Why did you start this club?
I started the Indie Video Game Book Club because it’s something I was seeking out myself!
I remember loving the idea of playing a single player game in solidarity with someone else. Sharing our experience along the way. I navigated to meetup - a website designed for the purpose of creating and building communities.
To my surprise, no such community existed. At least nothing I could find within my region. After all, I was looking to make real connections with people that could potentially become real life friends. Not just remote penpals. So, I took it upon myself to be the pioneer of such an idea. A book club for games…in Toronto.
faq
Why indie games specifically?
Firstly, I don’t believe the big AAA releases need any more attention (or funds) than they are already getting.
Secondly, indie games tend to be smaller in scope making them a more digestible option for a game to pick up and finish in a month.
Lastly, more often than not games made by smaller developers tend to go against the grain of what is the refined model of mainstream genres. Be it in the form of gameplay, story telling, or presentation. Which leads us to much more interesting conversations! Even if the game is objectively “bad” (though we generally play pretty well received stuff).
Am I expected to participate in every game?
Not at all! This whole thing is fairly low commitment. You can pick and choose what games you want to participate in. People float in and out all the time. We vote on every game, so be sure to vote for the game you want to play most!
Do I need to own a gaming PC?
Nope! I would say 80% of the stuff we play is multi-platform in some form. Usually having a release on a Switch or a Playstation console. I always list what platforms the game is on.
That being said, as long as we are playing games in the indie scene, the PC is the most consistent platform.
What games has the club played so far?
I’m glad you asked! Below is every game of the month from Jan 2024 up until this point of writing April 2025. There are some absolute classics of the indie scene in here with some more obscure entries sprinkled in.
Majority of these games were voted on by the community each month against 3-4 other possible options.
(of course, we’re often playing and chatting about other games too)
My personal favorites are Chants of Sennaar and The Case of the Golden Idol!
These are games I would have never laid eyes on never mind play if it wasn’t for the guidance of this club and I absolutely loved the experience I had with both. I’ve heard similar things from others. This is the secret sauce of the IVGBC!
What does the future hold for the IVGBC?
That’s a good question! I’m still trying to figure that out myself. If things remained the status quo, I would be perfectly happy. It’s serving the purpose I set out to achieve. That being said, I am recognizing that there is something special here that people are really taking to.
A new logo and this website was a big step towards making this club something very real. For now I am going to keep fostering this community the best I can and see how things grow organically.
