Dedicated to supporting and expanding the gaming community at Penn State.
Okay, first off - to those who were worried about GAPS Open Gaming not occurring anymore after my last email & post: Open Gaming is NOT canceled! It was never canceled. I couldn't cancel it even if I wanted to (which I don't).
To those who responded about this weekend's poker tournament cancellation - that legitimately had to be canceled, as we couldn't hold it without LateNight's approval. So, I'm sorry, but there will be no tournament this weekend.
About all the other events I canceled - yeah, I went sorta rage quit there, huh. Just finding out about the poker tourney situation (by accident - I happened to notice it wasn't in the Collegian ad for LateNight and checked into it), along with a horrible, miserable weekend, lots of work, no sleep, and very real brewing problems what's been going on in the club resulted in that email Monday. Though it may not have been the best approach to air any problems, it did kick-start some action by our officers... and it looks like things are on the road to being fixed.
So, we actually had a nice discussion at our office hours tonight and cleared up some issues. And next week we will be having a full officer meeting to hopefully clear up the rest... and then there are the events I canceled....
Well the Poker Tourneys originally this Friday and November 13 are still canceled....but new ones have been scheduled instead (okay, I guess you could call it rescheduling them...). They will be held on November 6 and December 4. They have already been set up with LateNight, so that won't be a problem again. And with the officer meeting next week, and increased awareness of the need for officer participation, I should have help so that I can run then more organized than our first tournament.
The Settlers of Catan tournament... I received some notice of disappointment in it's cancellation as well - so let me do this: I will hold the tournament if enough people register for it in advance. To register, just go into the appropriate thread on our forums and post there. I am switching the date though. Because we're doing a poker tourney on the 6th of November now, I'd like to move it to another weekend... so I'll hold the tourney on the 14th. Again it will be on Saturday, in the Waring Study Lounge, during regular open gaming, and starting at 6PM. And again, only if enough people register will it actually happen.
Finally the Halloween Gaming Night. Wow. Okay, I've heard more responses about this than anything else. Okay... um, as of right now most of it remains canceled. However:
The costume contest will occur. So wear your costumes if you want.
The horror-themed gaming - maybe, well probably.... I'll let you know after this weekend whether I'll bother setting that up.
and my Zombie Apocalypse RPG - okay, I may be willing to run that as well, if I get sufficient people. Again, you must fill out a registration form (found on the forums) and PM it to me (also on the forums). When you register, also post a message in the thread (like "application sent", or "I'm in" or something)... and those of you who have already registered, please do so as well so I know you're still planning to participate if it occurs. Also enough applications MUST be received by this Sunday for me to consider holding it. Applications will still theoretically be accepted after Sunday (up until right before the day of the event), but I cannot guarantee you won't start out "infected" or dead or on fire if you do. If you register after Sunday, I also cannot guarantee that the game will occur either... so if you want to play, you should register by then. And you should play. Its fun. Ask anyone who's played before.
Anyway, I hope that alleviates some fears of GAPS being crippled and collapsed.
- Evil
Okay, so apparently there was a failure to inform Latenight of our Poker Tournament again, as its not listed in on any of their stuff for the upcoming weekend..... So, as we obviously can't run it if LateNight doesn't set up for it or advertise it, the Poker tournament that was scheduled to be this Friday, October 23 is canceled. Also, the Poker Tournament on November 13 is canceled... and the Halloween Gaming event on October 31 is canceled - including my Zombie Apocalypse RPG. And the Settlers of Catan Tournament on November 7 is canceled. And (to those who were involved) my Wednesday night Doom campaign is canceled.
I will be running no more events until I can determine that there are more than the roughly 5 regular, active, participating members that I can think of - not including those who just come to maybe play simple party-type games while discussing their lives with green and orange fashion accessories or those that just wanna play Betrayal over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again - and any other officers that will actually do anything more than simply intermittently (and never punctually) being in the same room as GAPS.
- Evil
Well this past week we had two events: our first Poker Tournament of the semester and a Munchkin Tournament.
Our Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament turned out really well... in that we filled up to maximum participants (80) and had to turn people away. Plans are underway to increase our capacity for the remainder of our tournaments.
