Survival Guide
Where
How (do I get there)?
Where
The event will once again be held at The Bendigo Club, 22 Park Street Strathdale, in the eastern suburbs of Bendigo. The Club is within short walking distance of Strathdale Reserve and Kennington Reservoir, and a short drive from Kennington Village Shopping Centre.
Note that The Bendigo Club is a licenced venue and all attendees under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
When
How (do I get there)?
Where
We’ll be opening the doors at midday on Friday the 30th of October for three days jam packed with gaming. Our opening times for each day are:
- Friday 30th October: 12pm (midday) – 12am (midnight)
- Saturday 31st Ocotober: 10am – 12am (midnight)
- Sunday 1st November: 10am – 6pm
Shelves will be provided for you to store your games during the event, and the venue doors will be locked overnight. You are welcome to leave your games, though B.I.G. Inc. and the Bendigo Club take no responsibility for any losses incurred.
How (do I get there)?
How (do I get there)?
What (will I eat and drink)?
If you’re driving from Melbourne or Shepparton, the easiest way to find the venue is to follow the Calder/Midland Highway to Bendigo and turn off onto McIvor Highway in the middle of town (turn so you drive past the TAFE on the corner). Follow McIvor Highway until you see the All-Seasons Resort Hotel on the left (about a 5-minute drive), and take the next right onto Crook Street, next to the park. Park Street (and the Bendigo Club) are the second right.
Trains pass through Bendigo frequently and are covered by the myki network. Please check Transport Victoria for up-to-date timetables. Buses are available from the main Bendigo Station, as are taxis and Ubers.
Parking is available at the venue, and at the Strathdale Community Centre (adjacent to the children’s playground on Crook Street, a 3-minute walk).
What (will I eat and drink)?
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
What (will I eat and drink)?
The Bendigo Club offers a full bistro menu from midday to 2:30pm and 5:30 to 8:30pm on all three days of the event. Menus are available on their website (https://www.bendigoclub.com.au/menus/). Please note that both the Bistro and Sports Bar menu items will be available to attendees.
The closest and best external food options can be found at the Kennington Village Shopping Centre (which has McDonalds, KFC, Subway, Guzman y Gomez, Woolworths, IGA and several other food vendors). It is a short 5-minute drive from the venue, and delivery is also available (via Ubereats and Menulog).
Snacks will be available for purchase from The Bendigo Club across all 3 days.
It is requested that outside food not be eaten at the venue (aside from snacks and drink bottles).
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)?
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
In so many ways! Trust us, we’re here to fuel your collection creep, your acquisition aspirations, and your punchboard pining.
Little Plastic Fellas (Onsite retailer): We have once again partnered with the fantastic Little Plastic Fellas (https://littleplasticfellas.com.au/) as our onsite retailer for this year’s event. They will have a large stock of games for purchase as well as gaming accessories, books and more. If you’re interested in picking anything up in advance of the event, please get in touch with them via their Facebook page and they can bring it down for you. Make sure you get any orders in before the 17th of October.
Daily Door Draw: Our daily door prize raffle will be running again this year, drawn at 6pm on Friday, and 2pm on Saturday and Sunday. You will be provided with one entry for each day you have purchased a ticket. All attendees’ names will be placed into a pool, and we will keep drawing names until all prizes are claimed. The prize pool will vary by day and will be on display each morning at the registration desk.
Gaming Challenge Raffle: We are also running a special challenge raffle, drawn at 6pm on Friday, and 2pm (midday) on Saturday and Sunday. Inside your nametag you will find four entry forms, each requiring you to complete a special challenge: play a game which is new to you, play a game from the library, play a game with someone you’ve never played with before, and purchase something from the onsite retailer (see below). Once completed, sign the form and place it into one of the three prize boxes, one of which will be drawn each day. How you split your entries is entirely up to you. If you like the look of a particular prize, throw all your entries into one basket. If you’re only going to be at the event for one day, maximise your chances.
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
How (can I leave with more games than I brought with me)? part 2
Play to Win: Through our generous partnership with Wallace Designs we have 2 copies of Steam Power and 2 copies of Zero to Hero for you to win. Simply join one of the play sessions we have organised through the Aftergame app to add your name to the draw. As part of the Daily Door Draw on Sunday afternoon at 2pm, we’ll draw our 4 lucky winners from those who played each throughout the weekend.
Halloween Costume Contest: Don’t worry, it didn’t escape our notice that Friday of the event is Halloween. Present yourself to the front desk at 5:45pm on Saturday night in your spookiest costume to be entered into a crowd judged best dressed contest! We have thematically appropriate special prizes for the most lauded adult and child costumes.
