Why is this a paid event?

Great question! Most other events are free, so what makes this one so special?

On our 2nd event we had 30 RSVPs. We prepared for 30 and we told the venue to expect 30. The venue staffed up for us. Then 15 people didn’t bother to show up. Needless to say this was very upsetting for everyone.

While we never intended to have a paid event originally, we decided that the best path forward was to charge a nominal fee. This accomplished 2 things:

1. Made it so that reflexively RSVPing with an intention of maybe going didn’t happen anymore.
2. Gave us a modest source of funds so that we could pay for the website, our Meetup account, and buy new games for the group, instead of paying out of pocket.

We were reluctant to institute this policy, but have found it to be extremely effective. Our no-shows stay quite low because of it and we are able to rotate our games offering to keep the experience fresh.

Please note: The organizing staff at SocialBoardgaming do not take any payment for the work we do. We do the work for free, because it’s a way for us help build community and to raise awareness (and coolness!) of boardgaming as a hobby.