If you answered "yes" to either of these questions, I hope you were at Dayton Designed: Game Night last Saturday. In recent years, global sales of tabletop games have shot higher than a Jenga tower. Dayton Designed: Game Night was a chance to try out games that are being engineered by designers right here in the Dayton area.
This is a no-brainer. The reason most people were at the event was to try out some new games. And did they ever. Though I’ve always known the Gem City to be a bastion of art, design, creativity, and engineering, who could have known that there are so many game designers here?
Many different types of games were represented, from board to card to role-playing to party games. I was able to play Blackfall Press's up-and-coming tower defense / dungeon crawler Dwarven Defenders, which was a blast. Other great games I tried were Just Got Real, Vikings vs Unicorns, and The Treasure of Nemo's Island.
Since the event only ran for a few hours, it would have been impossible to try all the games there, unfortunately. Next time, I only hope the event will be longer, so I can try more games!
If the popularity of tabletop gaming is starting to heat up, then craft beer mania is an active volcano. Bringing these two trends together is a bound to be a critical hit.
Dayton Designed: Game Night was the perfect culmination of tabletop gaming and craft beer. Most everyone there had a pint glass in hand at all times. For those who prefer not to partake of alcoholic beverages, there was delicious butterbeer in frosty mugs overflowing with whipped cream.
As for me, I stuck with the Dry Lock IPA to keep me hydrated and warm for the gaming festivities. It was a delicious, full-bodied pale ale with a nice creamy head. I may have enjoyed more than one of them.
Miamisburg is a cool town with an interesting history. During the frontier days, travelers on the long journey from Cincinnati to Dayton would stop in Miamisburg for rest and sustenance. The building that now houses Star City Brewing Company was a 19th-century sawmill, and later, a popular restaurant called The Peerless Mill Inn.
Though I had been to Star City a handful of times before Saturday, I’d previously been unaware of the Heritage Room, a gorgeous room in the northwest corner of the building. This beautiful room contains a large stone double fireplace and several tables. It would be a great room to rent out for an event or party. It lent itself perfectly to the occasion.
This was possibly the best part. Playing games at Dayton Designed was a perfect opportunity to make new friends.
The game designers I met were great people. As enthusiasts, they were just interested in sharing their projects and getting people’s opinions. Most of these creators were lifelong gamers themselves, so it was fun to talk to them about not just their own games, but the games they like to play at home, as well.
The other players were the just the kind of unique, quirky, and diverse kinds of people you want as new friends. I talked to people of all ages and backgrounds. Best of all, you know that you at least have one thing in common with the other people there: a love of games.
Ohio Gaming Brigade, the group who put the whole thing together, are a great bunch of people. These young guys genuinely want to advance the culture of gaming here in Dayton, and it showed through in their fun event. I'd recommend everyone follow them on Facebook to keep up with what they're doing next.
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