So You Meet in a Tavern …

Join us Friday night for a carefree evening of fun at the Bear Brew Pub in Orono as we gather where ALL good adventures start – at the tavern!  Quickly becoming as legendary as the con itself, our kick-off party every year draws its own crowd from gamers and con-goers to local nerd royalty and teams of muggles hoping to be as cool.

Comedy and Improv by our beloved Sax Carr – fanboy comic, all the way from Los Angeles will entertain you with wicked smart comedy (and will, like any good GM, lead his players to great heights of adventure for your amusement!)

DJ Scavenger from Gothic Maine’s Plague in Portland joins us for the night, spinning Goth/Darkwave/Industrial for our dancing pleasure.

Kelley and the Bear Brew staff will be presenting wild and wonderful theme drinks for the night (mmmm, tastes like…first edition…) :

The Gary Gygax shot
The Blue Knight shot
Sonic Screwdriver
Boss Battles

21+, $5 at the door*; 8pm doors open; comedy at 8:30; dancing to follow.
*(pre-registered SnowCon GM’s get in free!)

Enjoy a relaxed dinner before heading up to the Tavern, or order dinner while you’re there – there will be table service this year! Friday’s special is Slow Roasted Prime Rib with “brew au jus” – plus gourment brick oven pizza, jumbo wings, 100% Angus beef burgers. Something for everyone!

And now a word from our sponsors …

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes amazing sponsors to raise a SnowCon. Every year our sponsors go above and beyond. Not only do their contributions help make this event happen, their dedication makes the event great.

Game Citadel represents a great community of gamers in the Greater Bangor area. The energy they put into the weekly events in-store is duplicated in the array of offerings they provide during SnowCon. With contributions to the Game Library and sponsored games on the schedule, Game Citadel returns for a second year as a co-sponsor.

In business for 17 years and specializing in board games, RC Hobbies of Dixfield, Maine, has stormed the online castle offering a huge selection of Euro-Imports, miniatures, RPG, CCG, dice and many other gaming accessories available to order at great prices.We’re excited to have them join us as a co-sponsor this year.

New games get us excited and if previous offerings are anything to go by, Merrymeeting Games from Brunswick is sure to keep us entertained in the future. Taking top honor at last year’s SnowCon with Cabin Fever: The Game From Maine, designer Mark Leaman returns to SnowCon as a sponsor. Find him in the gaming hall between some epic games and ask him about the new SnowCon Rule in Cabin Fever.

If games be the food of life, play on!

So many games, how will you play them all? During SnowCon weekend you give it your best try. To make it easier we use an online scheduling tool called Warhorn. When you register for SnowCon online, Warhorn creates a profile for you that allows you to view the weekend gaming schedule online and choose the games you want to play. Warhorn won’t allow you to double book yourself in the same time slot. What games you’re playing and when will always be visible so you can find time to eat. (Amateur!)

What games are available to play? We’re glad you asked.

Board Games

Board games of every shape, size and level can be found on the schedule. Many of these are open to the novice or new player with a seasoned game master guiding your way to maximize your fun. Some board game offerings may state that they’re geared to a more experienced player. Beware, less you are sent away with your head hanging in shame.

Current favorites on the schedule include Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium, Puerto Rico, Settlers of Catan, Agricola, Carcassonne and more!

RPGs

Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, Pathfinder … Role-playing games are interactive storytelling at its finest and SnowCon is fortunate to have great Game Masters who work all year on adventures worthy of your imaginative spirit & time.  Our GMs are rockstars and not only will you fine entertaining twists on cult favorites like the Chris Pierce-led campaigns of Serenity & Fright Night and multimedia experiences like the Call of Cthulhu games of Andre Kruppa, but new creations being introduced like Avengers Assemble! led by Jay Libby of Dilly Green Bean Games.

CCGs and other Card Games

Magic the Gathering rules the CCG world. For those that can’t get enough, we have a Magic the Gathering Booster Draft Tournament on Sunday.  Deck building games are growing more and more popular and Dominion will be in demand in the gaming hall. Let’s not forget Killer Bunnies or the various editions of Munchkin found in the Game Library.

