Events
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Game Design Workshop with Eric Zimmerman: Finding a Balance
We’re thrilled to welcome special guest Eric Zimmerman to host this hands-on, interactive workshop! The workshop will use a simple tabletop game as the occasion to think deeply about how the same system might be balanced in different ways, how choice and chance interact in a system, and how the rules of systems can express their content.
This workshop is relevant for a wide range of designers, artists, technologists – whether you are working in games, in another creative field, or you just want to better understand how games and designed systems work. Please come prepared to participate and collaborate.
Space is limited so be sure to RSVP!
Event info
Saturday 11/8/25
7PM @ Night City
RSVP Required
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Chicaghoul 2025
It’s the third annual Chicaghoul, our Halloween game jam collaboration with Indie City Games. Visit our showcase of spooky games created for the game jam. Costumes encouraged!
Special thanks to DreadXP for once again generously donating prizes for the developers.
Event info
Saturday 10/25/25
6PM – 9PM
@ Night City
Free event, suggested donation at door
RSVP Required
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THE WEIRD ALGORITHM: robot karaoke
Join us for karaoke night on impossible mode as we host Jamie Brew and THE WEIRD ALGORITHM from New York City!
At this event we will replace the lyrics to any SONG with words from any TEXT, then try to sing the results on the spot. It all happens live, so each song has never been heard before and will never be heard again.
The songwriting system, THE WEIRD ALGORITHM, matches each line syllable-for-syllable, so you can sing along if you know the original tune.
Request any of the 50+ songs and 40+ texts in the catalog. Sign up to sing as an individual or a group…or sit back and watch the karaoke carnage.
Past combos include:
YELP REVIEWS OF PSYCHICS to the tune of TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
CRAIGSLIST VEHICLE ADS to the tune of TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS
NEGATIVE REVIEWS OF PROFESSORS to the tune of VAMPIRE
BERNIE SANDERS EMAIL SUBJECT LINES to the tune of DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’
Hosted by Jamie Brew, a tech entrepreneur on a mission to make karaoke harder and worse.
Event info
Friday 09/26/25
8PM – 10PM
@ Night City
Free / suggested donation
RSVP Required
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Bad Games Showcase (09/20/25)
Descend into badness as we examine and celebrate the memorable failures, absurd glitches, and unique joy only bad games can deliver!
🎮 Hands-on Play: Explore a curated arcade of infamous and obscure “bad” video games, from notorious classics to bizarre modern releases.
🔍 Curatorial Insights: Discover why some games are “so-bad-it’s-good,” “intentionally bad,” “bad-in-context,” or just plain “so-bad-it’s-bad” based on the research article “Trash or Treasure: a Proposed Typology of Bad Videogames” by Hollie Wistow and David Antognoli.
📌 Critical Play Exercise: Plot your own favorite (or least favorite!) bad games on a giant interactive chart mapping how intention and reception shape the meaning of “bad.”
💬 Community and Conversation: Mingle with fellow gamers, community members, and the curious. Bring your own game critic—everyone’s a reviewer tonight!
Join us as we examine these games’ bold transgressions against the common standards of the game industry and potentially rethink what “bad” means in the context of video game culture.
Event info
Saturday 09/20/25
5:30PM – 9PM
@ Night City
Free event, suggested donation at door
RSVP Required
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AIGA Chicago ASK + GIVE 08/13/2025
We’re hosting AIGA Chicago’s August ASK + GIVE at Night City!
An open-mic networking event where you can ASK your fellow designers to GIVE you feedback, advice, or even recommendations. Because we know that the design community has ALL the wisdom needed to solve the current problems/issues our fellow designers have or will face in the future.
Be it through a lived experience anecdote, a resource name or even a contact, maybe even just a donation of time to listen to an issue, we all have the power to create change if we simply ASK or GIVE.
Featuring:
🤝 Networking with designers and other creatives
📢 Guest speakers including Michael Vaughn Green
🎮Learn to play Street Fighter 6 and square off in a casual environment
🧻 Try your hand at the arcade toilet paper unrolling game Unrolled
Event info
$5 for Professionals
Free for Emerging Designers and Students
Doors: 6:30PM | Event: 7PM
08/13/25
@ Night City
Registration Required
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Friends of Flyman Zine Fest and Popup Market
A zine festival and pop-up market showcasing local artists, games, and assorted curiosities. Come check out the event funded by our Soup Pitch-in fundraiser last May!
