Northeast Wars X

Next Saturday, October 3rd is the Albany Game Day. Hosted by local game store Zombie Planet, Albany Game Day is a free biannual event “where local gamers gather to play board, card, and roleplaying games in a loosely organized fashion.” The first session begins at 10:00 AM and the second at 3:00 PM.

There are discussions on the ENWorld and Circvsmaximvs web forums, linked to from the Albany Game Day site. Be sure to check out the Facebook fan page, as well.

This upcoming Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day is a little bit different from previous outings. As the website describes:

In the spirit of Dungeon Mastering, we’re giving you the opportunity to create and show off your very own adventure! Work as a team to build encounters using the materials provided. After your team has finished, play another team’s adventure or DM the one your team created. We provide you with everything you need — maps, miniatures, monster stats, and how-to instructions. Just bring your imagination, a pencil or pen, and some dice!

As is becoming a tradition with these days sponsored by Wizards of the Coast, players get a souvenir in the form of the miniature of the character they played. The GM also gets a pack of monster miniatures and map of the encounter areas.

To find a game day near you, consult either Wizards’ own store finder, in the sidebar of the page linked above, or try a third party site like The Master List.

Go forth and prod buttock!

Two residents in Derby Line, Bethany and her husband, hope to make a regular monthly gathering out of the board game night they’re hosting on September 12th at the village hall. Popular titles like Settlers of Catan and Pandemic will be on hand. Attending gamers are encouraged to bring their own favorites to share with the group.

For more info, including time and contact details, check out the original post on Northern New England Gamers.

Last year, the American Library Association (ALA) began a campaign to promote playing games in public libraries across the nation. It certainly makes sense as a way to promote literacy and active reading skills, as any gamer can tell you, playing games not only sharpens reading comprehension and ability to reason, but they help young people develop interaction skills through personal experience. Sportsmanship and empathy come first hand in many game-playing situations.

The program included National Gaming Day on November 15th of 2008. Libraries across America hosted games of all kinds. Publishers Wizards of the Coast and Top Trumps donated games to many libraries to get people playing. You can read more about the day, its goals and results here. It remains to be heard whether there will be a National Gaming Day 2009, but we’re keeping an eye on things.

Additionally, a number of libraries, from a very large pool of applicants, recently received grants to implement game programs that span both tabletop and electronic components. Hopefully this movement will gather strength and spread to more public libraries. You can follow the ALA’s gaming-related efforts at their blog and check out the resources they offer as well.

We know that locally, some libraries have begun to build game programs of their own. Montpelier, VT’s Kellogg-Hubbard Library hosted the Ace of Games program over this past winter, running a variety of board and card games Saturday mornings. Ilsley Library, in Middlebury, VT, has hosted overnight sessions of Dungeons & Dragons.

Give your local librarian a call to see what game programs they offer. And if they don’t, why not help get one going? The gaming hobby needs people out there, showing why it’s fun and worth people’s time.

Every month, the Schenectady Wargamers Association hosts a day-long game-a-thon — excepting October, when they instead host Council of 5 Nations over Columbus Day weekend. If you’re free Saturday, August 15th, and within range of Schenectady, NY, think about spending the day at the Studio of Bridge and Games.

The games scheduled at each game-a-thon depend partly on what people have requested and partly on what others feel like running. You can find out more about the June and succeeding monthly game-a-thons at the SWA’s website. If you have a game you’d like to run, check out their game submission form. For those with something they’d like to play, try the request form.

Every month, the Schenectady Wargamers Association hosts a day-long game-a-thon — excepting October, when they instead host Council of 5 Nations over Columbus Day weekend. If you’re free Saturday, July 18th, and within range of Schenectady, NY, think about spending the day at the Studio of Bridge and Games.

The games scheduled at each game-a-thon depend partly on what people have requested and partly on what others feel like running. You can find out more about the June and succeeding monthly game-a-thons at the SWA’s website. If you have a game you’d like to run, check out their game submission form. For those with something they’d like to play, try the request form.

It’s Free RPG Day, everyone! If you haven’t already, hustle down to your local game store for all manner of free adventures and quick-start kits. We mentioned it’s free, right?

If you’re not sure if your local store is participating in the promotion, be sure to visit the website, linked above, for a list of retailers taking part. And if there’s no such business in your area, don’t despair. Free RPG Day publishers often make the material available for download sometime after the day in question.

But, if you have the opportunity, do turn out for Free RPG Day. It’s as much about getting people into stores, talking about roleplaying and even getting into pick-up sessions as it is anything else. Show up, break out the lucky dice set and have fun storming the castle — or megacorp, as the case may be.

Every month, the Schenectady Wargamers Association hosts a day-long game-a-thon — excepting October, when they instead host Council of 5 Nations over Columbus Day weekend. If you’re free this Saturday, June 20th, and within range of Schenectady, NY, think about spending the day at the Studio of Bridge and Games.

The games scheduled at each game-a-thon depend partly on what people have requested and partly on what others feel like running. You can find out more about the June and succeeding monthly game-a-thons at the SWA’s website. If you have a game you’d like to run, check out their game submission form. For those with something they’d like to play, try the request form.

2009 marks the third year of Free RPG Day, an occasion not dissimilar to Free Comic Book Day, intended to get people trying out new games and worlds, as well as giving newcomers a taste of the hobby. On June 20th, friendly local game stores all over will offer a selection of free RPG materials to customers and visitors.

The goodies typically consist of short adventures and quick-start kits donated by a variety of game publishers. Past contributors have included White Wolf Game Studio, Goodman Games and Troll Lord Games, makers of fine products all. For a list of this year’s contributing publishers, visit the Free RPG Day site.

While at the site, you can also find a list of participating game stores. If your local establishment isn’t on the list, don’t despair. Many publishers make their Free RPG Day materials available for download a short time after the day in question.

This Saturday, May 23rd, Worldwide D&D Game Day comes around again — mere months later! — to mark the release of Monster Manual II for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. All over the world, friendly local game stores will host sessions of the special adventure Journey Through the Silver Caves:

A kobold wyrmpriest has stolen an ancient book of prophecy from the people of Albura, a fortress on the borderlands. The kobold has a dark plan for the book – and only you can stop him in time! An adventure for 5 pregenerated 5th-level characters.

Wizards of the Coast’s website has details on the whole shebang, including character sheets for the adventure, and most importantly, store location resources for the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

[Originally spotted on The Escapist.]