**** NEWS FLASH---Change of venue!!!****

That's right. Silicon Valley Boardgamers had been meeting at Match Play in Mountain View since 1997. But in early June, because of Match Play closing, SVB started meeting at the Mountain View Community Center, at 201 S. Rengstorff Ave. The starting time has been moved up a half hour, to 6:30 PM. The ending time is moved up to 10 PM.

The room at the Community Center is not always available each week at the same time and day. Look at the mailing list Yahoo Groups page for the latest schedule of meetings.

Eventually, this Web site will be updated with more details about the new location. Meanwhile, just ignore what it says below about meeting at Match Play!

Who We Are

Silicon Valley Boardgamers (or SVB for short) is a hobby gaming group that meets twice weekly in the Silicon Valley/South Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. We've been meeting regularly since late 1997, and consistently have an attendance of about 12-20 people.

At SVB meetings, we play hobby games. We play mostly German-style strategy boardgames such as The Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, or Carcassonne. We also play multiplayer Avalon Hill-style games such as Titan, historical wargames such as GMT's Paths of Glory, and a few collectible cardgames. What we play depends solely on what meeting attendees want to play, so we could certainly branch out to include other kinds of games such as miniatures.

Where and When We Meet

SVB meets every Monday and every Wednesday starting around 7 PM at a store in Mountain View called Match Play. This store both sells games and rents table space to gamers. They charge a $2 admission fee to use their playing area, which is refunded if you buy at least $4 worth of merchandise from them. Match Play is located in the San Antonio Shopping Center (near Sears) at the northeast corner of San Antonio and El Camino in Mountain View. Here is how to contact them:

SVB meetings "officially" start around 7 PM, with some people showing up 15-30 minutes before then and playing some quick filler games. Most of the games we play are fairly short (1-2 hours), so if you don't show up until 9 or so you can still get in on a game.

SVB is very informal, and SVB meetings are completely open to newcomers. If you want to attend, just show up at Match Play at the right time, and maybe bring with you some of the games you want to play. (A lot of other people will also be bringing games, plus the store lets you borrow old games on their back bookshelf, so there's never a shortage of stuff to play.) Just look for the tables with the boardgamers, and say you want to get in on a game. At the end of the evening, please be sure to pay the store the $2 entry fee or buy $4 in merchandise from them.

How To Find Out More

There is a Yahoo Groups mailing list for both SVB and Games Day that carries announcements, gaming session reports, and discussions of what to play at future SVB meetings. If you become a regular attendee of SVB, it's a good idea to join this list.


Click to subscribe to the SVB/Games Day mailing list

You can contact Dave Kohr, the creator of this Web page and Chief Instigator of SVB, at gamesday-owner@yahoogroupsSPAMFOILER.com . Note that you have to remove the SPAMFOILER or else the address won't work!

SVB can only be a success if it consistently attracts a large-enough group of enthusiastic players. If you know gamers who might like to attend, please tell them about SVB!

Some of the people involved in SVB also organize a series of quarterly Bay Area Games Day events. These are day-long open gaming sessions with an attendance of around 50 people. They are held in the Community Room of the Los Altos Public Library. See the Games Day Web Page for more details.

Here is a list of other Bay Area gaming groups.

Last updated July 24, 2007 by Dave K.