Costa del SolBoard Game Social Club
The sun setting over the sea at Estepona, the light running up the beach
How it works

From the shelf to the table.

Members open tables. The host runs tables alongside. Nobody is left without a game.

In short

An evening is a handful of small tables. Members choose the games: you pick one from the shelf and open a table, or join a table someone else has opened. The host runs hosted tables at the same time. Dates are not set yet.

i.Six steps

Two evenings a month: the first in Marbella, the second in Estepona. More often only if the list is long.

Six steps from the shelf to the table

  1. 01Pick

    Choose a game from the shelf: 169 boxes from the owner's private collection. A long strategy game or a quick opener.

  2. 02Open

    Open a table for that game at an evening, Marbella or Estepona. Say how it will be played: New to it, Played it or Know it well. Leave it open to members, or book the whole table for your own group on a private link.

  3. 03Join

    Members see the tables for the evening and join one. Each table shows the seats taken, the seats free and how many more players it needs. When a table is full, the next names go on a waiting list.

  4. 04Settle

    A table goes ahead once it reaches the game's minimum number of players. Three days before the evening, everyone seated gets a reminder. Two days before, tables are settled: one that has not filled moves to the next evening, or its players join a hosted table.

  5. 05Hosted

    At every evening the host runs hosted tables alongside the member tables. Boxes checked, pieces out, rules taught. Nobody reads a rulebook at the table.

  6. 06Close

    The host packs every game and counts the pieces. You leave with the evening. The box leaves with the host.

Opening and joining a table need a member login. Login is not live yet. Request a place to be on the list when it is.

ii.A month

Two evenings a month.

The first in Marbella, the second in Estepona. More often only if the list is long. This is the shape of a month, not a calendar: no day is fixed and nothing is booked.

iii.Closed for now

What waits for member login.

These parts of the club need you to be signed in. Login is not live yet, so they are closed. Nothing on this site pretends otherwise.

  • Opening a tableClosed until member login.
  • Joining a tableClosed until member login.
  • The vote on the host's gamesClosed until member login.
  • Comments on an eveningClosed until member login.
  • The member listClosed until member login.

See how an evening's tables will look.

iv.At every evening

Bring your own game, now and then.

A member may bring a game of their own and play it with others at the evening. The shelf and the hosted tables come first. A game you bring follows the same rules as the shelf: English at the table, nothing eaten over the board.

Four more rules

  • A waiting list. When a table is full, names wait in order. If you cannot come, release your seat as early as you can, and at the latest when the reminder arrives three days before. The first name waiting is offered it.
  • One guest, named. Only with the member, and only if a chair is free. There is no drop-in.
  • A start and a firm end. The evening has a start time and a close, so the room can close too.
  • English at the table. Including when someone brings a game.
v.Four kinds of game

Not every game suits every evening.

The shelf is sorted by what a game asks of its players. Quick and taught games fit any evening. Big games need a group that commits ahead. Every example below is on the shelf.

Any evening

Quick

Social games that work with new faces: short rules, sharp interaction, easy to restart when someone arrives late.

For exampleExploding Kittens, Unstable Unicorns, Here to Slay, BANG!
Any evening

Taught

Games that need someone at the table who knows the rules. The host teaches, keeps time and answers questions.

For exampleKing of New York, Command of Nature, Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, Feed the Kraken
Booked ahead

Big games

Large productions, campaigns and heavy strategy. Opened ahead for a group that commits, and set up with time to spare. War Room takes a full day, so it waits for a group that wants one.

For exampleScythe, Scarface 1920, Senjutsu: Battle for Japan, War Room, The Great Wall, Frostpunk: The Board Game
Not offered

Kept back

Rare or valuable pieces. They stay off the shelf and cannot be booked.

ListedNone, on purpose.
vi.House rules

A private collection, looked after.

The games belong to the owner, and many are hard to replace. Six rules keep them that way.

  • The games belong to the owner.No lending and no taking home. The shelf is played at the club's tables only.
  • No eating at the table.Food stays away from the game. A small plate is eaten at the bar or a side table.
  • Drinks off the board.Glasses go on a side table or the bar, never beside the cards.
  • English at the table.Every game is played in English, whatever the language of the box.
  • Cards in sleeves.Cards are sleeved before a game reaches the table.
  • The host packs up.The host packs every game and checks the pieces before it leaves the room.
The list

Request a place.

The club opens with a list. Two levels, 49 or 89 euros a month, with one month's notice. Nothing is charged now, and dates are not set.

Request a place