Constantly connected, yet isolated and lonely, 22% of Millenials declare having no friends*. We want to fix that, for everyone.
Let's fight the epidemic of loneliness using the power of shared gaming experiences and being present for each other in a purposeful, focused, and welcoming community.
*) According to a Vox article based on YouGov poll (2019)
Games Against Loneliness was started with the mission to fight the epidemic of loneliness using the power of shared gaming experiences. We believe that sharing focused and purposeful time together builds healthy, long-lasting, and valuable bonds between people who otherwise wouldn't have connected.
We want to promote healthy, casual and competitive, creative, and social activities that directly revolve around different kinds of (mostly card, board, roleplaying, and tabletop) games.
We also want to connect people from many life paths, of different ages, cultures, abilities, and beliefs, through the shared experience of playing games. Imagine how interesting would it be to play a historical game with another Member who comes from the depicted region or was part of the depicted history. Truly inspiring!
We will realize the mission of Games Against Loneliness to prove that "games are a great way to connect and make friends" with following goals:
Create and maintain an online Games Against Loneliness community, including concept for distributed "Community Hubs" that will connect Members in their preferred places like Members' homes, shared spaces, affiliated cafes, etc.
Create and maintain the physical Games Against Loneliness HQ community space to allow in-person activities and participation in the community events.
Create digital and publicly available framework for fighting loneliness with shared gaming activities. Something people who are not part of Games Against Loneliness yet can download and use to create their local gaming group, reach out, and find support in their fight with loneliness. We call them "Satellite Hubs!"
We know there will be many challenges, issues, and moments when things aren't clear but our goal is also to create a strong, sustainable, and healty community.
Does Games Against Loneliness mission and our vision resonate with you? If yes, consider joining us or getting in touch with your feedback.
Imagine a space where you feel connected to other people but also have space for yourself: we want to create that inspiring and welcoming place that bolsters casual connections and new friendships. Somewhere in Berlin, most likely in the South*, available at convenient time: initially from 16:00 to 20:00 (or midnight)**.
The space would be separated into 4 modular areas: meetup cafe, card and board seating, wargaming tables, and roleplaying booths.
Visualization of what we envision for the modular space separation, people are not shown for the sake of simplicity.
Please note that at this point it's only a concept and one of the goals we will work on, dependent on the raised funds, donations, and secured grants.
The open meetup cafe space is there you can sit, talk, and connect other Members while enjoying the cafe amenities like hot and cold drinks, game-friendly snacks offered to the Members at cost or with minimal additional cost. It's a side-activity of the association supporting the primary purpose of inspiring new connections between the Members.
The open card and boardgame space, surrounded by shelves stacked with interesting, fun games, is where the majority of the Members will be spending their time. This is where the primary mission of Games Against Loneliness is realized: by facilitating the physical and mental space for shared experience of gaming.
The reserved wargaming tables, connected to the shared repository of terrains and battle mats, is where the tabletop games will be played. Due to the nature of these games, tables need to be reserved ahead of time.
The reserved roleplaying booths with the shared library of rulebooks, consumable materials, tools, pens, mats, landscape pieces, and minis ready to play is where the groups of Members will be able to unleash their creativity and storytelling, adventuring together.
Does Games Against Loneliness mission and our vision resonate with you? If yes, consider joining us or getting in touch with your feedback.
*) It's not clear yet because there are many organizational and economical factors that need to be researched, but no matter where we end up opening the Games Agains Loneliness HQ we want to make it easily accessible by multiple public transportation lines.
**) Potentially longer opening hours on the weekends when we can afford staff or can self-manage with the help of the Members.
We want to create a community that is welcoming and safe for everyone, no matter who they are or where they come from. We have collected some of the guiding principles (values) that align us in our efforts:
We come from many background, places, and life experiences. We speak many languages and self-identify in many ways.
You can use the diversity and the experiences to enrich each other and discover new, inspiring ways to look at the world.
If something surprises you, ask. If something is unclear, also ask. Definitely ask when something angers you.
