The Weekly Grind - August 5th, 2025 Newsletter

Critical Grind Gaming
Aug 5
6 min read

Phew! Ash, Rudy, and I are exhausted from Gen Con and I'm sure the Home Team is too. But I'm really excited to share with y'all some of the games we brought home.

NEW ITEMS & RESTOCKS for retail

NEW from Darrington Press:

Solar Gardens. It's a light-hearted tile-drafting game where you're building the best rooftop garden.

Purchase your copy of Solar Gardens and receive a Critical Role 10th Anniversary Promo Pack.

Critical Role 10th Anniversary Promo Pack includes:

Till the Last Gasp – A collection of drama cards drawing from iconic moments and characters in Critical Role’s history.
Caper Cards – A new treasure card to steal and mix up your heists.
Queen by Midnight – A new set of Bazaar cards inspired by the world of Exandria that can be played with the core game or its stand-alone expansion.
Solar Gardens – Draft assistance art cards that showcase the beautiful world of Solar Gardens and can be used to indicate if a player has already drafted their tile for the round or not.
Candela Obscura - A series of prompt cards that give aspiring lightkeepers compelling mysteries to inspire campaigns.
Daggerheart - The cast of the Menagerie depicted as an alternative art version of their respective Ancestry cards.

NEW from Wise Wizard Games:

Push Push Penguin is a fun, easy, family game where you're raising to be the SECOND penguin down the iceberg.

Pack the Essentials is a cute game where you're trying to pack the most cats in your suitcase.

Caution Signs is a fast-paced party game where adjectives and nouns come together in some weird combinations that players need to draw and the reader needs to figure out.

NEW from Alley Cat Games:

Tinderblox is a restock but it's a great small tin game you can take anywhere. Reverse Jenga, this dexterity game has you build your campfire using tweezers.

Barbecubes The sequel to Tinderblox, Barbecubes has your placing food on the grill. Don't drop any food!

Tic Tac Trek gives Tic Tac Toe vibes, with a tile drafting mechanic. Another small tin game and easy to take on-the-go.

High Rise Penguins takes card mechanics of UNO and adds a dexterity mechanic of stacking things on the tower and hope they don't topple over.

Message in a Bottle is a word-based party game similar to BOGGLE. Shake the letters in the bottle and get points for making the most words that use all the letters shown.

Kitten: Pusheen If you've ever played the cat-stacking game, Kitten, you know how to lay Pusheen. It's just got a Pusheen theme. A card is flipped and it's a race to stack the ktitens to match the image on the card.

Washed Ashore is a solo adventure card game. You've been shipwrecked upon a deserted island. It's a choose your own adventure with 13 different endings.

Happy Home is a polyomino (tetris-like shapes) drafting game where you're going around the store 'that's definitly not Ikea' to collect pieces to put in your home and score points.

Timber Town is a 2-player river-drafting game (the draft pile is ever-changing), where you're playing beaver architects constructing new towns along the banks of the river, placing tiles in the columns they were drawn from and scoring points.

NEW from Australian Indie Companies

Fire Noodle Eating Champs by ToTo Tam is a 2 player dice game. Roll the dice and match your rolls to collect cards for points.

Coffee Up! by ToTo Tam is a 2-5 player co-op memory games where you're trying to run a 5-star coffee shop.

Aethermon: Collect by Aethermon Studios is a quick set-collection game you can play co-op or competitive mode.

Castles of Caleira by Cutlass Boardgames, is a beautifully illustrated game. Played in about 10min, players construct their castles and try to destroy their opponents.

RPG Event Updates!

--> KIDS RPG NIGHT

I will be emailing the parents directly every week a few days before Kid's RPG Night with the link for sign-ups and session descriptions. So if you are a Kid's RPG Night parent, please fill out this form (if you haven't already).

Please remember Kid's RPG Night is only the 2nd and 4th Fridays.

The next Kid's RPG Night is this Friday, August 8th.

--> Discord Looking For Party Highlights

These are some RPGs being mentioned in our Discord that people are looking to get together and play.

Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Daggerheart, and probably some others. Join the discord and don't miss the tables.

Tip: When you join, go to Rules to get verified. Then, VERY IMPORTANTLY: go to Roles-and-Info to select your interests. This is what will unlock the channels.

TCG Event Updates!

