Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any board game club, games café, games night, tabletop or role-playing group, game publisher, designer, retailer, convention or expo, library, pub, community centre, council or charity. Nothing here is legal, copyright, safeguarding or privacy advice. Check your own club's or venue's guidance on gifts, photos, members' details and the games themselves.
It's quarter to seven on a Wednesday evening in November, and the back room of the community centre is cold until somebody finds the switch for the heaters. A man called Graham, who has run the town's board game club for six years, is wheeling in a metal trolley stacked with boxes: big square ones, small tins, a battered long box held together with two rubber bands. He knows every one of them by weight. He knows which one is missing a single yellow cube, which one has the card that's been replaced with a hand-written copy, and which one nobody has played since the night the argument about trade routes went on until the caretaker turned the lights off.
At the next table, a nurse called Hana, who comes straight from a late shift most weeks, is setting out folding tables in a horseshoe and putting a card on each one: "Teaching table, new people welcome". At the door, a student called Femi is taking the three-pound door money in a biscuit tin and writing first names on sticky labels, because half the people coming tonight have never met each other. On the club's group chat, someone has already posted: "Bringing the bird game. Need two more."
By half past seven, there are thirty people in the room. At the teaching table, Hana is explaining the rules of a game about building a railway to a couple who saw the poster in the library and almost didn't come in. She doesn't read the rulebook aloud. She sets up the board, plays the first round with them open-handed, and says "Don't worry about winning this time, just see what happens." At the far end, four regulars are deep in something long and serious with a map of Europe and a great deal of muttering. Two teenagers and a retired teacher are laughing so hard at a party game that people keep looking over.
At ten, the boxes go back on the trolley. Graham checks every lid, counts the pieces in the one with the missing cube, and finds a meeple under the radiator. Hana stacks the tables. Femi counts the biscuit tin and posts on the chat: "38 tonight. Thank you, everyone. Same time next week."
If you've ever been to a board game club, learned a new game from a patient stranger, or watched a nervous newcomer become a regular, you'll know how much quiet, unpaid work goes into those evenings. This guide is about saying thank you to the people who make them happen, in words first and, if it fits, with a small extra: a photo of the games table, mid-game or set up and waiting, turned into a private digital jigsaw with your note at the end.
Who we mean
Board game clubs come in many shapes: weekly nights in a pub back room, monthly sessions in a library, family games afternoons in a community centre, clubs for students, for older people, for parents with toddlers, for people who are new to a town, and groups that meet in a games café but are run by volunteers. Most of them have some version of these roles:
- the organiser or host, who books the room, deals with the venue, sets the date and keeps the whole thing going;
- the games librarian, who looks after the club's collection, counts the pieces, replaces lost bits, sleeves the cards and decides what to buy next;
- the teachers, who explain games to newcomers and are, quite often, the reason people come back;
- the welcomer, who spots someone hovering by the door and finds them a table;
- the treasurer, who collects the door money or the subs and pays for the room;
- the online organiser, who runs the group chat, the meetup page or the email list, and posts the photos afterwards;
- the games day or charity marathon organiser, who runs the bigger events once or twice a year;
- the family and youth session volunteers, who run games for children at the library, the school or the youth club;
- the volunteers who take games into care homes, hospitals, shelters or community cafés;
- the person who brings the folding tables, the extension lead and the snacks, every single week.
Many volunteers do more than one of these. The person teaching a new game tonight may have started the club, and may be repairing a torn board at their kitchen table on Sunday afternoon.
The words matter most
The best thank-you for any volunteer is a specific, honest message. Something like:
- "Thank you for teaching me that first game. I'd moved here three weeks before and didn't know anyone. Now I come every week."
- "Thank you for running the club. It's the one night of the week my son looks forward to more than anything."
- "I know how long it takes to look after a hundred games. Thank you for every missing piece you've replaced."
- "Thank you for finding me a table that first night. I almost went home."
Say what they did, what it meant, and, if you can, a small detail that shows you noticed: the teacher who always plays the first round open-handed, the host who keeps a box of spare dice in her bag, the welcomer who remembers everyone's name after one week. That's the gift. Everything else is optional.
If you're the organiser, a thank-you in the group chat, at the start of a games night or on the club's page matters too. Name people where they're happy to be named. A simple "None of this happens without Hana teaching every single week" can mean a great deal.
