Month: April 2014

I’ve come to this point in my gaming life largely due to Legends Family and Hobby Games in Vincennes, Indiana, and it owner at the time, Jason Cline.  I had always been a gamer, as detailed in a previous article on this website, but I do not believe I would have risen to the level of gamer goodness (or the depths of gamer despair, depending on your outlook) if not for a visit to Legends in June of 2012.  When I saw a picture of their board game collection on their website, I realized they were more than just a Magic shop.  I read an article Jason had written about Quarriors, and decided to visit the shop.  Jason greeted me when I walked in, I told him I was interested in Quarriors, and he said if I had a few minutes, he would play the game with me.  Two hours and four plays of two different games later, I walked out with 3 games and a smile. The rest as we say, is history.

Over a period of the next year, I became very involved in Legends and gaming.  I often visited the shop 6 days a week, playing in two board game nights, two role playing games, pick up games and other events.  I was in gamer paradise!

Then over a period of months, things started to change,  Jason and his wife, Jamie, had their first child, Betty Jean.  Then Jason got a better job (he ran the shop on the side), and moved out of the area.  He sold the shop to his manager and another gamer.

The shop slowly started to slide away from board games, focusing more on Magic.  Less board gamers were coming in.  It became increasingly difficult to spend money there, as the inventory dwindled, they were always out of soft drinks and snacks.  The store became cluttered, disorganized, and dirty.  The limited staff often couldn’t help with product questions as the owners were off at some Magic tournament.  Soon the small group of active board gamers dwindled to two, meeting one night a week.

Then the shop lost its lease, and had to relocate.  Leaving Main Street in Vincennes, they moved to a location, while closer to the Vincennes University, had limited parking, and if you didn’t know exactly where it was, would drive by it. The shop quickly became a carbon copy of the previous location, cluttered, disorganized and dirty.  And DARK.  Travis and I both had trouble reading card text and rule books.  The only time they had new games in stock was when they ordered it by mistake.  If you ordered a game, you were lucky if you got it in 6 weeks.  I’m still waiting on a game I ordered in December, that I paid for up front.  Lots of excuses, its everybody’s fault but theirs.

Travis and I saw the writing on the wall, granted we are a bit slow.  We started discussing our options for playing somewhere else on Thursdays.

Then things changed.  One of the two owners left and moved north.  I came in 3 weeks ago, and the shop was clean….and organized.  It is still dark, but they are working on that.  I got my game.  I was approached to play on Tuesday nights in a role playing game.  The next week, I was asked to participate in a Warhammer league on the weekends.  The shop has also started a Pokeman league, and expanded their Magic play.   Travis and I have renewed hope for the survival of the shop.

Up to this point, you might think that Rebirth refers to the shop, and to a certain extent it does, but I am really talking about me.  At the beginning of the year, I sat down and wrote goals for the year, and a 5 year and 10 year plan.  (Yeah, I’m one of those).  It has personal, family, financial, and health goals.  My wife and I sat down in early January to finalize them.  And yes, I have gaming goals.  I have a 14 in 14 for games, 5 Jeffcons, (solitaire game conventions), purchasing targets and overall game play.  One of my goals was to start a game group in Washington, and it looks like that is going to happen via the Daviess County Museum.

So, I am very optimistic.  Other than my limit of purchasing only 14 new games in 2014 (I’ve already missed that target, don’t tell my wife 🙂 ) I’m on target to hit my gaming goals.  I have a tendency to be positive, but I feel really good about the future on all fronts.

I feel reborn!

Jeff Chattin

Great Gaming Gang!

I’d really like to title this “Hot Lava Birth” but that might be pushing it just a little.

This is to announce that the Daviess County Museum, 212 Main Street, Washington, Indiana,  will begin hosting a monthly

GAME DAY

To be held on the First Saturday of the month, at the Daviess County Museum, from 12 pm to 5 pm.

The first GAME DAY will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2014.

Based on the success of the museum’s participation in International TableTop Game Day, Vince Sellers, Museum Director, has announced the monthly gaming event.  The Daviess Room on the second floor of the museum is a spacious area with 11 tables available for gaming with room for over 60 gamers.

Traditional board games, modern board games and children’s games will be provided along with a knowledgeable staff to teach the games.  All are welcome.  Bring your favorite game, bring a friend, bring the person you want to trounce in a game, but come!

Smiles, laughter, good natured taunting and fun for all available to all who attend!

For further information contact the Daviess County Museum at 812-257-0301, or contact via e-mail at dchistory@sbcglobal.net

Great Gaming Gang!