Try to understand other Games Against Loneliness Members through curiosity-driven and mindful communication.
The mission of Games Against Loneliness is battling the epidemic of loneliness, often caused by fakeness and the drive toward a picture-perfect, but ultimately isolated and unsustainable life.
We you the way you are when nobody watches. Maybe a little bit shy and introverted, maybe a little bit quirky, and maybe even a little bit with your head in the clouds. Please have the courage to be yourself.
*) Unless you can be a level 100 barbarian, then obviously be the level 100 barbarian ;-)
Don't be "excellent to each other" looking down from your high horse. Be human.
Instead of keeping the facade of excellence: be kind, present, and attentive, and should hard truths neeed to be told, tell them with care.
When harsh and unkind words are being told quietly. When one Member's words wipe another's smile. When a "joke" makes one feel less worthy than they really are.
Champion those moments with courage: speak up and stand up for others. We will support you with the in-the-moment resolution and regular trainings on mindful communication.
Being part of the majority or not, Games Against Loneliness is a place where everyone has a voice. We are something much larger than the sum of the parts. Even by vote, decisions will be aligned with the greater good and the values of tolerance, respect, and personal freedom.
To keep the Games Against Loneliness community healthy and safe from harm, we need to establish clearly defined and actionable boundaries.
These are not negotiable because they stand directly against our principles and values.
Games Against Loneliness is not a place for sexual conduct or innuendo, drugs, criminal or illegal activity, violence, and other unlawful activities. Please make sure you behave in a way that would make your grandma proud! #ProudGrandmas
Games Against Loneliness won't tolerate intolerance, discrimination, or hate in any kind of form. We won't police your thoughts but toxicity will be treated promptly and decisively.
Games Against Loneliness is not a place for politics, religion, self-promotion, unrelated activism, or polarizing opinion. We maintain neutrality and instead use the energy to ensure everyone has a great time playing games and connecting with each other.
Breaking the Code of Conduct will have impactful and often unpleasant consequences, adequate to the offense and ranging from private discussion, suspension from certain activities and amenities, up to the suspension or even exclusion from the Games Against Loneliness.
In cases of gross misconduct or unlawful activity we will notify the appropriate services and cooperate with them as required with the law.
Games Against Loneliness will be a limited kid-access space. While kids and toddlers must be attended at all times by an adult, they may find themselves in danger or cause harm to the shared property. We won't disallow kids but kindly ask you to consider their safety and comfort of other Members.
Games Against Loneliness will be a pet-free space. We are truly sorry about this and understand how disappointing it must be, but we need to make sure that every member feels safe and can enjoy the space without the risk of allergies, being surprised by an overly friendly pet, etc.
We kindly ask our Members to not bring their own food and drinks and instead use our cafe amenities that will be sold at cost or heavily subsidized. Unless it's a special occassion and we were notified ahead of time, like a birthday cake. We will never say no to a birthday cake as long as it doesn't disturb other Members.
Games Against Loneliness is a vape-free and tobacco-free space. We kindly ask our Members to just leave the space in order to smoke, just remember to keep your member card with you.
The Games Against Loneliness space is shared and belongs to every single member and that means that we will be a little bit strict about the proper etiquette around cleanliness and putting things back. Should it become a recurring problem, offending Members will be directed to a nearby kindergarden for orientation and training*.
*) Not really, but just imagine! ;-)
Games Against Loneliness is a member-exclusive organization, funded by the membership fees, public grants, donations, sponsorship, funds from the side-activities like food and drinks, and occassional event and entrance fees.
Our goal is to be self-sufficient with the memberships and not rely heavily on external funding.
Please note that proposed membership fees are the initial concept and depend greatly on the space costs (rent and utilities). Fees are shown per month unless labeled otherwise:
| Membership | Cost | Access | Guests | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | €20 /month or €240 /year | 16:00-20:00 | Cafe and open space | Member only |
| Standard+ | €30 /month or €360 /year | 16:00-20:00 | Cafe and open space | 1 guest or more* |
| Premium | €40 /month or €480 /year | 16:00-24:00 | Open + Reserved spaces | Member only |
| Premium+ | €60 /month or €720 /year | 16:00-24:00 | Open + Reserved spaces | 1 guest or more* |
*) Additional guests can be admitted on a single day at a flat fee of 5€ / guest.