Who might send one
A photo jigsaw with a note can suit:
- a newcomer thanking the volunteer who taught them their first game and made them feel welcome;
- a parent thanking the people who run the family games session at the library;
- a member thanking the games librarian who looks after the club's collection;
- an organiser thanking the regular teachers, welcomers and helpers at the end of the year;
- a group of members thanking a founder when the club reaches its fifth or tenth birthday;
- a care home or community café thanking the volunteers who bring games every month;
- someone who has moved away thanking the club that got them through a lonely first winter;
- a volunteer's own family, thanking the person who has spent every Wednesday night in a community centre for years.
It suits people who would rather not have another mug, and clubs that would rather spend their door money on new games and room hire than on presents. And, unsurprisingly, it suits people who love puzzles.
Gifts, clubs and good manners
Some practical points:
- Club money is members' money. Door money, subs and raffle takings usually pay for the room, new games and replacement pieces. If you're thanking someone personally, pay for it yourself, and if the club is thanking someone, agree it with the organisers first.
- Venues have their own rules. If the club meets in a library, pub, café or community centre, the venue may have rules about photos, especially of children or of other customers. Check before you take one.
- Not everyone wants the spotlight. Some volunteers enjoy being thanked in front of the whole room. Others would rather stay at the teaching table. Ask, or follow their lead.
- Keep it modest. A note and a small gesture is more comfortable than something expensive. Puzzlify is a small digital gift, not a lavish present.
- Games are someone's artwork. The art on a game box or board belongs to the publisher and the artist. A photo you took of a game in play, at your club, as a personal thank-you is different from copying the box art, but keep the focus on the table, the people's hands and the moment, not on a flat copy of the cover, and don't post it publicly as if it were yours.
- Members' details stay private. Clubs often have a group chat, a sign-in sheet and a list of who's coming. Keep names, phone numbers and usernames out of any photo, and never share a member's details without asking.
When to send it
Good moments include:
- the last games night before Christmas or the summer break;
- the club's birthday, especially a fifth or tenth;
- after a games day, charity marathon or convention trip the club organised;
- when someone steps down from organising, teaching or looking after the collection;
- after your first few weeks, when you know you're going to keep coming;
- after a family or youth session that went especially well;
- when a volunteer moves away, changes job or has a new baby and can't come for a while;
- any time you've been meaning to say it and haven't.
If the club had a hard year, such as losing its room, running online through a difficult winter or struggling to find teachers, a thank-you to the people who kept it going can mean even more.
Why a jigsaw can fit
A board game is a puzzle with friends. You look at the table, work out what fits where, try something, see what happens, and try again. The best teachers at a games club don't give you the answer; they help you see the shape of the game, and then they let you find your own way through it.
A photo jigsaw asks for the same kind of attention. The person solving it puts the picture together piece by piece, notices the cards and the dice and the little wooden pieces, and at the end finds your note. It's quiet, it's personal, and it's a small way of saying "I noticed what you do". For people who spend their evenings arranging tiles and cubes, it's a gift that speaks their language.
If you're thanking the organiser
The organiser carries the weight of the whole thing: the room booking, the venue's rules, the insurance if there is any, the worry about whether anyone will come in January, and the endless messages asking "Is it on tonight?" A good photo is the room set up and empty before people arrive, tables out and boxes stacked, or the club's handmade sign on the door. Your note can be short: "Thank you for keeping it going. Six years of Wednesdays, and the room is still full."
If you're thanking the games librarian
The games librarian is often the club's quietest volunteer and its most important. They carry the boxes, count the pieces, write to publishers for replacements, sleeve the cards, label the boxes and know exactly which shelf the long game with the rubber bands lives on. A good photo is the trolley or shelf of games, spines lined up neatly, or the small bag of spare pieces they keep for emergencies. Your note might say: "Thank you for every yellow cube you've ever found under a radiator."
If you're thanking the teachers
Teachers are the heart of a board game club. They sit with nervous newcomers, explain the rules without reading the whole book aloud, play the first round open-handed and make sure everyone has a good time, even if it means they don't get to play anything new themselves. A good photo is the teaching table set up and ready, or hands moving pieces mid-game with no faces in shot. Your note can be: "Thank you for teaching me. I didn't win, but I came back, and that was the point."
If you're thanking the welcomer
The welcomer stands near the door and notices the person who looks unsure. They say hello, ask what kind of games they like, and walk them over to a table. For someone new to a town, or someone who's been lonely, that moment can matter far more than the game. A good photo is the door with the club sign on it, or the name labels and the biscuit tin on the welcome table, with no names readable. Your note might say: "Thank you for saying hello that first night. I've been coming ever since."
