Game Days
David J Rust
When I initially started up Misfits of Gaming, my hope was that it would gradually develop a core group of participants that would meet, monthly, for board games, table top RPGs, and card games. We had some success but, towards the end, we just didn't have sufficient interest to make it worth my while on weekends. That's why I left the group after a bit.
But, looking at the current difficulties, I'm wondering if perhaps we could all collaborate on a different approach.
What if we -ourselves- created a core group and pulled in our friends and associates to help create that core. We may also want to avoid weekends as that became an issue for myself as well as a few others: people wanted to game with their own gaming groups on the weekends and seemed to be looking for something more on a Friday or Monday night for casual gaming. Perhaps it could even be a weekly thing if we can get a big enough core group so that it wouldn't require everyone's presence each time.
What do you think, everyone?
Perhaps we can discuss this and work on a different approach.
Yours,
David J Rust
============================================================
Geek, Essayist, Web Designer, Writer
Columbia Heights, MN
syl...@gmail.com
============================================================
Kevin McColl
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David J Rust
When you say "A meeting of the minds" you suggest getting together -in full force- to see what we can create? I think that's an excellent idea.
Everyone who receives this email, please respond with a rough idea of your schedule. That way, we can all work out when we could meet to talk all this through.
Here is my information:
I am always free: Tuesday - Friday evenings (after 6:00pm); Saturday and Sunday mornings (between 8:00am and 12Noon)
I can make myself free: Monday evenings (after 6:00pm)
I am otherwise occupied: Every second Saturday (4/2/2011 was the last such date I was busy)
We should also, probably, select a central location. Perhaps we can utilize the GPS offices. I can ask about that to see what's possible.
Thoughts?
Yours,
Dave
chirine bakal
> Good day,
>
> When you say "A meeting of the minds" you suggest getting together -in
> full force- to see what we can create? I think that's an excellent idea.
>
> Everyone who receives this email, please respond with a rough idea of
> your schedule. That way, we can all work out when we could meet to talk all
> this through.
> utilize the GPS offices. I can ask about that to see what's possible.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> Yours,
> Dave
While I do agree that having some sort of meeting would be great (and
my schedule is much the same as yours, by the way), my perception is
that the way the 'split' that created GPS may be one of the problems.
Keeping a game group healthy and active takes time and effort, in my
experience, and (speaking as a gamer of some years) I don't feel that
GPS has much of any interest ***as an organization*** in dealing with
what are in effect non-convention functions. The feedback that I get
from game players that I talk to is that while there may be a lot of
individual interest within GPS in gaming, there's not a lot of
'outreach' to gamers in general going on. This may not be possible to
do within in the organization, but there's also not a lot of
information about what GPS is supposed to be, what's it's supposed to
do, and why it exists.
And yes, I know that there's a website; it's a good one, but the
semantic content is pretty low for non-insiders such as ourselves (the
Aethervox Gamers). If it would be possible to get some clarification
on these questions, and some reasons why people like me and the rest
of the people I game with should support GPS and this group, I think
it'd help a lot.
And it may help to build on the already good work you do at
Convergence to have some sort of programming item or other meeting to
facilitate this; from a 'marketing' standpoint, it'd be handy to do
this as I would think that most of your potential membership is
already on-site.
Thanks again!
yours, Chirine
Kevin McColl
What does 'Global Positioning System' have to do with this?
I assume I am wrong in assuming the meaning of GPS....
My suggestion, is maybe the meeting is to keep minds open, educate,
look at what we have, and think about how to make it a functioning
group.
And it seems once we vent out ideas we can work out the details.
Maybe since this 'Gps' thing, and assuming its not the thing I got in
my car, is a issue....
Maybe just choose a public spot:
A mall food court, library (Like how MISFITS started), or even park if
its nice out...
Although I suggest NOT a park really.
Heck, even a International House of Pancakes, I hear there is one near
the IHOP by the Mall of America.
:-P
Kevin McColl
don g
I get the impression that GPS doesn't include the gaming group - it's
referenced on the site, but in the fashion of "if you're interested in
games there's this (google) group over there you can check out..."
Whether a more inclusive presence (and access) to the GPS machine
would help attendance/participation or not I won't guess at - but I
don't think it would hurt, would it? Dunno...as I've said before: I'm
not great at 'social networking' and all that, so my observations/
opinions should be taken with more than a grain of salt.
I'm willing to supply / run games at any meetings that are decided
upon - I'm afraid that's about as much of a contribution I can offer.
don
Kevin McColl
Nothing more helpful then getting face to face in a relaxed setting.
I think we can kick the thing off well enough, just needs planning a
bit, and ways to improve getting word out once we have plans.
I think we all are in support, just need a good excuse to get running with it.
