For Immediate Release

 

March 7, 2014

It’s time once again for games, games, and more games! Last year, the folks over at Geek & Sundry announced an ambitious initiative to encourage people the world over to get together and enjoy a common interest of dice & meeples, cards and cardboard. They designated it International TableTop Day. They hoped it would foster a fun and collaborative effort between gamers, stores, publishers, and people who only knew of tabletop gaming from their childhood days playing Monopoly.

By all margins, it was a fantastic success. So they’re doing it again, on Saturday, April 5th, 2014.

We here at The Cardboard Republic felt it was a great idea last year, and we teamed up with the resident gaming club at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (Master’s Gaming Konnection) for our very own local TableTop Day event. Our collaborative goal was to raise awareness of all the positive aspects gaming brings while having a great time in the process.

By our own margins, this was also a fantastic success. So we’re doing it again too!

This year, from Noon until 11PM (that’s 11 hours), we will be once again commandeering the McGauvran Student Center building on UML’s South Campus, located at 71 Wilder St, Lowell, MA 01854 (Google Maps view). We are inviting you to come spend the day with us and to bring your own games to share with others!

To let us best prepare, let us know you plan on attending. You can do that through the TableTop Day web event, through our Facebook Event Page, or by contacting us below.

 

Additional details on the event are as follows:

Is there a cost to attend?

Nope. Still totally free.

What about parking?

As this is a weekend event, parking will be available at the Visitors section of Dugan Hall, behind Coburn Hall, or on the Riverview or Wilder parking lots. All parking is free. On-street parking is not permitted.

Do I have to be a UML student to attend?

Not at all! This event is open to all gamers and newcomers in the area looking to spend some quality hours with others over d20s, meeples, worker units, and everything else under the corrugated rainbow.

Are there food options on-site?

The building itself only has a couple vending machines, but there is dining cafe right next door. Additionally, there are numerous food options off-site just a few minutes from campus. Or you can bring your own. Whatever works. A fed gamer is a happy gamer.

What games are being offered?

At a minimum we are going to be running a Games Library for the day, but we’ll need your help to do it! We will have a pool of games available by those willing to lend some of theirs for the day, including some of our own games and those of the UML gaming club. The more contributions, the more options there are!

We also encourage everyone attending to bring some of their own favorite board games, cards games, and tabletops with them to share. We will have folks manning the station so that none of them go and wander off while you’re busy having fun.

This will allow you to play some games you might not otherwise get a chance to while introducing others to those you find so entertaining. This is similar to how many gaming conventions do gaming libraries, if you have ever been to ones in the region such as TempleCon, TotalCon, or PAX East.

What about lengthy or pen & paper games?

It’s true that many games don’t wrap up in a 30-120 minute window. For games known to take some dedication such as Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium, Eclipse, Civilization, or tabletop One-Shot campaigns, some preparation will be needed.

We will be gauging interest on these as the event draws closer and arrange a set time if enough people are interested.

If you are interested in running such a game, please contact us and let us know the game you’re looking to run, number of player slots, approximate time you wish to run it, and reliable contact information. If you’re looking to do a tabletop, we highly encourage short campaigns and/or those with pre-made characters.

We encourage you to attend! If it’s not possible, we still hope you can make TableTop Day happen in your own way.

 

 

Contact Information:

Ryan LaFlamme, The Cardboard Republic – ryan@cardboardrepublic.com

Matt Cusworth, Master’s Gaming Konnection – mcusworth@gmail.com

 

About Us:

Founded in 2012 and based out of Lowell, MA, The Cardboard Republic aims to be a credible site for gaming-related news, reviews, articles, and more. With decades of collective experience, our team hopes to bring our own voice to the world of non-video games. This includes all manner of card games, board games, and conventional pen & paper tabletops, with a special focus on independent game designers.

Formed in eons past by powerful mages whose names have been lost to time, the Master’s Gaming Konnection has been a staple student organization at UML since at least the mid 1980’s. Initially founded for the sole purpose of playing tabletop RPGs, the club quickly evolved to be encompassing of all sorts of games and gamers alike.

 

The Fine Print: The Cardboard Republic is hosting this event at the consent of the UML gaming club and by extension, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell. We are not a vendor, and we are not executing this event as such. While adequate precautions will be taken to house and care for games while temporarily in our possession, members of The Cardboard Republic, the UML gaming club, or the school will not be held liable for lost, stolen, or damaged personal property.