The Norwich Game ‘n Grill of 2011
Posted Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 11:37am
It's right there on the sign board.
With the Norwich Game ‘n Grill this past Saturday, Green Mountain Gamers came full circle, returning to our summertime roots. It was a year ago to the day, more or less, that people straggled into the Essex community hall, not sure what they would find. What they found was friendship and a metric crapton[1] of tabletop games to play.
Those two qualities were in abundant supply at the Upper Valley Community Grange in Norwich. The purple Big Frakkin’ Bag and a variety of other bags, bins and backpacks[2] conveyed a riotous array of games to play. Even before the day officially began at 10:00, enough early arrivals congregated to spin off and start a number of games. And the action only grew from there.
While board games dominated the ground floor all day, particularly two epic sessions of A Game of Thrones, role-players flocked to the upper story porch of the grange hall for InSpectres and Apocalypse World.
The day wore on, people came and went as their schedules demanded and the games rolled on. As with all of these traveling game days, it was fun to see new people, the local gamers who don’t travel for their hobby as often as others. And that’s the beauty of these game days: you’ve got the regular band of merry mendicants whom you get to know because they show up all over the state to socialize and share a game or two and the more occasional crowd whom you wouldn’t normally get to meet. It’s the best of two worlds that don’t always overlap.
From the organizers’ perspective, the game day was a success. We’ve consistently drawn thirty-five to forty individuals pretty steadily over the five days so far. That’s a good number for a mix of familiar faces and new people to meet. We also learned a few things about concessions that we’ll put into practice in the future.[3]
If you couldn’t make the festivities this year, get a glimpse in the action in the photo gallery below. Got some pictures of your own to share? Let us know!
What did you think of this year’s Game ‘n Grill? Talk about it in the comments below, or the follow-up thread on the forum.
[1] Not an official unit of measurement!
[2] No bindles, alas.
[3] Like letting people know where the sodas are when the refrigerator is well hidden in the back room.
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- The Upper Valley Community Grange in Norwich stands ready for a day of grilling and tabletop games.
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- It’s right there on the sign board.
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- Travelers from the far north(east kingdom) bearing exotic games and spices.
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- The obligatory picture of a big pile of games.
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- Chuck is mightily enthused by the big heap o’ games.
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- The day’s games begin with a little TransEuropa.
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- Bethany teaches Pirates of Deadmans Bay to Rod, kindly donated by PonderZombie Games.
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- Richard and Rob prepare to brave the Wrath of Ashardalon.
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- Fire and Axe hits the table.
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- Lincoln and Norwich seem secure.
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- Cleanse your gaming palate for the day with some light 7 Wonders.
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- Technically tabletop gaming, as long as the tablet remains on the table.
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- Rod prepares for A Game of Thrones.
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- Meanwhile upstairs, Lords of Vegas is underway.
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- Meanwhile out on the porch, the role-playing set’s ready to stomp some spooks.
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- Some of the front porch crowd.
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- And the other half of the front porch.
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- Yes, two, count ‘em two boards of A Game of Thrones.
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- Another view of A Game of Thrones.
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- Trying out the new Dominion expansion, Corncuopia, perhaps?
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- Carlo keeps a log of the games he plays and with whom. Has he logged you yet?
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- The Reils break out an Overlord scenario for Memoir ’44.
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- Exploring an island of danger and treasure in Isla Dorada.
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- Who will emerge victorious in Dominant Species?
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- Another perspective on Dominant Species.
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- The upstairs room has been taken over by an alternately roisterous and steely silenced Battlestar Galactica.
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- After a hard morning of gaming, it’s time for some lunch. Chuck readies the grill.
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- The Race for the Galaxy tournament in progress.
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- Rod presents Bill with his prize for winning Race for the Galaxy.
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- The role-playing group is reconfigured and reenergized for Apocalypse World.
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- The day comes full circle with some evening TransEuropa.
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- Earning glory for the Emperor in Death Angels.
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- Navegador. It’s about navigating. And probably victory points.
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- Who will emerge as King of Tokyo?
Carlo Gozzi said on June 20, 2011
Thx for the cool pics Tyler!
Always fun to see those great memories again…
Tyler said on June 20, 2011
I understand you have a lot to think fondly about in that Battlestar Galactica game, too.
I just added Bethany’s photos to the mix.