We have considered the membership structure in terms of how much time and space it requires, but also how impactful and aligned it is with our mission to connect the Members and fight loneliness. Here are some collected considerations:
The "Plus" memberships: We want to encourage you to share the gaming experience with friends and "better halves", without forcing them to be Members themselves.
The "Premium" memberships: Reserved spaces require larger, dedicated space and reserved time allocation required by roleplaying and tabletop games, compared to other activities. Card and board games often fit on smaller tables, take shorter to play, while involving more players at the same time.
Additional guests admitance fee: We want to offer simple way to admit the friends of the Members without requiring them to have membership. There is no time limit apart from our regular opening and closing times, and they will have the same access as the Member inviting them. Additional guests can enter Games Against Loneliness only with another registered Member and cannot be left alone in the space.
Games Against Loneliness will be a German Registered Association ("eingetragener Verein"), also known as a "non-profit organization". In order to keep things running smoothly, the association will have a formal structure and transparent funding, required by and complying with the German law.
The Founder
The Council
Members
Games Against Loneliness will be led by the Founder, Paweł Komarnicki, dedicating himself to the organization, representation, and execution of the activities in the full-time capacity. He will be responsible for organizational, legal, tax, and liability matters as the Geschäftsführer.
Supporting the Founder will be "The Council" consisting of selected 12 Standard Members, acting in moderator and advisor capacity and will act as the tie-breaker during the critical decisions-making related to Games Agains Loneliness structure, strategy, and conflict resolution. One of the council Members will be appointed as a backup founder to provide temporary stability in times when the founder is not available. Initial council will be selected from the Founding Members to thank for their commitment to the organization's mission.
Standard Members will have the right to vote during announced public votes and will have the right to issue opinions and ideas at any other time, as long as they respect the Games Against Loneliness values and principles.
We want to keep the funding aspect of Games Against Loneliness transparent, open, and community-driven while making sure that it's economically sustainable.
Members of the Vorstand/Geschäftsführer may receive reasonable compensation for the performed work. In the startup phase, up to 66% of the monthly surplus (after operating costs) will be allocated for the Geschäftsführer's salary, capped at €4,000 brutto/month.
Startup mode activates (or continues), if liquidity reserves are depleted under 3 months of operating costs. Normal mode otherwise: fixed salary of 4000€ brutto/month. Monthly review by Vorstand/MV.
These values align with other small NGO benchmarks and guarantee that the Vorstand/Geschäftsführer will have capacity to fully dedicate themselves to the mission of Games Against Loneliness.
Rest of the surplus will be re-invested into the liquidity reserves (3 months of average operating costs), space and amenities, provided services, promotion, events, and provided games and materials.
We are currently gathering the Founding Members required to register the association, alongside everyone else who wishes to become a standard Member.
To voice your non-binding interest, please submit following form:
We have collected some of the common questions and answers. In case your question wans't covered here or you want to ask about something specific, please use the contact form located in the footer of the website.
We live in a society that is always connected, yet many of us never have spoken with their neighbours. Since COVID, it has become alarmingly easy to shut oneself at home and not have a chance to talk with another human face to face for days thanks to various delivery services and remote work.
The way we communicate changed with the advent of social media and while it's easier to reach people, it's sometimes impossibly hard to make deep and meaningful connections. A 2019 poll by YouGov shows that 22% of Millenials declare having no friends.
The Founder of Games Against Loneliness, Paweł Komarnicki, is an immigrant living in Berlin since 2012. After years of working in various startups, he realized that apart from making "work friends", who often come and go with the job, there's no practical way to make new meaningful friendships. You can't really go around asking "hey, wanna hang out?". At some point he discovered the board games and the amazing, vibrant, and welcoming community. It helped him re-open to the world, find friendly people who shared something magical: physical and mental presence, and it changed his mental health and life.
