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by Tyler

Winter Weirdness 2012: Neither Snow nor Rain nor Critical Failures

Posted Monday, January 16th, 2012 at 8:00am

Gamers doing what they do best at Winter Weirdness.

Those who remembered last year’s Winter Weirdness game day might have had lousy travel weather on their mind in the run-up to the 2012 event. In spite of weather advisories the night before, the driving was fair and Green Mountain Gamers had their biggest turn-out ever, with over fifty people flocking to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont for a day of tabletop gaming.

Rick of The Book Garden presents Steve with his gift certificate prize.

Rick Powell of the Book Garden arrived mid-morning to vend games and host some afternoon Magic: the Gathering. Eight players coalesced for a draft tournament that stretched into the evening. Rick also kindly donated a $50 gift certificate to the Book Garden as a door prize for Winter Weirdness. Everyone who donated to Green Mountain Gamers was eligible to enter for the door prize, which Steve Petruzzi won in the drawing.

And speaking of donations, Winter Weirdness attendees were so generous this year in giving to support the event that Green Mountain Gamers is able to make a $200 donation to the Church of the Good Shepherd. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the effort!

It was non-stop board and card games throughout the day. You can glimpse some of the games played in the pictures below. To give you an idea of the sheer range of kinds of games played, some of those played that day include A Game of Thrones, Ora et Labora and Secret Tijuana Deathmatch.

It all made for an excellent day of gaming in central Vermont. From Barre, the Green Mountain Gamers move on to Lyndonville for Spring Meltdown on April 21st. Hope to see you there! Read the rest of this entry →

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by Tyler

Winter Weirdness 2012 on the Horizon

Posted Monday, November 21st, 2011 at 12:00pm

Andrew supervises the rail barons at Winter Weirdness 2011; the crew of Battlestar Galactica schemes in the background.

Even with less than two months to go, it feels a bit odd to talk about something that happens in 2012. That year has always had the ring of the future to it, and now it’s just around the corner.

Go boldly with us into that future as we return to the undercroft of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre for Winter Weirdness 2012. The forum thread is already hopping with folks suggesting games to play, like A Game of Thrones and King of Tokyo.

Additionally, the Book Garden will run a Green Mountain Game Day’s first ever Magic: the Gathering tournament. Capacity runs to 16 participants with a $15-20 buy-in per player.

The Book Garden has also kindly donated a gift certificate to be awarded at Winter Weirdness. Everyone who makes a donation at the door — half of the total proceeds of which goes to the Church of the Good Shepherd’s food shelf — may enter in the drawing. The Book Garden is conveniently located in downtown Montpelier on State Street for central Vermont’s gaming supply needs.

Winter Weirdness 2012 happens January 14th from 10:00am to 10:00pm at the Church of the Good Shepherd on Washington Street in Barre, Vermont. Visit the Winter Weirdness page for directions, updates and more.

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by Tyler

Winter Weirdness 2011: Rocking the Undercroft

Posted Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 11:05am

Rail-riders gather for the Ticket to Ride tournament.

Saturday, January 8th, gamers from Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire and other further points convened at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre for twelve hours of gaming goodness, . Even in spite of less than ideal weather conditions, lots of people made it out for some or all of the day’s festivities. And not only were games played, but fun was had in great quantity.

The centerpiece of the day was the Ticket to Ride tournament sponsored by The Book Garden of Montpelier. Organized by Bob Menzel (@bobmenzel), the tournament saw twenty participants vying for the glory of first place — plus the $50 gift certificate to the Book Garden itself. Congratulations go to Rick Scoles for winning the tournament and Rick Powell (@rickpowell) of the Book Garden for his generous sponsorship of the event.

One of the more extraordinary things that happened on Saturday was what seemed to be eleven hours of Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game, including the new Exodus expansion. Carlo (@vorpalgens) can say for sure, but I’m pretty sure they played from 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Talk about a heavy dose of paranoia, mistrust and betrayal.

Please share your thoughts about the day in the Winter Weirdness forum thread. What was your favorite game of the day? Did you get to try something new?

Additionally, Bethany (@zadularia) started a game day feedback thread. With three of these under our collective belt, Green Mountain Gamers wants to know what you’d like to see in future game days. If you’ve already been to one, what do you want? If you haven’t been yet, what would entice you to attend?
Read the rest of this entry →

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by Tyler

The Countdown to Winter Weirdness is On

Posted Monday, January 3rd, 2011 at 9:03pm

The Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont, site of Winter Weirdness 2010.