Our Munchkin tournament however... busted. We had one game of 5 people. Yay. To be fair though, I didn't advertise it at all (save for on the listserv and website), and it was Parents and Families Weekend, which caused some people to be unable to attend. Oh well.
Our next event will be another Texas Hold'em Tournament on the 23rd of October, and then our special Halloween Gaming Night on the 31st. (see previous News for details).
Oh, and a reminder the GAPS Member Discount Cards are on sale (for $5). Some may be hesitant to purchase one due to one of our sponsors - Nittany Line Hobbies - being sorta in flux with regard to their existance... but its still very useful at our other sponsors - Comic Swap, Websters Bookstore Cafe, Philly Pretzel Factory, What-A-Blast Laser Tag Arena - and could save you lots of money if you frequent any of them. Hell, if you get the special at the Philly Pretzel Factory twice, you've already made up for the cost of the card!
Ah, and new photos have been added to our photo albums... so go check those out if you would.
Anyway, thats about it for now.
- Evil
Hey everyone!
Four weeks from today, on Saturday, October 31, GAPS will be holding a special Halloween Gaming Night. I'm announcing it this early so people have time to prepare, and to register for one of the events... which I'll get to shortly...
So what will be going on at the GAPS Halloween Gaming Night?
Well, first we will be featuring the games we have that are Horror-themed - including: Mall of Horror, Zombies!!!, Spooks, Betrayal at the House on the Hill, Arkham Horror, Last Night on Earth, etc. Also probably, sigh... Werewolves.
I will also feature otherwise normal games with special variants based on horror (mostly zombie) themes, such as: Zombie Risk, Zombie Settlers of Catan, etc.
Also there will be a costume contest going on. So please, wear a costume to GAPS.... it is Halloween and all. I will judge who has the best costume, funniest costume, most realistic costume, gayest costume, etc.
Finally, I will be running my very special RPG, Zombie Apocalypse: Penn State. This is a large-scale RPG which will take the course of the night (and possibly a couple weeks afterward). It is designed such that everyone present at GAPS can play, and while playing other games (with minimal interruption). When it is your "turn" to do stuff, I just come over to wherever you are and go from there. You don't know what other players are doing, unless you are with them in the game.
Basically, you are... you. A student at Penn State, or employee, or townie.... whatever you are in reality. You have no "stats" or "levels" or any of that crap. Again, you are you. Whatever abilities or equipment you have in reality are the abilities and equipment you have in the game.
Now in order to play in the rpg, one must register by filling a detailed (and super serious) questionnaire. This questionnaire can be found on the GAPS forums. To register you must submit the questionnaire to me via PM on the forums! That means if you haven't registered on the forums yet, you will have to if you want to play!
The questionnaire contains detailed questions that would allow others to very easily stalk you (but are essential for my setting up the game correctly), so please do not post your filled out responses directly to the thread as... well, you probably don't want all that info available for all to see... especially with all those creepers and apparently also Creepstners around... I mean, its bad enough that I see it, right?
Note: though you don't have to be a student in order to play, you do have to have a reason to be on campus any given day - like being a Faculty member, or Staff, or an insane preacher guy yelling at students that they're going to hell.... whatever. If you aren't but would still like to participate, just let me know on the questionnaire and I'll make you a fake student (or fake employee) with a fake schedule for the game. Also, if you live too far away from campus (i.e. not in State College), I may "move" you closer or give you random on-campus housing.
Alright, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
- Evil
Our first Poker tournament was supposed to be held this weekend, but due to LateNight not being informed in time (bad Fil), it has been pushed back to next week. So, to clarify:
GAPS Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament
Friday, October 2
@ HUB 1st Floor
Sign-up begins at 9:30PM
Tournament starts at 10PM
Max participants is roughly 80 people, so you might want to try to get there earlier to ensure a spot. There will be prizes for winners, and they are yet to be determined.