And as a friend of Dave Arneson, I still think it would be nice to do
something with him in mind. I missed his funeral.
David J Rust
"GPS" is "Geek Partnership Society" ... the new name for "Misfits".
Yours,
Dave
chirine bakal
On Apr 3, 1:12 pm, Kevin McColl <valarc...@gmail.com> wrote:
[snipped]
> And as a friend of Dave Arneson, I still think it would be nice to do
> something with him in mind. I missed his funeral.
Coast, will be at Fantasy Flight Games this Saturday, April 9th, from
ten a.m. on; we'd love to see you there!
yours, Chirine
don g
> The Aethervoxes and I, along with some friends of Dave from the West
> Coast, will be at Fantasy Flight Games this Saturday, April 9th, from
> ten a.m. on; we'd love to see you there!
legasy (beyond those tied to genes), but I would appreciate the chance
to honor the man, so I plan / hope to be there.
Should I bring anything?
don
chirine bakal
> I have to work at 5, and have no ties whatsoever to Dave and his
> legasy (beyond those tied to genes), but I would appreciate the chance
> to honor the man, so I plan / hope to be there.
>
> Should I bring anything?
> don
we had with Dave over the years, and the passion and creativity he
brought to gaming. We're doing two tables, and each game is set up so
that people can drop in, play for a bit in the mayhem, and drop out
again if they have to leave or just want to socialize. I run these
like the Braunstein-style games that his friend Dave Westly used to
run, and which inspired Dave to create his Blackmoor game setting. (We
know what that led to!) The emphasis is on fun and creativity, just
like the way Dave ran his own games.
yours, jeff
don g
Bottom line: you won't find another from the 'fun and creativity' era
greater than I - no false modesty intended.
Kevin McColl
on the group or could someone post it.
Just to be safe, that way I can put into my GPS.
lol.
chirine bakal
> Just making sure, the address for the event on the 9th, is it listed
> on the group or could someone post it.
>
> Just to be safe, that way I can put into my GPS.
> lol.
access to that post, so...
" The address is 1975 Oakcrest Avenue, Suite 10; for more information
on the center, have a look at their website:
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_npm.asp?eidm=13
We have booked the upper Mezzanine level for the event, as befits the
high standards of gaming that Dave set. (That's our story, anyway,
and
we're sticking to it.) We'll bring all the needful, and all you need
to do is show up and have fun. "
The zip code is 55113, I think, but I don't know the lat/long numbers
for the location; you may be able to get those off Google for entering
into the GPS system. It's in Roseville, MN, just north of Highway 36;
go north on Fairview from 36, and turn west on Oakcrest; 1975 will be
about two blocks up, on the north side of the street. They also have
maps on their website as well.
yours, Chirine
David J Rust
Does someone have Elliot James' email address off-hand? I think that, since he's the leader of the club, we should coordinate with him and meet up to see what we can do to get this back on its feet.
I sent an email to a GPS officer to find out if we can get some space at the GPS offices for such a meeting.
Let's see if we can get this thing working again. I don't want to take it over but I'm thinking I should spare the time to help out.
Yours,
Dave
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Andy Murphy
<Official GPS Hat on>
Hello to David, Kevin, Don, Citrine, Elliott and others!
I'm Andy Murphy, a GPS Director and a member of MISFITS of Gaming. Let me see if I can answer some concerns and questions about GPS and MISFITS of Gaming are connected, and what resources GPS has to offer.
First, a little background:
The Geek Partnership Society (GPS) is built on the legacy of MISFITS (Minnesota Society for the Interest in Science Fiction and Fantasy), the year-round part of the parent organization that ran CONvergence in the beginning of 2010.
During the first 6 months as a separate entity, GPS, with our partners, Anime Twin Cities and Convergence Events, the new name of CONvergence, jointly secured the Event Horizon, a community center located on the corner of Central and Broadway in NE Mpls.
Since 2010, GPS has grown from a small 20-25 person, 1-2 event per month, organization into a much larger 120+ organization running events 3-5 times per week. This growth spurt has caused us to focus our attentions to getting the Event Horizon running, securing of funding, and all of the other minutiae of growing, marketing, and funding.
During this time, and to me, inexcusably, GPS has not had bandwidth or done a good job at supporting the clubs as they deserve.
My 2011 goal is to rectify this error. I've met with Elliott twice recently, and engaged two additional staff people who are VERY interested in growing the RPG portion of the gaming, as a precursor to building the boardgaming and other aspects of the club.
Paul Duncan, a recent addition to the GPS staff, has suggested that GPS host a DM's forum in May as an inaugural event for reconstituting MISFITS of Gaming. We are meeting again this week to create project plans for discussion with Elliott.
Second, current offerings:
The first offering to GPS Clubs is the use of the Event Horizon. The space is available for gaming events, whether they are an evening or a larger weekend events.
