Our bi-weekly hobby nights are quickly becoming the place to be for many of our regulars. A long-standing tradition at Gamescape, Pizza & Painting Night is an opportunity to come hang out, chow down, and slap some color on those figures. As busy schedules sometimes don’t allow the enthusiastic gamer enough time to work on gorgeous plastic fighting units and intrepid pewter dungeon-delvers, we figured that it would only be beneficial to set aside a couple of Saturday nights every month to help people make it happen.

The evening is calm and productive: we meet at 6pm in the back of the store where there’s plenty of space to work. You bring your minis, paints, and supplies. It’s a free clinic where we can socialize, get stuff done, and trade tips and tricks. Really loving a particular brand or color of paint? Want to see how wet blending really works? We have you covered, as there is always a gaggle of tremendously talented painters getting their minis brushed up. And while P&P isn’t a formal class, you’re more than welcome to come with your questions and see what answers you’ll get back.

At some point during the evening, we’ll take a break for grub. And while our tradition has been pizza (it’s in the title of the event, see?), we’re more than open to anything 4th St. has to offer. We’ve even had some astoundingly talented folks try to eat and paint at the same time; we’re not endorsing it, but it’s a pretty impressive feat! We’ll go ’til 11pm or until people fall asleep in their water cups.

So if, like us, you’ve got A TON of miniatures sitting around doing nothing, this event is for you. If you’re the master of the White Primer Ghost Army, you’re going to want to join in. Keep your eyes on the Hobby & Painting forum board, where we talk up a storm about what we’re working on at P&P and a bunch of other things, besides. Watch the calendar for upcoming P&P events, which happen like clockwork every other Saturday evening. Join us for some artistic fun and some yummy grubbage. And see why this is one of the most popular and most fun events in the store!

Every other Saturday, 6-11pm
Pizza & Painting Night at Gamescape
Bring the lead. We’re gonna get saucy.

]]> http://www.gamescape-north.com/2010/02/24/a-splash-of-color/feed/ 0 http://www.gamescape-north.com/2010/02/17/february-grpa/ http://www.gamescape-north.com/2010/02/17/february-grpa/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:56:48 +0000 admin http://www.gamescape-north.com/?p=676

Though we’re running a bit late in getting these games to you during this short month, a couple of intrepid GMs have offered forth their time and imagination to present the following. As we always mention, we’re ever on the lookout for game masters who are willing to run one-shot RPG games at our events from any system at all. Just let us know, and we’ll schedule you in. The more submissions we get, the more games we can offer at the store! Click the link for the official lineup of role-playing games scheduled for our next GRPA event on Monday, February 22nd. Have a look below, and if you’d like to join us for either of these sessions, please select a game in which you’d like to participate and either call or write us back with your name and selection. All games are free and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, and you’ll be responded to immediately with your status in the game. Please note that some of these games are filling up quickly!

What’s GRPA? Find out here!

GRPA – Monday, February 22nd 6-11pm

Game #1 – The Scents of Urgency
Mouseguard RPG (Burning Wheel)
4 Players
GM – Arnold Stellema

There is trouble in the Mouse Territories. A shipment of scent bound for Pebblebrook is overdue. Without the scent border, the Territories will be vulnerable to all manner of predators. Gwendolyn has charged our heroes with tracking down the missing shipment and helping insure its safe arrival.

This will be a ground up introduction to one of the best RPG’s ever written: Mouseguard. We’ll build characters from scratch, cover the basic rules (which is to say most of them) and run an adventure all in one night. Mouseguard is a story-driven, interactive role-playing game that lets everyone at the table influence the direction and outcome of the adventure. The world is beautiful, the mechanics mix strategy with dice, and character creation is unlike anything you have ever played. If you haven’t tried this game… NOW is the time!

Game #2 – Onward to Glory? (Chapter 1, Page 3)
Pathfinder
4 Players
GM – Nick Lundback

The Party has completed their goal of acquiring the scrolls residing in the Chapel of the Angelic Heart. They now head back to the small town of Kassen to meet with their current patron, Lukaz Aildoz, and find out what information the scrolls contain. However, there are many more avenues that the Group can pursue and they must decide which fork in the road they are going to take.

