Inside an Empire Session

Your child enjoys a short break after school before being warmly welcomed into Empire (on campus). They collect their hand-painted nametag as attendance is taken.

In the first hour of the session:

• Members discuss an Empire Value of the Day (read more on our Values)

• The termly Artist Alley invitation is explored

• Games being taught by David are described and shown

• Children may volunteer to teach games

• Your child selects and plays games of their choice

There is a break half-way for afternoon tea, bathroom, and outdoor physical play (weather permitting).

In the second hour of the session:

• David reminds children of the Empire Value of the Day

• David introduces another great game

• Your child continues to play games of their choice

• All members neatly pack away and clean up the space

• Group Debrief: sharing about games played, Empire Value of the Day, and planning future games.

• Parent / Guardian collects students, or they depart campus (with parent permission).

Once per term there is a celebration with a communal feast and an invitation for parents, guardians, and siblings to join in the fun! On this day, Empire awards board games as prizes to upstanding members and Artist Alley creators – so that the play may extend beyond Empire’s boundaries. David hopes you’ll be able to join us on this special day!

For Empire’s dates this term, please check the flyer handed out at school or the Join Empire page.

The Origins of Empire

Since childhood, David has loved the feeling of togetherness and playful connection that board games create. Many classic games were in his household such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Boggle, Cluedo, Chess, Uno, The Game of Life, Trivial Pursuit and HeroQuest. 

During primary school this developed into playing Magic: The Gathering and Warhammer 40K. In high school David created his own fantasy role-playing game, Mythical Monsters, which he ran during lunchtimes and on weekends with friends. 

While enjoying adult life at university, David became quickly disillusioned with the partying scene and sought ways to bring adults together in a conscious environment. He discovered modern board gaming through Settlers of Catan. 

Soon he was hosting fortnightly games nights for 20-30 adults. He is regarded as an exceptional Moderator of the social deduction game, Werewolf, having run hundreds of immersive sessions. He continues to host Werewolf games to this day! 

In 2012 as a pre-service teacher during his Master of Teaching (Primary), David created and launched Empire at a public school where it was met with great enthusiasm. To build up the repository of games needed for this dream, David successfully crowdsourced $1,000 funding from the local community.

While working as a teacher, David discovered the West Australian Boardgaming Association (WABA) in 2013 and was elected as a committee member. Drawing upon the vast resources of WABA and its members, David began to play a wide variety of games. He then learned how to teach them effectively to players of all ages and backgrounds. 

In the following years Empire continued to expand in all ways: number of attendees, number of schools, and of course – number of games! 

As of 2024, Empire is boldly spreading joy, creativity, and face-to-face connection in multiple schools across Perth!