April Game-a-thon

The SWA sponsors eleven one-day Game-a-thons each year. We schedule these every month (January through September, November and December). October is reserved for Council of Five Nations. We usually shoot for the second Saturday of the month, but we're flexible in consideration of Studio availability and other regional conventions. We generally have 6-10 events, scheduled into two time slots (11am-4pm, 5pm-10pm+). We can easily accomodate games that run longer than a five-hour slot. You only pay for the games you play in. No registrations fees at the door, and no badges. GMs don't pay, and they play for free in the session they're not running.

Our next scheduled Game-a-thon is Saturday, April 10, 2010.
Here are the details.

The date is November 8th 1943 and Task Force Mike has arrived on the shores of Naru. Task Force Mike has survived all Japanese attempts at derailing Allied plans. The 11th Bat, 4th Div, Royal Australian Army and 2nd Bat of the 5th Mar Reg are ready to cross the reef at H hour and liberate the tiny island of Naru. The Japanese are ready and waiting...

The Mad Duke, Hans von DelbrŸck, has renounced his allegiance to the king. The duke has mobilized his retainers and armed his peasants in rebellion. In response the king has sent a detachment of royal troops under his effete and incompetent nephew, Alphonse deâFromage. According to rumor, the king hopes to eliminate both duke and nephew in one battle.
This game is a medieval skirmish based on modified Mordheim rules. No experience necessary.

Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is THE PREMIER game system of tactical level World War II combat. The Starter Kit series provides new players with an easy method to play the ASL system using entry-level scenarios, counters, boards and rules.
Follow this link to the publisher's webpage for Advanced Squad Leader: Starter Kit #1 .
Everything is provided. If desired, bring a white and a colored 6-sided die.

Have you ever ventured with party of heroes to conquer dungeons, gain pride, experiences and of course rich treasure? And have it ever occurred to you how hard it actually is to build and manage such underground complex filled with corridors and creatures? No? Well now you can try. Put yourself in role of the master of underground, summon your servants, dig complex of tunnels and rooms, set traps, hire creatures and try to stop filthy heroes from conquering and plundering your precious creation. We can guarantee you will look on dark corners, lairs and their inhabitant from completely different perspective!
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Dungeon Lords which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids, and a link to the rules.

Each of the six main powers in the game have a unique path to victory. Take on your opponents in the first card-driven game to prominently feature secret deal-making. A true six-sided diplomatic struggle, the game places a heavy emphasis on successful alliance-building through negotiations that occur away from the table during the pre-turn Diplomacy Phase. Set during the period in which Niccolo Machiavelli published his masterpiece "The Prince", backstabbing is always possible, especially because the card deck is loaded with event and response cards that can be played by any power to disrupt the plans of the powers in the lead.
The short convention scenario for GMTâs Here I Stand begins on Turn 4 with the action fully underway and ends on Turn 6.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Here I Stand which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and rules as well as links to errata and FAQ, the designer's and the publisher's websites.

Call it the Coffee Break of the Living Dead. The players can be police trying to maintain order. Armed citizens that are desperately trying to find lost loved ones. Or some of those fellows in the orange jumpsuits, who see this as a golden opportunity for all kinds of mayhem. And surrounding all of them are the Very Hungry Dead, plus a few other surprises.
Rules taught, beginners welcome.
Bring: Ordinary 6-sided dice.

There's something wrong in the Three Lands. The Dead are getting out of their graves and walking. And to make matters worse, they seem to be forming up an army. The three Kings are sending out an army of their own, to put an end to this. Or are they just sending the dead more troops?

This game is the new deluxe edition Axis & Allies with new rules and new units. One interesting aspect is that the Pacific starts out mostly at peace and that both sides have big decisions to make to prepare for the coming conflict and on when to start it.
Some knowledge of at least one version of the Axis & Allies game system is highly recommended--this version is definitely not the basic setup, and time needs to be spent teaching the intricacies of the new additions and not the fundamentals of the basic game system.
The game may take a while due to teaching the new changes from the other versions, and will probably go until 11PM or midnight, so bring your caffeine!
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Axis & Allies Pacific : 1940 Edition which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and a link to the rules on the publisher's website.

Learn to play Maria and/or Friedrich, two simple "War-uos" from the mind of Richard Sivel that share a system of movement/combat. Fight the War of Austrian Succession or the Seven Years War in Europe using maneuver strategies and cards to boost your attacks, depending which suit's battlefield you engage you enemy.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Maria and the BoardGameGeek entry for Friedrich which include reviews, pictures, player aids and rules.

