Board game hire for Melbourne offices.
The cheapest in-office team building activity we run, and the only one without a host. A curated shelf lands at your office on Friday morning and goes back on Monday. Six to eight games, a teach-card for every one of them, and no host — because some nights don't need one.
$290 for the weekend$150 each extra bundle
Melbourne metro, dropped Friday and collected Monday. No bond, and no card kept on file.
What we provide
One crate. Everything in it has been carefully selected: to match your player count, to give you variety, to suit your team — and, crucially, so that it can be taught by somebody who has never run a game night.
In the crate
- Six to eight games, picked for your group size — quick to teach, hard to break
- A printed teach-card for every title: how to explain it in sixty seconds
- A QR code on each card, to the rules page and a how-to-play video
- Scorepads, a timer, pens, and a packing checklist with a piece count
The difference between a good self-run night and a bad one is entirely whether somebody can teach the game in the first two minutes. That's what the cards are for, and it's most of what you're hiring.
The important part
See a learn-to-play sheet
One page for one game: the sixty-second teach, the two or three rules everybody gets wrong the first time, and a QR code to a video for anyone who would rather be shown. Every title in the crate arrives with one.
It is the thing that decides whether the night works, so it is worth reading one before you book.
See an example (PDF)How to run a night without a host
The rest of this site argues that an unfacilitated games night is how you end up with four people playing and eleven on their phones. That's true, and it's a problem of teaching rather than of hosting. So: one person, four steps, about ten minutes of preparation.
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The afternoon before
One person picks three games
Not eight. Three, out of the crate, from the cards that look like your team. Read those three cards once. That's the whole preparation.
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First five minutes
Teach from the front, off the card
Stand up, hold the card, read it out if you like. Sixty seconds a game. Don't ask whether everybody has played before — half the room will say yes and mean no.
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Every 25–30 minutes
Call time and rotate
Somebody has to be the one who says "right, swap". Set the timer that came in the crate. A game that runs long is the thing that kills the second half of the night.
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Before people drift
Finish while it's still good
End on the loud game, not the long one. Then put the pieces back against the checklist — it's faster on the night than on Monday morning.
How many bundles for how many people
| People | Bundles | What that looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 15 | 1 bundle | Two or three games out at a time, everyone playing. |
| 16 to 30 | 2 bundles | Two crates, two corners of the floor, different games in each. |
| 31 to 45 | 3 bundles | A whole floor. Worth nominating one person per crate. |
| More than 45 | Tell us | We'll work it out with you rather than guess from a table. |
$290, Friday to Monday.
One flat fee for the weekend, and every way it can change is listed below. There's no bond, no card on file and no deposit for a first hire.
- One bundle, Friday to Monday
- $290
- Each extra bundle
- $150
- Each day beyond the weekend
- $40
- Beyond 25 km of the CBD
- $60
Dropped Friday morning, collected Monday morning. Melbourne metro, inside 25 km of the CBD.
Same weekend, same drop. A different six to eight games in each crate.
Keeping it for a week is fine. Tell us when you book rather than when we turn up.
One flat travel figure, charged once per drop rather than per bundle.
Games Club
One bundle, in your office all month, swapped for a different one at the start of the next. Six-month term. For the office where the games came out on a Friday and then somebody asked whether they could stay.
- A different shelf every month, chosen against what got played
- Teach-cards refreshed with each swap
What happens if something breaks
The short version: normal use is expected and costs nothing. We only ever charge for what it costs to make the bundle whole again, and we tell you the figure before we invoice it.
- Wear and tear
- Free. Bent cards, a scuffed box, a sleeve that has gone soft — that's what a game in use looks like, and it's already in the price.
- A missing piece
- Note it on the checklist and leave it with us. Most pieces are replaceable individually and we charge what the replacement costs, up to $25 a title. Under a dollar, we don't bother.
- A game that can't be played again
- Charged at what it costs to replace the title, capped at its recommended retail price. We tell you the number before the invoice, and we don't add a handling fee to it.
- Liquid
- The one thing that actually ends a game. Keep drinks off the table the cards are on, and put the lid back on the crate overnight.
- A whole bundle lost
- Charged at the bundle's replacement value, which is printed on the delivery note so you know the figure on the day it arrives rather than after.
- If we can't collect
- Somebody needs to be at the address in the collection window, or the crate needs to be with reception. If we can't get it, it's the $40 daily rate until we can.
No bond, no card on file, and nothing signed beyond the booking email. Full terms of hire go out with your quote, and the site's general terms are at officerules.com.au/terms.
Where and when
Drop off
Friday, between 8am and 11am. We'll confirm an hour the day before and text when we're ten minutes out.
Collection
Monday, between 8am and 11am. Reception is fine — nobody needs to be waiting for us.
Area
Melbourne metro. Inside 25 km of the CBD is the flat fee; beyond it adds $60 to the drop.
Other days
A Thursday drop or a Tuesday collection is usually fine. Ask when you book — it's a calendar question, not a policy one.
Questions about hiring the games
Do you clean them between hires?
Yes. Every bundle is checked against its piece count and wiped down before it goes out, which is also when we find out what came back short from the hire before yours.
What if a piece goes missing?
Note it on the checklist. Most pieces can be replaced on their own, and we charge what the replacement costs — up to $25 a title. If it's under a dollar we don't bother. The full position is a few paragraphs up.
Can we keep it another week?
Yes, at $40 a day. Tell us when you book if you already know, and if the office decides on Sunday night, email us Monday morning — we'll only be annoyed if we've already driven over.
Can we buy one we liked?
That depends on the title. If we can source a replacement copy in time for the next office drop-off, we're happy to discuss it game by game.
What if we'd rather have a host after all?
If we have a host free on your date, go for it. Most teams start with a hosted night and run their own once they've got the hang of it, and doing it the other way round is fine too. A hosted night in your office starts at $600.
Do we need to sign anything?
No bond and no card on file. The booking email is the agreement, and the terms of hire go out with your quote so you've got them before you commit rather than after.
Will the games be easy to learn?
Yes. We match the complexity to what your group tells us it wants, and every bundle ships with quick-learn guides and direct links to video instructions for each title.
Invoicing, group sizes and the rest are answered on the home page — the general questions.
Book a drop-off
Your name, your company, a work email, the address it's going to and the two dates. Add the bundles and a headcount if you know them. We'll come back with a time window and an invoice, and nothing is locked in until you say so.
hello@officerules.com.au 0416 426 579Weekdays, 9am to 5pm.
Not sure how many bundles?
Put down your best guess and the floor size. We'd rather correct it on the phone than send you three crates you didn't need.