January Game-a-thon

The SWA sponsors eleven one-day Game-a-thons each year. We schedule these every month (January through September, November and December). October is reserved for Council of Five Nations. We usually shoot for the second Saturday of the month, but we're flexible in consideration of Studio availability and other regional conventions. We generally have 6-10 events, scheduled into two time slots (11am-4pm, 5pm-10pm+). We can easily accomodate games that run longer than a five-hour slot. You only pay for the games you play in. No registrations fees at the door, and no badges. GMs don't pay, and they play for free in the session they're not running.

Our next scheduled Game-a-thon is Saturday, January 12, 2008.
Here are the details.

The 193rd US Marine Tank Battalion pushes its way deep into the Japanese lines and found themselves on the wrong end of the Japanese pole mines.

Having discovered the pit that holds the Diamond Rose, the champions had previously decided that they would need to come back another day to fight in order to attempt to take possession of the Diamond Rose. The time is now, and the champions know that they must send their elite to take upon this task. The Church of Wee Jas has also offered the aide of two of its divine concubines as well as the services of the diviner Mesias. Will the champions be able to gather the Diamond Rose?
Thus a call has gone out to the Champions. Come find out what has befallen the markets, and feel free to get your holiday shopping done at the same time! Who will answer the call?
This game will run as an FCSGL Epic Level Game. More information at http://www.firstduty.com/add/league/events.php.
what2bring: New players should create a 23rd level Edition 3.5 character. All characters MUST be complete and ready to go by game time. The description for any uncommon feats, items, or spells MUST be supplied to the GM. All players should bring dice and books.

Ah, December in New York City. The snow is falling, drivers are flipping each other off, and everyone is just plain rude. Just another normal month in New York City. Even paranormal activity seems to be down, making it feel more ordinary than ever. So why do you have the nagging feeling that something is terribly wrong?
No experience with this rule system required - rules will be taught. Novice roleplayers welcome. Knowledge of the Ghostbusters movies and/or Real Ghostbusters cartoon series may be helpful, but is not required. Contains cartoon violence and cultural references that may be obscure for younger gamers, but is otherwise suitable for preteens, teens, and adults.
Follow these links to the Wikipedia entry for Ghostbusters RPG and a review of the game at the RPGnet entry for Ghostbusters RPG.

The object of Power Grid is to supply the most cities with power when someone䴜s network gains a predetermined size. Players must acquire the raw materials, like coal, oil, garbage, or uranium, to fuel the power plants they purchase (except for the highly valuable 'renewable energy' wind/solar plants), making it a constant struggle to upgrade your plants for maximum efficiency while still retaining enough wealth to quickly expand your network to get the cheapest routes.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Power Grid which includes reviews, pictures and playing aids.

Imagine that you're a supercomputer. Now imagine that you're bored. So you dream up a little contest for you and a couple of your supercomputing buddies. Your task is to move one of the stupid little robots out on the factory floor through a series of checkpoints scattered throughout the factory. The wrinkle, however, is that the factory floor is filled with all kinds of inconvenient (if not down-right deadly) obstacles located in various locations: conveyor belts, crushers, flame-throwers, pushers, teleporters, oil slicks, pits, et cetera. But the real fun comes when the robots cross each other's path, and suddenly your perfect route is something less than that...
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for RoboRally which includes reviews, pictures, playing aids, and rules.

Many of you enjoyed Ben's Conan game at previous SWA events. This is your chance to continue the adventure. No experience necessary. Characters provided for those who need them.

Imperial
John Fitzpatrick - GM
2-6 Players

Europe in the age of imperialism. Internationally operating investors aim for the highest political influence in Europe. By giving credits they gain influence over the six imperial nations Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and France. These nations desperately need money to build up their economy and to buy troops and fleets. With their growing power in Europe, they collect more taxes and pay their rising interests to their investors. Because the six imperial nations are under changing influence of different investors, strategic alliances and conflicts arise between them. Sometimes this leads even to war!
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Imperial which includes reviews, pictures, player aids, FAQs and a link to the rules.

This a tutorial for Saganami Island Tactical Simulator, ver 2.0. This is the author-approved game for starship combat in the Honor Harrington fictional background. SITS offers complete tactical control. Accurate, intuitive 3-D movement system, allowing combat to break the plane of the map, and giving unprecedented tactical depth.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Saganami Tactical Simulator which includes reviews, pictures, discussions and links.

Federation and Klingon warships will duke it out using a 30 year old set of starship combat rules. The rules are pretty simple and quick playing. Be prepared to crawl around on the floor because that's where we'll be playing.
Follow this link to the BoardGameGeek entry for Star Fleet Battle Manual which includes reviews, pictures, discussions and links.

