They were cracking out the board games. 

Inside the Old Church on the Hill were more than 100 varieties, with one notable exception.

Monopoly seemed to be a dirty word for members of this group.

It’s the one board game Bendigo Gaming Group founder Ralph Shipard won’t play. 

“It causes everybody to fight and goes on forever,” he said.

“I want everybody to have a chance to get involved.”

Inclusion was the main motivation behind the group’s formation.

Mr Shipard was sorting through some belongings about 18 months ago and came across a host of board games he had never played.

“I considered selling them, but instead decided to find some people to play with,” he said.

He was relatively new to Bendigo at the time and thought starting a group on the website Meetup might help.

Mr Shipard would initially have considered finding four people to join him to be a success.

The group now has more than 90 members. About 20 people attend each of the group’s weekly meetups at Bendigo RSL. 

Attendees can bring their own games, or Mr Shipard provides a selection each week.

“I find it’s a really good way for people to meet up socially,” he said.

Many of the group’s members are new to the area or are seeking to expand their friendship circles. 

Mr Shipard said people could sometimes find networking groups intimidating, but enjoyed the social atmosphere at the gaming group. 

“We give them something to do with their hands, something to distract them, and something to talk about,” he says. 

The group usually meets on weeknights, and found that today’s weekend event attracted a number of new gaming enthusiasts. 

Nicolas Tilkeridis has been part of the Bendigo and District Gamers Association for about 18 years.

He was sitting down to a game of Castle Panic with Richard Tole and Sam Payne when The Bendigo Advertiser approached him.

“It’s a cooperative game – all the players are against the board game itself,” Mr Tikeridis says.

All three were enjoying the variety of games available on the day, which included some rare and unusual finds. 

“If the mechanics are good in a game, people will play it,” Mr Tilkeridis said. 

Cortez Smith, 11, is one of the Bendigo Gaming Group’s youngest members.

Since being introduced to the group by his mother, the Girton Grammar School student has gone on to become a games instructor. 

The group has given him opportunities to play games he might not have played before – games that might otherwise be expensive to acquire, or that he had not come across.

“I have never seen these board games before,” he said of today’s selection.

He likes the ones where the outcome is influenced by how much thought and effort the player puts into it.

“Not just chance, like rolling a dice,” he said.

Cortez shares Mr Shipard’s dislike of Monopoly, for that reason. 

International Tabletop Day encourages and promotes playing board games.

Mr Shipard said events were held around the globe today. 

He encouraged people to visit the group’s Meetup page for information about future meetings.