2004 Holiday Game Festivals
Did you know that most board games are created by independent designers several years before they are acquired by Parker Brothers, Milton Bradley, Hasbro, or Mattel? This includes Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, Yahtzee, and many other classic games. In order to help people see these games before they hit the mainstream market, North Star Games has organized a series of fun-filled Game Festivals where local game designers demonstrate their newest releases to the public.
Event Description
These free events will feature award winning games by local designers, popular imported titles being taught by volunteers, open tables for people to bring and play their favorite games, and free games given as door prizes every hour! Local girl scouts will be selling inexpensive soda, fresh cookies and other great munchies at these events. This is your chance to play great board games with friends and family a year before everyone else is talking about them and get to see unique holiday gift ideas at the same time!
Who Should Come?
- Families with (well-behaved) children 8 and up
- Groups of friends of all ages
- Enthusiasts who want to meet up with friends to play their favorite Euro-game
- Anyone looking to meet people, learn some new games, and have a great time!
Times and Locations
- 3:30pm - 9:30pm on Saturday, November 27th at the Greenbelt Community Center
- 10:30am - 5:30pm on Saturday, December 4th at the Greenbelt Community Center
- 1:00pm - 5:00pm on Sunday, December 5th at the College Perk in College Park
- 1:00pm - 6:00pm on Saturday, December 11th at the Summit Hills Olympus Gym Fitness Center
- 12:00pm - 5:00pm on Sunday, December 12th at the Beltsville Community Center
Local Game Designers and their Games
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GEIST is a family game night classic. It combines imaginative
game play with a healthy dose of strategy for players aged 10
and up. Pack a crafty mind and a fistful of chili peppers to
chase down and capture Geists (ghosts), each with its own
mischievous prank you can play on your opponents and even on
yourself! With an engaging concept and stunning graphics,
GEIST challenges players to think strategically, race to a
white-knuckle finish and to Prank It Up!
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"The Comical Game of Clay Puzzles"
Since when was it good to do something poorly? Since the
award winning game of Cluzzle turned sculpting on its head!
In Cluzzle, your intentionally poor sculptures will not only
receive extra points, but the laughter they inspire will be
remembered for years to come!
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The race is on. In Balloon Cup players direct hot air
balloons over plains and mountains in an effort to claim the
most trophies. Collect three trophies, and you win!
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In Screw the Workers, you are the CEO of a small high-tech
company as it ascends to massive megacorporation status. If
you manage to avoid jail, acquire an unspendably high personal
financial portfolio, and are the richest of the CEOs, you win!
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What makes you laugh? More importantly, what makes your friends
laugh?
Each round, you'll have two minutes to create funny answers for a randomly generated riddle. But know your audience: One player will be judging answers instead of writing them! |
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Can you guess the master's riddle? Zendo is a game of logic
in which the Master creates a rule and the students attempt to
discover it.
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"Proof that laughing and thinking are not mutually exclusive!"
MetaMemes is a creative card game wherein cards depicting
Ideas, Objects, Inventions, and (really random) Words are
combined to produce New Ideas. It should be categorized as a
"party game" only if your parties feature intermittent rolling
about on the floor with the giggles and the occasional
exercise of the brain. We understand that not everyone enjoys
this kind of thing, and suggest that those who do not put this
game down immediately and back away slowly.
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GO mental™ - the award winning family
game where everyone is involved
all the time. You can steal
other players' questions; grab bonus points;
challenge other players and send them
backwards. It's about the most fun your
brain can have. Awards: Games 100, 2005; Creative Child
Magazine Preferred Choice, 2004.
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Other Great Games
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Leo Colovini
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Pirates must work together to escape from the dreaded fortress
of Cartagena!
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Franz-Benno Delonge
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Railroads are booming in the 19th century! Players are racing
to be the first to connect their network to 5 cities across
the country.
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Klaus-Jurgen Wrede
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A different beautiful map of French castles, intricate roads,
and farm land is created each time you play this fascinating
game of strategy and cooperation.
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Sponsors
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Games International Magazine
Special thanks to Games International for providing copies of Games International Magazine for use as door prizes. |
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Volunteer
Let us know if you are interested in helping out with any of these events by contacting us at gamefestival@cluzzle.com. For instance, we need people willing to teach families how to play the above titles that are not being represented by local game designers. Committing to blocks of 2 hours should be lots of fun and very helpful to us and the growth of the industry.
More Information
Please write to gamefestival@cluzzle.com or call 301-313-0448 if you have any questions or would like more information about these events.