The Weekly Grind - June 6th, 2025 Newsletter

Critical Grind Gaming
Jun 4
5 min read

Updated: Jun 8

Little bit late here but I promise it's worth it!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS!

The first few sections here are some important announcements.

--> PRE-ORDERS ARE STILL AVAILABLE

We are still accepting pre-orders for Lorcana: Reign of Jafar, and Magic: Final Fantasy. If you are interested in pre-ordering any of these items, stop by the store asap and get your order in!

Quantities are limited.

NOTE: These Final Fantasy Prices are PRE-ORDER PRICES! The prices are subject to change on June 6th.

If you're still interested in Daggerheart, as of this email we have ONE copy of the Core Edition left.

RPG Event Updates!

--> KIDS RPG NIGHT FOLLOW-UP

Kid's RPG Night has been going well! This new system is working.

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. That means we're skipping 2 weeks due to a 5th Friday. The next Kid's RPG Night will be June 13th! Keep an eye out that week for the sign-up email.

-->D&D SUMMER CLUB IS A GO and we still have room for players. Thank you to our DMs for signing up!

D&D SUMMER CLUB: SIGN UP NOW

The D&D Summer Club will run through June & July. Each session will last 4 weeks and will have at least 1 group for 6th through 8th graders and 1 group for 9th through 12th graders. I will be maxing the table at 5 players, with a minimum of 3 players for the session to proceed.

4 WEEK SESSIONS:

Session A: Mondays in June from 11am - 2pm (2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd)

Session B: Wednesdays in June from 11am - 2pm (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th)

Session C: Tuesdays in July from 11am - 2pm (1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd)

Session D: Thursdays in July from 11am - 2pm (3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th)

All sessions will be Dungeons & Dragons. It could be 5e or 2024 edition, or a homebrew amalgamation of the 2 variants. All storylines are expected to be age-appropriate and we ask that all players respect their DMs and fellow players at all times.

It is DM discretion whether pre-made characters will be provided or if players will be creating their own character during the first session.

PLAYERS! It is time for FREE RPG DAY! What is Free RPG Day? It's a day when we have RPG Modules running all day, workshops, open mini-painting, drink specials, and raffles! There will be plenty of free modules to stop in and pick up *while supplies lasts. But if you sign up for a session not only are you guaranteed that module, but you get to play too! We're also bringing back our Side Quest Objectives. Get a sticker for various things like playing an RPG, painting a mini, buying dice, getting our exclusive Free RPG Day potion bottle, and more.

Attend a Guinness World Record Attempt!

The Cafe is staying open for 37 hours straight!

Join us as Jay Borsom of Liquid Kourage Entertainment attempts to set a new world record for the longest marathon as a quiz master. This is a 36-hour trivia marathon. It will go from 10am on Saturday to 10pm on Sunday. She needs at least 2 teams of 4 people to be present at any given point in the marathon to qualify for the record.

Each time slot is 4 hours and is $25 per person. This is a reservation for the specific time slot. All participants require their own ticket.

20% of each in-house ticket will benefit Tabletop Gaymers.

If you only want to spectate, your presence does not count toward Jay accomplishing her goal. We are limiting attendance in the main room for players only. If you are observing at the cafe, we will have the stream broadcast in the game room and we ask that you pay the usual Saturday $8 table fee, as you'll be using play space and be able to play any games in the library while you watch.

MAGIC & LORCANA PLAYERS!

These are the information and image links to ALL upcoming Magic the Gathering and Lorcana events.

May's Miniature Painting Contest Winner!

Thank you to all of our May Miniature Painting contestants. Congratulations to our Winner!

June's Miniature Painting Contest starts now.

Our June contest mini is an original character from Neon Blues. Neon Blues is a Role Playing Game by local publisher, Void Gate Games. Stop by the cafe to pick up your mini and bring it back by June 22nd for voting. The winner of this one will receive a Critical Grind Gift Card, A Mini Trophy, and a PDF of the Neon Blues RPG.

Last Week's Recap

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

The newest episode of Critical Community just dropped!

Danita Morgan is my sister. I was lucky to have her on as a guest, willing to tell her story about how she went from being a successful person in her career, to living with an addiction, to being in recovery, and now working for the Braidwood Area Healthy Community Coalition to help and support other people in recovery and drug prevention in youth. And she did it with community and a support system.

(Note to listeners, there was a slight audio issue for the first 10 minutes or so. I apologize for that. Please adjust your volume accordingly because I don't know how to fix it in post...)

Available on Spotify, Podbean, and Apple Podcasts.

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