If you want to attend Games Day, there are some rules you need to follow--not for games, but for your own real-world behavior! We have been using the community room at the Los Altos library for 15 years now, with very few problems and with great support from the library staff. If everyone at Games Day follows these rules, we can stay in the good graces of the staff and keep holding Games Day at this superb location.

1. Please do not park next to the library. Instead, park in the lot next to City Hall (north of the library) or in the big lot next to the History Museum (southeast of the library and museum).

   Why? Because we gamers tend to stay at the library most or all of the day, and if our cars take up the spaces next to the library all that time it's inconvenient for people who are just making a quick trip to the library.

2. Do not prop the door to the library open after the main part of the library closes at 6 PM. Instead, if you need to get back into the community room after 6 PM, tap on the community room windows until you get somebody's attention (the windows are on the side of the library that faces San Antonio road), or call someone who's inside the room already. You should make your arrangements with a friend or Games Day organizer to get back in, before you leave the room.

   Why not prop the doors open? There is stuff in the lobby (like the food cart for the library cafe) that the library staff does not want to be left unlocked, and leaving the door open messes with the heating and A/C.

3. You are not allowed to play games in the lobby, even if we run out of table space in the community room. You must instead wait for table space to open up. (For some games, playing on the floor in the community room may also work, though it's not the cleanest place.)

   Why? Because we have reserved only the community room for our use. A lot of other people use the lobby, especially the tables, and gaming on those tables makes them unavailable for others for too long a time.

4. Tables are available strictly on a first-come, first-serve basis. There is no way to reserve tables in advance.

   This means that if the following happens:

   • You are trying to hold a table for a game that is not ready to start.
   • Meanwhile another group of players is ready to start a game.
   • The other group has no other available space.
   • They ask to use your table.

   Then you have to let them use your table. This is true even if you have pre-arranged to start your game at a particular time with a particular set of players.

   Why? This makes the best use of available table space. In addition, to use the room, we must keep the meetings totally open to the public. If someone walks in and wants to play a game, we can't turn them away if there is still available table space.

   The best way to make sure you have table space to play your game is to start it early.

5. Because we sometimes run out of table space, don't use more of it than you really need.

6. We must keep the noise level within reason. Your group shouldn't make more noise than a normal conversation while you're playing your game. And please keep closed the door that leads to the lobby, so most of the noise stays in the community room.

   Why? We are, after all, meeting in a library.

7. We may have food and drinks in the community room, but the food can only be "light refreshments", not "meals". What's the difference? A "light refreshment" is something that, if some of it gets on the carpet, can be easily cleaned up (such as by vacuuming), and a "meal" is something that's harder to clean up. So cookies or apple slices are OK, but fast food or even sandwiches are not. In any case, we must clean up any dropped or spilled food! (See next item.)

   We may bring meal-type food into the library, but we must eat it out in the lobby (which has tables and chairs for this purpose). We are of course responsible for cleaning up any food or drink that gets on the tables or floor. Fortunately it's a tile floor, so it's much easier to clean up than the carpet in the community room. And we have to put all litter in the trash cans.

   Alcoholic drinks are explicitly prohibited in the community room, so don't bring any to Games Day. If you see somebody at Games Day with alcohol, tell them to dispose of it outside immediately. If they don't, tell Dave E or Dave K.

8. We must thoroughly clean up all trash and dropped/spilled food. Don't wait until you leave to do this, and don't expect somebody else to do this for you. Clean up as soon as there's a mess, or you're done eating. When you leave, do your part to throw away any trash that you happen to see.

   Don't let the trashcan inside the community room overflow: if it's full or nearly full, and you need to throw something away, then throw your stuff away in one of the bigger trashcans in the lobby or just outside the library. Better yet, be a good citizen and empty the trashcan into one of the outside trashcans, and then put a new empty bag into it. There are usually new bags at the bottom, underneath the bag that's currently in use.

   Here is a sign to put near the entrance to remind people of their responsibility.

   Here is a sign to put near the trashcan.

9. No sales of any kind are allowed in the library.

   Why? The community room may only be used for non-commercial purposes.

10. Be respectful of other peoples' property: Ask first before picking up games that don't belong to you. People will generally let you examine and play their games if you ask nicely first.

11. Children often attend, and are welcomed. But like everyone else who attends Games Day, kids need to keep the noise level within reason, keep the room clean, respect other peoples' property, and be generally well-behaved. The parent or guardian who accompanies a child to Games Day is responsible for making sure that child behaves appropriately.

    Why? Let's teach good manners to the next generation of gamers!

12. If you stay till closing (11 PM or later), you should help close up. Either one of the organizers (Dave K. or, far more likely, Dave E.) will be there till closing, or one of the long-time Games Day attendees will have volunteered to take charge of closing. The main things we need to do when closing up are:
    • Clean up all trash and dropped or spilled food.
    • Clean up the sink area.
    • Erase the whiteboard (after writing down what got played!).
    • Straighten up the tables and chairs. (We no longer need to put them all away or put them in a particular arrangement.)
    • Close the blinds and turn out the lights.
    • Make sure all the doors are closed and locked when we walk out.

Here are the official library rules for using the community room. Gamers like rules, so you should read these too!

Last updated November 18 6, 2016 by Dave K.