Setting up your club on Ludoya is quick. Helping your members get used to it usually takes a little longer, and that's completely normal: people are fond of the way their club works, and they've organised their nights the same way for years.
This guide shares what has worked for other clubs. Around Barcelona, some twenty clubs run their nights on Ludoya today, and a few of them have been with us from the very start: DarkStone Catalunya in Terrassa, with over 250 members and more than a thousand events; KLEFF Barcelona, with more than 200 members; and Jocs Sala Padró in Cornellà, with some 600 game nights. All of them got there gradually.
The idea behind everything below is simple: start with one small thing that makes life easier for everyone, and let people come along at their own pace.
What Usually Gets in the Way
When a club finds the change hard, it's rarely about the platform itself. More often it's about how the change arrives:
- Lots of new things at once. Announcing collection, plays, events, dues and the library in one go can sound like a lot of extra work, even when it isn't.
- A big yes-or-no question. Asking "Should we move to Ludoya?" tends to start a broad conversation about apps and phones, rather than about the club's actual needs.
- Making it compulsory straight away. People who were simply curious can feel pushed.
- One person carrying it alone. Change is easier when it's shared.
All of these are easy to avoid, and the steps below are built with them in mind.
A Step-by-Step Plan
1. Share It with a Couple of People First
Before telling the whole club, show Ludoya to one or two people you trust: perhaps another organiser and a member whose opinion others value. Let them sign up for a test night and ask what they think the others might worry about. Their answers will help you prepare, and you won't be doing it alone.
2. Start with One Thing
Think about what takes the most effort in your club right now. For many clubs it's knowing who's coming to the next game night; for others it's keeping track of the library, or running a tournament. Choose just one. This guide starts with sign-ups, because that's where most clubs begin.
3. Share a Sign-up Link in Your Usual Chat
Create your next game night as an event and share its link in the group chat you already use, with a friendly note, for example:
"For Thursday, you can sign up here so we know how many tables to set up: [link]"
Your members don't need to install anything or create an account. They can open the link in their browser and sign up with their name and email. Your chat stays just as it is, for everything people enjoy using it for, and Ludoya simply keeps the list tidy.
4. Add Your Members Yourself
You don't need to wait for everyone to join before your club feels complete. From the club console, use Import members with the list you already have. Members you add this way are part of the club from the first day, even without an account: you can save them a seat and include them in the games you log. If they create an account later, Merge with brings both together so the club keeps a single record.
You can bring in the club's games the same way, from a file or from BoardGameGeek.
5. Share the Nice Things as They Appear
After a few nights, your club will start to see things it didn't have before:
- Finding out in seconds whether someone owns a game, from the club's shared collection.
- The club's statistics: which games you play most, how many nights you've shared this year, how long a game of Terraforming Mars really takes you.
- A Replay of the month or the year, to share with everyone.
- A minimum for each night, so the page shows how many more people are needed and you know in good time whether it's on.
Sharing one of these in the chat now and then is a lovely way for people to see what the club is building together.
6. Let the List Live on Ludoya
After three or four nights, most people will probably be signing up through the link already. At that point you can agree, together, that the list is kept on Ludoya and the chat is for everything else.
For anyone who'd still rather not, you can sign them up yourself: Reserve places adds someone to the list by name, with or without an account. Everyone keeps their place at the table.
7. When You're Ready, Try the Next Thing
Once sign-ups feel natural, you can look at the next thing that would help: the library with QR labels, tournaments, membership dues or logging plays. One at a time, whenever it suits your club.
Questions Your Members May Ask
These questions come up in most clubs. They're all fair, and here are some answers you can share.
"Do I need to install an app?"
No. Ludoya works in the browser on any phone or computer, and signing up for a night only needs a name and an email. The app is there for anyone who'd like it, but nobody has to use it.
"We like to keep phones away from the table."
That's a lovely tradition, and Ludoya fits it well, because it's used before and after a game rather than during it. Signing up takes a moment. Logging a game, if the table wants to, takes a minute at the end, and one person can do it for everyone. It works offline too.
It can even mean less time on phones, since nobody has to scroll back through the chat to see who's coming or who has borrowed a game. Some clubs agree on a simple habit: phones away while playing, and one person logs the game afterwards if everyone would like it recorded.
"We'd rather not depend on big tech companies."
That's a very understandable concern. It may help to know that Ludoya is made by a small independent company in Catalonia, Spain, and follows EU privacy law. There are no ads and no ad trackers, and your data is never sold: not your collection, your plays, or anything about the games you like. Ludoya is available in 22 languages, including Catalan, and it's designed around local life: your club, your game nights and the events near you.
Many clubs today organise through WhatsApp, Facebook or Google tools, so for them Ludoya is a way to rely a little less on large platforms, not more.
"What if Ludoya changes, or starts charging?"
Running your club's game nights is free: the club, its members and events, sign-ups with seats and waiting lists, and exporting who's coming. Paid plans add room and extra tools for larger clubs and events.
Your information also stays yours. From the club console you can export your members, events, collection and plays at any time.
"I'd like to keep my games and plays private."
Of course. In Settings → Privacy, everyone chooses who sees their profile, collection, plays and stats: anyone, friends, people they share a group with, or only themselves. There's more in Privacy & Visibility.
"Some of our members aren't comfortable with technology."
For them it can be as simple as opening a link and typing their name. And if that's still too much, you can sign them up yourself. Announcements reach people by email when they don't use the app, and a printed QR code at the venue door helps newcomers find their way.
"Our group chat already works well."
It probably does, often thanks to someone who quietly counts the seats each week, remembers who has the club's games and which newcomer wanted to learn Root. Ludoya helps share that work: the list, the games played and the loans are all kept in one place, so the club runs smoothly even when that person takes a well-deserved break.
Suggesting It to Your Club
If your club makes decisions together, a few things can help the conversation:
- Suggest a short trial. For example: "Shall we try signing up through this link for the next four game nights, and then talk about how it went?" Trying something for a while feels much lighter than a permanent decision.
- Start from what the club needs. Talking about the problem you'd like to solve, such as keeping track of who's coming, is easier than talking about a new tool.
- Invite the doubts. Ask the members with the most questions to help evaluate the trial. Their view is valuable, and they often end up being its best supporters.
- Say what stays the same. The chat stays, nobody has to create an account, and game time stays phone-free if that's how you like it.
- Share how it went. After the trial, tell everyone how many people signed up, which nights were busiest and which games were most popular.
A Message You Can Share
"Hi everyone! For the next few game nights we'd like to try signing up through Ludoya, so the list doesn't get lost in the chat: [link]. It opens in your browser and only asks for your name and email, no app or account needed. The chat stays as it is, and if you'd prefer, just tell me and I'll add your name myself."