Meeple Riot started with two folding tables, a borrowed crate of games and a Wednesday slot at a Kavaklıdere bar. Five seasons on we’re a full game-night crew — hosts, brackets, gear and the tear-down — for venues, planners and clubs across the city.
FounderKerem · lead host
The story
From one table to the whole room
Kerem Aydın ran that first Wednesday night for free, just to get people off their phones and around a table. Word travelled. By the second season bars were asking for weekend tournaments, then companies wanted party nights, then a club asked for a whole league.
The rule has never changed: a good game night lives or dies on the host. So we hire for teaching, not just for gaming — people who can explain a rulebook in four minutes, keep a bracket honest and read when a table needs a nudge or a break.
We stay deliberately small. We take 6–9 bookings a month so every night gets a host who’s actually rested and prepped, not one juggling three rooms.
The hosts
Who runs your night
Kerem Aydın
Founder & lead host
Eleven years behind game tables, five running Meeple Riot. Teaches heavy strategy titles fast and calls a mean tournament final.
Selin Varol
Tournament director
Runs the brackets, seedings and match clocks. Former chess-club organiser, so a Swiss draw and a tie-break hold no fear for her.
Doruk Şahin
Gear & logistics lead
Packs the crate, drives the van and builds the floor. If a table wobbles or a light’s in the wrong place, it’s fixed before doors.
On the record
Five seasons, counted
0Nights run
0Partner venues
0Tournaments called
0Players hosted
Workshop notes
Added eight new midweight titles to the crate after the summer league — more room for two-player heats.
Second gear van on the road, so we can now run two rooms on the same Friday night.
Kicked off our first inter-venue league — four Ankara bars, one running trophy.
