Metro Seattle Gamers News

New Suite

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:35:44 GMT

We have almost finished moving to the new suite next door

Much bigger – 70% more floor space – with three rooms.
Three rooms, not two
Kitchen with sink, dishwasher, two fridges, microwave, coffee
Vibrant color scheme, no corporate gray here!

Pictures coming soon after we finish the move

More than 60 members

Tue, 02 May 2023 20:54:17 GMT

We have more than 60 members now, looking to pass 70 within a month or two.

New General Manager

Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:32:47 GMT

The news is a little late, but as of 20th August 2022 MSG has a new General Manager – Geoffrey Phipps.

Scot McConnachie is taking a well deserved rest after nine years of service. We are grateful for all his work over the years.

Simplified Booking System

Sat, 08 Oct 2022 21:06:34 GMT

To book a game, post the information on the "scheduling-games" channel in the club's Discord server. An administrator will schedule it shortly thereafter. More details are on the members-only page: "How to Schedule Events"

MSG will be reopening on April 1st

Scot McConnachie — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 03:16:46 GMT

After being closed for a year, Metro Seattle Gamers will be re-opening, under COVID-19 restrictions, on April 1st. The club will be operating at 50% capacity, have improved air sanitization, and require the wearing of masks, along with other requirements.

We anticipate that club usage will initially be light as our members make their own decisions about when to return to the club.

MSG is closed until Phase 4

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 01:34:39 GMT

On July 24th, Governor Inslee canceled the regulations that would have allowed Metro Seattle Gamers to open under limited conditions under Phase 2. At the current time, Phase 4 is the scheduled phase for re-opening the club.

MSG is closed until 8/2/20

Scot McConnachie — Sat, 11 Jul 2020 03:36:28 GMT

After considering the recent uptick in cases in King County, the decision has been made to assess county statistics and policy decisions after the recent Fourth of July holiday.

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 7/9/20

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 02:39:02 GMT

With the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in King County, the club is waiting until after the 4th of July to see if the county or state will pull back on their recent policy adjustments.

In the meantime the club is finishing up some housekeeping.

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 6/28/20

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 25 Jun 2020 01:17:09 GMT

King County has entered Phase 2. While the earlier definition of Phase 2 would not allow the club to open, the options in front of us under Phase 2 have changed. We are evaluating the situation.

Stay tuned...

Metro Seattle Games is closed through 6/22/20

Scot McConnachie — Wed, 20 May 2020 23:01:16 GMT

Under the State of Washington's phased re-opening plan for the current epidemic, the club will be eligible to open under Phase 3, the earliest date for which will be June 22nd.

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 5/4/20

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 03 Apr 2020 18:15:16 GMT

As expected, Governor Inslee has extended the stay at home order.

Metro Seattle Gamers will remain closed through May 4th, 2020.

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 4/8/20

Scot McConnachie — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 01:12:36 GMT

Today, Governor Inslee issued a stay at home order that will come into effect in the next 48 hours.

Pursuant to this order, Metro Seattle Gamers will be closed to at least April 8, 2020.

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 3/31/20

Scot McConnachie — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 03:40:03 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers has just learned that new public health orders will be issued by the county and state, effective tomorrow March 16th. These orders will further tighten the distancing requirements, specifically:

Restaurants, bars, dance halls, clubs, theaters, health and fitness clubs, and other similar indoor social or recreational venues must cease operations until March 31, 2020.

Even though, to the best of our knowledge, no members of the club have been infected or are suspected of harboring an infection, Metro Seattle Gamers is now closed pursuant to this anticipated order.

Metro Seattle Gamers is operating on a limited basis.

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 13 Mar 2020 06:14:38 GMT

Yesterday, March 11, 2020, new state and local public health orders were issued by Governor Jay Inslee and Dr. Jeff Duchin, Public Health Officer for Seattle & King County. The orders apply to groups of less than 250 persons and emphasize maintaining a physical separation between individuals of 6 feet or more for times longer than 10 minutes.

Pursuant to those orders, Metro Seattle Gamers is operating on a limited basis.

All scheduled events are canceled.
Club members will have restricted access to the club provided that they follow the order's physical separation policy and follow the club's cleaning requirements.

The club shall remain in this status until such time as the orders have been updated.

These actions are precautionary: at this time we are not aware of any our members having been infected with the Covid-19 virus or who are under suspicion of having it.

Our website has a new look

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 04:39:16 GMT

We recently updated our website to use a more modern theme that supports mobile browsers. In general, our content is flatter as well.

Also, please note that we are adding a new use to our Stay in Touch page. Persons who subscribe to our mailing list have option to post their game interests with or without their contact emails to club members who might want to invite them specifically into a game. This is in addition to our current practice of filtering event email announcements based upon the recipient's statement of general interest.

Even if your are not a member of the club, you can update your interests, contact information, and your permissions by logging into the website. If you have not set up a password, you can do so using the Forgot Password feature.

Metro Seattle Gamers has moved...upstairs

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 05:01:10 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers has moved one floor almost directly above our old location to Suite 301 in the Nickerson Marina Building. All other contact information remains the same.

Our new space has a foyer, a better layout in the main room, and a larger RPG room.

We have new live game storage racks.

And we have a much better view (Lake Washington Ship Canal at dusk).

Dragonflight Board of Directors Call for Nominations

Sun, 30 Jun 2019 22:38:43 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers is a service of Dragonflight. As such, members have a voice in selecting the Board of Directors, which ultimately oversees club operations.

Call for nominations to the Board of Directors: We have two seats on the Board of Directors up for election this year. As a non-profit corporation, Dragonflight is ultimately run by a five-person board, elected on a rotating basis for three year terms. The seats up for election are currently held by Cory Rueb and Mark Walters. The term will be 1 January 2020 through 31 December 2022.

Nominations may be made by e-mailing dfelection@dragonflight.org. You must be a current member to nominate and the nominee must also be a current member. You may nominate yourself. Nominations are due by 5 pm on 2 August 2019. The election will be held at the Dragonflight convention, 16-18 August 2019. The two candidates with the most number of validated votes will be the winners and will be certified by the Board of Directors at the September 2019 Board Meeting.

Water service has been restored to the Nickerson Marina Building

Scot McConnachie — Sat, 29 Jun 2019 15:49:47 GMT

Nickerson Marina has restored water service to our building. All restrooms are functional.

There is a planned outage to complete the repair between 10 am and 11 pm, Monday July 1st.

Water is temporarily out in the Nickerson Marina Building

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 23:22:24 GMT

The Nickerson Marina has reported that the water line to the property is out and waiting for repairs. The restrooms in our building are temporarily closed.

In the meantime, the nearest fully functioning public restrooms are five minutes drive away at the Fishermen's Terminal building, in the corridor between the Bay Cafe and the Highliner pub. Other public restrooms are at the Interbay Athletic complex one block south of Dravus street and west of 15th Avenue West.

Nickerson Marina has assured us that they will inform us when water service has been restored to the Nickerson Marina Building. We will relay that information as soon as we receive it.

Traffic Advisory for June 9, 2019

Scot McConnachie — Sat, 08 Jun 2019 20:25:31 GMT

The annual St. Jude's Rock'n'Roll Marathon and construction will be affecting traffic in the vicinity of Metro Seattle Gamers on Sunday, June 9th.

All day expect the following:

The SR99 tunnel will be closed for construction work.

From the early morning to the early afternoon, expect the following:

West Nickerson Street eastbound will be closed, including to Metro Transit.
West Nickerson Street westbound will be open but expect interruptions. Metro Transit will not stop near the club.
The Ballard Bridge will be open but traffic will be constricted.
The northbound lanes of Aurora Ave. N. will be closed, including on both sides of the Aurora Bridge.

