What can I do to get new players to mingle at a neighborhood board game night?

[EthanH]

I’m trying to organize a casual board game night at a local cafe for our neighborhood group, but I’m worried the regulars who always come will just stick together again. How do you get people to actually mix and talk to someone new instead of defaulting to their usual friends?

[Thomas_H]

Been there I tried a mingle round where people paired with someone new for a game and it was awkward at first but a few kept talking after the game

[Noah.J]

I once mixed folks into small groups and rotated tables every thirty minutes and that did shift who talked to who for a while

[EricLW]

I wonder if the thing really is the cafe vibe or the game choice not the people and we are chasing the wrong fix

[Paisley65]

We did a tiny ice breaker once about a favorite snack and it felt awkward but it got a few conversations going before we drifted back to the usual crew