Jack Chick Passed Away

by Dawn

Jack Chick passed away this week. He went quietly compared to the impact he had in our community. By “our community,” I really mean the overall Gaming Community. So who was Jack Chick? He was a cartoonist, the creator of “Chick Tracts.” If you aren’t familiar with Chick Tracts, they were generally small, 20 panel comics about his Christian viewpoints about various topics. I think it’s important to note that his viewpoint was against many established churches as well, but one topic that he regularly took on was Dungeons & Dragons. He promoted the concept that D&D was a tool to introduce people to the Occult. By making it seem as a game, innocent souls would find themselves inducted in to actual covens and demon worship. His tract, Dark Dungeons, featured the D&D player Debbie being introduced into the occult, casting spells, but losing a friend over a character death, had her seeking help and finding God. 

Gamers have been fighting the concerns of well intentioned people for decades.  They have continually made this same link, fired by these tracts, that players don’t even realize that they are slipping in to the occult, that they think they are actually casting spells. Jack promoted the use of bible passages and warned parents and teens of the dangers of playing D&D. It was further fueled by the real life story turned movie “Mazes and Monsters,” starring Tom Hanks. If you’re not familiar with that one, it’s the story of JamesDallas Egbert III. He was a student at Michigan State University that disappeared from his dorm room on an August evening in 1979. If you read the related book, “Dungeon Master,” you may notice a few things. Egbert was a child prodigy and under incredible pressure as a 16 year old freshman with few friends. He was routinely depressed and became addicted to drugs. That night he disappeared was the first of 3 suicide attempts, the third one being successful. He ran away from school and his parents after his first attempt. His relationship with his parents did not appear to be close, but out of all the things going on in his life, his parents latched on to Dungeons & Dragons as the reason their son attempted suicide. Rumor said that live action games of Dungeons & Dragons were played in the steam tunnels under campus. Before he was eventually found, there were rumors that he had disappeared during a live action session incident. The media picked up on that and ran with it. In reality, Egbert had failed to commit suicide and was hiding out in a friend’s apartment.

Society was fired up about them. There were protests. Even right here in St Cloud, there were picketers at the old Bakers Craft and Hobby store because they sold the game. Parents of friends were approached and asked how they could handle their children playing “that evil game.” Personally, I was asked to burn my books, by the person that gave them to me, as he was feeling guilty about leading me away from God by giving me the option to play.

It’s hard to say which event had the most influence on the perception of being a gamer and what that meant. How many people were denied the opportunity to make friends with shared interests? How many were routinely told that they were going to burn in Hell? How many were forbidden to enter other friend’s houses because the parents “knew” they were going to seduce their child away to that “evil” game? Even within the broader circle of games, board games are far more acceptable, still, than role playing. Mostly because of the fear and outright fiction of Jack Chick’s Tracts, and the hype around the Egbert case. 

It’s been almost 40 years since Dark Dungeon came out and Egbert disappeared. In that time, Dungeons and Dragons has gone through several incarnations: Dungeons & Dragons, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, 2^nd Edition, 3^rd Edition, 3.5 Edition, 4^th Edition, Essentials and the current 5^th Edition.  We have a strong Encounters session every Wednesday. We routinely host 20-25 role players on Wednesday nights. They range in age from 12 – 65. They role dice, they have some snacks, they fight monsters, bargain for information and mostly, they socialize with each other. They leave with a smile. No one casts any spells that actually influence others, beyond the spell of a good story well played. 

RIP Jack Chick. Long Live Dungeons & Dragons!

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Comrades in Games

by Dawn

The other weekend was a lot of fun at the store. On Saturday, we held our first Warmachine/Hordes SteamRoller event. We had 5 tables full of players and their mini’s. I was giddy looking at the boards full of different terrain and features. These players have been working at the store on Monday nights to get them done in time for the tournament, and it really showed. 

Plus, there was a group roleplaying in the back room.  The fun carried over into Sunday. We had a group of Magic players playing EDH. Some of them have been coming to the store since we opened! We also had a group of new to the game players, school friends that agreed to meet and play here. The Role-players were back, there was a group of WarMachine players getting in a casual game, and it was our first Crafty Gamers meeting!  We worked on crocheted dragon scale guantlets, also known as fingerless gloves. A spinning wheel was in use, and a couple of sewing machines. Conversation ranged from the usage of the chosen yarns, our families, what’s trending on FB, to future projects,  and even the suggestion of potluck for future events.

I ended the day with one mostly finished gauntlet, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten further if I hadn’t had to start over three times, a game room that needed to be vacuumed, and such a feeling of community.