If you're thanking the family and youth volunteers
Family games sessions and youth club game nights are often the busiest and loudest of all: toddlers chewing dice, teenagers arguing about rules, parents learning games their children already know. Someone plans the games, sorts the sessions by age and makes sure every child goes home happy. A good photo is the table of children's games set out before the doors open, with no children in shot. Your note can be: "Thank you for Saturday mornings. She plays the dragon game every night now."
If you're thanking volunteers who take games into care homes or hospitals
Some volunteers carry a bag of simple games into a care home lounge, a hospital day room or a community café every month. They choose games that work for shaky hands and tired eyes, play slowly, and listen to a great many stories. A good photo is the bag of games, or a simple game laid out on a table, with no residents in shot unless they and their families have agreed. Your note might say: "Thank you for every Thursday at the home. Dad always asks if it's games day."
If you live with a board game club volunteer
Some of the most important thank-yous are the ones nobody hears: from the partner who has lost the spare room to shelves of boxes, or the family who've learned that Wednesday night is games night and that's that. If you're the volunteer, a photo jigsaw for them is a nice way round. Choose a photo of a game you play together at home, or of the shelves they put up for you, and your note might say: "Thank you for every Wednesday you've let me go, and for pretending you don't mind the boxes in the hall."
When a long-serving volunteer steps down
Many clubs have someone who has done it for years: who started with four friends and a single game around a kitchen table, who remembers every room the club has ever met in, and who taught half the town to play. When that person steps down, a thank-you matters.
A good photo might be the first game the club ever played, the shelf of games they built up, the room on a busy night with people's permission, or a "then and now" pair of the club's first and latest meetings. A higher piece count, like 130 or 252, can suit a slow, reflective solve. Your note could collect messages from several members, or simply say what the club owes them.
In memory of a member
If a club is remembering someone who has died, a puzzle can be a gentle way to share a memory with their family, but only if the family would welcome it. Ask first, keep it quiet and personal, and choose a photo the family recognises: the game they always brought, their favourite seat at the table, or the box with their handwriting on the label. Some clubs name a games day or a trophy after a member; a photo of that can be a fitting choice.
For games clubs elsewhere
The same ideas work for:
- board game clubs and games nights in pubs, libraries and community centres in the UK and Ireland;
- game nights and tabletop groups in the United States and Canada, in libraries, churches, colleges and game stores;
- board game clubs in Australia and New Zealand, from city meetups to small-town library sessions;
- role-playing groups, card game clubs, miniature painting groups and wargaming clubs;
- chess, go, Scrabble and backgammon clubs that run on the same volunteer energy;
- university and student games societies, and school lunchtime clubs run by staff and older pupils;
- games volunteers in care homes, hospitals, refugee welcome groups and community cafés.
Every one of them depends on people who give their time, and every one of them has someone who stays behind to count the pieces.
Photo ideas and consent
Good photos for a board game club thank-you include:
- the games table mid-game, cards and pieces spread out, with only hands in shot;
- the room set up and empty before the doors open, tables out and boxes stacked;
- the trolley or shelf of the club's games, spines lined up;
- a close-up of colourful pieces, dice and tokens on the table;
- the teaching table with its little sign, ready for newcomers;
- the end-of-game moment: a finished board, a scoreboard with names covered;
- the club's handmade sign on the door;
- a game you play together at home, if the thank-you is from you.
Keep out of the frame:
- members' faces, unless every person has agreed;
- children, unless their family has agreed and the venue's and club's policy allows it;
- other customers if the club meets in a pub or café;
- name labels, sign-in sheets, score sheets with full names, and phone screens showing the group chat;
- the door money tin and anything with the club's bank details;
- a flat, straight-on copy of a game's box art, which is someone else's artwork;
- anything that might embarrass someone, such as the night the long game ended in a sulk.
If the photo has people in it, ask them first. A photo with no people at all, just the table, the games or the room, is often the easiest and best choice.
Getting the JPG right
Puzzlify works from a JPG. Most phone photos are already JPGs, or can be saved as one. A few practical tips:
- take the photo from above the table, standing on safe ground, so the whole game is in view;
- community centre strip lights can make photos look yellow or grey; a photo near a window, or with the room lights fully on, usually looks better;
- landscape images usually make the most comfortable puzzles on a phone turned sideways;
- colourful game tables with lots of small pieces solve beautifully, which is fitting;
- a photo with a large area of plain table or a dark board can be surprisingly hard, so crop it or pick a lower piece count;
- crop out name labels, phones, other people's bags and anything private, even if it's small;
- remove location data from the photo if your phone adds it, especially if it was taken at someone's home.
