May 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, May 9, 2009.
Here are the details.

Ukraine 1943: Partisans supported by Russian Special Forces assault an Axis secret base. That base is defended by dedicated Nazis. The Russians have one shot to take the base.

Settlers of Catan Junior (SoCJ) is a simplified version of Settlers of Catan suitable for players age 6 and up. In SoCJ, the players are pirates who are establishing pirate camps (connected by ships) on the island of Catan. On each turn a die is rolled to determine what resources the island produces. Players collect these resources and then trade and build more ships and pirate camps. The winner is the first player to build all seven of his camps.

Mystic Wood Players are knights seeking to perform a particular quest (varies with each knight) in order to win the game. Exploration and adventure are created by the game board being made up of randomly placed tiles which are uncovered as the knights reach them. Tiles can be fixed locations or glades where a randomly chosen role card can reveal a spell or a denizen. Denizens act in different ways, depending upon its nature or the throw of a die. Some help the knights, others hinder. Players compete against each other, but can also work together to defeat a denizen. The first knight to complete his or her quest and exit the Mystic Wood wins the game.

In the 50th year that this classic was produced, it returns to the Thon schedule. In the game, players represent one of several European countries (France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, etc.) at about the time of World War I. There are only two kinds of units: sea and land. On a turn, each of your pieces has very few options: move into an adjoining territory or help another unit move into or defend an adjoining territory.
NOTE: This game will go into the evening session!

Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Diplomacy which includes reviews, pictures, rules summaries, playing aids and links.

Through the Ages is a civilization building game. The goal is to develop your civilization, not to destroy other ones. Military strength is just one aspect of your nation, as well as population, production or science. It is up to you which aspect you will concentrate on, more or less, but you should not underestimate any of them while building your civilization.

Victory is achieved by the player whose nation produces the most culture during the game. However, there are many ways to produce culture: through religion, literature or drama, by building wonders, by utilizing cultural persons etc. Considerable amount of culture can be gained even via wars or aggression.

Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Through the Ages which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and links.

Winning the West, from something crueler than the Rocky Mountain winter, more brutal than summer in the Mojave Desert, more savage than any native, more corrupt than any newcomer, and far, far older than the Ones Who Came Before. Be prepared for a rather gruesome game. No punches pulled, no holds barred. Mature players only.

This is the first of a series of RPG adventures that will appear at the next several SWA Game-a-thons, sort of like a mini-campaign.  Get in on the action from the beginning.

Game System: Call of Cthulhu, 5th Ed.

Rushing home from a winter vacation in Spain, Napoleon found his Army in the Rhine Lands a mess and Austria ready to go to war again.

More information at the official website for Napoleon’s Battles.
Beginners welcome.

The Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition will feature the debut of Italy as the third Axis nation, the introduction of the cruiser unit to the naval lineup, and the largest Axis & Allies board to-date measuring 24x46 inches. With over 600 pieces, players will be able to recreate and decide the outcome of WWII like never before.

Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and a link to the rules on the publisher’s website.

The dark lords are gathering, ancient powers are awakening, and a chill has fallen across the land. It is a time of danger and rising evil. It is a time of fear for the weak and powerless. It is a time of heroes willing to face the darkness and bring the light of hope to a realm covered in shadow.

The world of Runebound is a magical, dangerous world of powerful wizards, noble knights, vicious monsters, and power-mad tyrants. It is a world of great quests and mighty deeds. Above all, it is a world of legendary heroes, and the time has come for you to join them.

Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Runebound which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and links.

1839, The Netherlands. The new railways are the way to get rich. Invest your money in the best railway companies. Become the President of one or more companies and lead them to become the best earning companies of the game. Build new track and stations, buy the right trains and push the stock value to new heights. Who will become the most successful investor? This is a friendly 18XX style train game. Beginners encouraged. There should be enough time to play twice in a normal session.

Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Steam Over Holland which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids and links.

May offers more chances for new characters to advance in the Living Forgotten Realms Campaign. Morning judge will be Ed Pollack, with Jon Choy helming the table for the evening slot. Additional judges can be recruited, and higher-level content offered upon request!

We will determine the adventure to run in each slot based upon attendance — please RSVP your interest at http://www.warhorn.net/swa so that we can ensure adequate staff to run these events! Characters must be created conforming to the current RPGA character creation guidelines, which may be found at www.rpga.com.

This month’s offerings:



DALE1-1 The Prospect
RPGA Judges - GM
2-6 Players

The Fall of Stars is the most famous adventurers’ club in Faerûn. Who can say no when offered membership in the Stellar Fellowship, for a mere errand? But of course, things are never that simple.
A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in the Dalelands for characters levels 1–4.
Please RSVP your interest at here so that we can ensure adequate staff to run this event.

Faeries, sprites, nymphs, and dryads — the fey creatures of Faerûn’s wild places are often dismissed as nuisances and pranksters. Those who truly understand the fey know that as with all things natural, there is a darker side to these creatures of fancy. Could a rash of stolen food and sleep dust traps point to a more sinister threat lurking on the wild side of reality?
A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in Aglarond for characters levels 1–4.
Please RSVP your interest at here so that we can ensure adequate staff to run this event.

You are summoned to help a cleric of Gond Wonderbringer, who seeks the location of a lost temple to the Lord of All Smiths. Think of all the marvelous inventions, lost since the Spellplague came crashing down on the nation of Lantan, that might lie waiting to be rediscovered and brought back to the lands of Faerun!
A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in the Nelanther Isles for characters level 1–4.
Please RSVP your interest at here so that we can ensure adequate staff to run this event.

Westgate is a dangerous city at any time, but today it’s about to live up to its name. Today, a band of pious Silverstars have arrived in your precinct and they need a little help with renovations and…removals.
A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in the Dragon Coast for characters levels 1–4.
Please RSVP your interest at here so that we can ensure adequate staff to run this event.

A Simple caravan run to the free city of Delzimmer takes an unexpected turn. It’s said that there is no honor among thieves. Unfortunately, their struggles can still cause collateral damage, and the future of the Crafty Kobold Salvage Company hangs in the balance.
For characters level 1–4
Please RSVP your interest at here so that we can ensure adequate staff to run this event.

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.