The B.I.G. Quiz: Resident Quizmaster Travis will once again be running a board game related quiz for up to twenty trivia buffs on Saturday from 7pm. Numbers are strictly limited so sign up on the Aftergame app to secure your spot; prizes are on the line.
Who (will be there)?
RAN BY THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY
Part of what makes the B.I.G. Weekend such a fun experience is meeting gamers from all over the country. Last year we had attendees from 4 different states, across many age ranges and demographics, and this year is shaping up to be no different. While it’s undoubtedly fun to attend as a group with your close friends, we encourage you to play games with new faces and maybe even make new friends.
The B.I.G. Weekend is fully run by volunteers, and we are here to help you! Look for us in our high vis vests; we’ll help you out in whatever way we can to make sure your weekend is the biggest and best it can be.
We hope you’re excited for this year’s event, we sure are. On behalf of the committee and the event volunteers, safe travels and we will see you on the 31st, 1st and 2nd!
BYO Flea Market:
Due to its huge success last year, we will again be running our BYO Flea Market, which is happening on Saturday from 10am – 12pm. We’ve made some small tweaks based on feedback from last year, and this year should be an even smoother exchange. If you wish to be involved as a Seller or Buyer please read the sections below carefully:
SELLERS:
Bring the games you wish to sell to the Board Room (ask a volunteer if you don’t know where it is) from 10 am on Saturday.
You will need to complete and display a “Sales” form for each game you have on offer (with details such as: your name, phone number, sale price, preferred payment type and any other relevant details.) There are printable copies attached to this email, and there will be hard copies provided on the day.
You must provide a specific price for your games. No “Make me an offer” or “Or nearest offer” tags please. You may bundle games together (please make this clear on the Sales form).
You do not need to be present for the duration of the sale. There will be B.I.G Weekend Volunteers in the room at all times between 10 and 12.
Anyone who offers to purchase your games will contact you, and our volunteers will hold the games until you have signed off that payment has been made.
BUYERS:
Once you have decided on the game/s to purchase, take the games and associated Sales forms (that will be with each game) to our B.I.G Volunteers who will be supervising the sales. They will store the games for you, pending payment. You can then contact the seller and arrange payment.
Once payment has been received, the seller will sign for the release of the game(s), and it is yours to take. You do not need to wait for the seller before returning to gaming. Some sellers may be busy playing games and may sign off at the end of the sale.
B. Y. O. F. A. Q:
- Must I place an exact amount; can’t I just ask them to make me an offer? No. Feedback collected last year showed that a stated price was preferred.
- What is the “Pending Sale” Table? This is where our volunteers will hold the games you wish to purchase while you organise payment. After you have brought to the table all the games you wish to buy, they are essentially yours, pending payment. Our volunteers will store games away for you so that no-one else accidentally claims them while payment is pending. Once the seller has signed off that they have received payment, you are free to collect your newest cardboard family members.
- Do I need to fill in a form for ALL my games? Yes please. To make it easier, there are printable copies in this Survival Guide for those that have a lot to sell, or just want to be prepared.
- Can I do bundles? Yes. Just list the games in the bundle on the Sales form.
- Do B.I.G. Weekend volunteers handle the sales? No. Our volunteers will not handle any money or deal directly with any transactions. It is up to the buyer to contact the seller and arrange appropriate payment, and for the seller to sign off when payment is received. Our B.I.G Volunteers will be there to assist in a general way and to store games pending sale.
- I am a seller/buyer. Do I have to be in the room for the duration of the sale? No. Sellers can leave once they have displayed their games and relevant Sales forms. You are then free to go and play games and enjoy the convention. Buyers can also take the games they are purchasing to the Pending Sale table and return to collect them later after payment has been made. Importantly - We will need ALL buyers to sign off on payments received, and all buyers and sellers to collect sold/unsold games from the Board Room by 12pm so further events can be set up in that space. Our MC’s will remind attendees of this shortly before the sale ends.
-When can I take my purchase? Once the seller has verified that payment has been received.
-Can I trade/swap games? Yes. This can be done between the two parties, and no involvement of B.I.G Weekend staff will be necessary.
-When do I need to pack up and remove my unsold games? All games, sold or unsold, will need to be packed up and removed by 12pm at the latest so that we can set up the space for other games and activities. Volunteers will only be present in the room until 12 and no responsibility will be taken for any unsupervised games remaining after that time.
-Preferred payment types? That is up to the seller and will be marked on the game’s Sales form.
