A Three Hour Tour, a Three Hour Tour
No, most are shorter than that, and you can now check them out. The roster of our tours can be viewed here.
The goal of our Tour program is several fold - its a way for new people to meet some other gamers, a way for gamers to learn some new games, and a way for people that like free stuff to increase their chances of getting some of that. So check them out, no tiger blood needed to participate but no matter you're reason for touring, you will be winning!
TGD VI Schedule is Finalized
Finally got the schedule up on the website for NEXT WEEK'S (!) TGD VI. Expect rapid fire TGD info to be coming your way! You can see it here.
Gaming IN THE THIRD DIMENSION!
The last time I took my family to the cinema (yes, I said cinema, I am 1950s man), it was a challenge to find a film that didn't require me to wear a second pair of glasses to view. It seems that Hollywood has embraced 3D movies as the new standard of action and family fair. You can experience that largess in board games at TGD VI. We are going to have a number of fan made projects that you'll want to see in person and probably play as well!
Battlestar Glactica
It started as a reboot of an sci-fi television show and turned into a huge hit. The Fantasy Flight turned it into an incredible boardgame featuring intrigue, distrust and cooperation. Now, you can experience perhaps the most immersive versions of this game we have ever seen. For those that haven't played it, here's the idea of the game, from Boardgamegeek:
"After the Cylon attack on the Colonies, the battered remnants of the human race are on the run, constantly searching for the next signpost on the road to Earth. They face the threat of Cylon attack from without, and treachery and crisis from within. Humanity must work together if they are to have any hope of survival…but how can they, when any of them may, in fact, be a Cylon agent? Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is an exciting game of mistrust, intrigue, and the struggle for survival. Based on the epic and widely-acclaimed new Sci Fi Channel series, Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game puts players in the role of one of ten of their favorite characters from the show. Each playable character has their own abilities and weaknesses, and must all work together in order for humanity to have any hope of survival. However, one or more players in every game secretly side with the Cylons. Players must attempt to expose the traitor while fuel shortages, food contaminations, and political unrest threatens to tear the fleet apart."
Wow! Now imagine all that rendered with models galore and you'll feel like Starbuck staring down a Toaster Raider. Or maybe Doctor Balter testing each crew member to see who might be a Cylon agent. Even if you've never played this game before, fear not - we'll have a Tour set up that will teach this game on this set, so anyone wanting to play will get the chance.
ACQUIRE
So rescuing humanity isn't your idea of a fun afternoon? Well how about making a killing in corporate America? The Sid Sackson classic Acquire is a great game focused on a stock manipulation mechanism. There is a reason this is in the GAMES Magazine Hall of Fame and has been in print for close to FIFTY years. While the recent Hasbro production (from 1999) was well done, this version is a sight to behold. Why settle for second best when the greatest version will be available for you to play? Pimped out Acquire will be on hand for you to play all weekend!
SHADOWS OVER SPAM-A-LOT?
"We are the knights that say NI!"
"It's but a flesh wound."
"What is your Quest?!"
If your quest is to have a hilariously great time playing a fun game - search no further. This game is one part Shadows over Camelot added to one part Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail. Play a great co-op game but with all your favorite scenes from the movie - the Black Knight, the killer bunny and even the French Police. You'll be spewing out crazy quotes and laughing about the air speed of a European swallow all evening long. Shadows over Spamalot is a one of a kind fan made recreation and will be available all weekend long!
So come on out to TGD and experience the next dimension!
Getting the Band Back Together
For those of you that experienced the excitement and adventure of TGD V from the front lines, i.e. as a guest of the Opryland, we have some news. It seems in an effort to rebuild some goodwill, Gaylord is offering a free weekend at the renovated hotel to those that were in attendance last year. If you stayed at the hotel last year, you should be getting some information either in the mail or your email soon, if not already.
If a sizeable number of gamers are making a return, why gaming should as well - right? I've started a discussion about this on our Yahoo! Group, so head over there and join in the discussion on what our plans should be for the event!
Back to our regularly scheduled TGD VI announcements!
Got Games?
What's better than showing up for a weekend of gaming? Walking over to our onsite vendor to pick up that new game you just bought. See the attached flyer for more details.
One month away!
TGD starts one month from today, but if you want to stay at the hotel and game for free, or just register for a cheaper rate, the deadline to do so is TODAY! Don't wait, register now.
Finger Flicking Good
Tennessee Game Days Crokinole
The excitement will return on Saturday Night as we hold the Second Annual TGD Crokinole Tournament. We'll have both a singles and a doubles competition, simultaneously but you can still play in both! If that doesn't quench your desire to flick wooden disks, I'm not sure anything can. The tournament is being sponsored by Time Well Spent Games, so the prizes are sure to be awesome.
If anyone has tried to book rooms in the last day and had problems, please try again. The hotel has added more rooms to our block so you should be able to book now. Space is filling fast and the Early Bird bonus ends this week, so get on over to the registration page and sign up!
The Math Trade is up and Ready
Have some games on your shelf that aren't getting any love? Would like to turn that game into something you would play? How about doing that without paying any shipping?
That's right the TGD No Ship Math Trade is up and ready for 2011. List those games that you would like to get rid of and hopefully get something new and shiny in return. Details can be found on Boardgamegeek.com. If you have any questions feel free to post on the trade list or here in the comments and someone will help you out!
Just a few more days to register early and get all kinds of bonuses - are YOU registered yet?
