Last week's little recap and a look at the upcoming events!
We received a lot of great responses from our 2023 Event Google Form. Thank you to everyone who contributed. Here's the link if you still want to provide your input: https://forms.gle/apwXbnGsUFN7ts6d7
Good crowd on Monday for Magic the Gathering. I love seeing people get excited to see their Critical Grind Magic friends.
We had our first guest DM last Thursday. Thank you to Noah for running a one-shot for our players! It seems like everyone had a good time.
Saturday & Sunday were very busy and I loved it. It was wonderful seeing so many groups of friends and families playing games together.
I cannot express to y'all how excited I am to share some of the upcoming events with you.
Let's start with our new bi-weekly(2x) event.
Tuesdays & Thursdays we're hosting meet-ups for Homeschoolers & for Stay-at-Home Families. Homeschoolers are from 10 am-12 pm & the stay-at-home group is from 12 pm-2 pm. I've been asked a few times why they're separated and what the difference is. Honestly, there isn't one. I just separated the times based on the idea that the homeschoolers may want to meet other homeschoolers & play more educational-themed games; the stay-at-home families likely have younger children who would benefit more from kids' games and dexterity games. Everyone's welcome anytime.
Tomorrow, Tuesday the 10th, will be our first one and I am really hoping for a great turnout.
All that said, I've already been asked about a specific time for homeschooled teenagers. While nothing is set in stone, I'm considering Fridays 12 pm-2 pm. But I'm waiting to see what the demand is.
This Wednesday we'll be back at Flight Tasting Room & Bottle Shoppe. Josh will be there with a wide assortment of games. This event is open to all ages and pet friendly. Last month had a good amount of people and we are hoping this month will be just as good, if not better.
Thursday we have Hannah joining us for the first time as a guest DM this week. She'll be running players through a D&D 5e one-shot. As always our RPG Thursday nights are open to everyone. The more players we have, the more DMs/GMs we'll find. If anyone wants to participate as a guest DM/GM, fill out this Google Form and we'll get you in the rotation. Games are not limited to Dungeons & Dragons. Pathfinder, Quest, or other RPGs are welcome.
Friday's theme for our game night is Cooperative games. Of course, people don't always stick to the theme, and that's perfectly fine.
Saturday and Sunday don't have anything specific on the calendar but that just means it's open gaming!
Later Events
January 21st will be our first To The Table event. To The Table is something I started to help people get those games off their TBP (to-be-played) pile or Shelf of Shame. We've all done it. You buy a game and then none of your friends want to play it, or you just don't have the time, or you don't have enough people. Well, that's where we come in. For our To The Table events, we select a game submitted by one of our players/customers. The person who suggested it is contacted with a couple of date options (usually a Saturday) and is the first player reserved. We'll try to set up anywhere from 2-4 different games, with a few hours in between in case some people want to play multiple games. Then we create the event and open up the reservations. As usual, this event is free to attend - we only ask participants to purchase something from the cafe.
For January 21st, we'll be playing Dune (11 am), Pandemic (2 pm), and Terra Mystica (5 pm). To reserve a seat message us on Facebook or Instagram, call the cafe at 815-630-4235, or email me at dana@criticalgrind.com.
Another new event we're starting is the Company Spotlight. Studio Agate and Calliope Games will be the first two companies we feature.
We're still solidifying the dates with Studio Agate so keep an eye on the socials and email for that. Calliope Games will be here on February 25th! Meet game creators, Chris Leder and Kevin Rodgers. Learn how to play Tsuro, Roll For It, Mass Transit, Hive Mind, and others. We will have copies of Calliope Games for sale, including Roll For It, created by Chris Leder, and Mass Transit, created by Chris Leder and Kevin Rodgers, which you can get signed while they're here... if you're into that.
One Last Thought
I'd like to thank those of you who have taken the time to share our cafe with others. Word of mouth is honestly one of the most helpful things someone can do for a business. Telling your friends and family, interacting with our social media posts, posting your Google reviews & Facebook recommendations, and bringing new people here. It's all so very helpful and I can't thank you all enough. It's because of excited and wonderful customers like you, that we have new people discovering us every day. When I've thanked some of you in person, I've gotten responses like, "we want to see you succeed", or "the more people we bring in, the longer you'll be here", and that's honestly the truth. We aren't a chain or franchise. We are a small business and it's the support of our community, our customers, our gamers, that's what's going to keep us here for years to come. It's already been a whirlwind of 2 months. We're ever-growing and changing. We're adapting and adjusting. And we have you all to thank for every moment we've been here thus far.