Official meets are arranged currently three times a year, roughly mid-March, mid-July, and mid-November, each on a Saturday. The venues for these are usually pub function rooms, with those pubs being in places with easy transportation links. The July meets are in London, the November ones are in Derby. However, the March meet “floats” around the country - we've had Bristol, York, and Peterborough so far. Depending on the venue, a buffet lunch is provided, or you order a la carte. There may be a small charge (see below).
The timings of the meet is usually noon until 6pm but depends on the venue.
After the meet there is often a meal - usually curry but at the March 2010 meet two groups separated; one went for Chinese the other Indian. We gather again at another pub for more drinks. You are responsible for your own food and drink costs, and it's entirely optional whether you attend. However, please indicate your intentions on the sign-up form so we can book tables appropriately.
As many people arrive the day before the event and travel back the day after, we often have get-togethers - just a social gathering in a pub on the Friday night, and occasionally an event on the Sunday morning like a visit to a signal box or steam railway. Again, you are responsible for your own costs.
Unofficial meets can be arranged on an ad-hoc basis but it would be polite to let us know if you are planning a public event. You cannot call it a “SimSig meet”, for example, if it hasn't been sanctioned by us. Please discuss in the forum section for meets if you would like to arrange one and then we can take the discussions from there.
Meets involve numerous laptops networked together around the room and usually copious amounts of beer drunk. Guests bring their own laptops where possible so there are fifteen or more laptops for everybody to use. If you are not able to bring a laptop then you are welcome to use other people's laptops who have kindly allowed this to happen. In fact most meets have a rotation system to ensure everybody who wants to play is able to, with workstation/desk allocation assigned by random to prevent hogging of the more popular workstations/desks.
Participation in the multiplayer games is not at all mandatory and indeed several people just turn up just for the company.
There is no specific age limit on the meets itself, however, the venue might have its own age limit. For those that do not know, the age for drinking in the UK is 18 years old, and those under 25 (or look under 25) are likely to need to show proof of age. We cannot chaperone or otherwise take care of minors; please make your own enquiries of the venue and make arrangements with a responsible adult.
Sign up to the event using the links on the left side of your browser page. This gives us a rough idea of how many people to expect and plan accordingly. There are some options you need to answer which again help in planning.
Some events require a modest entrance fee. This covers a range of items depending on the venue. If a buffet lunch is provided then it will include the cost of the buffet (so you will not need to pay separately). We've had problems in the past where not everyone has paid for the buffet yet eaten some anyway, so the only fair way is to make everybody pay. Other costs SimSig may incur at the venue include room hire, use of equipment such as projectors, printing media, and suchlike. SimSig only intend to break even with these charges, not to make a profit.
Entrance fees are collected from you when you collect your namebadge, or can sometimes be made (or even required) in advance. See the meet details linked below.
Donations to SimSig are welcome at the meet. Please ask a meet organiser for the details on the day.
Maps will be provided for each meet. See the listings below for each event.
Some recommendations or suggestions will be provided for each meet. See the listings below for each event. SimSig cannot guarantee the quality of such establishments, and you are responsible for your own costs.
Yourself, money (for drinks and/or food if appropriate), and ID (if you look young enough to need it).
If you offered to bring additional equipment when you signed up then please endeavour to do so:
SimSig nor the venue can take responsibility for your personal effects. Respect other people's belongings. Keep liquids away from laptops. Keep cables tidy and make sure fire exits and fire routes are not blocked. The rule of thumb for fire routes is to ensure a one metre pathway, clear of any bags, coats, cables, or any other obstacles.
Although in a large group meet it is fairly safe to leave your laptop while you go for a beer/wee, always take your wallet and phone with you, or indeed anything else which is easy to steal.
While it's great to have a laugh and get merry, do not get so drunk as to cause an embarrassment to yourself or to SimSig, or forget your way home, or worse. You are responsible for your own actions. Anybody seen to be, or reasonably suspected of, doing anything illegal at a meet will be asked to leave.
As events tend to be indoors, and the law in the UK is no smoking indoors, smoking is not permitted inside the venues. It is rarely a problem to get outside for a smoke if you must.