Three years of hosting game nights and I still can't get people to show up on time

I've been running a weekly board game night at my place in Portland for three years now. Last month I had three people arrive at 7 PM when I clearly said 6 PM, and one guy showed up at 8:30 with takeout. I spent $45 on snacks and had the game set up for 45 minutes before anyone even walked in. It kills the energy when you're sitting there waiting while the game board stares at you. Do you guys have a hard cutoff time for latecomers or do you just deal with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

richardfox29d ago

Ha, I feel this in my bones. I once had a guy show up 90 minutes late to a game of Betrayal at House on the Hill and I'd already eaten all the snacks by myself out of spite.

kim.wren29d ago

Read a thing once about how people treat "game night" like a party where showing up late is fine, but the host treats it more like a flight departure. Kinda changed how I see it. Three years is a long time to just deal with it honestly. My buddy does a hard start at 15 minutes past and if you're not there, you get the next game round. Also maybe stop spending $45 on snacks, that's just asking for disappointment.

taylorcarr18d ago

$45 on snacks is nuts, my group splits a pizza and we still fight over the last slice.