This 1st-level adventure continues the GRPA/ORPG ongoing Pathfinder Campaign that will see a cast of characters develop their own story through the manipulations of different players. As they progress, the plot of the story will be player-driven, though the same players may not be present each time. Through twists and turns, we will see the characters develop their skills and abilities while they explore the wide world of Golarion…

(If you wish to play in this game, please take a moment to Rread the GRPA /ORPG Patfinder Campaign Chronicle located in the “GRPA” Forum of the Gamescape North website. This chronicle tells the tale of our group and will provide you with the background information to understand the characters and the story.)

February GRPA Event: Monday, February 22nd 6-11pm

Please call the store (415.457.8698) or (Email Us) to reserve a spot in either of the above games.

We’re very excited to announce a new monthly gaming event at the store: Gamescape’s Tournament Series. The idea behind this series of events sprang from wanting to provide our gamers with one set Saturday per month in which they could compete for cool prizes in a variety of games. To this end, we’ll be hosting a tournament each month with plenty of warning for people to prepare, practice, and read up on the rules to get ready. It’s a great chance for skilled and passionate players to show both their competence and gamesmanship, and also a cool environment to allow newer players to practice their chops as they work their way up to mastering their favorite sets of rules.

At the beginning of every month, we’ll advertise for the tournament that will be held in the current and also the following month. We’ll post the game specs and any special tournament rules both on our website and in our forums. Entry fees will be fixed at $10 per player, and we’ll always be offering some kind of excellent prize support in the form of models, supplies, special miniatures, or gift cards for use in the store. While most of our Tournament Series events will be miniatures-based, we see no reason why we couldn’t expand this into the board game and card game sectors, as well. And please keep in mind, we aren’t slowing down on running our other regular tournaments in the store; this is simply a chance for us to feature the games that we’re really excited about in addition to the ones on our standard event calendar, which already include many tournaments from a wide variety of games!

Our provisional Tournament Series schedule until summer is printed below, and we’ll be announcing February’s featured Tournament Series game early next week. If you have any questions about any aspect of these events, feel free to contact us by phone, e-mail, or on the forums, and we’ll make sure to respond immediately. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you for some healthy competition in the near future!

February 27th: Lord of the Rings Grand Qualifier

March 27th: Malifaux Tournament

April 24th: Arcane Legions League Brawl

May 22nd: Infinity Tournament

Stay tuned for more on each of these very soon!

Casual Magic moved to Fridays
We’ve started the week by clearing out Monday evenings for all RPGs, all the time. Casual Magic has moved to Fridays two hours before our regular tournaments. The third Friday of each month will remain casual play for the entire evening. Meanwhile, you can continue to enjoy Open RPG Nights and Gamescape’s Role-Players Anonymous events on the second and last Mondays of each month, as usual.

Infinity has its old home back!
After much flip-flopping about the best place for our dedicated Infinity game night, we’ve decided that its old place on Tuesdays in tandem with Warhammer 40K suited the community best. While die-hard Infinity players are welcome to come to other open miniatures events (Wednesdays and every other Sunday), they’ll always have a dedicated night and table space at the store each Tuesday from 6 to 10 pm.

Wednesdays now featuring Open Minis
The middle of the week has long been a gathering place for drop-in players wanting to try a variety of miniatures systems. We’re making this official and offering at least half of the store for whatever people want to play. Lately it’s been full of Malifaux, Infinity, Monsterpocalypse, Field of Glory, and a bunch more, but you’re more than welcome to bring your entire collection and see what happens – or you can call ahead or get something planned in the forums!

Gamescape’s new Tournament Series
On one Saturday a month, we’ll be featuring a special tournament for a particular exciting game that we’re interested in highlighting. The game will change each month and will not interfere with our regular tournament schedule for other games. We’ll give you plenty of notice ahead of time as to what’s being planned, and you’ll be seeing a special post very soon detailing the specifics of our very cool new series.

And what about Sundays?
Starting in February, we’re limiting our very successful Pokemon league to every other Sunday so that we can make sure our other gamers are getting plenty of table space and enough time to get in a pick-up game or two. To this end, we’re making those days into Skirmish Sundays, where anyone is free to come down and have at with their figures. It helps to use the forums to schedule games for these events, but you’re welcome to make Gamescape your regular meeting place to expect some great miniatures skirmishes.

So whatever your game, we’ve got you covered this spring. It’s a lot to take in at first, but we’re happy to answer any questions you might have, and we’ll even take requests for the future. Tell us what you’d like to see at the store. We’re listening. And we’re very excited to bring you a fabulously packed event calendar at the store this February and beyond. Hope you can be a part of it soon!