Tennessee Game Days VI : March 11-13, 2011
It is official. Undeterred by the acts of God that disrupted our fifth annual event, Tennessee Game Days will be back in 2011. Mark your calendars now for our sixth event to be held the weekend of March 11, 12 and 13. More details will be announced soon!
Brace yourself Nashville!
I Collected Two of Every Animal for Lots of Victory Points.
Wow.
What more can be said about TGD V – Bigger. Badder. Bedder. Wetter. As everyone knows by now, we had a full-fledged disaster on our hands by Sunday afternoon. I’ve also been feeling the effects of the flooding at my residence as well, so I haven’t had a chance to get some thoughts to virtual paper until now.
Around 3 pm on Saturday, I had to leave TGD to head home and deal with water in my basement. Fortunately my parents were visiting that weekend, and my father was able to keep the water somewhat in check. My way home required three different detours, as the devastation this immense amount of rain was causing was already becoming apparent. Once I made it home, I helped him sweep, squeegee and redirect the flow of water throughout the afternoon and early evening (in the dark, mind you, as we didn’t have power) until about 8 pm when the flow finally stopped. I was exhausted at this point and, even though it meant missing the Crokinole tourney, I decided I’d stay home and come out in the morning for the third and final day of TGD.
Good friends of mine at TGD needed to be back at the airport Sunday morning, so I headed to Opryland early and, with one small detour, got them to the airport on time. When I got back to Opryland, I realized I had forgotten to bring an umbrella, so I opted to valet park the car. This decision ultimately cost me more than the parking fee!
Emergency lights are enough!
The Annual Take it Easy Tourney went off without a hitch and then, due to the weather (it was still raining hard on Sunday), we opted to move up the final prize drawing to just after the end of the Charity Auction at 1 pm. We closed the auction down, gave away our final prizes, and then we lost all power. At this point, most people that weren’t there are probably wondering why we didn’t kick everyone out and head home – the answer was that we didn’t think we could. From 11:30 onward, everyone that attempted to leave almost inevitably returned with news that roads and highways were closed and we needed to wait until later to leave the Opryland. So with nowhere to go, people just continued to game . . .under the emergency lights. About 2:30 pm, we got text message confirmation that some attendees actually made it out of Nashville – shortly thereafter the power came back and by 3 pm we were knee deep in games, packing things up in anticipation of unofficially ending TGD V. Some people had decided to stay another night and were planning on gaming until 8 pm when they had to start setting up for the next event in our room.
With the lights back on things went more quickly and the game library was packed and ready for transport by 4 pm. In light of the weather, the multiple trips it took us to get it to Opryland were going to be impossible so we were given a storage room to house our stuff. I helped two employees move 300+ games and half a dozen Crokinole boards to a small storage closet. After that, we packed up the last of our sthings, reclaimed the remaining library games (Macao, Carcassonne H&G, Le Havre, and Container for those interested) and got ready to hit the road.
As I headed to the valet to get my car, I was informed the hotel was evacuating everyone to higher ground as the levee might break. What?!?! I was legitimately concerned at this point – this was the first I had heard of anything that serious all day. How could this have possible snuck up on everyone? Needless to say, the valet guys were no longer retrieving cars, and I was told that I HAD to evacuate to the Presidential Ballroom NOW. Devon, however, was not so easily deterred and, having his keys in hand (as opposed to a valet office), decided to make a run for his vehicle, which was in the mall parking lot.
About fifteen minutes later, he returned to get me (especially important as he couldn’t get home that night and was planning on staying at my house). We quickly put the last bit of our stuff into the storage closet and got out of dodge. At that point, we had lost touch with almost all the other attendees, except for Chris who was planning on staying put for the time being.
The rest of the evening, we helped my father battle the losing war against water in my basement. Over the course of the next few hours, we pushed quite a bit of water through my basement and out of the garage -- all the while debating whether water could actually get high enough to flood the room that housed the game library. We paused from time to time to check the latest news on Twitter – one rumor had water seeping into the Presidential Ballroom, which would have meant certain destruction to a ton of cardboard and wooden bits! Plus we tried to determine the fate of my car left in valet and eventually decided it was swimming – which lead me to realize the car (a ‘97 Lumina) might have actually be worth less than the games (Queen’s Gambit, I’m looking at you) – which is in itself a ridiculous thought / reality. At some point that evening, I tried to come to grips with the idea that both the car and games might be gone, which made me sick for those that had loaned titles to the library. Eventually, I achieved a zen-like state about my own collection, however, thinking it might be refreshing to start with a blank slate and build more discriminatingly this time.
The Flooded Mall
Later the next day, after a dump run to dispose of some ruined carpet and other trash from the flooded basement, Russ and I decided a quick trip to the Opryland was in order to see if our cars could actually be seen from the road. Shockingly, security let us in to talk to officials at the hotel. After speaking with the valet (yep, underwater), I ran into our event manager who helped us to get access to the storage closet. We were able to get everything out of there that afternoon. About twenty yards from the storage closet were stairs down to the next level. The floodwater was about eight steps from that top of that stairwell. Wow.
Yesterday, my father and I finally finished ripping out flooring and wet drywall (oxymoron?) from my basement. I've yet to hear about my car, but it's not insured, so there's little to be done. I just finished my FEMA application, and here I sit, amongst the exposed studs, perusing used car ads. I’d like to attempt to try and make sure that everyone that was around Sunday is accounted for, as I know some people were still there when evacuation OUT of the hotel started. I hope everyone faired well – feel free to share your own adventures on the comments and let us know you’re okay (if nothing else drop me an e-mail!).
Who’s ready for TGD VI?