ARCHIVE: International Tabletop Day! What, you don't KNOW what this is???

VERONICA sez: I was looking through the Archives for a fun post to put up today and saw this one. BIG NOTE: In 2018 International Tabletop Day is April 28th!!! I checked the links in the post and they're all still current. I put my location into the event finder she mentions below and found a ton in my general area. So, fun stuff!

The Archive post from Sharyl Nantus:

I'm a gamer, through and through. The hubby and I celebrate our anniversary by going to the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio every year. We spend most nights either playing board games or talking about it, haunting such great boards as Board Game Geek to see what's up and coming. We buy games from Kickstarter and I review them on my personal blog.

So yeah.... I'm a gamer.

But this upcoming Saturday, April 11th we can ALL be gamers! Because this Saturday is International Tabletop Day!

What? What? What IS this day, you ask?

So... let me tell you how you can have a great fun-filled day with your friends and family and discover a whole new world! As a writer I love the creative break a game can give me and it helps rejuvenate my mind so I can go back to writing refreshed and ready to go!

International TableTop Day started off as a response to a popular web series - TableTop hosted by Wil Wheaton. (yes, THAT WW as we all know and love him from Star Trek: The Next Generation!) In the web series he plays games with his friends and you get to watch them fumble through the fun and annoyance. It's a great introduction to many games and if your game gets showcased on his webseries you're pretty well guaranteed to have major sales for your product! As well as the actual games he brings on excellent guests such as Aisha Tyler among others to have a wild time.

Three years ago the idea of ITT happened - local game stores joined forces to give people the chance to try out new games and test the ones showcased on the web series. And it was wildly successful with now over 80 countries participating and thousands of events happening all on one single glorious day of gaming!

So how can you get in on this?

First head over to the ITT website and see what's happening in your area - depending on where you live you might have a variety of choices on where to go for ITT. Local game stores will be listed and if you go to their websites or Facebook pages you'll be able to see what they're offering. Many stores have free swag for attendees as well as food and drink.

But, you say... what happens when I get there? What will I do, where will I go?

YOU WILL GAME LIKE YOU'VE NEVER GAMED BEFORE!

What does that mean?

ITT is a great way to discover new games. The stores will have plenty of demonstrations going on and you can hop in and play a variety of games for free. No commitment, no obligation. Just come out and sit down at a table, play a game and have a great time.

DOES IT GET BETTER THAN THAT???

I say not.

The hubby and I have discovered some great games over the past three years such as Smallworld, 7 Wonders, X-Wing and many others. Even if you don't find a game you love it's a great day out with other games and you can try out many games without having to buy them - sometimes the game you thought you'd love turns out to be a dud for you and it's the small one off to the side that you try out on a whim that may be your best buy of the day!

And if you've never been to your Local Game Store?

Why not go out this Saturday and see what this whole gaming thing is all about? Watch a few episodes of Tabletop while you count down the days and then swing by this weekend to find a whole new world waiting for you!

International Tabletop Day - it's for everyone!

And, as Wil Wheaton says...

PLAY MORE GAMES!