The new Magic set is right around the corner, and we’ve got a trio of great events planned for the next two weeks at Gamescape. Whether you want to run some competition before the boosters hit the street or join your friends in ripping open packs on the release day, we’ve got you covered. Read on for details on all three events and how you can be a part of the fun.

Worldwake Pre-Release Tournament – Sunday, January 31st @ 12:00 Noon

After the undoubted success of our first Pre-Release for Zendikar, Gamescape is pleased to be hosting another Magic: The Gathering Pre-Release Event! The second set in the Zendikar block, Worldwake, releases on Friday, February 5th. Our Pre-Release will take place one week before then on Sunday, January 31st at 12:00 noon. The format for this event will be a Sealed Tournament.

If you’re interested in attending the tournament, we ask that you please sign-up ahead of time, as we have limited space for the event. You can do this in a number of ways: either by calling the store, sending an e-mail, or by dropping into the store in-person. There are 40 spaces available, so be sure to reserve yours soon! We ask also that you please arrive to the tournament by 12:00 noon in order to purchase your entry package, which will consist of three Zendikar and three Worldwake booster packs for $30.00. All registered entrants will also get a pre-release foil promo card (while supplies last) of Comet Storm.

The Sealed Tournament will consist of one flight of entrants with the goal of the event to be completed by 6pm. Prizes will be given in the form of Worldwake booster packs, promo cards, and some other nifty prize support that we have in the store. We regret that we will not be admitting players after 12:00pm SHARP, provided that there is space left on the day of the event. Please arrive as early as you can.

MTG Worldwake Release Tournament – Fri, February 5th @ 6pm

If you’re not able to make the Pre-Release, we’ll be holding another Release Tournament on the day that Worldwake comes out. If you’re interested in attending, please arrive before 6:00pm to sign in and purchase your cards package under the same format as above. This Sealed Tournament will consist of multiple 8-person pods which will each last three rounds, with the goal of each mini-tournament to be done by 10pm. Please sign up early to ensure a spot in the tournament.

MTG Worldwake Launch Party – Sat, February 6th @ 12pm

Join us for our MTG Worldwake Launch Party on the weekend after its release! All day in the store, 12 noon to 6pm, we’ll be running booster drafts and casual play. No matter what your play-style is, you’ll find some options for a good day spent with the new set.

Launch Party Booster Draft
We’ll be organizing a Booster Draft tournament when people arrive, preferably organized into 8-person pods. Entry will be $15 for three boosters (two Zendikar and one Worldwake), with Worldwake boosters given out as prizes according to placement, as well as foil promo cards also added in for extra prizes!

Launch Party Open Dueling
Magic players also have the option to sign up for Open Dueling. Open Dueling is an informal and flexible format ideal for new or returning Magic players. Entry fee payment ($15) will entitle you to one Intro Pack, one Open Dueling Results Card, and one special foil promo card (while supplies last) of Joraga Warcaller. After you complete five matches the organizer will reward you with one complementary Magic booster pack.

Special Box Discounts
We’re offering 20% off the retail price on full boxes of new Worldwake boosters if you’re in our Customer Rewards system or if you sign up for our program. The points that you accrue on the purchase will also be tallied on your account. Individual boosters will remain at the standard retail price of $3.99. In addition, WotC is offering a special foil promo card of Celestial Colonnade to anyone who purchases a full box of boosters from us.

Our next in-store RPG event is right around the corner! Click the link for the official lineup of role-playing games scheduled for our next GRPA event on Monday, January 25th. Have a look below, and if you’d like to join us for any of these sessions, please select a game in which you’d like to participate and either call or write us back with your name and selection. All games are free and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, and you’ll be responded to immediately with your status in the game. Please note that some of these games are filling up quickly!

What’s GRPA? Find out here!

GRPA – Monday, January 25th 6-11pm

Game #1 – A New Hope
Star Wars Saga Ed.
4-6 Players
GM – Aaron Nievar

The Empire has just been born. As we all know, while trying to to defeat the Emperor Palpatine, all the Jedi masters were killed outright but one: Mace Windu. Using his great powers of the Force, he is able to make it back to the Jedi temple and warn of the coming attack that is to befall the Jedi order. While the Emperor calls for Order 66, only Coruscant’s clones are affected at first. A young group of Jedi at the top of their class are the only survivors organized enough that can lead an assault against the Empire’s forces. Their target: the planet Endor houses a device that can send out a beam of force that will activate every clone to commence their final orders. It’s up to these young but brave Jedi to save their order from the forces of the Dark Side.

