Power up and make a difference for MacKids.
Game. Do good.
HOW EXTRA LIFE WORKS
Sign Up for Free
Click the button below to set up your personal or team page for MacKids. In just a few minutes you’ll be playing and raising funds for MacKids.
Play Games, Your Way
Pick your favourites – tabletop, video, card, RPG, or a mix. Play solo or rally friends, family, coworkers, or your gaming group.
Fundraise for Kid’s Health
Host a game night, stream a campaign, or run a tournament and ask for donations in support of MacKids. Best part is you can do it all-year long.
MACKIDS x EXTRA LIFE
Why your gaming matters
When you sign up and fundraise for Extra Life, you’re supporting MacKids. Funds help provide specialized equipment, patient and family‑centred programs, and world‑leading care that makes a real difference for kids across the region.
Your game night can help kids like Kate, a former MacKid that relied on donor support to receive the life-saving and life-changing care she needed.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tabletop Appreciation Weekend
April 10–12, 2026 – Celebrate all things tabletop with board games, card games, RPGs and more. Perfect for game cafés, home game nights and library events.
Game Day/Week
November 7–15, 2026 – During this celebration week, pick your own Game Day or choose another day anytime over the course of the year. Rally your friends or stream solo and take on the signature 24‑hour gaming challenge to support MacKids. You can also create your own marathon, tournament, or custom challenge and fundraise on your own schedule. Game and give back whenever it works for you – all year round.
You can jump into one event, do both, or create your own challenge anytime throughout the year.
READY TO PLAY?
SIGN UP FOR FREEMcMaster University students game for good
For Nathan, a third-year Health Sciences student at McMaster University, Extra Life is the perfect intersection of two of his favourite things: gaming and helping people.
He discovered Extra Life in first year when the McMaster team set up Smash Bros. stations in his residence. Both the cause and the community stood out. “I knew then and there that these were my people.”
Now co-president of McMaster University’s Extra Life team, Nathan has learned that gamers are an underestimated force for good. Sure, the stereotype says they’re introverted and reluctant to come out, but Nathan has seen that narrative get knocked off the leaderboard. Year after year, Extra Life brings players out of their shells and into something bigger than themselves. Their creativity shines through initiatives like “doomsday donations” challenges, where participants dare executives to do silly stunts in exchange for pledges. Fundraising extends well beyond the annual 24-hour game-a-thon the team hosts each November. “It’s not just the money contributions that make it so awesome,” Nathan says. “It’s people contributing their energy and contributing new ideas.”
Time spent with kids at McMaster Children’s Hospital has reinforced what drives him. He’s seen how important it is for children facing medical challenges to feel supported and cared for. It’s something he also understands personally. A close family friend was hospitalized as a child with a serious illness, and Nathan remembers visiting and simply playing Nintendo together. “Those little things give people the strength to keep going,” he reflects. “That’s why the mission means so much to me.”
The McMaster Extra Life team has been a powerhouse supporter of MacKids for years, and with dedicated leaders like Nathan, that tradition is only growing stronger.
McMaster Extra Life team
CONTACT OUR TEAM
Contact Cristina Lopes, (lopesc@hhsc.ca) for more information about Extra Life at Hamilton Health Sciences. We’re happy to help with questions about registration, fundraising, or event details.
CONTACT US