As a reminder, there is an alternate way to the club from the east by turning from Nickerson Street north onto 3rd Avenue West, and then going west onto West Ewing Street, past another Marina, turning right to stay onto West Ewing Street, and then passing the Foss shipyard next to the club's location. To see a map of this route go to the following web page:

Location and Contact

The marathon will be running on other streets as well. For more information on Marathon related street closures, here is a link to their PDF:

RNR_SEA_19_RoadClosureBrochure_FINAL.pdf

Recent and Coming Snowfall

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 10 Feb 2019 21:46:36 GMT

Due to multiple winter storms, MSG is operating on a restricted basis through Tuesday, February 12th. It is possible that a number of scheduled game sessions will be canceled during that time.

If you do come to MSG, be advised that the main entrance route is steep and still has ice on it. Be cautious for black ice and pay attention to the weather forecast.

W. Nickerson Street is mostly clear except between lanes.

Unless you are driving a four wheel drive vehicle we advise you not to attempt to exit by driving up the main access route. See the club map for the alternate approach route.

Below are some photos taken on Sunday morning. One group did meet at the club today with reduced attendance.

Main Route from 11th Ave. W. - not advised for two wheel drive vehicles going uphill. Given the slope, pedestrians are advised to be very cautious, or to not come by this route.

Alternate Route, 6th Ave. W to W. Ewing Pl. and going west along the canal waterfront - This route is level but snow covered. Two wheel drive cars should be able to handle this route; the problem for pedestrians is the length of the walk. Pedestrians should exercise reasonable caution when crossing snow-covered ground.

The parking lot itself is level with snow, ice, and slush. Once on the dock, the pedestrian access is under a roof and snow free.

Update to West Nickerson Street to 15th Avenue West Closures

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 19:28:39 GMT

The Seattle Department of Transportation has extended the closures at this intersection through to November 5th.

The interchange at W Nickerson St and 15th Ave W will be closed for 2 more weekends (Friday, October 26 - Monday, October 29 and Friday, November 2 - Monday, November 5). Please follow the posted detour routes below. From Monday, October 22 at 5 AM until Friday, October 26 at 9 AM, and from Monday, October 29 at 5 AM until Friday, November 2 at 9 AM, you can expect all movements at this intersection will reopen and remain accessible. Construction work will continue to happen around the intersection, but all movements will be accessible.

From Friday, October 26 at 9 AM until Monday, October 29 at 5 AM, and from Friday, November 2 at 9 AM until Monday, November 5 at 5 AM, you can expect closed movements at W Nickerson St and 15th Ave W including:

A. Northbound 15th Ave W to eastbound W Nickerson St

B. Westbound W Nickerson St to W Emerson Pl Overpass (Fishermen's Terminal)*

C. Eastbound W Emerson Pl to northbound 15th Ave W

D. Westbound W Nickerson St to northbound 15th Ave W

E. Eastbound W Emerson Pl to eastbound W Nickerson St

*Please note that northbound 15th Ave W to westbound W Emerson Pl Overpass (Fishermen's Terminal) will remain open during weekend work.

The D Road (southbound onramp from W Nickerson St to 15th Ave W) will be closed Monday, October 29 through Thursday, November 1 from 9 AM to 3 PM for street repairs and utility maintenance. Please follow the posted detour.

This work is weather dependent. Typical work hours are Monday - Thursday 7 AM-10 PM; Friday 9 AM-10 PM, Saturday and Sunday 7 AM-9 PM.

For further information, please consult

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/maintenance-and-paving/current-paving-projects/nickerson

West Nickerson Street to 15th Ave West Intersection Closures

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 07 Oct 2018 17:38:12 GMT

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has partially closed the intersection between Nickerson Street and 15th Avenue West. This is the complex intersection at the south end of the Ballard Bridge. This is the final phase of the city's Nickerson Street repaving project. Weather permitting, the closure is scheduled for October 5th until October 22nd.

In the graphic above, routes A, C, and E will be open Monday - Thursday and will be closed at other times. All other lettered routes above will be closed for the entire period. Connections not lettered above will remain open at all times.

Bus detours on W Nickerson St (Routes #29 and 31)

King County Metro Bus #29 and 31 will be rerouted from W Nickerson St to 14th Ave W and then to W Dravus St, intermittently. To accommodate this, street parking on 14th Ave W will be suspended temporarily.

For further information, including the official detour routes, please refer to SDOT's website on the project.

http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/projects-and-programs/programs/maintenance-and-paving/current-paving-projects/nickerson

#POTUS Kickstarter Launches!

Scot McConnachie — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:51:37 GMT

MSG Member Thomas Prowell's latest game, #POTUS: Battle for the Trump White House has just launched its Kickstarter drive with new local publisher HGN Games.

Players represent one of 4 factions trying to get their bills passed while dealing with individual personalities, investigations, and the inevitable Presidential Tweet. Each faction behaves differently and there are opportunities for strange alliances.

This is game is the first in HGN's projected Fighting Factions series. Future planned titles include The Death of Stalin, a game of 1953 Soviet Politburo politics, and Team of Rivals, a game of Lincoln's cabinet in the Civil War.

Dragonflight Board of Directors Call for Nominations

Sat, 14 Jul 2018 19:45:13 GMT

Call for nominations to the Board of Directors: We have two seats on the Board of Directors up for election this year. As a non-profit corporation, Dragonflight is ultimately run by a five-person board, elected on a rotating basis for three year terms. The seats up for election are currently held by Amy Gembala and John Poole. The term will be 1 January 2019 through 31 December 2021.

Nominations may be made by e-mailing dfelection@dragonflight.org. You must be a current member to nominate and the nominee must also be a current member. You may nominate yourself. Nominations are due by 5 pm on 10 August 2018. The election will be held at the Dragonflight convention, 24-26 August 2018. The two candidates with the most number of validated votes will be the winners and will be certified by the Board of Directors at the September 2018 Board Meeting.

Games developed at MSG near publication

Scot McConnachie — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 01:08:46 GMT

Two games that have been developed at Metro Seattle Gamers are scheduled to see publication this spring:

Gallipoli, 1915: Churchill's Greatest Gamble realistically covers the first three days of the campaign, a time of wild maneuver, of decisive attacks parried by the timely arrival of reinforcements, and the onset of trench warfare. The map covers the entire peninsula from north of Anzac Cove to Cape Helles, based on the 1922 British Ordnance Survey. Players can choose to land at the historical beaches, or create their own plans.

This game is designed by MSG member Geoffrey Phipps.

Hitler's Reich is the first of the Card Conquest System game series in which players recreate epic military contests of history in short, comparatively simple and easy to learn, but hard to master games. Designed to be set up in minutes and played to conclusion in one sitting, these are not simulations but games, albeit ones packed with enough historical flavor, excitement, and decision making to give you the feeling of being there at the highest levels of command.

Former MSG attendee Fred Schacter is the developer of this game.

You may want to check these games out on the GMT website; use the hyperlinks above to do so.

Another game developed at MSG that has "made the cut" on GMT's P500 list is The Seven Years War: Frederick's Gamble. The release date for this game has not yet been set.

Playing catch up: Illusions of Glory published

Scot McConnachie — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 00:49:22 GMT

This news is a little bit old but should be relayed because MSG members participated in its playtesting:

Illusions of Glory was published in 2017.

