One proud Dad.
I have been pretty quiet of late, had a lot to do with getting ready for our big anniversary party, then jumping into some surgery. I am not dead, so let's get back on track.
The EndGame 7th Anniversary party was a pretty big success. As usual, the upstairs was jam packed, and there was a huge variety of games going on at any given time. I love our parties, as they are pretty much one of the only days that our very diverse community gets to see what they all do. The board gamers get to see the D&D players, and the D&D players get to see the Warhammer players, etc. I always think it's pretty important for the various gaming communities at large to know they aren't on their own. (Just tell a Magic gamer we don;t carry singles, and they think we are crazy...as one example). We had a full house pretty much the whole day.
I always make sure my younger son gets to come to these parties. As he has grown up with the store, he has also achieved a level of "maturity" that allows him to engage a lot more in actual game play. He is starting to get the basics of strategy, and he understands making careful choices are somewhat meaningful when he is playing a game. While I expected him to get involved at the party, I didn't expect for him to get to sit and play D&D for 2 straight hours.
It was pretty goddamn awesome. The people at the table welcomed him in, and helped him through the process. I don't think I have seen him work so hard on anything before. He _wanted_ this. He wanted to be at the big guys table, playing games his Dad plays. His brother (you can see him in the picture I have attached) was there to root him on, and the player you also see in the picture (who also co-coordinates our RPGA at the store) made sure he knew what was happening throughout the two encounters he played. They didn't give him anything. He had to make his rolls, and do his part...but they made sure he had fun doing it.
Honestly, that is what the store is for me. A way to get new gamers into gaming. Plain and simple. You have a picture of why we could close tomorrow, and I could walk away feeling like we did a fine job.