14 thoughts on “Tabletop Day Success: “I just spent 9 hours with complete strangers playing games I have never seen before, and not once did I feel uncomfortable.””

1. I spent 9 hours yesterday running two back-to-back Dragon Age sessions for complete strangers, which is something I had never done before and was rather nervous about. Both sessions were awesome and I had several new facebook friend requests when I got home, without even having given them my last name.

2. I did exactly the same at Leisure Games in London. I knew the shop but I didn’t know any of the people I gamed with. Games on offer were: Gloom, Dixit, 7 Wonders, Dominion, Apples to Apples and many others.
   A few photos are here.

3. It’s true, though. I met up with a couple from my church, and even though I’m a lot younger than them, they taught me some great games. I learned how to play Settlers of Catan. I’m still in awe over the awesomness of the games.
   Even though I thought it would be awkward and uncomfortable, I realized just how well a (fun!) common interest brings everyone together.
   It was the best night. I had the most fun I can remember having in a long time
   Katherine

4. We had a “normal” day of DnD yesterday but it was as much fun as always. We invited over a newbie DM to watch and get idea’s and strategies from the old fogies we are. Passing it on to the next generation 🙂

5. I had a similar experience. Fellow gamers welcomed my family, and we taught each other new games. I am pretty shy, but found myself playing Ticket to Ride with strangers who were very patient and encouraging. Never would have gone without. TableTop Day.

6. I agree. I spent 9 hours at my local store. Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne here in NC, playing a metric F-ton of new games. What really made it great was my 12 year old daughter came along with me and we had a blast. I also met some new gamers. It was great making new friends. The only downside is that my wife will probably divorce me after I buy all the new games I fell in love with. 😉

7. Yeah, I had a lot of fun learning Munchkin with random strangers. I picked up a copy of the game on the way out

8. I didn’t play with strangers, just with my husband, who is an avid board gamer and got me introduced to the Euro game genre (among others). We played Lords of Waterdeep and For Sale together. Next year we plan on hosting a strategy board game tournament at our place. I would’ve hung out at the local board game shop (Guardian Games), but was busy being geeky at a space museum with family who were visiting that day. Needless to say, my husband and I play board games weekly with one of our good friends, so TableTop day just encouraged what we already did. Between the three of us, we have over 100 games and are constantly playing new ones. Our current favorites are Infinite Cities, For Sale, Ra, and Ticket to Ride Africa.

9. I just got a message on BoardGameGeek.com from one of the guys I played several games with yesterday, asking if we could make it a more regular thing. I also was approached about the possibility of becoming a rep for one of the game companies for games we played. On Friday I registered for my first gaming convention. I am so excited about all of these things, Gaming is just the gift that keeps on giving.

10. My big story about International Tabletop Day is that i got the chance to try out a new game to me. It was a first edition copy of Dungeon! from 1975, ten years before I was born. The board was just paper with no cardboard like you see now, all the rooms had their own separate prize cards and monster cards, which took time to set up. There was no real set design aside from small pictures on the cards and a cobblestone pattern for the spaces. I played it and had an absolute blast, so much that I went in halfway with my friend to buy the recent re-release.

11. TabeTopDay was really great. I know, I already said Thank You on your blog and on the Geek&Sundry channel, but I have to say it again: Awesome day!

    In fact, I started off at 2 in the morning with my regular game of DnD on Roll20. I play this game with a GM, who lives in Japan, a player from Australia and two players from the States. And because I live in Austria, we’re kinda scattered all over time zones. After that session, I played games pretty much all day long, only pausing for one game of football (soccer, that is – it’s a game, too!!) to watch and your live stream. Today, however, my parents will come to visit as they always do on Easter, so my TableTopDay will go into overtime. 😉

    Once again, a big Thank You to everyone making this possible. I would love to someday read a couple of behind-the-scenes looks at how you managed all the stuff you did. From streaming an awesome show to giving all the shops those packages and from inviting all the ‘nerd celebrities’ to organising the events. So if someday you have a minute or two to reflect on yesterday, I’m sure such a blog post would be much appreciated. Maybe you could even get Boyan (is that how you spell it?) as a guest blogger to tell his story of how he got the stores on deck? If not, tell him that he has the deepest respect from the community, especially from those of us who know how much of a pain in the ass it can be to micromanage several hundred ‘units’.

12. It is one thing to have a successful show, but to have one that makes such a positive impact on people’s lives, well that is just icing on the cake. Get started on a “TabletTop” book with these stories in it along with the cast and crew comments. I will pre-order this book as soon as I am allowed. (Shut up and take my money)

13. First of all, Wil and Felicia – thank you both for creating Tabletop Day. It’s a great holiday which I hope will be celebrated annually from now on.

    Since my local game shop is oblivious of Tabletop existence, not to mention the new Geek Holiday, my Tabletop Day was actually a Friday Night. However, we finished well after midnight so it still counts. It was the first time I GM-ed Dragon Age RPG and we had lot of fun – so thanks for that!

    I spent saturday glued to my computer screen, watching Tabletop Day live coverage. It was amazing. Felicia, Amy, Anne, Colin and Wil – you were all fantastic – great job! Anne, you made my day by adding googly eyes to your cup and then Anne Wheatoning Star Trek: Catan. Also I really liked Once Upon a Time game – I would love to play it!

    Thanks for everything! I hope we’ll have even more fun next year!

14. Unfortunately the choice was between gaming and going to the last weekend of the Arizona Renaissance Festival. As the ren fest is in it’s 25th year, and I’ve gone every year it’s been there, we ren fested. We tried to get to our fav game store, The Game Depot in Tempe, AZ after pizza, but they closed promptly at 6pm to get up early for Easter services.

    So suggestion for next year: don’t schedule it against Easter. I wouldn’t speculate how many stores closed early, but Game Depot is frequently open until midnight on Saturdays except when major religious events are on Sunday.

    But we did play Forbidden Island on this trip with my parents, that was fun. VERY narrow win.

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