Illusions of Glory: The Great War on the Eastern Front is the latest Card Driven Game to simulate the Great War in Europe. First came the award-winning legendary Paths of Glory by Ted Raicer, which simulates the entire war in Europe and the Middle East which is now a convention favorite. It was followed by the well-received Pursuit of Glory, designed by Brad and Brian Stock, which focuses on the war in the Near East. Illusions of Glory takes this proven game system to a new and exciting level by applying its focus to the Eastern Front.

MSG members Luther Harris and Ha Lee participated in the playtesting. Former MSG attendee Fred Schacter is the game's developer.

A special thanks to Fred for sending the club a complimentary copy of the game.

2017 Annual Meeting Report

Scot McConnachie — Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:55:56 GMT

The annual membership meeting for Metro Seattle Gamers was held on November 18th. The general manager and treasurer presented reports explaining the process and rationale that led to the club's recent move to the Nickerson Marina Building, plans for the short-to-medium term management of the club, and a financial summary showing that the club is ahead of the fiscal plan associated with this move. These reports and the minutes are now on file in the Members Only Content section of this website.

The following officers were elected for 2018:

Secretary: Geoffrey Phipps

Treasurer: Stephen Graham

General Manager: Scot McConnachie

The other principal matter for discussion was the planning for the club's furniture drive. New tables and shelves are desired while preserving the flexibility of the space for different game setups. A couple of pre-built options for replacing the live game storage system, map cabinets and the IKEA modular wardrobe system, were rejected in favor of the club improving its current storage system or ultimately self-building a new system. Options before the club include retaining on-site storage for bulkier items, such as miniatures terrain. There was a consensus in favor removing the bulkier items from visibility in the club's space.

In other business, the club tightened up its personal food storage policy and will resume its search for a replacement refrigerator.

Dragonflight 38 Call for Events

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:29:52 GMT

Dragonflight, the Pacific Northwest’s longest running tabletop game convention, is still accepting events to be included in our schedule. The convention will be held from Friday, August 25^th to Sunday, August 27^th, 2017.

This will be the 38^th annual convention run by our namesake volunteer and non-profit organization. We are looking for additional volunteers to join us by offering boardgames, roleplaying games, wargames, and miniatures events to share with our membership. Situated in the comfortable and spacious Bellevue Hilton, the Dragonflight annual convention offers our members an excellent opportunity to find opponents, to showcase games of interest, to seek greater competition, to enhance skills in the art of scenario creation, and to otherwise express ourselves with the incredibly creative and beautiful games that populate our hobby. Dragonflight proudly remains a general gaming convention: while many conventions specialize in one game format or the other, we continue to offer opportunities for cross fertilization between the different formats of tabletop games. Last year’s convention was our largest convention yet: we hope that you will join the rest of our hardworking volunteers to make this year’s convention even better!

Registering to Attend the Convention

To submit an event please first register to attend this year’s convention, the price of which includes a required membership in the Dragonflight organization. For more registration information please consult the convention registration page:

Dragonflight Registration Information Page

As of this time Dragonflight is using TableTop.Events for registering to attend the convention. If you have not done so already you will need to set up a user account on that system. Here is a link to do that:

Dragonflight User Account Setup Page

We strongly encourage attendees to stay at the hotel, both because of overnight gaming activities, as well as to support the convention. Hotel information may be found on the following web page:

Dragonflight Hotel Information Page

The link to get the special conference hotel rate is here:

Dragonflight Conference Rate Hotel Page

Submitting an Event

Here is the convention page with information for event hosts:

Dragonflight Convention Host Information

To submit events to the convention please log in to your convention user account. Your convention user account is used to submit events to the schedule and to sign up to attend specific events. Here is the convention page that you will want to log onto:

Dragonflight 38 TableTop.Events Main Page

When an event is submitted the event will be subject to review by the convention staff prior to it being put into the schedule.

Submission Deadline

The deadline to submit events for the main convention program is August 10^th. To maximize the chance of one’s game gaining players, submitters of events are urged to meet this deadline. Event submissions received after this date may make it into the schedule but will not be in the printed program.

Further Inquiries

To make further inquiries about running events at Dragonflight, or volunteering on the staff, please consult the following web page:

Dragonflight Staff Contact Information

We hope that you will join the Dragonflight community of gamers to make this our best convention yet!

For further information about the Dragonflight convention, the Dragonflight organization, and our other activities, please consult

www.dragonflight.org

Metro Seattle Gamers Has Moved

Scot McConnachie — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 00:35:37 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers has moved to

The Nickerson Marina Building
Suite 200D
1080 West Ewing Place
Seattle, Washington

This new location will be a step up in the quality of our facilities. MSG is only partly operational at this time (the phone does not yet work, for example) but we expect to be up to speed within the next several days.

MSG has completely vacated the Interbay facility. We will miss the sign.

New GURPS Group Forming for November

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 25 Sep 2016 22:51:21 GMT

MSG's Sunday GURPS group is looking to expand into a second group that would meet biweekly concurrently with the existing GURPS group. To participate in this game please register for this event on one of the upcoming sessions or contact Ffej Mandel at the current Sunday GURPS sessions.

Dragonflight 37 Call for Events

Scot McConnachie — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 08:22:35 GMT

Dragonflight, the Pacific Northwest’s longest running tabletop game convention, is currently accepting events to be included in our schedule. The convention will be held from Friday, August 19^th to Sunday, August 21^st, 2016.

This will be the 37^th annual convention run by our namesake volunteer and non-profit organization. We are looking for additional volunteers to join us by offering boardgames, roleplaying games, wargames, and miniatures events to share with our membership. Situated in the comfortable and spacious Bellevue Hilton, the Dragonflight annual convention offers our members an excellent opportunity to find opponents, to showcase games of interest, to seek greater competition, to enhance skills in the art of scenario creation, and to otherwise express ourselves with the incredibly creative and beautiful games that populate our hobby. Dragonflight proudly remains a general gaming convention: while many conventions specialize in one game format or the other, we continue to offer opportunities for cross fertilization between the different formats of tabletop games. Last year’s convention was a success and attendance grew by more than 20%; we hope that you will join the rest of our hardworking volunteers to make this year’s convention even better!

Registering to Attend the Convention

Dragonflight Registration Information Page

As of this time Dragonflight is using Eventbrite for registering to attend the convention. While having an Eventbrite account is not necessary to register on the Eventbrite system, it can be convenient for reviewing one’s registration. A hyperlink to the Eventbrite page may be found on the Registration Information Page above but is also provided below:

Dragonflight Eventbrite Registration Page

We strongly encourage attendees to stay at the hotel, both because of overnight gaming activities, as well as to support the convention. Hotel information may be found on the following web page:

Dragonflight Hotel Information Page

To obtain the special Dragonflight conference rate for hotel rooms please follow the instructions and use the special hyperlink on the above web page.

Submitting an Event

To submit events to the convention please log in to or set up your convention user account. Your convention user account is used to submit events to the schedule and to sign up to attend specific events. This page is found below:

Convention User Account Page

When an event is submitted the event will remain available for editing by the submitter for 24 hours after which changes will require the intervention of the Area Events Coordinator (e.g. boardgames coordinator, roleplaying coordinator, etc.) for that event. Event submissions will be reviewed before they are placed on the schedule.

Submission Deadlines

The deadline to submit events for the main convention program is July 15^th. To maximize the chance of one’s game gaining players, submitters of events are urged to meet this deadline.

The deadline to submit events for the convention program errata is August 12^th. After that deadline event proposals will only be scheduled during the convention by directly contacting the appropriate Area Events Coordinator.

Further Inquiries

To make further inquiries about running events at Dragonflight, or volunteering on the staff, please consult the following web page:

Dragonflight Staff Contact Information

We hope that you will join the Dragonflight community of gamers to make this our best convention yet!

