x Wayward Coffeehouse | GeekGirlCon

August Geek About Town!

As we say goodbye to summer, make sure you check out these great events before the season changes! GAT will now also feature events that are going on throughout the month, so you can plan ahead!

 

Throughout August:

Free Gates Foundation Family Tours and Activities

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center, 440 5th Ave North, Seattle

Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10am to 5pm (until 6pm from June 3-August 30). Closed Sunday, Monday, and all U.S. holidays

Free admission!

It’s interactive, kid friendly, and full of teachable and inspirational moments. Bring your family to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center for a free visit to learn about the work being done to improve lives from Seattle to South Africa.

The Visitor Center, through engaging and thought-provoking exhibits, allows parents and children to dive into some of the world’s toughest challenges and learn how to act on their own ideas and solutions. Families can expect hands-on exhibits and spaces to create, explore, and discuss.

It’s an experience unlike any other in Seattle. Visit us across the street from the Seattle Center and the iconic Space Needle for an experience that will leave your family hopeful. Arrive curious. Leave inspired.

 

Monday, August 1: GeekGirlCon Agent Applications Close!

Today’s the last day to get your Agent Applications in! Applications are due at 10:00pm tonight.

GGC games

Tuesday, August 2: All Geeks, All Games at Mox Boarding House!

6:00pm-10:00pm, Mox Boarding House, 13310 BelRed Rd, Bellevue, WA

Our All Geeks, All Games events are growing in popularity! Join GeekGirlCon and Mox Boarding House in Bellevue and help us continue to expand our community of diverse and inclusive gamers to the East Side!

Help us fill that beautiful Tournament Room with folks enjoying our favorite games in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Why mess with the headache of traffic when you can come and play games with us instead.

Staff from both organizations will be on hand to help facilitate gameplay for the shy to the extroverted, from the expert strategist to the board game neophyte. With a huge lending library of games on hand, there will be something for everyone!

As an added bonus, if you play a board game from their library and love it, you can buy a fresh copy for 20% off! How cool is that?!

 

Saturday, August 6: Seattle Center Movies at the Mural: Mad Max, Fury Road

Dusk, Seattle Center

Free admission!

Experience FREE movies outdoors at Seattle Center this summer. Picnic on the gently sloping Mural Amphitheatre lawn, in front of a state-of-the-art 40-foot screen, with the Space Needle looming above. The series features popular movies, both classic and contemporary, appropriate for all-ages.  Movies at the Mural is an outdoor cinema experience like no other!

The desert wastelands inhabited by the Road Warrior are still rife with motorized gangs in this fourth chapter of the Mad Max legend. When Max encounters a group of refugees fleeing for their lives, he joins them and their fiery leader, Furiosa in this apocalyptic story set in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and everyone is fighting for the necessities of life.

 

Monday, August 8-Friday, August 12: Creativity Camps for Kids: Rock n Science

8:30am-4:15pm, EMP Museum and Pacific Science Center

Registration: $445 ($415 for EMP members)

Open to students in grade 1-2.

Discover the science behind sound in this amped up week!

At EMP, artists will take you on a tour to explore rock ‘n’ roll and hip-hop. Join a group and form a band, perform in front of virtual screaming fans, and collaboratively compose a song recorded for family and friends. Experiment with electric guitars, keyboards, and tuning forks.

At Pacific Science Center, explore vibration, pitch, and volume as you investigate your vocal cords and create your own instruments. Find out how tubes, wind, and string combine to make the sounds of science.

 

Friday, August 12: DIY Science Zone Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!

7:00pm-10:45pm, Wayward Coffeehouse, 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA

For this GeekGirlCon game night, there’ll be a special host and theme!

Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!

Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find CodenamesLove LetterSplendorKing of TokyoVöluspáslashAlien FrontiersLocke & KeyCoup,TokaidoSuperfightThe ResistanceColt ExpressSkull and RosesSettlers of Catan7 WondersToc Toc WoodmanFLUXX, and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.