Second, and this has been a VERY recent development, we have had some volunteers begin to connect and help put together gamers in our community to help build a network of contacts.
Third, we have some new resources for marketing, and publicizing events. Again, these people are recent additions to the staff, and we are still creating the new materials and ideas.
Dave, Elliott, Ken, and Don (and anyone else who is interested), I’d like to meet and hear your ideas. I’d like to offer the Event Horizon as a venue for a meeting; this way I can show you the building.
In summary, as a gamer, and DM, I'm hoping that we will have a chance to bring together a much larger gaming environment in the Cities. I see a lot of work in the upcoming months, and would love to get input from all of you to make this a success!
Kevin McColl
I had wondered what had happened to Misfits, I dropped out of the
group around 2002-2003.
Mainly due to dropping any mailings, news, and general confusion during then.
Ran a lot for the group back then, some will likely remember me as a
hard worker who got results.
I look forward to see what is improving.
On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 2:39 PM, Andy Murphy <wmam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <Official GPS Hat on>
>
> Hello to David, Kevin, Don, Citrine, Elliott and others
>
Kevin McColl
on a Saturday I am not up til 1 pm.....
Tried calling if it was still going on, got answering machine.
Chirine ba Kal
>Sorry for not making it. I realized you started at 10 am... Normally
>on a Saturday I am not up til 1 pm.....
Not a problem! We started the load-in at ten, when FFG opened, and
started the first game at noon. That went till about six, and then the
second game went from seven to ten thirty. We loaded out at eleven pm,
and everyone seemed to have a good time.
>Tried calling if it was still going on, got answering machine.
Oh! Did you call FFG? They have some problems with people being
directed to their office number, rather then the Event Center's phone
number. For future events, I'll publish our own number for people to
call for updates...
yours, Chirine
Kevin McColl
don g
a minor bug and didn't think it wise to share the experience!
Looking forward to whatever 'let's get together' meeting that can be
arranged at the GPS event center.
Don
Bob Wagner
scenario that I want to run for CON this year either in May or June. One
spoiler to it; Bruce Campbell as a playable character. If I can get 6
people to express interest on the list I'll cheerfuly run it but would
prefer The Source due to transportation issues.
Rachel Kronick
For the past several years, I've been on a series of GMing panels at
Convergence that have been quite popular. Beth Kinderman has also been a
staple of these panels. If you're thinking of a panel about GMing (no
need to restrict it to DMing, I think), I'd be willing to be on it,
schedule allowing, and it'd be cool if Beth could be, too.
Also, a few years ago at Convergence, I was on a gamer meet-and-greet
panel where we created a list of people looking for games. Finding
players is one of the hardest things to do in starting a game, and it'd
be great if GPS offered an online bulletin board for this purpose. Maybe
a wiki? Just not a blog-style format... chronological organization is
not what you want when looking for players/groups/GMs.
It would be nice to see Misfits of Gaming become active. It's always
felt like GPS gives short shrift to gaming.
-- Rachel Kronick
<http://www.jiawen.net/sfrpg.html>
> Dave, Elliott, Ken, and Don (and anyone else who is interested), I�d like to
> meet and hear your ideas. I�d like to offer the Event Horizon as a venue
chirine bakal
yours, Chirine
> > meet and hear your ideas. I d like to offer the Event Horizon as a venue
>
> > In summary, as a gamer, and DM, I'm hoping that we will have a chance to
> > bring together a much larger gaming environment in the Cities. I see a lot
> > of work in the upcoming months, and would love to get input from all of you
> > to make this a success!
>
>
> >> Hello, all,
>
> >> Does someone have Elliot James' email address off-hand? I think that,
> >> since he's the leader of the club, we should coordinate with him and meet up
> >> to see what we can do to get this back on its feet.
>
> >> I sent an email to a GPS officer to find out if we can get some space at
> >> the GPS offices for such a meeting.
>
> >> Let's see if we can get this thing working again. I don't want to take it
> >> over but I'm thinking I should spare the time to help out.
>
> >> Yours,
> >> Dave
>
Bob Wagner
who I am, up until last year I was the volunteer generally known as "The
Munchkin Guy" . Now, while circumstances caused a falling out between
myself and Steve Jackson Games I'm still a major volunteer at the Con
and am planning to continue to run games both at the event and during
the rest of the year. If there is talk of a GM'ing panel I'd like to be
on it if possible. Also, in the spirit of keeping gaming year round I'd
like to let the list know that I run card games at The Source most
Fridays. No SJG anymore I'm afraid but still a pretty nice mix of other
stuff. Anyone who wants to drop by is welcome to do so. Just look for
the big yellow box on the table nearest the vending machines.