Pack Rush is very simple format, each player will open packs and just play with those packs as if they were a deck. You ignore the color identity rule and use every card from the packs. It's fun, super casual and you don't need anything but the packs you'll get there. — **Pack Rush** is very simple format, each player will open packs and just play with those packs as if they were a deck. You ignore the color identity rule and use every card from the packs. It's fun, super casual and you don't need anything but the packs you'll get there.

Magic Academy: Deck Building is a beginner-focused event designed to teach new players the basics of building a Magic: The Gathering deck, specifically in the Limited format (Sealed). It uses a structured approach with instructional videos and staff guidance to help players create their first decks from 6 provided booster packs and then play a few casual games. — **Magic Academy: Deck Building** is a beginner-focused event designed to teach new players the basics of building a Magic: The Gathering deck, specifically in the Limited format (Sealed). It uses a structured approach with instructional videos and staff guidance to help players create their first decks from 6 provided booster packs and then play a few casual games.

What is Magic & Mayhem? Magic & Mayhem: a Sealed Magic even with 3 boosters. Not a draft, just sealed. The format, or chaos effect, of the sealed even changes every week (thus mayhem). Lands provided by Critical Grind. What is Chocobo Racing? Chocobo Racing is a Magic and Mayhem event where players can earn points to get Limited Final Fantasy prizes like art Prints and the very limited AR Pins — **What is Magic & Mayhem?** Magic & Mayhem: a Sealed Magic even with 3 boosters. Not a draft, just sealed. The format, or chaos effect, of the sealed even changes every week (thus mayhem). Lands provided by Critical Grind. **What is Chocobo Racing?** Chocobo Racing is a Magic and Mayhem event where players can earn points to get Limited Final Fantasy prizes like art Prints and the very limited AR Pins

Board Game Event Updates!

--> Gayme Night

Every year after Gen Con, we host a Post Gen Con Games Day! Save the date for Saturday, August 30th to join us for a day of board gaming. We'll be introducing players to some of our favorite titles we brought home from Gen Con this year!

Special shout-outs will be going to those wonderfully supportive publishers who donated copies to our library this year.

Wednesday Open Play <--

We are currently offering Free Play on Wednesdays. Stop by anytime on a Wednesday and play any of the games in our library. (*this doesn't include any special events or tournaments*)

August's Mini Painting Contest!

August mini: Morgan, Young Apprentice.

You can pick up your Mini Paint Pass anytime and receive the paint contest mini.

This one is due back no later than August 24th.

We only have 4 left so pick yours up today!

Critical Community Podcast

Click the image or HERE to find us on Podbean! Or search for us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

I got a few interviews at Gen Con for the next episode. I'm hoping I will have time to edit and post as scheduled on Thursday.

Catch up now on Spotify, Podbean, and Apple Podcasts.

Are you interested in being a guest on the podcast? Fill out this form.

Did You Know!?

We're currently looking for vendors & bakers for October, November, & December.

If you're interested in doing a Sunday pop-up with us, please email dana@criticalgrind.com with your business information, what you sell, and what months you'd be interested in coming out. Please keep in mind that only cottage kitchens recognized by the health department are accepted for bakery pop-ups.

This Month's Calendar & Specials

AUGUST SPECIALS --

Flavor of the Month: Raspberry Pistachio. The versitility of this flavor combination is great in so many options. Cold Brew w/ Cold Foam (picture number 1), Chai (picture number 2), Cafe Latte, Matcha, or Italian Soda.

Bomb Pop: Cherry Lemonade w/Sparkling Water and Blueberry Cold Foam.

Lemonberry Smoothie: Mixed Berry & Lemonade Smoothie

Hot Toast Summer: Jalepeno Cream Cheese, Strawberries, Hot Honey, Red Pepper Flakes, and Garlic Powder

Extra Smalls Toast: Mashmallow Fluff with Mini Marshmallows, Mini Chocolate Chips, Chocolate Drizzle, and Graham Crackers

Get through that mid-week drab with some gaming! Every Wednesday is a FREE Open Gaming at Critical Grind. Cafe Purchase Required. This doesn't include any special events or tournaments. Only Open Play.

We've expanded our evening hot food options. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays after 5pm we have late-night hot snacks!

This Week's Event Highlights

This is a quick look at this week's events. And of course any day is Game Day at Critical Grind. Just stop in anytime and find your next favorite game.

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