Event info
Saturday 07/26/25
3:00PM – 7:00PM
@ Night City
Free!
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Indie City Allstars ’25
Allstars 2025 was a game jam and an in-person pop-up arcade showcase that took place in July 2025.
The game jam used community voting to determine community prize winners and help establish the Official Selections that would be featured at the in-person showcase.
The in-person event was judged by Sergii Boguslavskyi and CJ Messam.
FINAL RANKING:
- 3rd – Climb Time
- 2nd – Pan
- 1st – Hotdog Heaven
Event Listing
Game Jam Submission Deadline: 07/06/2025
Developers are invited to create an arcade inspired game themed around GOING FAST for the Allstars game jam.
Popup Arcade: Saturday, July 12
Night City will host an in-person community reception and pop-up arcade showcasing all Officially Selected games from the jam!
🪙 RSVP for free tokens at the door. Use tokens to play games.
🎟️ Players earn tickets from high scores.
🎁 Redeem tickets for fabulous prizes!
Please note that RSVPs are highly recommended as we expect a large turnout! RSVP holders will be prioritized.
Event Info
07/12/2025
5PM – 9PM
@ Night City
RSVP Required
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Soup Pitch-in
The first Soup Pitch-in event took place on May 15, 2025 at Night City. The event raised over $200 to support the winning pitch, Nat Quayle’s Friends of Flyman Zine Fair and popup market held at Night City on July 26, 2025!
Video editing credit: Rashad Patterson – https://www.youtube.com/@MastermindAtWork
Special thanks to Alina Constantin for leadership in developing and organizing the event!
Original Event Listing:
Soup Pitch–in is a social gathering, micro-funding event, and dinner that aims to provide resources to Chicago artists interested in elevating the Night City community with an interactive project in any medium! Participants donate (suggested $10) for a chance to pitch an idea for an interactive art piece, a bowl of soup, and a ballot to vote on which pitch they liked the most. The concept with the most votes receives all the money donated on the night of the event and will have a platform at Night City in late July to showcase the work and / or present how they used their Soup Pitch-in fund.
This event was inspired by London’s Interactive Soup.
Event info
Friday 05/15/25
7:30PM – 9:30PM
@ Night City
$10 suggested donation
RSVP Required
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THE WEIRD ALGORITHM: robot karaoke
Join us for karaoke night on impossible mode as we host Jamie Brew and THE WEIRD ALGORITHM from New York City!
At this event we will replace the lyrics to any SONG with words from any TEXT, then try to sing the results on the spot. It all happens live, so each song has never been heard before and will never be heard again.
The songwriting system, THE WEIRD ALGORITHM, matches each line syllable-for-syllable, so you can sing along if you know the original tune.
Request any of the 50+ songs and 40+ texts in the catalog. Sign up to sing as an individual or a group…or sit back and watch the karaoke carnage.
Past combos include:
YELP REVIEWS OF PSYCHICS to the tune of TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
CRAIGSLIST VEHICLE ADS to the tune of TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS
NEGATIVE REVIEWS OF PROFESSORS to the tune of VAMPIRE
BERNIE SANDERS EMAIL SUBJECT LINES to the tune of DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’
Hosted by Jamie Brew, a tech entrepreneur on a mission to make karaoke harder and worse.
Event info
Friday 04/18/25
8PM – 10PM
@ Night City
Free / suggested donation
RSVP Required
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S.I.C.K. – Super Indie City Konsole Showcase
Game Jam Submission Deadline: 04/19/2025
Developers are invited to create a game for the Super Indie City Konsole (S.I.C.K.) Jam, a phantasy console themed game jam.
Game Showcase: Saturday, April 26
Night City will host an in-person community reception and pop-up arcade showcasing all Officially Selected games from the jam!
Event Info
04/26/2025
6PM – 9PM
@ Night City
RSVP Required