A dark cloud has fallen over Camelot. Sir Arthur looks around those seated at the Round Table, filled with knights who are brave and valiant, and wonders if these men alone will be enough to save his land. Several wars are ongoing with the Picts and the Saxons, and the castle is under constant attack from seige weapons. Quests must be undertaken to retrieve Sir Lancelot's armor, the sword Excaliber, and the Holy Grail, as well as fight a mighty dragon. We must all work together if Camelot is to be saved. But there are rumors that one of us is a traitor.
If this sounds like fun, then join us as we battle to extinguish evil and bring good to the Kingdom.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Shadows Over Camelot which include reviews, pictures, and player aids.

The Kingdom is in chaos. The King lies dead without an heir, slain by a villainous hand. Will a leader rise up and rally the support of the people, or will the shadow of anarchy spread over the land?
In Warrior Knights, each player takes on the role of a Baron vying for control of the Kingdom. Each Baron commands four faithful Nobles who lead his armies into battle. Each Baron seeks to capture cities in order to gain Influence, which is used to measure his claim to the throne. Barons may also seek to gain advantage by increasing their income, gathering Votes to use at the Assembly, or by amassing Faith, which can be used to gain a measure of control over chance events. Only through cunning strategy and careful diplomacy can a Baron hope to attain victory.
This is a remake of the 1985 Games Workshop classic, by Derek Carver. It contains new gameplay elements not found in the original version.
Follow this link to the publisher's official website for Warrior Knights which includes pictures, rules and FAQ.

Location

As usual, this Game-a-thon will be held at the Studio of Bridge and Games, in Schenectady, NY. If you need directions, you can click here, or send an email to: mailto:directions@swa-gaming.org An automatic reply will immediately be sent to you with detailed directions.

The number at the Studio is: (518) 346-3773

Session Fees

Show up and play one game session = $4.00

Show up and play both game sessions = $6.00

GMs play all day for free.

Full-time students get in for free. For our purposes, "full-time students" are people in Kindergarten through college. Our intent here is to help allow younger games/"new blood" to participate at SWA events, and the gaming hobby in general.
The student discount does not cover working adults who happen to be taking a Continuing Education class. Please help us fulfill the spirit and intent of this policy.

Registration

Our Game-a-thons have generally been pretty casual events; people stroll in and sign up for the event of their choice on-the-spot. Lately, however, attendance has been increasing and more events are filling to maximum and beyond.

If you would like to greatly increase your chance of getting into the game of your choice, you can now formally pre-register online. Payments will be handled through PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can still pay with your credit card.

Online pre-registration is not required. You can still just stroll in and get into a game. But pre-registering is now an option for those who want to take advantage of it.

Follow this link to go to the online registration page. We'll sign you up, but your spot's not guaranteed until we get your payment.

Swap Meet Tables

If you've got merchandise you'd like to sell, please consider renting a table or three at our Game-a-thon.

This is meant to be more of a Swap Meet / Garage Sale atmosphere, and not really intended for full merchant setups.

Each attendee can rent a maximum of three tables. The first costs $2, two cost $10, and three cost $20. As you can see, the price structure encourages individuals to rent few tables. We will have a maximum of eight tables available at each Game-a-thon.

Each table is (2.5' x 2.5'); a standard card table. Some of them are kinda old and thus not very sturdy. Please keep this in mind when planning what you'll bring for sale.

You can reserve your table(s) ahead of time by using the online registration form. You will see the prices repeated there. Please list your table request in the 'Comments' field. Please also note that you have to pay the Game-a-thon registration in addition to the table rental fee.

You can also rent tables on a walk-in basis, but please remember we'll have no more than eight available for the day; first come, first served.

We suggest that you use our Forum discussion boards to announce what you will/might bring. We suggest posting in the "What's happening this week" category where the Game-a-thons are announced.

(Here's our secret agenda... Not only do we want to help you get rid of gaming stuff you're not using, but we'd also like to see this generate some more walk-in traffic.)

Questions or Comments?

Events at Future Game-a-thons

If you'd like to run a game at a future Game-a-thon, please click here to submit your event online.

You can also email us at your convenience.

You can even call Bill and tell him about your event over the phone - we're flexible!

If you'd like to see a particular game run at a future event, let us know by filling in a Game Request Form here.