Our local high school has an enthusiastic mentor for its boardgaming club. Once a year, they put on an all-day boardgaming fundraiser, open to the community. As a parent and boardgame fan, I typically chip in and help out. This year, the fundraiser was for the back-to-school program that provides school supplies (and clothes, etc…) to needy students at the start of each school year. The event recommended a $10 donation to attend and sold snacks (chips, drinks, popcorn, pizza donated from a local place, etc…) to raise additional funds. Parents (like myself) could also donate used boardgames which were sold for additional funds. (I somehow managed to donate quite a few games from old reviews and didn’t go home with more than I brought…) The entire event was pretty low-key and since it was open to the public there were several families in attendance that were introduced to modern boardgames for the first time. For those not sure what to play, there were three tournaments over the course of the day, with small donated prizes from local businesses. While I only assisted with the game day, and didn’t run the whole thing, it really wasn’t too hard to pull off. If you have connections with your local school, I highly recommend giving a game-day fundraiser a try. It supports a good cause but also gives a great opportunity to introduce your community to the fun of modern boardgaming.

The snack/collection table. The used game sale can be seen behind the windows in the room next door.

The three tournaments were Ticket to Ride, King of Tokyo, and Exploding Kittens. I think all three were excellent choices for the event, as they were easily taught while people played. I played and taught a game of Ticket to Ride to a pair of new players, who quickly caught on. One continued to block my every move (too much so, they lost) while the other went to town on their routes.

The King of Tokyo tournament had even more players, and by the sound of it, had an even better time. 

The last tournament of the day was Exploding Kittens, which pulled in about half of the people attending. As a somewhat snooty boardgamer, I’m not particularly a fan, but that certainly didn’t change the opinions of the much broader segment of the community and much fun was had by all in the tournament. (Props to the company, who went above and beyond in helping to sponsor the Exploding Kittens tournament…)

In and around the tournaments were people playing their own games. The games library (brought by the boardgame club and a few individuals) had a very wide variety of games on offer. While I brought quite a few medium-weight games from my collection, I didn’t play any of them. I was too busy showing off more approachable games from the library. I taught Hanabi to a wonderful mother and daughter (we played two games) and got a visiting couple up and running on Sky Team (also played twice because they crashed the first time.)

Had a great time teaching this mother/daughter pair some Hanabi – “if you know what I mean” (which is what I add to any clue I give in the game…) Pretty sure I made a sale – a purchase of Hanabi is in their new future…

Another teaching moment, these two were looking for a two player game and Sky Team was the answer.

As one of the capstones of the “convention” I once again brought the majority of my Heroscape collection.  Learning from previous meet-ups, we put together two entire tables of Heroscape terrain, ripe for battle. One or both of them were in operation for most of the day. Heroscape is such a great title for these sorts of things as the game has a HUGE table presence and it is fairly easy to teach. I’ve tried in the past to put together “suggested” armies for players to use but have realized that most of the time players really wanted to dig through the options to make their own team. Now, I try to feel people out and give them hints for a good combination if they look a bit lost.

Two setups for maximum Heroscape goodness.

Table 1 in the planning stages as everyone puts their team together.

The final game of the day at Heroscape Table 2, about to get underway.

The entire “convention” ran very smoothly. Most people dropped in and picked a game from the library while a few brought in their favorites to play. I would say about half the games were “oldies” and/or more mass market games, but that’s why they’re mass market games – they appeal to a massive market! (Go figure.) I didn’t personally game nearly as much as I had hoped, but still had a good time showing off some good modern titles (Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Sky Team, Heroscape, Hanabi, etc…) and spreading the word about what modern games can be. The one missing component to the convention was a lack of party games. It isn’t too surprising as most gamers were there with small groups playing together or mixing it up with just a few other people. 

Dad & son play a quick game of Pass the Pigs

Nothing says rolling dice like a nice game of Risk.

An intense game of Fortress America

In the end, some people were introduced to the “new” sorts of modern boardgames, some money was raised for a great cause, and perhaps most importantly, a good time was had by all. If you have connections with your local school, I’d recommend giving a charity “Game Con” a try. It’s a great way to champion boardgaming in your community, and you just might meet some great people for a future game night. Meanwhile, my next school outing will be a Family Game Night at the local upper elementary school. We tend to set up lots of kids and “big kids” games there, but that’s a story for another time. If you live near the Lafayette, IN area, drop me a note and I will be sure to give you a heads-up for the next big Game Con fundraiser.

A five player game of Magic: the Gathering.

Forbidden Jungle, minus a few players.

A quick teach of Splendor.

My son, the Star Realms shark, teaching some poor unsuspecting soul how to play Star Realms.

Somehow The Night Cage isn’t quite a spooky in a well-lit cafeteria. Just as fun, though.

I love a good game of The Quacks of Quedlinburg

Special thanks to our local Starbucks, Arni’s Pizza, the Exploding Kittens people, the Sage’s Shoppe (FLGS), and West Lafayette High School. 

Tags: Misc, Uncategorized, Unplugged