Hello world! I am Kori Joyce, husband, father, lifelong gamer and vice president of Green Mountain Gamers (GMG). In both the digital and tabletop gaming spaces I am known as “VermontGamer”. This started as a nickname, “Hey, Vermont, meet up at Melts tonight?” when working conventions. Then when I got into competitive KeyForge I was one of the few, if not only, Vermonters at many of the events. I needed an account to compete and I’m horrible with coming up with usernames.

Everything from board games, card and miniature games, to PC, console, and mobile gaming, I like gaming. Gaming is a big part of our family, my daughter has played board games with us and has recently shown interest in other games, which is super cool. My wife is very supportive and one of my favorite people to game with. My brother and I have been gaming since before we could hold NES controllers. We competed in chess when we were kids and started playing games like Magic the Gathering, Stratego, and Hero Quest in the early/mid 90’s. Over the years I have attended, competed, and worked/volunteered at conventions/events across the country; the gaming community has become an integral pillar in my life.

So, this Covid-19 thing, on one hand it has been a real bummer, but as with gaming, when your opponent catches you off guard you can either give up and surrender, or adapt and counter. Initially there was a huge void for me where gaming used to be. I had convention trips lined up, national and world tournaments that got cancelled, and plans to see friends that I only see a few times a year just dissolved with no sign of a rain date. When we had to make the painful decision to cancel GMG events, not only was I disappointed for myself, but also for our amazing community. At the end of the day we had to keep everyone’s safety as top priority.

I started seeing internet chatter here and there about Discord servers hosting online tournaments, companies running virtual conventions, and websites/applications that enabled digital board games. I got really excited about the opportunities. More time at home with my family while still being able to game and connect with my friends around the world, and it is way cheaper than hotel and airfare.
Here we are now, a few months in and I feel more connected and have more access to gaming opportunities than ever before. I have enjoyed delving back into video games, as well as playing card/board games on platforms like BoardGameArena, Tabletopia, Steam, VASSAL, mobile, etc. With tools like Discord, Slack, group phone calls, I am in calls with friends of mine across the country multiple times a week. It has been really nice getting to know convention friends on a more day to day level as well as meeting new people all the time.

So what’s next? First off, if you are struggling to find people to play games with, look me up. I am on most social media platforms as either Kori Joyce or VermontGamer. I am always looking for more people to game with. I may not always be available to personally play, and our game tastes may not align, but I can pass along suggestions that have worked for me. As for GMG, we continue to check in with the laws, ordinances, and suggested practices for our region to help guide our plans. We are still here and are optimistic that we will be able to do something in 2021. It may not look like it always has in the past, but we are researching our options for future “game days.”

Stay in touch, stay safe and I look forward to gaming with you all soon, in one form or another.

Hey! I’m Max Seidman, the newest member of the Green Mountain Gamers board.

Like many of us, I come to tabletop gaming for the in-person interactions with my friends and soon-to-be friends. And while I have been playing some tabletop games online, it’s just not the same. Instead, I’ve been trying to find games to safely in person.

I look for 3 traits in a game that can be played socially distanced in person: it must be able to be played outdoors, it must be able to be played 6 feet away (while wearing masks), and ideally it should be able to be played with only one player touching the components. Here are my top three!

#3: The Chameleon

The Chameleon is a social deduction game where all players know an answer from a card, except for one player: The Chameleon. Each player says a short phrase to try to prove that they know the answer, without giving it away to The Chameleon, while The Chameleon tries to say a vague enough phrase that they blend in. It’s easily played distanced, and outdoors (you may have to weigh down the central key card), since the core of the game is just talking to other players. It’s not perfect, though, because at the start of each round you do have to shuffle and pass the role cards around. Also the high player count means maybe this isn’t the best solution to socially distanced games.

#2: Insider

Insider by Oink Games is another social deduction game. At the start of the game, the Master looks at an answer card, and then all players close their eyes while the secret Insider player also looks at the card. Then the players have 5 minutes to play 20 questions with the Master to identify the answer. The trick is, the Insider only wins if the players identify the answer, and they don’t give themselves away. Meanwhile, the other players only win if they identify the answer AND the Insider. So the Insider has to try to subtly help the others find the answer, without giving themselves away. This game has a similar setup to The Chameleon, except that there are no intricate role cards to pass around. In The Chameleon, each role card must be scrutinized because it helps you identify the answer during the game. But in Insider,  you could have the Master simply flash players’ role cards at them from across the table, while the others keep their eyes closed. Since the core of the game, like The Chameleon, is just talking, Insider hits all 3 of my criteria for a safe in-person game.

#1: Wavelength

My number 1 socially distance-able board game is Wavelength, and it passes my tests with flying colors. Wavelength is a 2-team game of reading your ally’s mind. It centers around this cool plastic contraption that stands up in the box. Each round, one team flips a card with a spectrum on it, like “Round to Pointy.” One player on the team randomly spins a dial on the contraption, and peeks at where on the hemisphere the “target zone” is. Then they give a single phrase as a clue to their teammates. Their teammates must move a needle to point to the area on the spectrum where the target is. Once they’ve made their guess, they open a window on the contraption to see if their needle lines up with the target. This game is great for socially distanced gameplay because it’s extremely easy for one player to control all the components for everyone else; when it’s time for the main player to look at the target, everyone else closes their eyes, and the owner of the game points the contraption at them and opens the window. When it’s time for the players to move the needle, they simply say “a little more” or “a little less” until they’re happy with its position! In addition, there are no small components that are hard to see from 6 feet away. I highly recommend picking up Wavelength to play outside while the weather is still okay!

Those are my choices for socially distanced games! You’ll notice that all my choices are party games. It’s just hard to find strategy games with components that won’t blow away and aren’t handed between players. I’d love to hear your suggestions for socially distance-able games (strategy, party, or any)!

Until we meet again!

Max

Hi everyone, I am Robert Dijkman, but I believe that most of you know me better as “The Dutchman” (or “that bleeping Dutchman”). Like everyone else, I have been sitting at home for most of this year, and while some Kickstarters have been arriving, my gaming has been pretty much non-existent.

One of the things that makes the Green Mountain Gamers so much fun for me is that I get to see a lot of people at our events that I don’t otherwise see, many of whom have become good friends. I love going to GMG events, I don’t think I’ve missed more than 2 or 3 these past 5 years.

As I am sure you are all very aware of, this has now come to a complete stop. We had to cancel the Mega Spring Meltdown at Lake Morey this spring, and we have cancelled every event since. Sure, there are some good online alternatives to in-person boardgaming. The problem for me personally with those is that, while they replace the board games perfectly, they really don’t replace the personal interaction, and the older I get, the more I game just for that interaction. Also, in my dayjob I sit behind a screen all day, so I really prefer my gaming to be away from computers.

What is left? Well, while we can’t go gaming in large groups, I do occasionally go gaming with a few friends (always the same ones, of course) so I get at least some gaming done. And then there’s painting miniatures, which, while not gaming, is at least gaming related. I’ve been painting through a ton of minis in my evening and weekend hours. I am getting quite good, and my wife wants the dining room table back…

For GMG we are discussing a few plans for next year. Unfortunately, there won’t be a 2021 Spring Mega Meltdown, as we don’t think that is going to be safe, and we needed to make the decision now. But the Green Mountain Gamers are not gone, nor are we going anywhere. We are committed to bringing 4 game days per year to Vermont as soon as it is again safe to do so.

We care about gaming, we just care more about gamers.

Robert