For further information about the Dragonflight convention, the Dragonflight organization, and our other activities, please consult

www.dragonflight.org

Seven Years War: an After Action Report

Scot McConnachie — Tue, 10 May 2016 00:13:46 GMT

Below is a recent After Action Report (AAR) from a recent set of MSG playtest sessions of The Seven Years War: Frederick's Gamble. This game is being developed for publication by GMT Games. Playtesting is an important part of the game development process that can have great influence on a game's design. Metro Seattle Gamers has the ability to host multi-session games which can allow playtesting to happen in smaller chunks of time. To see when the next playtest session of this game is scheduled you can check here.

A three Session Game AAR of The Seven Years War: Frederick’s Gamble at Metro Seattle Gamers

By Game Developer Fred Schachter

Introduction – Among the nice things about The Seven Years War: Frederick’s Gamble (henceforth referred to as 7YW:FG), is that not only is it a fun and exciting game, but if you’re playing in a club setting, the game years are episodic and therefore easy enough to set the game aside after a session and resume it at another time. This is great if you meet for a few hours after everyone departs work for a bit of gaming enjoyment. It certainly made possible our getting through all six years of what proved a grand gaming experience.

Then there’s the game’s ability to shift from two, three, or four player mode with ease: even while a game is in progress. Furthermore, at Metro Seattle Gamers, where this game took place, the guys encourage “newbies” to learn a game new to their experience and join in the fun by expanding their hobby horizons. This was certainly manifested in this 7YW:FG After Action Report, which took place over three sessions and had both veteran play-testers and complete novices participating in the action.

To better follow this commentary it may be useful to look at a picture of the playtest map here.

Session One: Three 7YW:FG Game Years – 1757, 1758, and 1759

Here’s a summary of Session One’s results:

We got the action started with myself playing France with Scot as Austria (The Imperial Camp) vs. Jeff's Prussia and Chris M. as Britain (The Coaltion Camp). Chris was a complete newbie to the "Nappy" CDG game system, an attorney and game designer himself, which translated into someone who quickly picked up this fine Greg Ticer design’s game mechanics. As Chris got into playing, he remarked how those game mechanics were easy to learn and intuitive. He also found the game situation and player dynamics fascinating and fun.

Action in the Colonies

In North America, Montcalm's Army was stopped dead in its tracks by Abercrombie’s British Regular, Colonial Militia, and Loyal to the Crown Natives at Albany having sustained 50% losses. The French with their own surviving Colonial Militia and Natives withdrew, licking its wounds, to Fort William Henry (which it had previously captured from Britain).

In India, Clive took the French Bengal Key of Pondicherry, but was stalemated by a powerful Nawab piece and Fort in Plassey. Nally’s French/Sepoy Army conquered all Mysore. The British during the waning Impulses of 1759 were about to amphibiously invade Mysore with play of the “Eyre Coote in India” card, which would have delivered a 2-6 Leader with 4SP (strength points) of British Regulars, but it was foiled by Prussian play of one of the game’s two “Hand of God” Event Cards. So into discard went “Eyre Coote”.

When “Hand of God” is played as an Event in 7YW:FG, it precipitates a complete reshuffling of the draw and discard piles together to form a new draw pile of cards. So perhaps “Eyre Coote” will have another opportunity to appear.

Action in Europe

Sweden became a French Pact Ally and their Army invaded Prussia to capture Demmin. The Prussians responded by moving Lehwaldt's weak Army to Zorndorf, where he could also screen against the Russian menace, and, garrisoned Kustrin and Stettin. The Swedes, with but two (2!) dice against a garrisoned Fortress, would have tough odds in a siege assault.

The Danes remained full strength and Neutral until towards the very end of 1759 when Prussia, through the “Courting the Danes” Event (and astutely timed Diplomatic Track CP play), brought them into the Coalition as a Prussian Pact Ally.

In Europe, the French had all three Armies on the map, but 0-6 Soubisse, after capturing Wesel, proved unable to take Munster so there was stalemate in the north. The other two French Armies, each commanded by a 1-6 Leader, were in Frankfort and Heidelberg confronting 0-4 Cumberland and 1-6 Sporcken's full strength British Armies who were screening Hanover and the western border of Saxony ("Saxony Defects" had been played).

British losses in the colonies and Europe combined with Imperial Camp play of Kleiner War Events upon them (which reduce a Power’s Trained Troop reserve) looked to be a potential cause for British concern, until a 1759 expenditure of a Resource for a die roll of five (5!) provided a much-needed buffer.

The Coalition had something to grouse about the way the Mandatory play Army Event cards were falling: "His Britannic Majesty's Army" Event had yet to appear. "William Pitt" got placed into discard through play of the "Drought" Event (the unlucky British player chose it out of a much relieved French player’s hand of cards) and "Eyre Coote" remained out of play versus all Imperial Army Events getting into the game action. The British successfully got rid of the "Carribean Foray" Foreign War as did the Austrian's with their “Balkan Revolt” Foreign War.

The lack of British continental strength combined with Prussia’s distractions with Austria resulted in a powerful Russian presence in the east with 2-4 Apraxin's Army, in a remarkable dice roll of three 1's, capturing Konigsberg with a single siege assault dice roll, while 3-8 Saltikov's full strength Army reached Torum with 2-6 Fermor's Army supporting from Warsaw, which had a temporary 1-level Fortress placed on it through "Engineers get to Work".

The Austrians got banged up quite a bit in a series of battles, but got help through additional Event-provided SP's coming their way (to Prussia's chagrin). Austria launched 2-6 Loudon's Army in an invasion of Silesia via the Ratibor gap to capture one level Fortress of Neisse and then go on to besiege the Prussian Two Level Key Fortress of Breslau while 1-8 Charles 8SP Army crossed the pass from Koenigsgratz, took 2SP losses in Attrition, and then went on to besiege and capture the Prussian Two Level Schweidnitz Fortress Key.

The Austrian siege of Breslau was broken by 2-6 Schwerin returning from the HOW Box during the Interphase to drive off the beseigers. Schweidnitz, however, remained Austrian and from there Charles went on to seize One Level Glogau Fortress and menace Saxony from the east.

All this Silesian activity meant only 3-8 Daun's Army was around to face the might of 4-8 Frederick & 3-8 Ferdinand's Prussian Armies. A number of bloody battles were fought with the Prussians, thanks to Kleiner War Events and "Saxony Defects" being played, along with battle/siege losses having but two Trained Troop Points remaining. The Prussians used their Turn Reserve Marker to raise more trained troops and rolled a fortuitous “6” to get themselves out of potential jam.

Nevertheless, the Prussia offensive was a mighty one which captured Prag and ultimately, through some good dice rolling, a 3SP garrisoned Vienna itself. Austria ended the session on the ropes with but two Key Fortress Mustering Centers in Austria itself remining to its name (Brunn and Olmutz).

Session Two: One 7YW:FG Game Year – 1760

We continued the MSG 7YW:FG game for the 1760 Turn as a two player contest with myself continuing as the Imperial Camp (France, Austria and their Pact Allies) and Jeff M. leading the Coalition (Britain and Prussia with its Denmark Pact Ally).

Action in the Colonies

There was no significant Colonial activity. The North American stalemate continued with Montcalm in Fort William Henry and Abercrombie in Albany. Both Armies were reinforced with sufficient supplementary SP as to make either of them attacking a dubious proposition.

In Bengal, the Nawab got built up to their maximum 4SP and I may try something with them next session to recapture weakly-held Calcutta before Eyre Coote arrives. If Clive’s Army, weak as it is, intercepts from Chandernagore, it's going to be a tough battle. The French continue to hold all Mysore.