Privacy, an optional PIN, and saying it's from you
The puzzle is private: it's shared as a link, not posted on a public board. You can add an optional PIN so that only someone who knows it can open the puzzle, which is useful if you're sending it to a club group chat with a lot of members. Even so, treat the photo as if it might be forwarded, and keep anything private out of it.
Some volunteers, especially the ones who manage the club's group chat and see every odd message that arrives, are rightly wary of unexpected links. Say who it's from and what it is in the message itself: "This is a little jigsaw of the games table from Wednesday, with a note at the end. It's from me, and it's safe to open." If you're sending it to someone who doesn't use email much, hand it over as a QR code inside a card at the next games night.
How many pieces?
| Pieces | Feels like | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | a quick party game | a few minutes |
| 48 | one round at the teaching table | around 5–10 minutes |
| 80 | a full game for four | around 10–20 minutes |
| 130 | the whole room on a busy night | around 20–40 minutes |
| 252 | the long game with the rubber bands | an hour or more |
If you're not sure, 48 or 80 pieces suits most people on a phone. Seasoned gamers may want the hardest version, but dark boards and plain tabletops get tricky at high piece counts, so start lower if the image has large areas of one colour.
The leaderboard: only for a group
If you're sending one puzzle to the whole club, the optional leaderboard lets everyone see who finished first. A board game club, being full of people who enjoy friendly competition, may love that, and it can make a good end-of-year challenge. If it's a personal thank-you to one volunteer, you probably don't need it, and nobody wants a rules argument about a gift.
A few note ideas
- "To Graham: six years of Wednesdays, a hundred boxes and one yellow cube found under the radiator. Thank you."
- "To Hana: thank you for teaching me the railway game, and for saying 'just see what happens'."
- "To Femi: thank you for the name labels and the hello at the door. I almost went home that night."
- "From the Saturday family table: thank you for the dragon game. She's still talking about it."
- "To our games librarian: every missing piece found, every card replaced, every box labelled. Thank you."
- "To my wife: thank you for every Wednesday night, and for the shelves in the hall."
(Change the names, and keep anything personal or identifying out of a puzzle that may be shared.)
How to make one (about a minute of setup)
- Open Puzzlify's puzzle maker in a browser: https://puzzlify.app/en/puzzle-maker/
- Upload your JPG: the games table, the room set up, the shelf of games or a game you play at home.
- Pick a piece count from 24 to 252.
- Write your note. It appears when the last piece goes in.
- Add a PIN if you want one, and preview it for free.
- When you're happy, publish the link and send it by email or message, print it as a QR code inside a card, or ask the organiser to pass it on.
Honest pricing and notes
Making and previewing a puzzle is free in your browser. You only pay when you publish the link to send it: one credit is EUR 3.99, three credits are EUR 8.99, and Plus is EUR 14.99 a year for ten credits, which can make sense if you want to thank several volunteers separately. The person you send it to doesn't need an account or an app; they just open the link in a browser.
This is a digital jigsaw you play on a screen. It isn't a cardboard puzzle in the post, a printed product or a public puzzle board, and it isn't connected to any board game club, games café, publisher, retailer or convention. It's also not puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
Honestly, some of the best thank-yous for board game club volunteers cost nothing at all:
- a handwritten card, tucked into a game box or handed over at the end of the night;
- volunteering yourself: on the door, at the teaching table or helping with the collection;
- staying behind to stack the tables and load the trolley;
- learning one game well enough to teach it, so the regular teachers get a night off;
- bringing a friend, since most clubs want new members more than anything;
- donating a game you no longer play, if the club wants it, with every piece counted;
- offering to put up posters in the library, the café or the doctor's surgery;
- a tin of good biscuits for the snack table, which never fails.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose a photo of the games table, the room or the shelf of games, keep faces, names and anyone's details out of the frame, pick a piece count and add your note. You only pay if you decide to send it. You can open Puzzlify's photo puzzle maker and start a free preview.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who booked the room, wheeled in the trolley, put out the tables, said hello at the door, taught the first round open-handed, found the yellow cube under the radiator and counted the biscuit tin at ten o'clock, so that next Wednesday, the room would fill with people and games again.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, copyright, safeguarding or privacy advice. Check your own club's or venue's guidance on gifts, photos, members' details and the games themselves.