This is an adventure set in the Star Wars universe featuring an alternate history of the Jedi extinction attempt.

Game #2 – Chapel of the Angelic Heart (Chapter 1)
Pathfinder
4 Players
GM – Nick Lundback

Having recently arrived in the small Nirmanthian town of Kassen, our group of Friends are struggling to make ends meet and are determining whether or not to move on. Luckily, they have been approached by a chronicler of Angelic Lore and have been given the task of recording a series of inscriptions thought to be located in a nearby ruin. With few options available and the monetary rewards sufficient, the Friends have left the town walls behind and head out into the wilderness…

This 1st-level introductory adventure marks the beginning of a continuous Pathfinder Campaign that will see a cast of characters develop their own story through the manipulations of different players. As they progress, the plot of the story will be player-driven, though the same players may not be present each time. Through twists and turns, we will see the characters develop their skills and abilities while they explore the wide world of Golarion…

Game #3 – Welcome to Upfenbrunnen
Warhammer Fantasy 3rd Ed.
4 Players
GM – Andre Sisneros

The World of Warhammer is a dark and dangerous place. There are more dangers out in the world that you can imagine. Greenskins raid into the Empire all the time and have to be fought off. Beastmen roam the deep forests pursuing their own dark agenda. And always there is the threat of internal corruption. What hope does a girl in a small village have? About a week ago, Bischof and Ulfman, a Witchhunter and his associate, arrived in town. Amid threats of investigation and suspicion Bischof took a liking to Else, the peasant girl that helps out at the tavern. Everyone in town watched with dread as the advances got more and more insistent. Lukas and Waldor had always been fond of the girl and wanted to intervene, but Bischof made it known in no uncertain terms that if they interfered with the actions of an ordained Witchhunter, perhaps their own families should be thoroughly investigated for heresy. This morning things finally came to an ugly confrontation. Else rebuffed his advances once again. He slapped her to the ground and she rose and broke a tankard over his head. She was immediately accused of witchcraft and dragged into the street. Here she was beaten and then forced to build a pyre at the center of the commons as Biscof and his lackey harassed her and leered at her. As the townsfolk gather around town everyone is afraid of what comes next but no one is brave enough to step up and bring this to a stop. Just another day in town. Welcome to Upfenbrunnen!

Looking for a whirlwind introduction to the new edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay? We’ve got the ticket for you! Witchhunters, Greeskins, and Beastmen all in one session. This little adventure will give you plenty of action helping the small village of Upfenbrunnen, and boy, do they need the help. We’ll be using the new edition of WHF, which has been making quite a stir. There are many new ideas and mechanics that make game play fast and intuitive, while there are still enough of the older mechanics to please old-time players of Warhammer. Come ready yourselves for a gritty world where life is cheap and everything is set against you. Come ready yourselves for Warhammer!

January GRPA Event: Monday, January 25th 6-11pm

Please call the store (415.457.8698) or (Email Us) to reserve a spot in any of the above games.

Gamescape’s first Game Fair was a lot of fun, and we’ve decided to feature another set of great new games now that the holidays are done and we have more time to play with our customers. If you haven’t already heard about this event series, you can consider it a game exposition, what we call a Game Fair. At each event, all day long we’ll be demoing three games that we think you should be playing. Show up with nothing other than your interest, and check out short, fun demos of some of the coolest things in the store that you might not otherwise know about – or perhaps you’ve just never had a chance to see them in-person. We think it’s a great way to get hands-on experience with some games that we’re totally wild about.

This month’s theme is great strategy board games, and we’ll be opening up Bridge Troll, Qwirkle Cubes, and Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune to show you how they’re played! We think this selection really shows the great breadth of different games that can be considered part of the “strategy” category. For those only familiar with old favorites like chess and Monopoly, you’ll be treated to a trio of brilliant games that use interactive and abstract strategy, visual and inferential perception, and endless modular replayability.