Bob Wagner
Kevin McColl
zoo...@hotmail.com
Yes please, an online bullitin board would be great.
With my life being crazy chaos, and being stuck way out in Edina with no car, I haven't been able to go the Source, but I've been lurking and reading. I wish I could contribute to or participate in this group.
The gaming panels at CONvergence have all been really great.
~Ellen S.
----------------------------------------
> Date: Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:24:39 -0700
> Subject: Re: GPS and gaming
>
> I'd like to second Rachel's comments, and strongly support them!
>
> yours, Chirine
>
> > > On Mon, Apr 4, 2011 at 7:35 AM, David J Rust wrote:
> >
> > >> Hello, all,
> >
> > >> Does someone have Elliot James' email address off-hand? I think that,
> > >> since he's the leader of the club, we should coordinate with him and meet up
> > >> to see what we can do to get this back on its feet.
> >
> > >> I sent an email to a GPS officer to find out if we can get some space at
> > >> the GPS offices for such a meeting.
> >
> > >> Let's see if we can get this thing working again. I don't want to take it
> > >> over but I'm thinking I should spare the time to help out.
> >
> > >> Yours,
> > >> Dave
> >
Elliott James
Word of warning I'm a CPA specialising in taxation so this is not a good
time for me right now.
I am excited about the deveoplements that Andy has brought to your attention
BUT I do want to say something about the current state of play form my point
of view.
As some of you know, I have, for the past 21 months, been trying to get
interest in Misfits of Gaming going in the Twin Cities.
Support for the GPS management has been first class, thank you Andy and
David et al. Support from the general membership, has, to put it bluntly
been appalling.
We have Don, who designs and runs gret 'beer and pretzel' games, he has
turned up at the Source to put on games regularly only to have no support
from the membership.
The only reason this group has carried on as long as it has is thanks to The
Centurion a local wargaming group, who have put on fairly regular historical
games.
I had a DM desperate for plays. He approached me because I was the
representative of a so-called �community�. On his behalf I made a series of
requests was put out through this message board. It was the same either no
response, or the cries of �but I don�t have a car� or �it�s the wrong day�
and as for the rest, noting. In the end, he too had to look to the
historical gamers for support.
The Source has already asked me to give up space because they have other
active groups who need the tables. I have done so because you are not
supporting the events.
On Sunday 10th April, I was not able to run a game but I did look in at the
Source. No one from Misfits/GPS showed up, I confirmed this a few days later
when I talked to John who books the space.
We have space at the Source through June. I have, at present, I plan to drop
the number of tables of requested further after that date to give it to
other groups who want to play at the Source because obviously GPS membership
isn't interested in supporting what Don and I have tried to run..
From my point of view I hear a lot of talk about how �We are a Community!�
Well people talk is cheap, e-mail cheaper and I see damned little evidence
of a real gaming community during the nearly two years I�ve fronting up the
group.
Elliott James,
Hi all,
__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature
database 6037 (20110412) __________
The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.
Kevin McColl
own Eregion, you can not rely on just one form of getting word out.
I am not saying anything about what the group has done or is doing, as
I only just discovered it.... but throwing what I know off the top of
my head.
I know the typical RPSIG meeting was generally 20-30 people at its
best before I started, but once things got rolling we doubled or
tripled. It was not uncommon to have standing room only in the
meeting room before we broke up to the various games. (Un-officially
it got up to over 100 at a meeting)
:::::
News letters helps, and trying to get anyone to write anything may
seem like major surgery, but it can be done.
Flyer's, even if its just to tag you groups name, message, and if
there is contact information.
Word of mouth at gatherings anywhere. That is easier to do on College
campuses or even MISFITS events.
Consistency, if you set every month, keep every month. And do not
change the consistency, that can kill a audience. Just as the SciFi
channel learned with its various shows (Or as my facegroup {SaveSciFi}
poses KNEW and intended) it will loose support to its core. It is too
easy to wimp out on various meetings, and unless you are in the know
may never realize something happened. Some may have heard of the
group and it might take awhile to finally show up, and if they hear
its once every 2nd week of any month and they show up, they will
spread word the group is dead even when it is not.
One way to help with that is to have a CONSISTENT message board. That
way they KNOW if a meeting changes, and the more time the better, they
know where to look. Generally announce 3 weeks out any changes at the
VERY least. People need 2 weeks to alter work schedules, and likely a
week to negotiate with others to arrange that... Often I would hear
of Misfits changes 1-2 weeks out and it would be too late to alter
work, a immediate rejection by my boss. One of the reasons I kinda
dropped out of the group I feel I helped in its early days, and the
leaderships seemed to not understand this rule.
I still think we need a head banging meeting to gather the talents of
those interested in helping the groups leaders, offer our time and
talent.
It is my hope this will expand and improve the chances this can grow.