Game clubs in Montreal.
8 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Downtown, Westmount, Latin Quarter. Most are free to join. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
Game nights in Montreal come in a few shapes: open board game evenings at a café or pub where you pull something off a shelf, chess clubs that run casual and rated nights, trivia with fixed teams, and tabletop RPG groups that look for new players between campaigns. Almost all run on a fixed weeknight.
Most are free or ask you to buy a drink. Turn up, say you are new, and someone will deal you in.
All 8 game clubs in Montreal.
A to Z, in each club's own words. Every one links to the club, and every day and time is the one the club publishes.
A free five-round blitz tournament every evening at the Blitz Bishops chess café on Sherbrooke West. Show up when you like, leave when you like; boards and clocks are there, the winner takes a $20 bar voucher.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, time varies · Downtown · Free · meetup.com →Big bilingual board-game Meetup whose regular Saturday session is a beginner-friendly games night at Tommy Café on Mont-Royal East, with rules taught. The host charges a per-event fee.
Saturdays, time varies · Plateau · $10 · meetup.com →Weekly open Dungeons & Dragons night at the L'Expédition game shop on Saint-Hubert, organised through the Let's Play D&D! Meetup with volunteer DMs. Newcomers are told to arrive early for character help; the entry fee goes back out as a prize draw.
Thursdays, 6:30pm · Rosemont · $10 · meetup.com →Relaxed, non-competitive Sunday-afternoon board game meetup at the Silver Goblin game shop near Place des Arts. Bring a short game if you have one; look for the LEGO unicorn.
Sundays, time varies · Downtown · Free · meetup.com →Long-running backgammon club that meets in the Alexis Nihon food court mezzanine by Atwater metro for a Friday evening tournament, alternating with online weeks. Calls itself Canada's largest backgammon club.
Every other fridays, time varies · Westmount · Free · meetup.com →Weekly Wednesday night of the social-deduction game Mafia (werewolf style) at the Union Française on Viger East. Rules are explained; all levels accepted.
Wednesdays, 6pm · Latin Quarter · Free · meetup.com →Casual chess night run by Blitz Bishops at the Memento brewery by the Lachine Canal. Boards and clocks provided; play or just hang out.
Tuesdays, 6pm · Pointe-Saint-Charles · Free · eventbrite.ca →Free bi-weekly board game club at the Westmount Public Library, run in English with a facilitator. Games provided, bring your own if you like.
Every other thursdays, time varies · Westmount · Free · eventbrite.ca →
Questions people actually ask.
Do I need to bring a game?
Usually not. Open game nights have a library or a pile of regulars' games, and chess clubs have boards. If a group wants you to bring something, the listing or their page says so.
I only know the basics. Will that be a problem?
No. Open nights are built around teaching, and chess clubs post a casual night alongside any rated play. Tabletop RPG groups tend to be the one place where a short message first helps, because a table has a fixed number of seats.
Is there a cost?
Mostly a drink or a small table fee at a café. Chess clubs sometimes charge a few dollars a night or a modest yearly membership. It is always in the listing.
Every listing links straight to the club. Know a game club in Montreal we don’t? Add it.