Action in Europe

In Europe there was stalemate thanks to my ability in rolling but a single one for approximately 40 Imperial Siege Assault dice. The Austrians could not capture Breslau, the French Munster (now supported by the Coalition Pact Allied Danes), nor the Russians Kustrin. My dice rolling prowess was no better with Field Battles. I used Kliener Krieg Events to bring the Prussian TTP down... Jeff then rolled again rolled 6 for the Prussian Turn Reserve Marker's use.

Frederick staved off Loudon in Saxony. But now, after redeployments, it's Daun commanding a full strength 8SP Austrian Army in Bautzen with Austrian Flags in Luckau and Kunnnersdorf. Loudon is in Koenigsgratrz screening Austrian-held Schweidnitz and the heavily held Key Fortress of Brunn while Ferdinand's Army protects Prussian-occupied Wien and Prag. Charles, as mentioned before, now enters a third year of besieging Breslau (sheesh!).

On the Eastern front, Saltikov, who rolled a single one during several siege assault resolutions, continues to besiege Kustrin with Fermor in close support. Apraxin's Army is now in Konin (southern Poland) where he could move to support the Austrians in Saxony or Silesia. The Swedish Army is now in Pritzwalk with Swede flags in Ulzea (adjacent t both Hannover and Stade... but these are British garrisoned) and Demmin, adjacent to the Two Level Prussian Key Fortress of Stettin. However, they're so weak and brittle, due to no more TTP remaining, that they're more a theoretical threat than a real one.

There was but a single massive battle with the French during 1760. Through an interception Event, both French 1-6 Armies concentrated on Sporcken's Army in Erfurt, but Jeff rolled a 10 for Cumberland's Army to intercept join him and, guess what, my dice rolling resulted in a French defeat: So much for the French lackluster continental performance for the year.

As the Prussians were ahead and would win the game with a successful Peace die roll (they lost the Koenigsberg and Schweidnitz Keys, but held Leipzig, Dresden, Prag, and 2-Key Worth Wien), both the British and French expended cards to influence the Peace die roll, which was a 3… meaning the war would grind on for another year. The Czarina, through a die roll of 6, continued to live. The Austrians have no more TTP, nor do the Swedes, Danes, nor Imperials. Remarkably, the British have yet to receive Pitt (North American Army), Coote (India Army), or His Britannic Majesty (European Army).

1761 should prove an interesting year.

Session Three: Two 7YW:FG Game Years – 1761 and 1762

For the sake of brevity and my own failings of detail recollection, I’ll merge the two years we played to an extent. In case you wonder why the game went into its final 1762 Year, the short explanation is that France, who was leading the game in VP and had a +3 on the Peace die roll at the end of the 1761 Year rolled a 2: which failed to win the game for them. This epic MSG 7YW:FG contest therefore went on to an exciting final year of play.

This session commenced as a three player contest, with newbie to any Nappy War game series release Jeff J. taking the British to Jeff M.’s Prussians to form the Coalition Camp Team while I, persevering as France, was joined by Mike S. as Austria to constitute the rival Imperial Camp Team.

Jeff J., although new to 7YW:FG, took to the game system like the veteran gamer he is and had a grand time discussing strategy and tactics with his partner the veteran Jeff M. Much of 7YW:FG’s fun is the table talk you can have with your Camp partner (and opponents) and wow did we have fun!

Action in the Colonies

North America’s stalemate continued throughout 1761, the Austrians, however, held the “William Pitt” Event which consequently caused Montcalm to withdraw his mostly European SP Army to Montreal to enable a possible interception into 2 Colonial SP garrisoned Quebec. The concern with Wolfe’s 4SP British Army’s arrival proved moot as Austria, through clever expenditure of its Turn Reserve Marker and Resources, was the last Power with a card at the conclusion of Impulses play and was able to hold over the “William Pitt” card into 1762.

In 1762, Austria had no choice but to play “William Pitt”, but delayed doing so until as late during the Year as possible. The French build the last of their available Colonial SP and, rather than risk not making an interception dice roll, moved Montcalm’s Army into Quebec to form a considerable host to await a British attack from the St. Lawrence River.

However, play of the “Victory at Sea” Event (which moves the British Naval Track Marker in a manner weakening the British hold on maritime power), fortuitous dice rolling by the HRE and French, whose final card of the 1762 year was the 5CP “We Need Every Man”, all conspired to drive down the British Naval Control Track Marker to 3, which automatically caused Lousisbourg to revert to French control and deny the British use of their Sea Lane lines of communication. Unless the British could get the Naval Control Marker back to at least five, an amphibious attack on Two Level French Fortress Quebec could not be made.

With their final card play, the British moved Abercrombie’s British SP to consolidate with Wolfe’s in Boston… there to launch the amphibious invasion of New France. Alas for Britain, their dice rolling failed to regain the Naval Control Marker to its 5 Space (it had been as high as 8 at one time) and a potentially dramatic field battle between Moncalm and Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham was not to be. Such a battle, even had the British been victorious, would not have risked Quebec’s fall since the British had no Impulses remaining to conduct any siege assaults for 1762.

Thus six years of 7YW:FG play saw the action in North America end without a single Key changing control between the belligerents.

India: Southern India remained under French contol throughout 1761 and 1762. Although strong French garrisons occupied both Madras and Pondicherry, awaiting a possible amphibious assault by 2-6 Eyre Coote’s 4SP British Army: that threat never materialized. Why? The French had the “Eyre Coote” card in their 1761 hand and when Britain played “Palace in Chaos” to randomly seize a card from the French hand to place into the discard pile, the selected card was “Eyre Coote”.

Thus for the second time during the game, the first being when the “Eyre Coote” card’s play was cancelled by a “Hand of God” Event, “Eyre Coote” went onto the discard pile.

During 1761, the Nawab attempted to seize British Calcutta from a weak garrison, but Clive intercepted from British garrisoned Chandernagore. The Nawab lost the battle and had to retreat back to Plassey, but not before inflicting grievous losses to the British, in relative terms considering the small size of the forces involved, which would have significant ramifications the following year.

For in 1762, the 4SP Nawab attacked Chandernagore and with both sides commiting +3 battle cards managed to eke out a victory while destroying all British strength save for the Clive leader himself who retreated to Calcutta. The Nawab, however, paid a butcher’s bill of their own having their 4SP unit reduced to a 2SP. The French build the last of their Sepoy SP to make a British recapture of Chandernagore a daunting prospect indeed.

The British built a Fort and Sepoy of their own in Calcutta and it looked like the game in Bengal would end with those positions… until the Russians (!) intervened. Czarina Elizabeth survived the end of 1761 die roll, a 50/50 proposition, by rolling a 4. Per the rules, a 50/50 die roll is needed before every Russian 1762 card play. The first die roll by the French killed Elizabeth, but the French played “Ear of the King” to negate it. Since we were playing a friendly game, in particular to teach its nuances to Jeff J., Jeff M. advised, and this is paraphrased, “I have ‘The Hand of God’ Event which could negate that play of ‘Ear of the King’ and cause Elizabeth to die and the Russians to depart the game. However, it’s Fred rolling the die and he’ll likely again roll a 1-3 before the Russians’ next card play.

So the Russians got to play their first card of 1762 and it was “French Descent from the Sea (in India!)” which caused a 2SP European French unit to be placed in Calcutta to amphibiously attack Clive. In a very close battle the French eked out a victory and, lacking any place to retreat to, all British pieces in Calcutta were eliminated in a Flag Overrun. In addition, the French luckily rolled the die for eliminating Clive and were awarded a Resource for it, a Resource which would prove quite important in calculating victory.

