Attendees: Angela, Martyn, Jeff (and daughter), Mike (and family), Lhizz (and family), Emma, Devon, Amelia I thought it would be a quiet one this year, and even had to change my plan due to so few people able to make it. The invitation was to turn up this afternoon and join me and Devon for some gaming, super casual, and family friendly.
It turned out really well! The adults played games, the kids played nicely together and some of them tried a couple of the kids' games. Games played today (all pretty light): Love Letter No Thanks! Settlers of Catan Summoner Wars (Devon and his friend Amelia) Pictionary Escape: The Curse of the Temple Ticket to Ride 10th Anniversary Kudos to Brad and Lauren for hanging out patiently in the lounge with the kids while we did our gaming. Thanks to everybody who came! :)
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A decision has been made. Better late than never, right?
This year I'm going to go right back to basics and basically have all-day open house gaming and then modern party games in the evening. Because Tabletop Day is all about making gaming accessible I'm going to always veer towards gateway/simpler games, but of course that depends on who comes along - I may have already exhausted my supply of non-gamer friends haha! Hey guys - if there's anyone who actually reads this! The silence on here is because there hasn't been anything to tell. I've been really stressed and run-down lately so I haven't been to a games night in weeks. For the same reason I'm still struggling with what to do for Tabletop Day this year - I think I may have to go back to basics there. I certainly can't top last year, and I have to remind myself that I don't have to. I can't seem to get behind any of my ideas enough to move forward with them. Also, while my Tabletop Day events have never really been affected by the people who create and organise the whole idea, their focus this year is on game stores and promos rather than people's personal events and I guess it's just not very inspiring.
Something will be on though - tabletop day is about sharing board games with others - even if it's just a regular games night, so keep that date on your calendar (April 30), and I'll try to pull myself out of this funk. I am struggling to move forward and actually publicize my Tabletop Day plans (other than on here which is totally unofficial). I am hesitant for a few reasons.
a) The seats at these games are very limited, even if we have more playing than is ideal (both games are improved by a lower number of players). b) Both Tales and Arkham are divisive choices - people love or hate them. If there's a player who's just not getting into the game they might fall flat. c) I've been struggling a lot with my energy levels lately - I always have a massive gap between my motivation (usually high) and my actual energy (low), so I have to watch that I don't over-extend myself. Running both those games in a day will be exhausting. I kind of feel like the whole "tabletop experience" would be better as a themed game night. The reason I was keen on the idea was to introduce people to how cool it can be to tell an interactive story and have a laugh around a game. Anyway, I would like to get this sorted well in advance - April 30th is just under 4 weeks away, but at least you guys have a date, right? I guess I'll have a think about a possible alternative solution. Tabletop Day was set up as a day set aside for people to play games and share them with others. I jumped on board immediately, and now I host an event every year that's just a bit different from my usual games nights. In 2013, I extended an open invitation to friends to come and play my games. I had set up some well regarded, easy-to-grasp games at each location and everybody got a chance to try things out. My event was so well received that it was then that I decided to form a regular games group of my own. In 2014, I again widened the invitation beyond my gaming group and awarded prizes and trophies to game winners. Last year, I went all out and provided a three-course games-and-dinner menu. Each course was followed by it's counterpart game, both selected from special menus I made. (If you think of a games night starting with a light, short game ("entree") then into the main/larger game and finishing with something fun ("dessert") The food wasn't flash but it was so much fun and actually worked out really well. I also held a coffee-and-games event for my non-gamer friends during the day. Light games, baking and coffee - can't really go wrong! This year I am thinking of hosting The Tabletop Experience.
My plan is to run one or two larger games that are more story than strategy based. I will do my best to turn the game into an immersive experience with an atmosphere that suits. (Wish me luck with that!) I have decided the games in my collection that most lend themselves to this are Tales of the Arabian Nights and Arkham Horror. I have to figure out if running two of them (one in the afternoon and one in the evening) might be a bit much for me, and also if there is enough interest for both. Depending on whether I think I can manage it, I may also hold a Tabletop Bites event in the morning, due to the quietly successful Coffee and gaming last year. This will feature short and simple games (eg. Coloretto, Escape). This is also something I have to think seriously about whether I can manage on top of the other things. (Edit: I just clicked that Tabletop Bites is a terrible name. I'll have to think of something else.) As you can see I'm still in the ideas phase, but the date is set and I have prioritized getting this sorted out in the next few days. In other news, Mysterium finally arrives next week and I'm excited to try it.
Tabletop Day this year is on April 30th so watch this space. Did you know that there is a board game store at Megazone? I have started going there first for my games as it's great to have an actual store in town, their prices are competitive, and their staff are fantastic. (No, I wasn't paid to say that ;)) |
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