Brendon, Anders, Ron, and Takuma playing Formula D.

The holiday season was a slim time for our meetings, with 3-6 members attending the events through mid-November and December.

I was disappointed, but years of experience kept me (mostly) hopeful for the new year, especially with the strong Game Day showing on November 12th.

January – opening with an ambitious Game Day on the 7th – has seen a resurgence in attendance.

The meeting this Friday night pulled around 13 people.

Gamer Utopia hosted us again, and we claimed the round table at the back of the store.

As members trickled in, we were forced to pull over another, long table as well. We shared the store with a Magic tournament, but that worked to our advantage. A few of the players came by to see what we were doing, and one – curious about RPGs – even sat down to hear about them and our group.

Initial discussion focused on hot forum topics.

We talked about the upcoming Game Day, NWARPG promotion, and the various editions of D&D.

Anders reported on his research into RPG group sites (apparently ours is a good one), and his desire to help out with the forums and wordpress blog. Of course there was the usual talk of our favorite systems, with one of our members astounded at the sheer number of RPGs on the shelves.

Mouse Guard

Mouse Guard, however, captivated much of the discussion. Anders had a set of cards he’d made from a fan-created file, with Petersen’s evocative artwork; Ron had a borrowed hardcover that we passed around. I was surprised to hear about the research some of our lurkers had put into the system! One of our members even bought the hardcover on the spot in anticipation of Ander’s Game Day adventure. I will be shocked if a campaign does not develop out of this enthusiasm.

There was some frustration from our newer members that there weren’t enough LFG posts and that they were unable to get into a game. I understand this disappointment, but the passing of the new year and the frequent Game Days should bring together campaigns.

There was also some consternation with the events section of our site and its lack of Game Day information. Hopefully the Meetup plugin that Christopher quickly installed (seen on the right margin) will alleviate that confusion.

Formula D

The second half of the meeting was dominated by Formula D. I didn’t participate, but 5 or 6 of the others did, and it looked surprisingly intense. Ron finished in first, with Takuma close behind. In traditional NWARPG fashion, my idle curiosity netted me a brief and coherent explanation of the basic and advanced rules and a sudden interest in a theme that didn’t previously appeal to me!

Those of us who didn’t play had pleasant, meandering conversation.

It was a nice close to January for NWARPG, with an encouraging show of investment in its future.

The monthly meeting at Mordour’s was a good time and well attended. Several new faces.

We even got introduced to the ancient game of Go.

Discussion continued about the website and we might have a compromised worked out. Check out the forum conversation on the topic here.

Apparently, on Wednesday night any size pizza is only $10. Couple that with 24 oz Fat Tire beers for $4 and you’ve got a pretty awesome place to game.

Looking forward to going there again soon … maybe for a game of Pathfinder.

Thanks to everyone new who came by the meeting. Hope we didn’t bore you too bad with club stuff.

NWARPG-ers at the back table of Gamer Utopia in the Frisco Mall in Rogers

It was a pretty good crowd Friday night at Gamer Utopia in Rogers. We had several long-standing regular members and even a few new folks from the Meetup Group.

Much of the early discussion revolved around whether or not to implement this tester site into main website. There were lots of questions, some concern and confusion, but no one who adamantly opposed the transition.

My thoughts are that we have nothing to lose by implementing it and seeing if it catches on or not.

Also, big thanks to Gamer Utopia for hosting.

Mansions of Madness

The main event was Emily’s unveiling of the Mansions of Madness board game. It’s a game in the same vein as Arkham Horror.

Here’s a description from Board Game Geek:

Horrific monsters and spectral presences lurk in manors, crypts, schools, monasteries, and derelict buildings near Arkham, Massachusetts. Some spin dark conspiracies while others wait for hapless victims to devour or drive insane. It’s up to a handful of brave investigators to explore these cursed places and uncover the truth about the living nightmares within.

Designed by Corey Konieczka, Mansions of Madness is a macabre game of horror, insanity, and mystery for two to five players. Each game takes place within a pre-designed story that provides players with a unique map and several combinations of plot threads. These threads affect the monsters that investigators may encounter, the clues they need to find, and which climactic story ending they will ultimately experience. One player takes on the role of the keeper, controlling the monsters and other malicious powers within the story. The other players take on the role of investigators, searching for answers while struggling to survive with their minds intact.

Do you dare enter the Mansions of Madness?

How can you say no after a description like that?

I headed out before the game got started but it looked like a full slate of players. Good times indeed.