So the game, thanks to the twists of fortune including Eyre Coote’s powerful British Army never entering play, ended with the French completely dominating India. The British were expelled from the sub-continent.

European Action:

During 1761, a French 1-6 led Army tried to capture Munster but could not roll a single 0-4 Cumberland came north to attack the French and drive them back To Wesel then returned to Stadt, somewhat weakened, for the 1762 campaign . The two other French Armies one in Heidelberg and the other in Frankfort, continued the stalemate versus the 1-6 Sporcken-led British with the Danes screening in Lippstadt.

The Russians under 3-8 Saltikov captured the Prussian Two Level Fortress of Kustrin and then moved on to besiege the Two Level Prussian Fortress of Stettin leaving 2-6 Fermor’s Army to hold Kustrin with 2-4 Apraxin’s Army in Poznan. This precipitated 4-8 Frederick himself intervening. Fermor’s Army was smashed and Kustrin recaptured by the vengeful Prussians. Frederick then pressed on to relieve the siege of Stettin by driving Saltikov’s Army into Danish flagged Demmin.

When Frederick got drawn south back into Austria for the 1762 campaign, Saltikov renewed his siege of Stettin and captured it. The Swedes, anticipating the Czarina’s death, moved onto the Stettin Fortress Duchy and when Elizabeth died, per the rules, automatically besieged its intrinsic garrison but could not roll a single one. Thus ended the Russian Front’s action with all Prussian Keys occupied by Russia reverting back to their control (Stettin and Konigsberg).

In Austria, after several failed attempts the Austrians finally captured Breslau thereby completing their conquest of Silesia. This was complemented by an Austrian 2SP unit, after the death of Elizabeth, moving north to flag Warsaw for the Hapsburgs. Prussian-occupied One Level Fortress Glogau, which the Prussians had recaptured from prior Austrian-occupation, proved a tough nut to crack but eventually it too fell.

However, during 1761 and 1762, the Prussians managed to retain both Saxony Keys with casualties inflicted on the antagonists without change to the basic geographic situation. The Danish Army during the 1761/1762 interphase was sent down into Austria, to Prag, to bolster the Prussians.

During 1762, the French again sought to capture Munster, but could not roll a single 1 (seem a familiar Imperial refrain at this point?). A French Army moved into Erfurt to screen against a British incursion into the HRE while the third French Army, after capturing Marburg, commenced a siege of Kassel. Sporcken’s Army intercepted and the French were compelled to retreat back into Marburg.

Thus ended the French/British War in Europe: All Hanover Keys remained British despite repeated French attempts to overturn the situation. Remarkably, considering there were five years of play when that card could have come up for play, the British never received “His Britannic Majesty’s Army”. How the European War against France would have transformed had the British possessed a 3-8 Ferdinand Leader with 8SP is something we could only conjecture… it would not have been good news for France, that’s a safe assumption.

In Austria, the Prussians under Frederick besieged and captured Brunn after several impulses to wear its garrison down. When the last siege assault Impulse causing its fall was resolved, the Austrians, rather than play the 3CP “Raising the Siege” card for the Event to hold onto Brunn, let it fall to Prussia and then used that card to fling Daun’s full strength Army upon Frederick with Charles and Loudon’s Army in support from adjacent Konigsgratz: a support which would have them join the battle thanks to an offensive intercept Event, “Land or Sea”. This was a good idea in game terms, for it would have concentrated some 20 Austrian SP’s for a single battle!

The Prussians foiled that design, Ferdinand’s Army intercepted from Wien and the Austrian Intercept Event was flung into the discard pile by Prussian play of their “Hand of God” Event. In the ensuing battle Daun was defeated and the game ended with a forlorn Austrian attack on Prussian-occupied Prag while Frederick went on to besiege the final Austrian-held key in Austria itself, no SP garrisoned Olmutz, but failed to capture it when with a 12 dice roll, not a single 1 could be obtained.

Never-the-less, the Prussian War in Austria itself ended with all Austrian Keys save Olmutz under Prussian control.

Victory

With 1762’s conclusion, we tabulated VP’s to determine a game winner:

The Coalition: 18 VP

Britain: lost two Keys in India (Calcutta and Madras), zero points for the Naval Track, which ended the game at four, no Resources: 6VP

Prussia: lost two Keys in Silesia (Schweidnitz and Breslau), a Pact Ally with Denmark, no Resources, but up 6 Keys for holding Saxony (Leipzig and Dresden) and most of Austria (Prag, Wien – worth two Keys, and Brunn): 12 VP (1 VP for a Pact, 11 VP for Ke

The Imperial Camp: 18 VP

Austria, Pact Ally with the HRE and no Resources, lost four Keys in Austria (Prag, Wien – worth two Keys, and Brunn) but retained Olmutz and gained Breslau, Schweidnitz, and Warsaw: 5 VP

France: retained all initial holdings and gained two Colonial Keys (Calcutta and Madras), Pact Ally with Sweden, one Resource: 13 VP (1VP for a Pact, 1 VP for a Resource, and 11 VP for Keys)

The game ended in a tie between the two Camps… each with 18VP! Therefore, the tie-breaker rule was invoked, which is measured by which Major Power, regardless of Camp, best improved its initial Key position. Would it be France or Prussia?

France commenced the game with 9 Keys. It gained two (Calcutta and Madras) and got two more VP… one for its Sweden Pact Ally and another for a remaining Resource: a total of 4VP.

Prussia started the game with 7 Keys. It lost two (Schweidnitz and Breslau) but gained 6: Leipzig, Dresden, Prag, Wien (worth 2 Keys), and Brunn for a net of +4 Keys to which one VP is added for the Prussian Pact with Denmark… a total of 5VP and a Prussian Victory!

It should be noted that even had France and Prussia been tied with 4VP each, Prussia would still have been declared the game winner for going later than France in the Impulse Track.

What a close game (as can be discerned by rereading this AAR)!

Red Zone Football Returns to MSG!

Scot McConnachie — Mon, 04 Apr 2016 01:13:19 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers will be holding a special playtest session of this new sports game under development.

Combining rules out of the NFL Playbook with those of elegant strategy games like chess, players take possession and move the ball down the field.

Red Zone Football happens at 7 pm, Monday night, May 2nd. For this event the normal MSG admission fees have been waived. To participate in this session you may sign up here.

To the Devil's Cauldron News

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 19:31:28 GMT

Red Devil's Secure Arnhem - Lose Main Bridge

Our first prolonged session of To the Devil's Cauldron, covering to the early evening of September 17th, has seen seem major developments.

The entire British 1st Parachute Brigade seized the center of Arnhem. Facing the loss of the Rhine Bridge to a British force in strength, the Germans blew the bridge despite the potentially dire implications for the German forces still defending Nijmegen. On the positive side for the Red Devil's the parked pontoon bridge downstream from Rhine Bridge was captured with intact pontoons. The fate of the railroad bridge further downstream has not yet been decided. So the British have a potential bridge over the Rhine.

However German reinforcements are just now arriving and the British perimeter is not yet consolidated. KG Von Tettau is arriving from the west.

Further south the 82nd Airborne has temporarily stalled on its move out of the Groesbeek Heights but has secured a bridge on the Maas-Waal Canal. The important bridge at Grave remains in German hands.

In the 101st Airborne drop zone complications arise as the German 59th Division arrives in strength.

Metro Seattle Gamers hosts the largest single game in its history.

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 01:03:23 GMT

MSG's Biggest Game Yet!