The mission of Games Against Loneliness is personal to the Founder because he knows the struggle of being isolated and lonely. It's a way to pay it back and pay it forward to whoever is reading this, sitting at home, feeling stuck unheard, unseen, and unconnected. We are coming to help.
There are great boardgame cafes and game clubs in Berlin, so there's probably not really a need for yet-another-one to cut into their profits.
Games Against Loneliness is offering (somewhat) similar experience but it is not a game cafe or a game club — its purpose is to use the shared experience of gaming to fights loneliness, make meaningful connections, and boost mental health and happiness of the Members. It's not about games, it's just using them as the means to an end.
Another argument for an e.V. is access to the public grants, donations, and sponsorships — funds collected through these sources are not profit, but a surplus that must be spent on the mission and statuatory activities. Games Against Loneliness is not a profit-driven company, but a greater-good organization.
Yes, but also no. Currently the website and promotional materials are in English because it's easier for the Founder to work with and German website and materials are coming soon.
All legal documents will be made in German with optional English translation for reference because Games Against Loneliness will be a German e.V., but both English and German languages will be considered equal. Speaking English is a great equalizer and a way to welcome the international community, affected by the feelings of isolation and loneliness even more than the native Germans.
Yes, initially. We love Berlin, we live in Berlin, and we can do everything in person in Berlin.
But it doens't have to end there. The online community is open to anyone who wants to be a member. Are you in Madrid or London? Fantastic! We have a concept (and one of the goals) of creating Games Against Loneliness Community Hubs all over Germany and possibly the world.
You can start with our digital materials to start up your unofficial local Community Hub, e.g. a small group of players meeting regularly at your home, and when you're ready: opening an official Satellite Hub with the help our physical organizational and promotional materials (and maybe even some small games to celebrate your community and kickstart it). It's all a rough concept in the making so if you're interested, let us know using the contact form localted in the footer of the website.
Membership fees are the common way to keep non-profit organizations like Games Against Loneliness economically sustainable, considering the running costs, staffing, and promotion.
The proposed membership fee structure is work in progress and should you register your interest, it's non-binding. It's just a way to show you the vision of what we want to create, how we want to grow it, and how the amount of contributions affects this progress.
No, it's just 12x the monthly membership fee paid in a convenient single payment.
In a way, it protects you against membership fee changes, but if you feel more comfortable paying it monthly it's perfectly fine.
We* haven't decided yet how to address this but it will be discusses, voted on, and decided once we have the online community up and running.
One idea is to have a temporary "online only" membership, cheaper than the proposed membership fees, and add more when we have the Games Against Loneliness HQ in place. It's a journey we take together, so your voice will be heard.
*) We as "all of us", all Members at the time the decision is made.
Registration of an association like e.V. requires at least 7 named members — these Members are then called "the Founding Members" but by all other means they are just like any other Member and do not have any special rights, duties, or liability. They will be required to do certain legal things like confirming their signature with a notary, etc., so it's something that should be considered only by those of you who have a little bit of time and feel involved in the mission of Games Against Loneliness.
We might be able to offer some special perks to the Founding Members like waived membership fee for a certain time, or exclusive privileges. It's too early to consider this, yet.
Games Against Loneliness will be an officially registered German e.V. and that means that it will have to follow all the laws and regulations like having an official correspondence address, bank account, accounting process, and regular reporting of activities (like the yearly statement). We will make sure that every member has transparent and unlimited access to the financial information like current liquidity reserve*, expenses, and sources of funds.
As mentioned in the "Funding" section, any surplus** will be split between the Founder's (Geschaftsführer) performance-based salary and the reinvestment.
*) Liquidity reserve is the amount of funds an organization is reasonably permitted to keep "saved for later" — in case of Games Against Loneliness it will be 3 months of average running costs.
**) Surplus are the leftover funds after paying recurring costs like rent, utilities, services, regular staff salaries, software licenses, etc. — everything except optional spending (e.g. assets like games, various utilities, etc.) and the Founder's salary.