GAPS Member Discount Cards will be going on sale this Wednesday. Anyone who wishes to pick one up can come to our office hours on Wednesday and purchase one. Our office hours are 6PM-8PM in 319 HUB, for those who don't know. You can also just purchase them during our regular GAPS events. Our Member Discount Cards cost $5 and are good for various discounts/deals at the following places:
Nittany Line Hobbies
Comic Swap
Webster's Bookstore Cafe
What-a-Blast Extreme Laser Tag Arena
Philly Pretzel Factory
Note: the Discount Cards are not required for membership in the club, but are great for those who buy games or gaming supplies. And even if you don't buy much gaming stuff, purchasing one helps the club by allowing us to afford new games, prizes for tournaments, supplies, advertising costs, etc. So, if you can, pick one up and support GAPS!
One of our new sponsors is the What-a-Blast Laser Tag place, and I'd like to organize at least one GAPS-run event there this semester (probably on a Sunday afternoon, as thats like the only time I may be free- though I could get someone else to run it if need be, and you can always form groups and go yourself). So, I'd like to see how much interest there would be in that.. If you'd like to see or participate in a GAPS Laser Tag event, please email me.
Let me know if you have any questions/comment/concerns on anything above.
Oh, and one final note: Join the forums (if you haven't already)! They are.... shiny! And not full of spambots!
- Evil
Not a whole lot of news this past week. Our last LateNight gaming was again broken up due to fights breaking out in the HUB. As amusing as seeing the police tackle people is, hopefully it won't occur yet again this weekend.
Our Arkham Horror night was become quite popular, with Sunday's meeting having a slight overcapacity of members wanting to play. We made it work, though it went rather slow. Anyone who hasn't attended is still very free, and encouraged) to join us, but its asked that you let me know (by emailing me) that you're coming so I can ensure we have enough sets there for everyone.
Still no news about plans for an RPG mixer event or Minis mixer.... We'll keep you updated on any plans, if they get made. There's also been rumors of a Bacon LARP at some point... we'll see if that happens as well. As mentioned already, we'll be doing 3 poker tournaments this semester, the first one being held on September 25, a Munchkin Tournament on October 3, a Settlers tournament in November,and a Halloween theme night on... well, Halloween. Ideas or suggestions for other events are always welcome, just email me.
- Evil
We had our first LateNight Gaming of the semester on Friday night, followed by our first Open Gaming in Waring on Saturday, and both turned out pretty well.... that is until the HUB was shut down before the end of the night due to multiple fights breaking out following a concert. Yeah that was, um... fun. Yeah.... Oh, and in Waring the ceiling was leaking/collapsing right near the entrance. Good stuff there. Oh, and Marissa will be back to pick you up in five minutes.
To those who attended for the first time, I hope you had a good time, and hopefully you'll join us again next weekend. Same times, same places.
Sometime in the next week the officers should be meeting to plan out more things for the semester. Poker tournaments have already been discussed, and it looks like we'll be doing three this semester, with the first one will be held on September 25. A Settlers tournament is being planned for November, possibly a Zombie/Horror themed night on Halloween, and maybe a Munchkin tournament at some time to be determined. Gary should be working on planning the RPG mixer event, and Carl should be working on a Minis mixer of some sort to be held sometime in the next couple weeks. Any other ideas or suggestions for events are always greatly welcome, just email me.
Thats all for now, see ya next weekend!
- Evil
Welcome back everyone!
The student Involvement Fair was held today, and turned out to be a pretty great success, even though preparation for it was pretty... nonexistant. Fil threw together a rather ghetto-looking table, but managed to score well with lots of signups. So, good job Fil!
Our first official gaming of the semester will be this Friday, August 28th during LateNight at the HUB. And we (hopefully) will be doing our regular Saturday Gaming in Waring Commons (if we're unable to reserve it for this weekend, we'll let you know).
The officers should be meeting soon to plan out our other events for the semester (especially things like our Poker Tournaments). If you have any specific ideas or suggestions for events please contact me (Evil) and I'll try to make it happen, maybe.
- Evil
President: Fil Fernandes
Vice President: Henry Guth
Secretary: Adam Love
Treasurer: Phill Krosnar
Events Director: Evil
RPGs Director: Gary DeNardo
Minis Games Director: Carl W. Hayman III
Video Games Director: Ryan Misner
LARP Games Director: Sam Larsen
Gaming Assistant Officer: Reagan Furbish
If you are interested in one of these, please contact me (Evil) ASAP!
That is all.
- Evil