About Chemnitzer Spielenacht
Since 2005, we are organizing the yearly CHEMNITZER SPIELENACHT in der big canteen of the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau in Chemnitz (since April 2022: mensa⁵⁵). Hundreds of board and card games are available for free lenting during 6 pm and 2 am and over 1000 students and employees of the university as well as interested locals take the opportunity to re-discover classics and try novelties in good company.
Besides the game lenting we provide board and card game tournaments, where the winners receive attractive prices. Another tradition is the Twister tournament of the student departments to win the challenge cup.
Being a team of volunteers consisting of current and previous university members, we organize the Spielenacht with the patronage of the StuRa with support by all student departments, the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau, the University Computer Centre, the Deutsches Spielemuseum Chemnitz and multiple board game publishers.
Further questions?
Do you have any further questions which has not been answered on this page? - No problem, just write to us und we try to help you as far as we are able to.
General questions
Are there any fees?
Lenting games and participating in the tournaments is free thanks to the sponsorship and support by the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwicka, the StuRa and the student departments of the university, the Gesellschaft der Freunde der TU Chemnitz e. V., the University Computer Centre, the Deutsches Spielemuseum Chemnitz and multiple board game publishers.
Do I have to register beforehand?
To lent games, no - just visit us, lent a game and look for a suitable place inside the canteen. To register for one of the tournaments, you will find corresponding at the main desk during the event.
Do you provide any food or drinks?
Yes, the Studentenwerk will provide a selection of snacks and drinks. Alternatively, you might bring your own.
What can I do if I want to participate as a single person?
We provide games which are suitable for one person, but you will probably find others as well which you can join. Alternatively, you can join one of the tournaments as well.
Feel free to ask us directly or one of our partners like the Chemnitzer Würfeltürmer.
Where can we play if no Spielenacht is happening at the moment?
In the Deutsches Spielemuseum Chemnitz you will find over 1000 games which you can play during the regular opening hours or during the event NACHTS im SPIELEmuseum (2nd Friday of the month). Additionally, the student departments Mathematik and Computer Science are providing some regular events where everyone is welcome. Another alternative is the Chemnitzer Würfeltürmer e. V. with its events on the first Friday of the month. Or you use the game rental of the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau to lent games to play at home. And maybe ask your student department if they want to organize their own event or will lent you own of the games they store.
How can I support the event?
We appreciate any support - either as part of the team or during the event iself. You can find further information on a dedicated page. For event-specific support, a corresponding form is published about one month before the event.
When does the next event take place?
The easiest way to stay updated is by following us on social media - then you will receive an information as soon as we are able to publish the date. Alternatively, you can regularly check out spielenacht.de as well…
Why are there only so few Spielenacht events?
An event like the Spielenacht requires a lot of organizational work, which is done by a small team of volunteers. Additionally, each event involves quite some financial ressources: We have costs for renting the location, fireguards and transports etc. All of this needs to be funded accordingly.
For other ways to play board and card games in Chemnitz, see above.
Where does the money come from?
We receive our funding from different sources. The first part is provided by the cultural funding of the Studentenwerk Chemnitz-Zwickau. Another part is provided by the Student_innenrat of TU Chemnitz. Additionally, the Gesellschaft der Freunde der TU Chemnitz e. V. supports us.
Besides the previously mentioned supporters, we receive support from different sponsors - primarily with games vor lenting and as price games, but with hardware as well -, which you can find in the right column.
Game-related questions
How does lenting games work?
In exchange with a deposit you will receive a lenting card at the main desk, which you can use to lent games during the event. If you want to go home, you return your lenting card and receive your deposit back.
Please note: For each lenting card you can only lent one game. To play two games at the same time, you can provide two deposits of course, to get two lenting cards.
How do I find suitable games?
We recommend you to use our Android app, which provides a convenient way to look through our fund. Alternatively, you can find basic game lists on this website and on the main desk as well. For further questions, feel free to ask at the main desk.
We would like to play the game …, why do you not provide it?
While we provide lots of games, we cannot have all of course. Nevertheless, we are always open for corresponding requests - either through our website, through the app or through social media. Maybe you can enjoy your favorite game during the next event …
Where do the games originate from?
As the Spielenacht exists for over ten years now, we accumulated a large fund of sponsored and bought games. The whole fund is being managed by the Studentenwerk and the student departments Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Behavioural and Social Sciences, Computer Science, Lehramt, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, Humanities and Physics. Additionally, we lent games from the Deutsches SPIELEmuseum Chemnitz, which has been supporting the Spielenacht since the very beginning.
What do the game numbers mean?
The numbers consist of three digit units divided by hyphens. The first unit indicates the number of players - i. e. games with 6-… are suitable for up to 6 players. As an exception, numbers with 0-… denote games awarded with the German prizes "Spiel des Jahres" (Game of the Year), "Kinderspiel des Jahres" (Children's Game of the Year) or "Kennerspiel des Jahres" (Expert's Game of the Year).
The digit unit in the middle is a consecutive number within the first unit. Finally, the last unit distinguishes several copies of the same game. Thus, if the game 4-04-1 is not available, you can take 4-04-2 as well.
Some of the games have a letter at the end of the number: E for Expansion, S for Game of the Year, K for Children's Game of the Year and P for Expert's Game of the Year.
Questions regarding the app
How does the search work?
By using the search you can search inside the offered games without an internet connection to filter the games which could be interesting for you. The app only displays the games which match all your search criteria.
Most of the available criteria do not need any special explanation (age, duration, number of players). When searching for game names or tags the result may be unexpected. For this reason, we are going to tell you how the search works in both of the cases.
If you are searching for the game name, we are comparing it with the normal name of the game as it is displayed inside the results on the one hand (this is the German name in most of the cases). On the other hand there are additional names for most of the games which are taken into account (for example the English name). By doing this, we can suggest you a game collection which contains the game "Yahtzee" for example - which may not be obvious at first sight.
If you are searching for tags, the search is very similar (in fact it is a bit easier as we have a predefined set of tags). For this we have assigned the tags to the games - there may be some tags missing for some games. Searching for a tag, you may see less games than there should be.
If there are only a few search results for your query, we recommend you to repeat the search with less criteria or to ask one of the assistants giving you the games. If you want to suggest additional tags or names for a game, feel free to use the feedback functionality.
How do the bookmarks work?
Long-click on a game in the list or in the search results for adding it to your bookmarks - e. g. for playing it later or for keeping it in mind for your own game collection.
A game can be removed from the bookmarks by wiping it out.
How can I report errors, suggestions etc. for the app?
We are happy to receive comments and suggestions for the future. Using the App's feedback function (available from the start screen), your Mail App gets opened with a prepared message to us. In order to make finding errors easier for us, the subject line contains your App and Android version. Please describe errors as precise as possible.
How can I report mistakes, broken links etc. in the game data?
Please support us in improving our database and report any mistake using the App's feedback function (see question above).
Why is the app only available on Android?
When introducing the app back then, we decided for Android, as our team primarily uses this operating system and thus we could ensure sufficient functionality before publishing it. Additionally, Android is the most used mobile operating system.
Developing the app is done in our freetime, with the actual event taking a greater precedence as well. In the long term, this might change.
Before and during the event, we additionally provide you with differently sorted lists - as PDF file or printed -, which can support you with finding a suitable games. Otherwise, feel free to ask at the main desk as well.
Where do I find the availability status of a game?
This is a planned feature, but not yet implemented due (see previous question as well).
When introducing the app, we digitized our lenting as well and thus have corresponding availability data in theory. As we want to ensure a secure connection to the app, this might take some additional time.
