As we slowly begin to re-open from the various shutdowns and restrictions of the pandemic, many people may be searching for new hobbies and pastimes, and Ptarmicon may have just the thing.
The group is well known in the NWT for putting together various pop culture events and conventions, and for almost as long as the group has been around, they’ve also held drop-in “Game Knights” every two weeks, open for all who would like to join.
Participants meet every second Saturday at the Northern United Place from 7 to 11, bringing in various games to share with other players. Alina D’Amicantonio, who has been helping to organize Ptarmicon events for nearly two years, helped to explain.
“It’s basically been a part of us since the beginning. Back in the day, we actually had to charge five dollars, but thanks to our wonderful sponsors at Elks, it makes it so that it’s a free evening. People bring their board games, people bring their Magic cards, and it’s just a nice little way to socialize and interact, and meet people with similar hobbies and try new games.”
As expected, there is quite a wide variety of games that one can encounter at Game Knight, though as D’Amicantonio explains, many games are not as unfamiliar as one might expect.
“If you look at the mechanics of the games that are brought in, you can see familiar patterns. For example, I have a game called “Bananagrams,” and it’s similar to Scrabble, in the sense that it’s a word game, and you have letter tiles, and you’re seeking to make a crossword puzzle layout. The difference is that instead of competing for points on a single board, everyone draws a certain amount of tiles from a bunch in the middle, and it’s a bit of a race, but it all depends on the mood and the vibe of the people playing. So the game can be very fast and competitive.”
D’Amicantonio shared that what she enjoyed the most about Game Knight was the chance to see members of the community that she wouldn’t get to see much often elsewhere, as well as the opportunity to share new experiences with those people. She explained that sonce certain tabletop games can become quite expensive, these events can help expose people to new games and get a taste for them before they end up spending any money.
As popular as Game Knight may be, Ptarmicon’s biggest events remain their annual conventions, which D’Amicantonio was excited to say will be making a comeback for this year. Their summer convention will be held on July 30th and 31st. This will be a major comeback for Ptarmicon, as COVID has forced them to only set up smaller conventions in the last two years.
The next Game Knight will be held on Saturday, April 16th.
