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Wednesday nights seem to be popular enough so we will schedule another meetup at our house for Wednesday the day before Thanksgiving. Any of you not on a big holiday trip are welcome. We will most likely have a new game or two from Chicago to share, so it should be a lot of fun.

Please bring the beverage of your choice (adult beverages are fine) as well as a little bit of money to pitch in if you want pizza as we will be getting take and bake pizza for the whole group. You don't have to bring any games unless you specifically want to play one of your own. We will restrict the number of participants to 20 as that is all our house can hold. After we are all done playing games we can watch Glee on Tivo as my wife and I like that show.

10/29 Update:
We got some fun games on our trip to Essen, Germany that we will be playing. If you like to be silly do we have the games for you! We also have some not so silly ones so hopefully you will find a new favorite!

Check out some of the games we will be playing:
Bunny Bunny Moose Moose - This game from the Czech Republic will have everyone laughing and having a good time. You have to be on your toes as you are constantly changing between various bunny ear, moose antler combinations!

A La Carte - This game has been out a while but we have the latest release. Test out your culinary skills with this silly game!

Filipino Fruit Market - The newest trick taking card game with two ways to play!

Power Grid - Factory Manager - Run your own factory by making decisions about what equipment you have in your factory. But be aware of your energy costs!

And many more too!

So we'll see you on Saturday - costumes encouraged but not required. Come early or come late, after you've handed out the candy. Remember, you will get an extra hour of sleep as clocks "fall back"!

Nadine

10/16 Update: Buffalo Games sent us copies of their new game Truth Be Told! We will have LOTS of games to give out as prizes and will probably throw in some homemaid pear-raspberry jam in the mix too!

Don't foget to sign up! Remember, you can come after you go out trick or treating or come early and go trick or treating late - just stop by and play some games & have fun!

Nadine

10/2 Update: We have been given the new game from Out of the Box - Word on the Street - to play and give away at our Halloween meetup! We have also been contacted by Buffalo games and they are sending us copies of their new game too! We will be giving a way new copies of theses games!

Mike and I will also have games we bring back from our trip to Essen, Germany (http://www.merz-verlag.com/spiel/e000.php4)

So, come early or come after you give the candy out. We'll be having fun all night long!

Original posting:
Mark your calendars! Games, Food & Halloween - what can be better?

I'll post more details soon but expect prizes (games) for the best costumes (extra points for game themed costumes), apples to apples bobbing, and every spook, scare, wierd game we have that even remotely fits into the Halloween theme (Ouiji anyone??)

This is an all ages event - families encouraged to attend.

Suggested donation - $5 per family. As always, this is a suggestion.

If you want to help organize or plan please contact Nadine!

Here's the deal: We're extending the evaluation on the two finalist games for the Rio Grande Design contest through all of next week to give everyone a chance to evaluate the games at a time that works for them. Also it will be fun to have a whole week of playing games.

We will be playing the two finalist games Keys to the Czar by Scott Petersen and Master of the Elements by Abe Burson and Blaine Haagenson. We will playtest these games given we have enough players who want to play. However, we will play other games as well. We'll be here to answer questions on rules and set up the games and such but will go out of our way not to sway attendees one way or the other. Think of yourself as playtesting a new fun product.

Also each day we'll take up a collection to order pizza. So bring some games, pizza money, and your own drinks and spend an evening or two with us at our home either playtesting these new games or just playing other fun games.

Here's the playtesting criteria:

1. Understanding the Rules
2. Easy of Play / Playability
3. Interesting / Fitting Mechanics
4. Originality
5. Overall Fun Factor

Each category will be rated on a 5 point scale, with 1 being the low score, 3 being a neutral score, and 5 being the highest score. The category "Overall Fun Factor" is double weighted, so a 1 scores 2 points, 3 scores 6, etc.

Here's the deal: We're extending the evaluation on the two finalist games for the Rio Grande Design contest through all of next week to give everyone a chance to evaluate the games at a time that works for them. Also it will be fun to have a whole week of playing games.

We will be playing the two finalist games Keys to the Czar by Scott Petersen and Master of the Elements by Abe Burson and Blaine Haagenson. We will playtest these games given we have enough players who want to play. However, we will play other games as well. We'll be here to answer questions on rules and set up the games and such but will go out of our way not to sway attendees one way or the other. Think of yourself as playtesting a new fun product.

Also each day we'll take up a collection to order pizza. So bring some games, pizza money, and your own drinks and spend an evening or two with us at our home either playtesting these new games or just playing other fun games.

Here's the playtesting criteria:

1. Understanding the Rules
2. Easy of Play / Playability
3. Interesting / Fitting Mechanics
4. Originality
5. Overall Fun Factor

Each category will be rated on a 5 point scale, with 1 being the low score, 3 being a neutral score, and 5 being the highest score. The category "Overall Fun Factor" is double weighted, so a 1 scores 2 points, 3 scores 6, etc.

After much discussion and deliberation we have decided to nominate two of the games tested for the finals. Anyone attending this meetup will be expected to play both games as their evaluations will determine the winner.

Before the details, first let me thank both those people brave enough to submit a game as everyone else for playing and helping us get to this point. Whereas the "Skins Cards" game was quite enjoyable and would no doubt be a hit for for anyone who needed something fun to do in an icehouse, it really doesn't match the mechanics and gameplay of the line of Rio Grande Games. It is a really good game for what it is - not just a Rio Grande game. Also the Spectra Forma game is a fine game as well, but we just didn't have as much fun with it as the other games.

So the two finalist games are Keys to the Czar by Scott Peterson and Master of the Elements by Abe Burson and Blaine Haagenson. Both games have compelling aspects that are present in all good games. However, my opinions here don't mean anything as Nadine and I will leave it up to our group to determine the winner.

This gathering will be unlike others as those who come will playtest just these games. We'll be here to answer questions on rules and set up the games and such but will go out of our way not to sway attendees one way or the other. Think of yourself as playtesting a new fun product.

Speaking of that, as a bonus we just got a new party game from Buffalo Games called Truth be Told and will be playing that at the end of the evaluation as a fun way to end the day. For those who have played and enjoyed Likewise, this is another fun party game.

So we hope to see many of you this Friday evening. If you are going to attend, please remember that we would like your feedback in order to determine a winner. If we don't get enough attendees or feedback, then we'll schedule another one of these next week.