Today I took a trip down to the counties of Washington and Orange to spread some Winter Weirdness handbills and Green Mountain Gamers cards on any bulletin boards my eyes lighted upon, particularly in Montpelier and Barre. Gamers eat, buy gas and drink coffee, so maybe some folks who haven’t stumbled across the site will learn about the opportunity for twelve hours of tabletop gaming goodness this coming Saturday in Barre.

If there’s a geek hangout in your corner of Vermont that needs to know about the upcoming Winter Weirdness game day, you can download a PDF copy of the flier and print it out yourself. Or save some trees and email it directly to those interested parties.

While ambling around downtown Montpelier, I also picked up the $50 gift certificate so kindly donated by The Book Garden as a first place prize for the Ticket to Ride tournament. The Book Garden has a fine selection of tabletop gaming materials for sale, in addition to their selection of books, so the winner of the tournament shouldn’t have any problem finding something good to take home. Rick mentioned he’s sold out of Ticket to Ride at the moment, so I guess people are boning up for the big one.

See you on Saturday!

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by Tyler

Winter Weirdness 2011 Update

Posted Wednesday, December 8th, 2010 at 1:19pm

We’re just about a month out from Winter Weirdness 2011, taking place January 8th at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Barre, Vermont. The Winter Weirdness page has seen a spurt of activity in the last couple days with new information, so if you haven’t visited lately, now’s the time to check it out.

The core of Green Mountain Game Days is open play, where some people proffer a title and others cluster around what sounds or looks interesting. Some games, however, require a little forewarning before playing, because they’re more complex, run long or require preparation beforehand. So even going into Winter Weirdness, you can be sure of a few options on hand in addition to evergreen staples like Dominion or Settlers of Catan. Here are what some people plan to offer to teach / run on January 8th:

  • Android is set in a Blade Runner-like future, 3-5 players take on the roles of detectives investigating a heinous murder. Each detective must follow up clues in the city of New Angeles and Moon Base Heinlein as they struggle to prove their hunches correct while attempting to maintain control over their personal plotlines. This is a long game with many bits so be prepared to play for most of the day. GMed by Alex Clay (@alexbclay).
  • Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game puts the players in the shoes of the characters of the 2004 revival as they struggle to bring the fleet to Kobol safely. Only there may be one or more Cylons secretly working against the group. This game will include the Pegasus and Exodus expansions, assuming the latter is available in time. GMed by Carlo (@vorpalgens).
  • Fiasco is a collaborative storytelling game about “ordinary people with powerful ambition and poor impulse control.” This is a test of a science fiction-themed playset created by Tyler (@blinovitch).
  • Gamma World is the latest edition of the post-apocalyptic role-playing game. It’s a gonzo romp through the aftermath of the Megawhoops with mutant powers and jury-rigged technology. GMed by Tyler (@blinovitch).
  • Ticket to Ride, tournament-style, in which 12-16 players play off to a final round, with a prize for the winner of the final round.
  • Titan (Valley Games edition) is a reprint of the Avalon Hill monster slug-athon.  Travel around the main board collecting troops, and battle on the terrain boards when rival armies meet. GMed by John (@cudunn).

Don’t see something you’re looking for? Bring it up in the forum thread — or just chat about what you’re looking forward to.

See you next month in Barre!

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by Tyler

Winter Weirdness 2011 Flyer Available for Download

Posted Friday, October 29th, 2010 at 10:07am

Poster design by Joe Reil. Click to download the PDF.

It’s time to start spreading the word about Winter Weirdness 2011. To that end, we have an official flyer. We’ll be plastering these in the usual gamer haunts, particularly in the Barre-Montpelier area. If you would like to help make Winter Weirdness the biggest Green Mountain Game Day to date, feel free to download the PDF, email it to friends or post it around your own town.

Winter Weirdness takes place January 8th, 2011 in Barre, Vermont, at the Good Shepard Church on Washington Street. For more information, including directions, parking and food options, visit the Winter Weirdness game day page.

Thanks go to Joe Reil (@redshark92) for designing the Winter Weirdness flyer.

Winter Weirdness 2011 Downloads:

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by Bethany Creaser

Goodbye Fall-oha, Hello Winter Weirdness

Posted Sunday, September 19th, 2010 at 12:55pm

Green Mountain Gamers is happy to say that our second game day, Fall-oha, was a gaming success! We had a good crowd of people travel to the Northeast Kingdom for a day of gaming. About 30 to 35 people came and went and at any given time at the hall, there were 20 to 25 people playing games. A lot of new games appeared as well as a lot of old favorites. We hope you are all enjoying these game days. The first photos of Fall-oha can be viewed on our Facebook page. The next game day, Winter Weirdness, is already scheduled for January 8th in Barre, VT. If you have any comments, suggestions, feedback you’d like to make in regards to our game days, please feel free to speak your mind. We’d love to hear how we can make improvements!

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