That was the true winner of the weekend. Through our actions and conversation, we all came together in this place, for a somewhat shared experience. It doesn’t matter what the experience is, nearly as much as that we do it together. We just happen to offer it through gaming. The Warmachine/Hordes players have been building their community week by week, working together on Mondays to build the terrain and paint the figures. They got to enjoy that community on Saturday and Sunday. Talking with the mother of one of the boys that came in to play Magic, we agreed, if they are here, playing games, they aren’t elsewhere, doing other things. What they saw, was that they have a place here; there are people that share their hobby. They got a chance to talk to people that have been playing, and maybe get some tips on how to improve their play, and we are so happy to have the chance to share it with them.

In the next Crafty Gamer, you can join us to make Dragon Egg Dice Bags, or whatever other craft project you want to work on. Or, just come in and play a few games.

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10 Halloween Themed Games to Add to Your Library!

by Dawn

Are you hosting a Halloween Party? Maybe you’re just looking for some great themed games! Let us make some suggestions for you!

• Spot It! Halloween – Blue Orange Games, ages 7+, 2-8 players, 15 minutes. If you’ve played any of the Spot It! Line, this one plays the same, just Halloween themed pictures.  Very fast paced and light hearted!
• Zombie Kidz – Iello, ages 7+, 2-4 players, 15 minutes. Iello makes a consistent line of simple games to play with your kids.  This is another light hearted, fast, board game.
• One Night Ultimate Werewolf – Bezier Games,  ages 8+, 3-10 players, 10 minutes. Card choices determine your starting role. Try and figure out who is the werewolf before you become one. There are expansions if you have more players!
• Cultist & Cthulhu – Prolific Games, ages 8+, 2-8 players, 20 minutes. Another hit by local designers, if you like Flapjacks  & Sasquatches, you’ll like Cultist & Cthulhu. It’s a comedic, fast paced card game where you spend as much time trying to stop your neighbor as you do trying to raise Cthulhu!
• GURPS Zombies – Steve Jackson Games. Plan a night of Role Playing and grab this source book for all kinds of zombie lore and the survivors who fight them off. This is a source book only, you’ll need to be familiar with the GURPS system.
• Munchkin: Zombies – Steve Jackson Games, ages 10+, 3-6 players, 1-2 hours. Play as a stand alone game, or add to your regular Munchkin game. It plays just like all the other Munchkin games! Kick open the door, defeat the monster, take the treasure! There are also Zombie! Small expansions if you want a more robust game, but don’t want to just add it to your basic game.
• Brain Games – Buffalo Games, ages 14+, 3-6 players. Based on the Nat Geo channel show. It’s full of brain teasers! Each card features some kind of a brain trick. How many can you see past?
• Ghost Stories – Antoine Bauza, ages 14+, 1-4 players, 60 min. Add an Eastern flair to your ghost stories, save a Middle Empire village from the approaching Lord of the Nine Hell’s horde! This is a game in the growing cooperative game genre! It’s you and your friends against the game!
• Eldritch Horror – Fantasy Flight Games, ages 14+, 1-8 players, 2-4 hours. Another cooperative game. This one is set in 1926, based on the Cthulhu Myths, and inspired by their ever popular Arkham Horror games. There are several Eldritch Horror expansions, because who doesn’t need more Elder Gods to defeat!
• Mysterium – Asmodee, ages 10+, 2-7 players, 42 minutes. This is a mostly cooperative game. You have a limited time to solve each section, or the murderer goes free! Take on the role of the speechless ghost of the victim, or an investigator! The ghost character can’t speak to the rest of the players, making it just a touch more difficult to solve the mystery!
• Betrayal at House on the Hill – Avalon Hill, ages 12+, 3-6 players, 1 hour. This is a classic cooperative game with a traitor! Fight the monsters, reveal the traitor and escape the House on the Hill! The new expansion, Widow's Walk, will be available 10/14/16

If you would like more information, or want to take a closer look at any of these games, please stop in and let us help you pick the perfect one for your Halloween themed activity!

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Introduction

Welcome to our blog! 

The blog isn’t as fun as coming in to the store, but we still hope that you’ll enjoy the blog! What kinds of things are we going to blog about? Anything and everything tabletop gaming! Our main goal is to share our love of gaming. We want to show you new games, yes show! Look for video links to our youtube channel, unboxings and how to plays! We’re going to share our views on gaming as a fun activity and ways you can share that with friends and family. We’re going to tell you about some of the fun activities that happen at the store, and we hope that what you see here will inspire you to come in and check out the games, take part in the activities and get you excited to share with others! 

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