A one-round core adventure of deception and infiltration set in the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj by Joseph L. Selby Members of the Dyvers Anti-Slavery League have been captured while conducting a raid on an orcish slave caravan along the Wild Coast. There is talk that a mole in the organization may be aiding the forces of Turrosh Mak. They ask for your help to fight the evils of the Pomarj.

A one-round core adventure set in the Wild Coast and the Orcish Empire of the Pomarj Tim Sech Tension is high in and around Safeton since the brutal attack on Narwell. The Pomarj is a flurry of activity and the high seas have once again become rife with danger. Whisperings of the Mak making his move, numerous disappearances in the middle of the night, and most disturbing of all, the sighting of ships sailing the yellow flags has the entire region on edge.

A one-round Core adventure set in the Mistmarsh ?¥<thorn>Do not dabble with denizens of forbidden places, lest ye would become one.?¥ÿ ?¥ã Zashnichar A bizarre creature needs help rescuing his master. Not all damsels in distress are as beautiful as the ones in the storybooks but this one may very well give you nightmares! The players of this adventure should be prepared for several unique challenges and puzzles in addition to more typical dangers.

An investigative and roleplay intensive one-round, core adventure set in the Free City of Greyhawk Christian Alipounarian The Free City of Greyhawk can be cruel, and in a place where one can find anything, the hardest thing to obtain might be a second chance. Can you solve a decades-old murder and free a needy soul? It is a loose sequel to COR5-04 Desecrators of the Lord䴜s Tomb; however, it is not necessary to have played that adventure.

The union of two dwarven clans is a momentous occasion, as rare as a precious diamond. This is made even more precious when the union can also serve to bring two countries together in time of need. So the wedding of a prominent clan of dwarves from the Principality of Ulek to the dwarves of Clan Stonecrow carries a special weight. However, there are those who want to see this wedding fail, and those who delight in simple slaughter. The real trick is determining who is who. A terror of the night once thought defeated rises again to threaten the community of Curget in the Good Hills of Keoland. A Keoland regional adventure for APLs 2-12. Note: This adventure will be of particular interest to Clan Stonecrow.

Location

As usual, this Game-a-thon will be held at the Studio of Bridge and Games, in Schenectady, NY. If you need directions, you can click here, or send an email to: directions@swa-gaming.org An automatic reply will immediately be sent to you with detailed directions.

The number at the Studio is: (518) 346-3773

Session Fees

Show up and play both game sessions = $6.00

Full-time students get in for free.

For our purposes, "full-time students" are people in Kindergarten through college. Our intent here is to help allow younger gamers/"new blood" to participate at SWA events, and the gaming hobby in general.

Registration

Our Game-a-thons have generally been pretty casual events; people stroll in and sign up for the event of their choice on-the-spot. Lately, however, attendance has been increasing and more events are filling to maximum and beyond.

If you would like to greatly increase your chance of getting into the game of your choice, you can now formally pre-register online. Payments will be handled through PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can still pay with your credit card.

Online pre-registration is not required. You can still just stroll in and get into a game. But pre-registering is now an option for those who want to take advantage of it.

Follow this link to go to the online registration page. We'll sign you up, but your spot's not guaranteed until we get your payment.

Swap Meet Tables

Three times per year, at the January, April and July Game-a-thons, we will be a Swap Meet area at Game-a-thon. If you've got merchandise you'd like to sell, please consider renting a table or two.

January is a Swap Meet Month!

This is meant to be more of a Swap Meet / Garage Sale atmosphere, and not really intended for full merchant setups.

Each attendee can rent a maximum of three tables. The first costs $2, two cost $10, and three cost $20. As you can see, the price structure encourages individuals to rent few tables.

Each table is (2.5' x 2.5'); a standard card table. Some of them are kinda old and thus not very sturdy. Please keep this in mind when planning what you'll bring for sale.

You can reserve your table(s) ahead of time by using the online registration form. You will see the prices repeated there. Please also note that you have to pay the Game-a-thon registration in addition to the table rental fee if you play games.

You can also rent tables on a walk-in basis, but please remember we'll have no more than eight available for the day; first come, first served.

We suggest that you use our Forum discussion boards to announce what you will/might bring. We suggest posting in the "What's happening this week" category where the Game-a-thons are announced.

(Here's our secret agenda... Not only do we want to help you get rid of gaming stuff you're not using, but we'd also like to see this generate some more walk-in traffic.)

Questions or Comments?

Events at Future Game-a-thons

If you'd like to run a game at a future Game-a-thon, please click here to submit your event online.

You can also email us at your convenience.

You can even call Bill and tell him about your event over the phone - we're flexible!

If you'd like to see a particular game run at a future event, let us know by filling in a Game Request Form here.