Miniatures

With exquisite detail and providing hours of entertainment, the miniatures and models that make of some of the best tabletop campaigns are thrilling to see. Warhammer 40K players have been quick to sign up for the tournament on Saturday. If you’r interested in trying something new, stop by the Malifaux demos on Saturday and try your mettle during the Malifaux tournament on Sunday.

Game Library

Scheduled games and tournaments only make up part of the fun at SnowCon. Open gaming tables are available throughout the weekend for you to play pick-up games of your favorites you can’t get enough of. Need a suggestion? Stop over at the Game Library and find something new among the many games available to borrow and start playing with old friends or new. Enjoy!

So You Meet in a Tavern …

We understand that every great adventure begins in a tavern, so we kick off SnowCon weekend with geektastic party full of comedy, music and a few surprises.

Fanboy comedian Sax Carr returns from Los Angeles for a third year to entertain us (and will, like any good GM, lead his players to great heights of adventure for your amusement!). Sax is of course the cohost on the Fandom Planet podcast, a lifelong player of RPGs and is one of the most sought after comedians speaking on the things he loves: comics, gaming, superhero, steampunk, and geek culture.The art below is from his forthcoming  CD.

Illustration by Jon Bogdanove

DJ Scavenger from Gothic Maine’s Plague in Portland joins us for the night, spinning Goth/Darkwave/Industrial for our dancing pleasure.

Kelley and the Bear Brew staff will be presenting wild and wonderfully themed drinks for the night (mmmm, tastes like … first edition …).

21+, $5 at the door*; doors open at 8:00 pm; comedy at 8:30 pm; dancing to follow

*(pre-registered SnowCon GMs get in free!)

Game of the Con

Last year we were pleased to award Game of the Con to Cabin Fever, created by Mark Leaman of Merrymeeting Games in Brunswick. It was a lot of fun playing the game at SnowCon 2011 and how we could we resist a game where you get “snowed in.”

As the winter of 2011 continued, Cabin Fever: The Game from Maine was featured in Wired’s GeekDad blog and played on television during a statewide morning news program. We’re certainly glad so many agreed that Cabin Fever is a great game you can take anywhere.

Merrymeeting Games returns to SnowCon this year with a surprise: Cabin Fever SnowCon 2012 Edition, complete with a special SnowCon rule. Our first 50 online registrants for this year’s event will receive this limited edition in their Early-Bird Swag Bag. If you were not one of the first 50, fear not – we here there will be some copies of the SnowCon 2012 Edition of Cabin Fever sneaking around the gaming floor as prizes.

Thank you Merrymeeting Games for making this possible and congratulations again Mark on the success of Cabin Fever. We can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

Who will be this year’s Game of the Con?

photo courtesy of Merrymeeting Games

We’re only 12 days away from the main(e) event! With the help of our wintery 12-sided die, we’re going to count down the days and bring you important updates, exciting news and random SnowCon facts that no one should be without.

Tournament Sign-up

As you may know, online registration & advance game sign-up ends on Monday, January 9th. This includes the tournaments being held at SnowCon this year! Advance game sign-up is the only way to guarantee yourself a slot at the Warhammer 40K & Settlers of Catan tournaments on Saturday and the Malifaux & Magic the Gathering tournaments on Sunday.

Single-Day Gaming Passes

Whether you’re coming just for a tournament or simply can’t convince your boss to give you the whole weekend off, Single-Day Gaming Passes are currently available online for both Saturday ($25) and Sunday ($15). Click on the Event Registration tab above and choose your single-day option when prompted. Remember: you must be registered, paid & cleared to sign-up for games and tourneys in advance.

The games are soon to begin. Even though game submission for the 2012 event is over, online event registration and game sign-up is still open for one more week. Weekend and single-day gaming passes are still available at a discount. Admission will be available at the SnowCon Gates, but advance registration is the only way to sign-up for games early and guarantee your spot at your favorite games or game masters’ campaigns. Act now because SnowCon only comes once a year.

Visit our Warhorn site now. Be one of the first 50 to register and you’ll also receive a limited SnowCon 2012 Swag Bag full of gaming treasure!

The SnowCon staff is very excited for everything we have in store this year and we look forward to gaming with you in January. Check back regularly for updates and don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

See you soon!