The Founder will be receiving a performance based salary (capped at 4000€ brutto/month) because all the legal, fiscal, and operational liability will be held by this single person. It's a lot of work and we want to make sure that it can be performed full-time — the mission of Games Against Loneliness is too important and too impactful to treat it as a "side gig".
As the association grows, more paid positions will be opened to sustain the operations and support the organization. Because it's an impactful financial decision each time, each one will be considered by the public vote of the Members.
The proposed Founder's salary is reasonable in line with other small-to-medium NGOs.
"Performance based" means that the salary amount will depend on the size of the Games Against Loneliness and amount of collected funds.
It's the best way to ensure that the early days of Games Against Loneliness are sustainable but also that the Founder can fully commit to the required work, and it's a lot!
The Founder will be responsible for all legal, financial, organizational, representative, and promotional aspects of Games Against Loneliness. It's a lot of work and responsibility!
Some of the duties will be:
Promoting the mission of the organization and represent it when applying for public grants, individual donations, and sponsorships.
Supporting the ongoing operations, organizing events, resolving Members' issues on an ongoing basis.
Documenting the funding sources and spending, preparing legal and accounting documents.
Managing and moderating the online community.
Once we have enough funds to open the Games Against Loneliness HQ, organizing the space, cleaning and maintaining it, and providing services to the Members like selling drinks and snacks, solving issues, managing reservations, etc.
As you can see, it will be a full-time job and a lot for one person, especially in the early days!
You will have many ways to help and support Games Against Loneliness. In the first days, we will need many outspoken and proactive members to spread the word around in places where people struggling with loneliness might be hidden or overlooked: ask your neighvors, ask your friends and colleagues, ask your fellow university pupils. Loneliness doesn't leave a visible mark but sometimes it's enough to just hear "hey, wanna play a game, or two?"* to change somebody's life entirely.
We will also need to tap into the collective skill and talent poll of the Members as we build and organize various foundations of the organization. If you can and want to do something cool, definitely step up and let us know! Especially any experience in carpentry or design, social contacts, knowledge of the city, and good old elbow grease will be critical in the early days of Games Against Loneliness.
*) We don't know how it really works, but it's perfectly normal to ask strangers if they want to play Wingspan or Ticket to Ride someday. Funny, eh?
Games Against Loneliness is a non-profit organization and that means that we can accept tax-deductible donations and sponsorhips, both in monetary funds and assets, as long as they align with the organization's mission.
In the early days we will be mostly focused on collecting enough funds to get the Games Against Loneliness HQ up and running as quickly as possible, so anything related to finding and paying for a physical space, furniture, equipment, construction materials, and actual games are more than welcome.
We aren't naive and understand that sometimes sponsorship is one of the marketing tools but we can use it for the greater good as a positive-sum outcome.
The good news is that we can give something back: physical assets can be clearly and visibly marked as being donated, sponsorships will be officially blasted in our social media channels and on our blog. If you provide substantial amount of support, you can can end up being our sponsor of the week/month/quarter/year, very clearly and proudly presented to the Members in the space and promotional materials.
If you have an idea that we didn't cover here, contact us anyway using the contact form in the footer of the website.
The current roadmap consists of many moving and unclear pieces, but the first steps are:
Launching (this) website and gathering Members.
Registration of the e.V. and opening the offical bank account, MeinVerein account, etc.
Organizing the online community.
Lots of applying to public grants, asking for donations, and looking for sponsors. Also looking at possible physical spaces to rent.
Organizing the Games Against Loneliness HQ and the big launch!
Please get in touch with us in case you have questions, want to share your feedback, donate, or sponsor Games Agains Loneliness' growth and activities.
We promise to get back to you promptly.
Games Against Loneliness was started with the mission to fight the epidemic of loneliness using the power of shared gaming experiences. We believe that sharing focused and purposeful time together builds healthy, long-lasting, and valuable bonds between people who otherwise wouldn't have connected.
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