SoCal Games Day 1 Report | Back to Games Day
SoCal Games Day 1 Report | SoCal Games Day 1 Photo Album
Who was there
Scott Alan Woodard, Mark Johnson, Ken Miller, Ed Green, Greg deBeer, Dave Arnott, Eric Mitobe, Neal Sofge, Steve Carey, Aaron Antaloczy, Michelle Antaloczy, Alyssa Haub, Chris Richardson, Rock Jones, Bob Claster, Zoe Claster, Max, Claster, Alan Stroud, Fen Yan, Randy Simcox, Dick Dillehunt, Jonathan Degann
What was played
Big Boss, Carabande x5?, Assault on Hoth, Rome at War, Ritter ohne Furcht und Tadel, Minion Hunter, Corsairs, Tikal, Attila x2, Take 6!, Tennis Masters, San Marco, Empires of the Ancient World, King of the Elves, Adel Verpflichtet, Red Empire, Clash of the Lightsabers x7?, Traumfabrik, Arbos x2, Queen's Gambit, Simple GBOH (Lamia 208 BC), Die Glucksritter, Expedition, Carcassonne
Event Report
On Saturday, January 20, Games Day 1 was held in Santa Clarita, California. It was a full day of open-invitation boardgaming intended to bring gamers from different groups--or no group at all--together. It's game convention-style open gaming, but without the convention. Plus, it's almost free. The idea for such an event came from similar gatherings of gamers in the Bay Area and near Boston. I think Games Days are best in large cities whose gamers are already organized into groups (private or public), but who don't often get to "cross-pollinate" with other groups. It builds community within the hobby, too.
It was held in an unusual location--a pet store! The Petco chain has Community Rooms in the back of their pet supply megastores. The hospitality of Petco meant we could hold Games Day for free! (In contrast, the community rooms at the local shopping mall or public library were expensive & closed early). Most attendees thanked Petco by buying a few pet supplies, or else donated a few bucks to one of their charities.
The Santa Clarita Petco's Community Center was the location for SoCal Games Day 1
Turnout was about what was expected, a couple dozen gamers who played a couple dozen games. About half of the folks came right from Santa Clarita or the nearby San Fernando Valley. I think a couple hardy souls drove about an hour from Orange County.
The day got off to an auspicious start when we found Petco had double-booked the Community Center. In addition to Games Day (which we'd scheduled first from 11am-9pm), they had scheduled bus driver union meetings at 1 and 5pm! Fortunately, the union cancelled those meetings, though not without some grumbling.
That trouble out of the way, we set up tables & chairs as the first gamers trickled in. Right off the bat, one wargame and one German boardgame were set up. That pattern continued throughout the day, with both types of games active at almost all times (multiple and shorter German games means they racked up more titles in the list).
Wargames & Boardgames: Ed & Steve play Rome At War to the left (and had set up the Simple GBOH scenario in the foreground), while Eric, Dave, Greg, Scott, and Ken play Big Boss on the right. Later on we kept most of these tables busy.
The two-player games Hera & Zeus as well as more plays of Clash of the Lightsabers could be added to the list of games played, since Alan and Fen squeezed in several of those while waiting on some car repair! They were on their way to Games Day when Alan's car had some trouble, so four of their gaming hours were spent dealing with a tow truck and Pep Boys. They finally made it, though, and we're glad it all turned out okay.
Halfway through the day we held a drawing for door prizes. On his own initiative, Jim at Boulder Games had provided three $10 gift certificates, along with nice pens bearing Boulder's website and toll-free order number. :) Zoe Claster pulled the names out of a hat (actually, the lid to a Carabande box!). First was Michelle. So far, so good. The next name Zoe pulled was her brother Max! Hmm . . . The final name she drew was . . . her father Bob! A good haul for the Claster clan. Thanks again to Boulder Jim for the prizes.
Comments from attendees
Chris: "I had a great time at Games day. I played three games I'd never seen before. That's always a treat. Winning two of them was an added bonus . . . Thanks for putting together such a cool event. Hope to see you all again soon."
Neal: "Games Day was great, I'll definitely do my best to attend any recurrences."
Ed: "Just wanted to let you know that I had a great time on Saturday. Games Day is a great idea, and please let me know when you will be holding another one."
Alan: "Games Day was a lot of fun. I wish I could have been there earlier, but I had a great time with the games I got to play. You, and everyone who helped you, did an excellent job setting it up."
Thanks
I tried putting on a Games Day like this two years ago, and it was a failure. Back then I tried it by myself. This time, I had Dave Arnott, Fen Yan, Steve Carey, and the tireless Scott Alan Woodard helping me. They helped with all of the organization, and most of all with getting the word out to other gamers. What a difference! Thanks, you guys.
-Mark Johnson