Stretching across 9 full size maps (with a kink in the middle, no less!) and 3 outside inserts, the combined maps for The Devil's Cauldron and Where Eagles Dare fit diagonally across the entire main playing space at Metro Seattle Gamers. This is the largest single game ever to be played at the club.

This combined campaign, which we are calling To the Devil's Cauldron, covers Operation Market-Garden: one of the most daring operations of the Second World War. A game of this size will be played by teams of players over a number of months. The current plan is to meet 1-2 times per month and players will cover for the inevitable absences of others. Two overall commanders will provide the operational structure for their respective teams. The game system itself is pretty straightforward. Some of our participants say it is the best WWII grand tactical system that they have played. While sessions are in play, the back room at MSG will remain available for other reservations.

To provide a basic idea of what is going to happen on this map that you see, Allied paratroopers and glider-borne troops are going to land to secure the bridges and the single long road that stretches down at the length of the map. At the far end of this picture is the Dutch city of Arnhem, whose bridge across the Rhine is the final objective (the legendary "Bridge Too Far"). That is Operation Market.

Below is a picture of Arnhem and that final objective. The boys in red are the Red Devils of the British 1st Airborne Division. The opposition is a hodgepodge of German units who had no idea that the Allies were coming but they do start with good antiaircraft protection. One Allied gambit of dropping glider borne troops onto the ends of this last bridge has already fallen to German antiaircraft guns.

Then the mechanized forces of British XXX Corps will break through the German front line and march all of the way down that road (starting at the near end of the map on the first picture) to link up with the valiant paratroopers along the way. That is Operation Garden. Then on to Berlin! Unfortunately for the Allies, the corridor is mostly secured by only one long road, it is no freeway, and it is often surrounded by reclaimed land that often is little better than marshland, or still is marshland.

But what about the Germans, you ask? They will be coming in from all sides and may have the opportunity to defeat one force, mostly likely the British 1st Airborne Division, in detail. Below is a picture of XXX Corps off to a fairly good start.

Needless to say our players are going to be busy!

Slots for local commanders will pop up from time to time. To obtain further information please consult the event entry for this game.

Metro Seattle Gamers Inaugurates Group Rates

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 05 Nov 2015 22:01:08 GMT

In addition to our individual membership plans Metro Seattle Gamers now offers group membership plans for groups ranging in size from 3-7 group slots. Group slots may be used to provide group members a lower average monthly cost to attend the club at any time that it is open or they may be kept open to allow a game host to invite a number of indeterminate people to attend the game for free.

One may learn more about how the Group memberships work here.

To see a summary of our monthly membership rates, daily guest rates, and an average cost comparison of our prices please download the PDF of our price summary sheet.

MSG Celebrates Our 25th Anniversary

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 20:45:09 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers held its Annual Membership Meeting on October 24th. As October marks the 25th anniversary of the club's existence we celebrated with cake:

The biggest issues at the meeting were votes on a proposed group membership rate policy, adjustments to the club's monthly and daily rates, the election of officers for 2016, and the planned development cycle for a new phase of Metro Seattle Gamers at a new location.

The group rate structure and related price adjustments passed unanimously. You can learn more about them here.

Scot McConnachie was elected to the positions of club General Manager and Treasurer.

Geoffrey Phipps was elected to the position of club Secretary.

The preliminary plan for the next phase of Metro Seattle Gamers received considerable feedback from the membership which has led to a planned redrafting of the plan in consultation with several members and friends of the club. We will have more information on this later.

MSG is Restored to Full Operations

Scot McConnachie — Wed, 07 Oct 2015 05:50:23 GMT

On Tuesday, October 6th, the water line to our building was restored, allowing our restrooms to function again. This was after it had been accidentally cut by a construction crew on Friday, October 2nd. While the club was open informally to members who could tolerate the situation, we had shut down the public announcements of our activities and closed the club to newcomers during this interruption.

Effective October 7th, the club is now open for normal operations. All existing events on the event calendar have been restored.

Thank you for your patience during this unfortunate episode.

Two New RPGs at MSG are recruiting players

Scot McConnachie — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 23:17:45 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers has two new roleplaying groups that are recruiting players.

1) Synnibarr 3rd Edition.

Designers Raven c.s. McCracken and Scott Owen are making regular weekly appearances at Metro Seattle Gamers!

For those of you who do not remember, The World of Synnibarr made its first appearance thirty years ago. After nearly a decade of painstaking redesign, the World of Synnibarr 3rd Edition is finally being released! The game designers will be on hand to answer questions while Raven and Scott are running demos and FatesFist referee training, introducing players to this fantastic new system.

Sessions are being held at MSG on Friday nights starting at 7 pm. For those who wish to jump right in, members of FatesFist shall be standing by to run games. It is a privilege to be able to once again offer YOU at Metro Seattle Gamers an exclusive “first glimpse” of another revolutionary game. For further information see

http://www.AscensionNW.com

2) Seattle Monster Hunters: A GURPS 4th Edition game of modern action-adventure.

You are a sworn member of MOTHERR, a secret unaffiliated international
organization embedded within the secret, intelligence, military and research
apparatus of many world governments. You are agents in FIELDCOM tasked with protecting the innocent from supernatural threats and the secretive
organization of monsters and rogues known as The Cabal.

This is an ongoing in-person tabletop mission-style RPG using
GURPS Fourth Edition set in the Monster Hunter Monster Hunters
campaign. It draws inspiration from media like Hell Boy (BPRD), Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Charmed, Grimm, Warehouse 13, Eureka, Ghostbusters, and the like. Sprinkle a little Cosmic Horror (ala Cthulu Mythos) and Alien Conspiracy (ala X-Files) and the recipe is complete!

New players are welcome.

For further information on the campaign and contact information, please
consult:

https://seattle-monster-hunters.obsidianportal.com/

Games under development at MSG now on GMT's P-500 list.

Scot McConnachie — Tue, 11 Aug 2015 22:28:21 GMT

Over the past several months four games that have seen heavy development activity at Metro Seattle Gamers have now reached the P-500 list for GMT Games.

This game is designed by MSG member Geoffrey Phipps.

The Seven Years War: Frederick's Gamble. In adapting GMT’s multi-award-winning The Napoleonic Wars game system by Mark McLaughlin, Designer Greg Ticer, aided by Developer Fred Schachter, create a furiously paced, card-driven, and battle/siege-intensive strategic/operational game which can be concluded by two, three, or four experienced players in an evening or an afternoon. Players represent the Coalition of Britain and Prussia or their nemesis, the Imperial Camp of Austria (with its Holy Roman Empire Pact Ally) and France (with its powerful Russian Pact Ally). The four main Powers never change Camps. Neutral Sweden and Denmark wait to possibly be swayed into one of the antagonist’s fold. Britain and France not only contend against each other on the continent, but upon the game’s colonial mini-maps and through an abstract naval war.

MSG's lead playtester for this game is Stephen Graham. Veteran game designer and developer Fred Shachter is a frequent attendee to these sessions.

Frequent MSG attendee Fred Schacter is the developer of this game.

Illusions of Glory The Great War on the Eastern Front is the latest Card Driven Game to simulate the Great War in Europe. First came the award-winning legendary Paths of Glory by Ted Raicer, which simulates the entire war in Europe and the Middle East which is now a convention favorite. It was followed by the well-received Pursuit of Glory, designed by Brad and Brian Stock, which focuses on the war in the Near East. Illusions of Glory takes this proven game system to a new and exciting level by applying its focus to the Eastern Front.
The MSG playtest lead for this game is Luther Harris. Fred Schacter is the developer.