Bridge Troll is a recent release from Z-Man, distributors of the smash hits Pandemic and Agricola. Each player takes on the role of a horrible troll, hurling boulders at passing travelers for money and food. The game contains mechanics for bidding that require resource management and savvy, opportunities to gather goods and cash them in for game-winning points, and plenty of dark humor as unsuspecting Medieval characters are waylaid by your strength and wit! You can download the rules at the link above if you’d like to check it out before giving it a shot.

If you haven’t played Qwirkle, you’re missing out on one of the best abstract strategy games of the decade. Just out last year and the follow-up to one of our best-selling games ever, Qwirkle Cubes has all of the fun of its predecessor with a bit more dynamism. Instead of tiles, you get to roll dice to come up with the shapes and colors that you need to score. In addition, all players openly show their dice for an added level of strategy. Great for literally any age, designed locally with gorgeous wooden parts, and utterly addictive. You can learn in thirty seconds and play for hours!

Another great follow-up to an unbelievable release, Carcassonne: Wheel of Fortune lets the winds of fate help you win with a ton of extra opportunities for building and scoring. Move the pig around the wheel and hope it lands on a segment that benefits your followers already on the board. It plays very similar to the original Carcassonne with lots of extra ways to influence the game – one of the very best modular strategy games in the store.

We’ll be doing three one-hour demos for each game throughout the day, though none of these games will take that much time to play; we like to allow some extra time for rules explanations and the like. Round One will be at 1:00pm, followed by Round Two at 2:30pm and Round Three at 4:00pm. You don’t need to bring anything but your interest and a little bit of time to spend with us. Hope to see you then!

Saturday, January 23rd 1-6pm
Game Fair: Strategy Board Games
Let us show you what’s amazingly fun!

Our first Open RPG Night of the new year is coming up soon, on Monday, January 11th 6-11pm! As with every ORPG, we’ll be having a drop-in Shadowrun 4th Edition game, as well as the continuing adventures of  our monthly Pathfinder Society. This month also features our first regular Warhammer Fantasy 3rd Ed RPG, which has gotten a ton of interest – we had seven people making characters last month! Come down and hang out with us if any of these appeal to you, but be aware that many of these games are pre-filled. If you’re interested in obtaining a spot, please contact the store to see what’s open, or feel free to run your own game at the event – just let us know and we’ll post it here!

About the event:
New to the Gamescape calendar is Open RPG Night, held on the second Monday of each month. Whereas GRPA provides one-shot, pre-designed games for sign-up, at ORPG events we open up the store to your regular role-playing campaigns, either with room for walk-ins or closed just to your friends. We want it to be like your living room, only with lots of space, plenty of tables, and the perfect atmosphere to meet other gamers or to see what’s normally being played behind closed doors. The event is also free every month, and we have some awesome games slated to run on a regular basis. If you think you’d like to move your monthly game to Mondays at Gamescape, shoot us an e-mail and we’ll get you a table. We’ll also be publicly posting the list of regular games that we host, regardless of whether they’re filled or not, just to show people what’s going on in San Rafael. The more role-playing, the better, and now you can keep a pulse on what’s happening locally!

You can check out more info or make some posts on our new forum board for Open RPG Night. We set it up so people can get oriented each month with what’s being run and what they’d like to be a part of. In addition, we now have a detailed RPG questionnaire form that will give us an idea of what our community is playing and wants to see in the future. This form can also be downloaded from the forum or you can grab one next time you’re in the store.

October Open RPG Night: Monday, January 11th 6-11pm

Please call the store (415.457.8698) or (Email Us) with any questions or if you’d like more info on the event.

No plans for New Year’s Eve? Come on over and play some games with us! This year we’re having an open board game night at the store that’s free and fun for anyone who wants to come down. Whether it’s something you got for the holidays that you’re eager to try out, or if you simply have no other plans and have games on the brain, we’re going to be playing all evening long and would love to have you join us. As per usual at our game nights, we’ll have plenty of tables open for anything you’d like to bring along, as well as a massive library full of games to try out. The festivities start at 6pm and we’ll be here until everyone wants to go home. If you’re looking for players for a particular game, feel free to post on our forum and see who responds. Hope to see you there!

Thursday, December 31st 6pm-?
New Year’s Eve Board Game Night
Who cares about the apple – play until YOU drop!

Wishing all of our friends and customers a very Happy Holiday with joy and prosperity in the year ahead. We thank you a ton for your support and patronage, and can’t wait to see you in the New Year for a load of fun and games!