The EPI-log

Despite the age of this blog, I have still not written a blog for every event we hold, EPIC Crafty Creative Day is perhaps the most prominent one I've missed.  What is EPIC Crafty Creative Day? EPIC Crafty Creative Day started off as a concept way back when EPIC first opened, the premise was to combine Trish's Crafty Studio and EPIC on one day a month, where creative parents could craft whilst their kids could craft on minecraft (yes that was way back when we ran a minecraft server in store). Over time it transitioned into miniature painting for games like Warhammer, D&D and such using the paint supplies from crafty whilst the crafty studio adopted a crop day structure. Both retail and space for EPIC Ipswich and The Crafty Studio will remain open all day as per usual. The price? The price? oh riiiight, the price! Yes that'd either be your mortal soul or ownership of your first born child..... KIDDING! It's free with exception to hiring supplies and purchasing a mini...

  If you have not been following the last week of Dungeons and Dragons  (D&D) or Magic the Gathering  (MTG), the parent company of both major games - Wizards of the Coast, just announced their next lineup of 2023 projects including the titles of D&D's upcoming books. Here's all the details we know about the upcoming releases. Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Dragonlance has been a long demanded set that D&D 5th edition returns too. Set in the world of Krynn, this setting has proven to be quite popular in previous editions of the game. What makes the module unique is that it takes place during the war of the lance and has a board game releasing alongside it that may be played independently or incorporated into your campaign. The board game " Warriors of Krynn " plays out alot of mass combats (something D&D as an RPG has failed to do accurately) and will enable players to move between the D&D RPG and Warriors of Krynn game with equiptment and...

  Every Game Store runs and sells games, that is kind of a given with it literally being in the name and all, however, how many Local Game Stores (LGSs) do you know that run a nondescript night for people to come in store and play whatever game they feel like? Granted many Game Stores allow patrons to use their space and play whatever game they want, there is a core part that is missing from some I've visited. Many stores have die-hard, cutthroat gamers that play for sheep stations and whilst that is great for their business model and what they are trying to achieve, projecting my own thoughts and feelings onto this, I feel as though those stores have lost sight of what made them great and welcomed so many new faces into the community.  What is so wrong with scheduled tournaments and competitive games every weeknight? The short answer is nothing. There's no right or wrong way to run a game store. There is a sense of exclusivity when you go to stores that operate like this. Alm...

WOWEE! Yup. That’s all that needs to be said about that. International Free RPG Day was a spectacle, to say the least, it was a phenomenal turnout! Now whilst I, unfortunately, couldn’t be in attendance or even video call in due to personal reasons, I have heard nothing but praise from patrons and nothing but groans of caffeinated Game Masters being mentally drained from running RPGs all day. One thing is for certain Game Masters – YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB! Whilst I’m not a detective, I may have heard a  rumour that a quarterly RPG day is being considered for EPIC Ipswich to hold more often. Seriously, that’s how popular Saturday was. Jon (who ran many a game of  Call of Cthulhu on Saturday) is launching a permanent game day for  Call of Cthulhu on Saturdays moving forward.   What Games were run? Free RPG Day was split into 4 time slots with multiple games per slot: 10 AM  – Cyberpunk Red ,  Call of Cthulhu ,  Iron Kingdoms and Tavern Hop 1 PM  –...

Unless you’ve been living in a different reality, you likely won’t have heard of Free RPG Day. The organisation  Gaming Days only formed in 2019 to provide Game Stores (like your friendly neighbourhood  E.P.I.C. Ipswich ), with gaming opportunities, as it stands they only have one yearly global event, the aforementioned Free RPG Day. 2019 was a great year to launch, but unless you lived in a reality where Local Game Stores (LGS) wasn’t affected by Covid-19 or lockdowns, this event likely never reached your ears unless you were part of the 1st Free RPG Day.   What is Free RPG Day? Free RPG Day is pretty much what it says on the label, its a Day when stores are given content and Role Play Games from some of the largest gaming publishers for FREE to run for their stores.   What Games have been announced this year? Starfinder: Skitter Warp, Pathfinder: A Fistful of Flowers Skitter Warp is a short #Starfinder adventure with 4 pre-generated characters to let you quickly l...

When I first started my job here there was one looming question I had for the owners; “Why are you wanting to start a games store if you have never worked in one before, nor had you ever been involved with one before?”. Their answer was all I needed to hear to sign-up immediately – “We wanted a place for our kids and their friends to hang out and play board games.” EPIC Ipswich has been centred around the idea of community and a safe place of inclusivity since day one. It’s something I have kept close to my heart every day since working here. It begs the question, why is it so crucial that Game Stores listen and grow with their community? I’m prefacing this with some of my own observations as well as thoughts from other gamers I play with.    Mistakes of game Stores Unfortunately, too many game stores open up without thinking about their client base. Many open with the owner’s own game preferences in mind and try to build a community of like-minded individuals. Multiple proble...