Gamers are social creatures, and so are Cubs fans

For the next session of Chgowiz's The Dark Ages campaign, we've been invited to join a larger gaming meetup group that's congregating at a bar in Chicago. We've been told that there's a decent-sized area full of couches and whatnot set aside for us in the rear of the pub, which is a really nice thing for them to do. I plan to reward this tavern's proprietors by spending freely my hard-earned gold coins.

But the opportunity to rub elbows with the non-gaming masses really piques the interest in my inner sociologist. I mean, this is a bar, and on the night of our game, it will probably be packed with Cubs fans cheering on the home team. This is Chicago, after all. I'd cheer 'em on too, if I had any interest in sports. As it was, our campaign's email list was full of pithy comments like "I'm going to bring my +1 dagger just in case we have to fight off a mob of rowdy Cubs fans. If we can find a bottleneck, they can't flank us..." and "don't worry, I got x4 damage from my backstab ready if they make it through the door."

We've been told that the larger meetup group includes more than a few old-school D&D players from the days of yore, so it's possible we might get a few drop-in players. This is perfect because Mike's campaign is set up to easily accomodate new folks. But what will the non-gamers think? Will they drift over to our table and spill beer on our minis (thus requiring me to LARP a tavern brawl)? Will they be ensorceled by Mike's GM style, with its curious waving of arms and pointing of fingers? Or will we merely be a curiosity, like the guy in the corner who's waaay to into his game of Golden Tee?

Time will tell. I hope to report back after Tuesday's game, with photos.

When the stars are right

Every now and then, things in my everyday life line up in serendipitous ways that make me really pleased that I'm part of this hobby. This weekend held one such event—I visited the Volo Bog, a natural wetlands area about 45 miles north of Chicago.

Bogs and marshes occupy a hallowed—one might say unhallowed—position in fantasy gaming. The haunt of ghouls, specters and wraiths, these watery expanses are created naturally by leftover ice chunks from the last ice age. The ice chunks melt over the course of many years, creating a poorly drained pool of stagnant water that begins to fill slowly with thick vegetation. They're not so creepy in the summer, as evidenced by these non-menacing photos I took, but they're still thoroughly interesting.

I learned from our tour guide that the Volo Bog (is that an RPG name or what?) is the southernmost "quaking bog" in the U.S., so named because of the thick mat of vegetation that grows on the surface of the swamp—thick enough to walk on, in some cases, which causes the whole green landscape to wobble as the waves course through the vegetation. Shrubs, cat-tails and even small trees grow in this organic carpet, which itself floats upon the deeper waters of the bog.


After the tour, my fiance and I were strolling around the visitors center, chatting up some of the friendly naturalists on staff there. They mentioned that each year they host an international bog arts show, featuring an array of artwork inspired by bogs. They also mentioned one standout from last year's show—a painting from a local artist inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's "Moon Bog." That got my attention! I've never read "Moon Bog" before, as it doesn't figure into the Cthulhu mythos collections on my shelf. But get this—the staffers actually had photocopies of "Moon Bog" on hand to give out to visitors, and they produced a stapled-together pamphlet of the story for me to take home.

It was really, really cool to spend an afternoon exploring nature and find out that it figures so prominently into the stuff of my hobbies.

Games Stores Are Marching Closer and Closer to Me

It's been about a year since I started this blog, and since then 3 game stores have opened up in my area, each one closer to me in proximity than the one before.

The most recent addition is Chicagoland Games, which sits a mere 6 blocks from my apartment on the north side of Chicago. That's walking distance, folks—I'm almost giddy with excitement at the idea of strolling to my FLGS each week. I braved the rain last weekend and checked it out.

Inside I found Alex and J.P., two amiable shop dudes who spoke hopefully about the shop's future. The storefront was smallish, but Alex told me he plans to expand into the adjacent (vacant) storefront next month, which will triple the available space and provide room for
more game tables.

There was a ton of merchandise in Chicagoland Games despite its small retail area. Most of the goods were board games, but I saw a nice shelf of RPGs and some miniature stuff toward the rear. The store also has a shelf full of opened board games that anyone can come in and play around with; this is a great idea, and one that I'll be taking advantage of very soon.

Perhaps best of all, Chicagoland Games is affiliated with the Chicago Multi-Genre Game Meetup group, which means it can draw upon an existing base of players (and customers!).

I'm pretty excited to have a game store in my backyard. Doubtless I'll find an excuse to be there often, and I'll report back as they move forward with their expansion plans.