🃏 The Blackout Game Night 🎲
The Blackout Game Night is a Los Angeles-based social experience built around Black-owned games.
Founded by game publishers Kimelia Weathers Smith and Nick Smith, The Blackout introduces guests to a curated collection of more than 100 Black-owned board and party games while creating memorable opportunities for laughter, conversation, and friendly competition.
What begins at the game table often turns into new friendships, collaborations, and lasting relationships.
Our collection includes both popular titles and independent creations such as:
• Culture Tags
• Black Card Revoked
• Hella Awkward
• Phase 10
• Brilliant or BS?
• and dozens more games from innovative Black designers.
Where We Play
In Summer 2026, The Blackout is partnering with Sole Folks in historic Leimert Park to present Summer of Sole, a six-event series celebrating Black entrepreneurship, creativity, culture, and play.
Following a successful debut event in May 2026, Summer of Sole represents The Blackout's largest recurring event partnership to date and establishes a regular home for our growing audience.
Previous events have been hosted at venues including 1010 Wine & Events, ORA Urban Cafe, Compton Fest at Compton College, and private activations for organizations such as Google, Disney, and NBCUniversal.
Why Games? Why Black-Owned Games?
Games have always brought people together.
They create opportunities for conversation, laughter, storytelling, and shared experiences in a way few other activities can.
At a time when many interactions happen through screens, games offer a simple excuse to gather in person and engage with one another.
The Blackout uses games as a vehicle to introduce people to new ideas, new experiences, and often, new people.
We also believe Black game creators deserve greater visibility. Every event highlights the work of designers and entrepreneurs whose contributions to the tabletop industry are often overlooked.
Our mission centers around three ideas:
Reconnecting Through Play
Games naturally spark conversation, laughter, storytelling, and collaboration. They break the ice and make it easier for strangers to connect.
Celebrating Black Game Creators
Our events spotlight the creativity and ingenuity of Black game designers, introducing their work to new audiences and inspiring future creators in the rapidly growing tabletop gaming industry.
Supporting Third Spaces
Healthy communities need welcoming places outside of work and home where people can gather and engage. By hosting events in Black-owned venues and community spaces, we help strengthen the environments where culture, ideas, and relationships grow.
Meet The Founders
The Blackout Game Night was created by Kimelia Weathers Smith and Nick Smith, founders of the board game publishing company Brilliant or BS?.
Their flagship party game is available nationwide at Barnes & Noble and has been featured in places like Good Housekeeping, Essence, Cosmopolitan, and Oprah Daily.
Beyond publishing games, Kimelia & Nick have helped advance diversity in the tabletop industry as founding members of the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and contributors to the GAMA Horizons Fellowship, an accelerator program supporting emerging board game publishers and retailers from historically underrepresented communities.
Their work sits at the intersection of games, culture, and community building.
Bring The Blackout To Your Community
The Blackout Game Night partners with venues, organizations, and cultural institutions that want to create engaging, memorable experiences built around play and human connection. Our events can be produced for:
• corporate gatherings
• conferences and festivals
• private celebrations
• cultural programming
• community events
• venue activation
