Game clubs in San Francisco.
17 clubs, and when they meet. Most meet on weekday evenings, around Western Addition, Marina, Mission. Most are free to join. The ones without a fixed day are listed below, linked to where they announce. Subscribe to this calendar →
What to expect.
Game nights in San Francisco 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 17 game clubs in San Francisco.
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.
Saturday-evening board games upstairs at Upcider on Polk St, run by a 20s–30s social group; open-ended, buy a drink to keep the venue happy.
Saturdays, 6pm · Nob Hill · Ordering a drink or… · meetup.com →Monday-night euro and modern board games at The Game Parlour in the Inner Sunset, with rules taught to newcomers; occasional pop-ups elsewhere in the city.
Mondays, time varies · Inner Sunset · Café may charge a… · heylo.com →Twice-monthly board-game night in the back of the Plough and Stars pub on Clement St, hosted by Gather & Game SF.
Monthly, first Monday and third Monday, 6:30pm · Richmond · Free · theploughandstars.com →Tuesday-night 3-point Hong Kong mahjong at PanameSF on Broadway: real games with seasoned regulars, no reservation, just a drink minimum.
Tuesdays, 7pm · North Beach · $6 · meetup.com →Weekly drop-in mahjong at the Mamahuhu restaurant on 24th St in Noe Valley; turnout is small, so expect to sit straight down at a table.
Mondays, 6pm · Noe Valley · Free · meetup.com →Weekly bar-chess night at Rick & Roxy's on Lombard: casual blitz and longer games over drinks, run by a Bay Area chess community that also hosts a Sunnyvale night.
Wednesdays, 7pm · Marina · Free · meetup.com →Casual Sunday-afternoon chess on the grass at Alamo Square Park, with bughouse (2v2) games alongside regular boards. Bring a set if you have one.
Sundays, 2pm · Western Addition · Free · meetup.com →Quick social party games (Wavelength, Monikers, Tsuro) at the Flying Pig pub on South Van Ness, aimed at meeting people rather than heavy strategy.
Monthly, second Monday and fourth Monday, 7pm · Mission · Buy a food or drink… · meetup.com →Free, casual team puzzle-solving in a pub on the second Tuesday of the month; the venue is itself revealed by a location puzzle the Friday before.
Monthly, second Tuesday, 6pm · Free · meetup.com →Social-deduction game days (5–20 players) at UCSF Mission Bay, usually on a weekend late morning, with newcomers taught before play.
Roughly monthly weekend games at UCSF Mission Bay; dates posted on Meetup · Free · meetup.com →Long-running Go club in a Japan Center suite with open play on Sunday and Friday afternoons; beginners are taught. Membership is the normal way to belong but visitors can come to the Meetup-listed sessions.
Sundays and Fridays, time varies · Western Addition · $30 · meetup.com →Sunday-evening casual Magic at Richmond Republic on Clement St: multiplayer Commander and variants like Star and Two-Headed Giant, beer optional, no tournament pressure.
Sundays, 4pm · Richmond · Free · meetup.com →Fortnightly backgammon over a beer at Fly Bar on Divisadero; boards provided and total beginners are explicitly welcome.
Every other wednesdays, 6:30pm · Western Addition · Free · meetup.com →Monthly Saturday board-game afternoon for queer and queer-friendly players at the Dogpatch Games café; 16+, and most people stay for dinner after.
Monthly, second Saturday, 1pm · Dogpatch · $15 · meetup.com →A small card-games group whose anchor is a monthly cribbage night at Harrington's on Front St; gin rummy mornings at a Sunset café pop up in between.
Monthly, second Tuesday, 6pm · Financial District · Free · meetup.com →Euchre nights at Rudi's Sports Bar on 16th St, run by a club founded in 2002 that draws Midwest and Canadian transplants; the Oakland nights are separate.
Monthly, first Tuesday and third Tuesday · Mission · Free · meetup.com →Open board-game night every Wednesday at Rick & Roxy's on Lombard, timed to happy hour and running late; bring a game or join a table.
Wednesdays, 6pm · Marina · Free · meetup.com →
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 San Francisco we don’t? Add it.