Head on over to The Coal Loader for a relaxed community evening of board games. Come solo or with friends. Learn a new game or dive into a loved classic! All games are provided. Some volunteer guidance on specific tables will be provided. BYO refreshments welcome.

Attendees must book into a specific game table to start (see list below) but there may be a chance to switch onto other tables during the course of the night.

Suitable for ages 16 and up.

Players can select from the following tables:

Wingspan
Wingspan is a competitive, medium-weight, card-driven, engine-building board game from Stonemaier Games. You are bird enthusiasts—researchers, bird watchers, ornithologists, and collectors—seeking to discover and attract the best birds to your network of wildlife preserves. Each bird extends a chain of powerful combinations in one of your habitats (actions). These habitats focus on several key aspects of growth: Gain food tokens via custom dice in a birdfeeder dice tower Lay eggs using egg miniatures in a variety of colours Draw from hundreds of unique bird cards and play them The winner is the player with the most points after 4 rounds. If you enjoy Terraforming Mars and Gizmos, we think this game will take flight at your table.

Suitable for 2-5 players

Photosynthesis (Suitable for newcomers to board games and strategic thinkers. Volunteer provided to teach)

Plant and shape the ever-changing forest as you cultivate your seeds and your strategy. Take your trees through their life-cycle, from seedling to full bloom to rebirth, and earn points as their leaves collect energy from the revolving sun’s rays. Carefully pick where you sow and when you grow, as trees in the shadows are blocked from light, and from points. This game features realistic gameplay and beautiful graphics.

Suitable for 3-4 players

Catan
Catan the original strategy board game. Your adventurous settlers seek to tame the remote but rich isle of Catan. Start by revealing Catan's many harbours and regions: pastures, fields, mountains, hills, forests and desert. The random mix creates a different board virtually every game. No two games are the same. Embark on a quest to settle the isle of Catan. Guide your settlers to victory by clever trading and cunning development. Use resource combinations- grain, wool, ore, brick and lumber-to buy handy development cards and build roads, settlements and cities. Acquire your resources through trades, cards or lucky dice (even outside your turn). Someone might cut off your road or buy a monopoly. And you never know when the wily robber might steal some of your precious gains.

Suitable for 3-4 players

Codenames (Suitable for newcomers to board games and strategic thinkers. Volunteer provided to teach)

Codenames is a social word game with a simple premise and challenging gameplay. Two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 agents. Their teammates know the agents only by their codenames. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple words on the table. Their teammates try to guess words of their colour while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin. The game works very well with 4 players if you prefer to guess without help. Or you can add more players if you prefer lively discussion. There is also a cooperative variant where a single team tries to achieve the highest score they can by playing against the game itself.

Suitable for 4-6 players

Skull (Suitable for newcomers to board games and strategic thinkers. Volunteer provided to teach)

Bid, bluff, and make the desperate gambits you need to claim victory!
Skull is a classic game of deception and gambling for three to six players. Previously known as Skull & Roses, this game challenges you to outwit your friends and lure them into traps when they least suspect it.

Suitable for 3-6 players

Azul
Azul was designed by the world-famous, award-winning game author Michael Riesling. Azul captures the beautiful aesthetics of Moorish art in a contemporary board game. Players compete as artisans decorating the walls of the Royal Palace of Dvora. By carefully drafting the correct Quantity and style of tiles, the most clever of artisans plan ahead to maximize the beauty of their work (not to mention their scores!) while ensuring they wasted no supplies in the process. Introduced by the Moors, "azulejos" (originally white and blue ceramic tiles) were fully embraced by the Portuguese, when their King Manuel I, on a visit to the Alhambra Palace in Southern Spain, was mesmerized by the stunning beauty of the Moorish decorative tiles. The King, awestruck by the interior beauty of the Alhambra, immediately ordered that his own palace in Portugal be decorated with similar wall tiles. As a tile-laying artist, you have been challenged to embellish the walls of the Royal Palace of Dvora.

Suitable for 3-5 players

Illimat
Illimat has the style and flavour of a classic card game with a dynamic twist. As you play, you combine cards and collect them, trying to gather more than your opponents. But hidden Luminaries and changing seasons can alter your plans. Featuring a cloth board, metal tokens, and illustrations by Carson Ellis. Illimat supports 2 to 4 players and a single round takes approximately fifteen minutes. The cloth board is divided into four fields, and the box the game comes in is also a component of the game: it sits in the centre of the board and sets the seasons for each field, which affects the actions that can be performed in each field. Turning the box and changing the seasons is a critical part of the strategy of the game. Illimat has been playtested with devoted gamers and people who haven't played a game in years. The result is a game that's easy to learn, dynamic, and just a little bit addictive.

Suitable for 3-4 players

This is a COVID-safe event and as such is subject to change should NSW Health update its recommendations. We thank you for your understanding.