 

Saturday, August 13: Seattle Center Movies at the Mural: Galaxy Quest

Dusk, Seattle Center

Free admission!

Experience FREE movies outdoors at Seattle Center this summer. Picnic on the gently sloping Mural Amphitheatre lawn, in front of a state-of-the-art 40-foot screen, with the Space Needle looming above. The series features popular movies, both classic and contemporary, appropriate for all-ages.  Movies at the Mural is an outdoor cinema experience like no other!

Decades after the success of the sci-fi series “Galaxy Quest,” the show’s washed-up stars — Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver) and Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) — are recruited by actual aliens to pull off an intergalactic rescue mission. At first, the actors assume the so-called Thermians are just another group of die-hard fans. But as the plot thickens, they realize they’re working with real-life extraterrestrials.

 

Saturday, August 13-Sunday, August 14: Felt-A-Con

10am-6pm, Seattle Children’s Theater,  201 Thomas Street Seattle, WA 98109

Registration: $40 Kids Mini-track, $100

FELT-A-CON 2016 is a time for networking, education, fun, and outreach. The event will welcome both professionals and enthusiasts, and puppeteers of all skill levels, from beginners to legends. The weekend registration fee will grant attendees access to at least 5 workshops, lunch, a FELT-A-CON 2016 t-shirt, and a group dinner at a Queen Anne restaurant.

Puppet professionals from Seattle, Everett, Portland, Phoenix and Los Angeles will lead workshops on a wide variety of topics, including sketch writing, tabletop puppetry, and stop motion animation.

 

Tuesday, August 16: All Geeks, All Games at Mox Boarding House!

6:00pm-10:00pm, Mox Boarding House, 13310 BelRed Rd, Bellevue, WA

Our All Geeks, All Games events are growing in popularity! Join GeekGirlCon and Mox Boarding House in Bellevue and help us continue to expand our community of diverse and inclusive gamers to the East Side!

Help us fill that beautiful Tournament Room with folks enjoying our favorite games in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Why mess with the headache of traffic when you can come and play games with us instead.

Staff from both organizations will be on hand to help facilitate gameplay for the shy to the extroverted, from the expert strategist to the board game neophyte. With a huge lending library of games on hand, there will be something for everyone!

As an added bonus, if you play a board game from their library and love it, you can buy a fresh copy for 20% off! How cool is that?!

 

Saturday, August 20: Seattle Center Movies at the Mural: West Side Story

Dusk, Seattle Center

Free admission!

Experience FREE movies outdoors at Seattle Center this summer. Picnic on the gently sloping Mural Amphitheatre lawn, in front of a state-of-the-art 40-foot screen, with the Space Needle looming above. The series features popular movies, both classic and contemporary, appropriate for all-ages.  Movies at the Mural is an outdoor cinema experience like no other!

Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, this classic musical set among the tenements of New York City finds star-crossed lovers Maria and Tony caught in the midst of a turf war between rival street gangs.  Featuring music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim, and directed by Jerome Robbins.

 

Saturday, August 21: Seattle Brasilfest

Seattle Center

Free admission!

Seattle’s BrasilFest celebrates the unique diversity of this South American cultural melting pot. Brazil’s African, Portuguese and indigenous roots are celebrated with classical guitar, samba rhythms and the percussive beats of traditional folk music.

BrasilFest (Brazil spelled with an “S” in Portuguese): The lively world of Brazilian arts and culture will fill Seattle Center with a sultry display of South American soul, Brazilian style.

This one-day extravaganza will offer continuous music, dance, workshops and performance that represent a broad repertoire of traditional and contemporary Brazilian expressions as well as traditional folkloric performers. Experience all that this exuberant and vivid culture has to offer, from Capoeira demonstrations and workshops for all ages (Brazilian martial arts), Samba workshops, children’s activities (mask-making, painting), Brazilian instruments, arts and crafts, photo exhibits and films. BrasilFest is the first annual celebration of Brazilian culture in Washington State, drawing a significant audience.