OK, I have been a major slacker and not posted in a long time, letting fellow gamer Travis handle all of the duties with his excellent “After Action Reports”.  No excuses, consider me kicked out of Tokyo with no life points.  I’ll try to begin making restitution today with a few posts.

About two months ago I started checking the TableTop Game Day map to see what game stores in my area were going to be holding events, secretly wishing, hope against hope, that Legends, the closest game store to me, would pop up.  For about 2 weeks, the closest event was in Evansville, at Comic Quest.  Then Game Knight in Ferdinand popped up, closer but still not Legends.  Then on a Saturday I bring up the map, and there is a golden meeple hovering over Washington!  No way!  Inconceivable!  So I clicked on the meeple and it comes up the Daviess County Museum.  A museum?  A game store, a library, a community center I get, but how did a museum find out about TableTop Day?  So I read the info on the site and find out they are looking for games, they have a few but are looking for more.  To steal a phrase from Travis, “Now we’re cooking with butter!”, because I have a few games.

The following Tuesday I stop at the museum, just to make sure its not a mistake, and to offer my services and games to the cause.  I meet Ken Graber, the Assistant Director/Docent/Man of Many Hats (Travis later told me a Docent was a person who gives tours at a museum).  After a short discussion, I was “In Like Flint” . Ken is a big fan of the TableTop web series, and convinced Vince Sellers, Museum Director, this would be a good event to participate in. We exchanged e-mails and met several times over the next month, planning and introducing games to the team at the Daviess County Museum, Doug and Joe Burke, Sarah Roberts, and of course Vince and Ken.  Many thankless hours were spent playing games that would be available on TableTop Day to make sure we would be ready.  (At least that is what I tell my wife, how much work it was to get ready 🙂 )

We really didn’t know what to expect for turnout.  Flyers were put up in Washington and Vincennes, Ken had a couple of articles in the Washington Times Herald, and Vince  talked about TableTop Day on his video posts on YouTube and on the radio show Take 5 For Your Community on WAMW.  And I talked to anybody who would listen about the event.

TableTop game day came and the museum was ready.  Joe and Doug had eleven  tables with chairs set up, Ken had card holders on each table with description and information about the games, and the games were set up in all of their glory.  At noon Vince came down to check on us and the first game began.  The first game was all staff members, Joe, Sarah and new volunteer Kim Ridge started rolling dice in Zombie Dice.  Several shotgun blasts and brains eaten later, Joe was the winner.  He asked his usual question, “What do I get for winning, a million dollars?”  Alas, I had left my checkbook at home, so Joe had to settle for candy bars as his booty.

Overall, the stats for the day are as follows:

Attendees- 20  Seven staffers and thirteen visitors played games

Games Played- 25  Thirteen different games were played a total of twenty five times

Activity per Gamer- 3.8   76 total plays played by twenty gamers (ex: a gamer plays 4 games, activity per gamer would be 4.)

Fun- Countless   Many smiles were seen, numerous dice rolled, cards drawn, laughs heard, and such things as “Don’t touch my cards, you are cursing them!”, “I didn’t see that move!”, “I don’t want to die!”, “Not another Water Rising card!”, and the often heard “I win!”

Humility- One gamer reportedly played fifteen games and only won two, including losing six straight games of Hive.  This gamer shall remain nameless, but it is reported he ate a big dish of crow when he got home, served by his loving wife.  It is also rumored he brought all of the games he lost.

The Best News- Every attendee was told the museum wanted to hold a regular Gaming Event, possibly once a month.  If they were interested in participating, there was a sign up sheet they could put their contact information on.  EVERYONE who attended signed up with contact information.  More on this in another article.

So what’s the feeling about how it went?  Was it the dream of people milling around waiting for a game to end so they could start a new one, with all of the tables full? No.  Did some people come to the museum who hadn’t visited before?  Yes.  Did the event generate any new members for the Daviess County Historical Society?  Yes.  Did the event generate any new volunteers for the museum?  Yes.  Did Joe get his million dollar prize money?  No, I still can’t find my checkbook.  Did some previously unknown to each other gamers meet and make plans to game again?  Yes.  Is the museum going to have an event they can add to their calendar on a regular basis?  It looks that way.

That’s four yes’s, a no, an “Its never gonna happen, Joe’s going to figure out another way to get a million bucks”, and an “it looks that way.”  So I guess it depends on how you look at success.  If your an all or nothing, hare to the tortoise, go big or go home kinda guy, then it was not a success.  But if you are like me, a tortoise to the hare, something is better than nothing, I’ll get better at Hive kinda guy, it was a success.

Lao-tzu, an ancient philosopher once said, “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”  We have taken that single step.

Great Gaming Gang!