3-5 players, others are **cooperative**, there are also solo and two-player trick taking games as well! * Popular trick taking/trick taking adjacent games you may have heard of: [The Crew](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/324856/the-crew-mission-deep-sea), [Skull King](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/150145/skull-king), [Cat in the Box](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/345972/cat-in-the-box-deluxe-edition), [Scout](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/291453/scout), [Fox in the Forest](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/221965/the-fox-in-the-forest), the classic games of [Spades](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/592/spades) and [Hearts](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6887/hearts), **What makes a Trick Taking game fun?** * There's so much to trick taking games! They're generally quick to teach, quick to play, have interesting decision spaces, and a wide variety of novelty. Even the classics though can be played thousands of times without getting tiresome. Part of the fun is in the interaction with others, assessing their moves and countering them, and how to win (or lose) at the right times. You have to stay on your toes, adapt frequently, and keep tabs on the other players, what they have played, and what they may play next! **Do I need to know how to play/have played a trick taking game before?** * Not at all, but it is good to understand the basics and general terminology so you can pick things up a bit easier on the night. You can check out [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O7QyhKmCsk) for a bit of a general breakdown . **Is this event free?** * Yes, but please support the venue by purchasing a drink or two. **I'm on the waitlist can I still come?** * Unfortunately, no. We have limited capacity and must abide by it. **I don't have a game to bring, is that okay?** * Generally it will be okay, but it is encouraged to bring and share a game where you can! You can always bring a standard deck of cards or tarot cards and learn a card game or two as well! **Can I bring a guest?** * Unfortunately, unless they have signed up too it won't be possible. We have a strict limit on guests and the event would fill up too quickly otherwise. **How do I get to the venue?** * The 86 Tram is your best bet and has a stop pretty much right outside of the venue. * There are two train stations (Westgarth and Northcote) which are within walking distance. * Parking is available in the area but can get busy. If you don't mind a little walk there is parking down the adjacent street. **Dave, I worry you will win all the games we play. Such an intelligent and beautiful man, you must be a master of the tricks, is this true?** * Firstly - thank-you for the kind words, but secondly - no. I suck at trick taking games and lose more than I win. Yet, I enjoy them for their variety, high interaction, and quick nature regardless. You will be fine if you don't take things too seriously. It's about fun and meeting people... (but if you do beat me too often I will ban you from the group and venue...).

Board Game Social

**Melbourne’s midweek hangout!** Free board games, great company, and zero pressure, just roll in and play. Whether you’re a Settlers of Catan strategist, an Uno wildcard, or just keen for a drink and a laugh, your Wednesday night plans are sorted. No cover charge, no excuses. 🃏 **Every Wednesday Night** 🕕 6 PM - 10 PM 📍 Fortress Melbourne, Caledonian Lane 💚 Rock up solo, bring the crew, or team up on the night, it’s up to you. ♟️ **Games are free. Drinks are flowing. Good times guaranteed.** **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Tickets for this event are non-refundable.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm* * *No outside food or drinks.* *Our Cosplay policy can be found here: [https://fortress.games/cosplay-guidelines](https://fortress.games/cosplay-guidelines)* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*

Tavern Trivia

**Every Monday\, Trivia starts 7PM \| Free Entry \| Prizes & Glory Await** Gather your party, sharpen your wits, and descend upon the Tavern for **Tavern Trivia** — a weekly battle of brains where legends are born one answer at a time. Hosted in the heart of our bustling Fortress Tavern, this isn’t your average pub trivia. Expect an unpredictable mix of **pop culture, video games, fantasy, film, and chaotic curveballs** that’ll test even the sharpest of sages. 🎁 **Epic Prizes** 🍹 **Themed Cocktails & Tankards** 🎲 **Gaming Lore & Curveball Rounds** 🧙‍♂️ **Immersive Vibes. Medieval Energy** Whether you’re here for the glory or just for the vibes, Fortress Trivia Night is your new midweek quest. Entry is free, but tables fill fast, so rally your crew and **[book your spot](https://events.humanitix.com/trivia-fortress-melb)**. *Registered attendance on Meetup doesn't guarantee you a ticket.* **TERMS & CONDITIONS** * *Fortress Melbourne is a licensed venue, and as such, a valid ID is required and checked upon entrance to the premises.* * *Unaccompanied minors are not permitted in the venue at any time. Please make sure any guests under 18 are accompanied by a responsible adult at all times.* * *Minors are not allowed in the venue past 8:00 pm; as such, Tavern Trivia is an 18+ Event* * *Any drink tokens must be redeemed on the day of the event, and standard RSA applies* * *No outside food or drinks.* *More information on valid forms of identification and Fortress' minors policy can be found here: [www.fortress.games/minors/](https://www.fortress.games/minors/)*