You may want to check these games out on the GMT website; use the hyperlinks above to do so.

Metro Seattle Gamers will be closed 8/6/15 to 6 pm 8/10/15

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 21:46:00 GMT

Metro Seattle Gamers will be closed from August 5th to 6 pm August 10th for the Dragonflight Annual Convention, which will be held Friday, August 7 through Sunday, August 9th at the Bellevue Hilton Hotel, Bellevue, Washington.

The long running Dragonflight Annual Convention features hundreds of boardgame, roleplaying game and wargaming sessions. For further information please consult www.dragonflight.org

We hope to see you at the convention!

Metro Seattle Gamers' Annual Membership Meeting is coming up.

Scot McConnachie — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 00:45:25 GMT

Once a year, the club membership holds their annual meeting to elect officers for the upcoming year and to discuss various matters before the membership.

This year's annual meeting is scheduled for 10:30 am, Saturday, September 27th.

All active members of Metro Seattle Gamers are encouraged to participate in this meeting. While others may attend this meeting, the club membership reserves the right to exclude non-club members from this meeting. During this meeting the club will be closed to other activities.

As a reminder this meeting is for the members of MSG, not the members of Dragonflight. Dragonflight's membership meeting is generally held on the first day of the Dragonflihgt annual convention. Metro Seattle Gamers operates autonomously under the supervision of Dragonflight. All decisions by the MSG membership and officers are subject to the final discretion of Dragonfllight.

Metro Seattle Gamers new website has gone live!

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 22 May 2014 18:13:11 GMT

Dear viewer, supporter, and member of Metro Seattle Gamers,

Effective today, Dragonflight’s game club, Metro Seattle Gamers, has a new website:

www.metroseattlegamers.org

This website will serve as the primary, but not the only, contact point for information about the club. In addition to providing a communications system for current and prospective club members, our new system will also provide the a club membership registration system, allowing club members to check upon the status of their club membership. In the future, after consulting with the club membership, we will probably use more of our new capabilities. In the meantime anyone who is interested in keeping track of developments may subscribe to our occasional news notices from this site by selecting the following hyperlink:

http://www.metroseattlegamers.org/subscribe

The Yahoo! Group, Dragonflight-MSG, will continue to operate as before and it will serve as the public email discussion group for the club; for the time being we will also maintain a duplicate event calendar in this group. Metro Seattle Gamers has plans to maintain its presence on other services in the near future; we will announce them when they are set up. NOTE: This new system covers Metro Seattle Gamers only, not the Dragonflight Annual Convention nor the Dragonflight parent organization; links for these other functions can be found on the new MSG website or at the next hyperlink below.

The Dragonflight Annual Convention is also coming up, August 8-10^th at the Bellevue Hilton. The longest running games convention in the Pacific Northwest, Dragonflight XXXV promises to be a fun, personable convention offering a great variety of events in board games, wargames, and role-playing games. We invite all friends and supporters of Metro Seattle Gamers to actively participate in the Dragonflight convention as event sponsors, staff, or as players. For more information about the convention or the Dragonflight parent organization please consult

www.dragonflight.org

Please also note that there has been a rationalization of names and URLs by Abecorn and Dragonflight. Effective May 4, 2014 all Abecorn sites and services are operating under names and URLs registered to Abecorn and all rights and uses of the terms Metro Seattle Gamers, metroseattlegamers, and the URL www.metroseattlegamers.com have reverted to Dragonflight. The URL www.metroseattlegamers.com no longer links to Abecorn’s website. As of this time, neither Dragonflight nor Metro Seattle Gamers have any content on Abecorn’s website and vice versa. Dragonflight thanks Ben Stephenson and his partners for their previous efforts and wishes them good luck with their venture. You may follow Abecorn’s efforts at

www.abecorn.com

To recap, information about Dragonflight, a non-profit organization supporting the gaming hobby in the Pacific Northwest, its Annual Convention and Metro Seattle Gamers may be found at the following URLs:

www.dragonflight.org

www.metroseattlegamers.org

Thank you for your attention and support.

Scot McConnachie
General Manager for Metro Seattle Gamers

Metro Seattle Gamers' new website is one step closer to going live!

Scot McConnachie — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 00:16:47 GMT

This new website will become our primary communications point to the public. This site provides a number of advantages for our members.

1) A functional website for the club that doesn't have to be managed by a web programmer.

2) It allows our members to set up their own user profiles on this website.

3) A central public event schedule that is not hidden by Yahoo! Groups current policy.

4) Members can make payment and adjust their membership status from this website.

5) As we get used to using the new event system we can layer in daily visitor registrations there as well.

There are more options with this system that will be brought up to our membership in the near future, but for now we are attempting to duplicate club procedures rather than build new ones.

Stay tuned!

Metro Seattle Gamers' space has been repainted, reorganized, and (a little bit) remodeled!

Scot McConnachie — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 19:22:38 GMT

This is somewhat older news that happened last fall but it bears repeating. Our club members, and some of their families, pitched in to repaint and reorganize the club's physical space.

The space in the main gaming area has been reorganized with all game storage now taking place against one wall. The whiteboards have been moved to more useful locations and a new suspended lighting system has been put into the rear gaming room. That room now provides a more pleasant and private gaming experience.

This contribution was a spontaneous contribution: many of our members contributed in their time to make this happen. It was a wonderful morale boost to boot. We thank all of the members who pitched in to improve our club. We also extend a special thanks to Erin Marshall, who inspired and contributed much labor to this effort. Erin also painted the sign shown above.

Below is a shot of the rear gaming room.

Metro Seattle Gamers News

New Suite

More than 60 members

New General Manager

Simplified Booking System

MSG will be reopening on April 1st

MSG is closed until Phase 4

MSG is closed until 8/2/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 7/9/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 6/28/20

Metro Seattle Games is closed through 6/22/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 5/4/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 4/8/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is closed through 3/31/20

Metro Seattle Gamers is operating on a limited basis.

Our website has a new look

Metro Seattle Gamers has moved...upstairs

Dragonflight Board of Directors Call for Nominations

Water service has been restored to the Nickerson Marina Building

Water is temporarily out in the Nickerson Marina Building

Traffic Advisory for June 9, 2019

Recent and Coming Snowfall

Update to West Nickerson Street to 15th Avenue West Closures

West Nickerson Street to 15th Ave West Intersection Closures

#POTUS Kickstarter Launches!

Dragonflight Board of Directors Call for Nominations

Games developed at MSG near publication

Playing catch up: Illusions of Glory published

2017 Annual Meeting Report

Dragonflight 38 Call for Events

Metro Seattle Gamers Has Moved

Metro Seattle Gamers has moved to

The Nickerson Marina Building Suite 200D 1080 West Ewing Place Seattle, Washington

New GURPS Group Forming for November

Dragonflight 37 Call for Events

Seven Years War: an After Action Report

Red Zone Football Returns to MSG!

To the Devil's Cauldron News

Metro Seattle Gamers hosts the largest single game in its history.

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MSG Celebrates Our 25th Anniversary

MSG is Restored to Full Operations

Two New RPGs at MSG are recruiting players

Games under development at MSG now on GMT's P-500 list.

Metro Seattle Gamers will be closed 8/6/15 to 6 pm 8/10/15

Metro Seattle Gamers' Annual Membership Meeting is coming up.

Metro Seattle Gamers new website has gone live!

Metro Seattle Gamers' new website is one step closer to going live!

Metro Seattle Gamers' space has been repainted, reorganized, and (a little bit) remodeled!

The Nickerson Marina Building
Suite 200D
1080 West Ewing Place
Seattle, Washington