Fiery Rain of Go Stones

Basic Information

Club Time: The 1st, 3rd, & 5th Sundays of every month. 1:30pm to 5:30pm (or so, we tend to stay late... sometimes we also arrive a little late, in which case you may or may not find other people there on time). Most of the time the club is every other week now. If there is a 5th Sunday, we meet 2 weeks in a row because the 1st Sunday of the next month always follows. It is common for the club to keep running until 6 or 6:30 (it won't happen EVERY time, but you CAN bring your own Go set and ASK players to stick around), and have even stayed as late as 7:30 on rare occasions. There is occasionally a very busy day at the Mercury (busy with people who eat rather than play Go), and on those days it can be difficult to settle in for the first 1/2 hour or so. Fortunately this is rare.

Location: The Mercury Cafe, 2199 California St. (on the corner of 22nd and California). We meet in the dining room (to the right when you walk in) -- typically at the big table right by the door (as a starter point, we do spread out), and occasionally at the big table back by the piano (to the right of the bar). Look for the Go boards! If we seem to be hiding in an unusual spot (it CAN happen), check for an arrow on the chalkboard (you should see that when you enter the Mercury) or simply ask the wait-staff where the Go people are.

Parking: There is free parking on the surrounding streets. The parking lot behind the Mercury is paid parking.

Club Fees: There are no dues for this club, everyone is welcome. However, we do heartily encourage donations so we can save them for more equipment. Ask for the donation jar if you don't see it sitting out, or simply hand donations to Jasmine Sailing or Bruce Young.

Player Strengths: Our club is very beginner friendly. Feel free to come even if you know nothing about Go and need to learn! Regular players range in strength from ddk to dan, with a wide range of visitors. Anyone of any strength is welcome! Children and families are also welcome.

Equipment: We provide SOME Go sets (no guarantees that we won't run out on very busy days). If you wish to come early or stay late, you should bring your own set just in case you need it. We very much appreciate it when we aren't stuck waiting an hour to reclaim one set (and those games always end with a 1 point ko that takes about 1/2 hour, right?) after we have packed up to leave. When it's close to quitting time and you want to play more, please ask if you should switch to a Go set that doesn't belong to the club. Often we'll be staying late anyway, and won't be in a hurry to pack up. As long as it doesn't disappear, we also keep one Go set stashed at the Mercury so people can play there whenever they want.

Venue: The Mercury Cafe is a restaurant and event venue. Breakfast and brunch are served until 3pm, dinner at 5:30pm onward. In between, a diverse arsenal of beverages (caffeine, alcohol, herbal teas, etc) and some snacks are available. We do have permission to play Go here, and are typically listed on the Mercury calendar as a scheduled event.

Holidays: The only holidays that closed the club were Christmas and New Year's Eve '06. Christmas Eve and New Year's Day have not impacted the club at all. So far, anyway. When in doubt, go to the Mercury web site and look at the calendar. Easter and Mother's Day, the latter being the worst (hopefully not a problem now, if it always falls on the 2nd Sunday), obligatorily have brunch rushes (Father's Day isn't bad) so you may want to come a little late if you want to be certain to avoid the crowds. We have had no notable problems with the 4th of July, or with Memorial and Labor Day weekends.

Auto-Pilot Days: Very rarely neither Bruce or I can be there to run the club. If this happens, we always ask other people to bring Go sets. This may only be a couple of people with a couple of boards, and it is therefore another good reason to bring your own Go set if you own one. If at all possible we will give advance notice of absences.

For more Fiery Go info, contact Bruce Young.

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