 

Saturday, August 20-Sunday, August 21: Rat City Rollergirls presents Rust Riot

10:00am onwards, The Rat’s Nest, Shoreline

Passes $45 (2 day) or $25 (1 day)

Menacing clouds are rolling in to Seattle, and the forecast calls for a Rain of Terror as they host this year’s Rust Riot, a tournament featuring some of the best B teams in the world. Mark your calendars for August 20th and 21st and get ready to embrace the gray.

For just $45, you can purchase a weekend pass, which includes admission to 9 full hard-hitting derby bouts. Only available on Saturday or Sunday? Not a problem. We also have one-day passes available for just $25.

This tournament features Rat City All Stars, Rat City’s Rain of Terror, Terminal City All Stars, Terminal City B-Side, Rose City Axles of Annihilation, Montreal Sexpos and Rocky Mountain Contenders.

 

Friday, August 26: Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Skyway Outdoor Cinema

8:00pm – 11:00pm, Skyway Outdoor Cinema, 12610 76th Ave S, Seattle, Washington 98178

We end yet another epic season of SOC with a movie that truly needs no introduction, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. You may want to start grooming your trusty old Chewie costume now.

FOOD: Taco Time NW‘s Taco Time Traveler & Full Tilt Ice Cream
“Three decades after the defeat of the Galactic Empire, a new threat arises. The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy and only a ragtag group of heroes can stop them, along with the help of the Resistance.”
JOIN this event to get all the breaking news on food trucks, raffle prizes, entertainment and more as they’re announced!
The preshow gets started at 8pm behind the Skyway 7-Eleven in the US Bank parking lot. Don’t forget to bring a comfy chair or blanket (or picnic table, or beanbag) and some cash for the concession stand (there is a US Bank ATM on premises, if you prefer). Movie starts at 9pm with a raffle to follow.

GeekGirlCon will be tabling at this event! Come by and say hi!

 

Friday, August 26: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!

7:00pm-10:45pm, Wayward Coffeehouse, 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, WA

For this GeekGirlCon game night, there’ll be a special host and theme!

Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! Come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!

Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find CodenamesLove LetterSplendorKing of TokyoVöluspáslashAlien FrontiersLocke & KeyCoup,TokaidoSuperfightThe ResistanceColt ExpressSkull and RosesSettlers of Catan7 WondersToc Toc WoodmanFLUXX, and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.

 

Saturday, August 27: Seattle Center Movies at the Mural: Life of Pi

Dusk, Seattle Center

Free admission!

Experience FREE movies outdoors at Seattle Center this summer. Picnic on the gently sloping Mural Amphitheatre lawn, in front of a state-of-the-art 40-foot screen, with the Space Needle looming above. The series features popular movies, both classic and contemporary, appropriate for all-ages.  Movies at the Mural is an outdoor cinema experience like no other!

Based on Yann Martel’s best-selling novel, this coming-of-age tale recounts the adventures of Pi, an Indian boy who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. While cast away, Pi is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery as he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

 

August 27: Kitsap County 1st Annual Pacific Islander Festival

1:00pm-6:00pm, Evergreen Park, 1400 Park Avenue, Bremerton

Free admission!

The one event you don’t wanna miss… KITSAP COUNTY’s 1st ANNUAL PACIFIC ISLANDER FESTIVAL…FREE & ALL AGES WELCOME!! There will be a couple Halau’s, Live Island Reggae Bands jamming out through the event, Ono Grindz and various Vendors… We will also have Dj seattlesfynest spinning all the island rhythms… Island people come together as one, for future generations under the sun!

 

JC Lau
“Rock On!”

July Geek About Town!

Check out these awesome events around Seattle this summer! GAT will now also feature events that are going on throughout the month, so you can plan ahead!

 

JC Lau
“Rock On!”

November Geek About Town

Check out our amazing November events!

Saturday, October 31 – Sunday, November 1: Seattle Center Festal: Dia de Muertos: A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed

Armory Main Floor, Seattle Center

From the website: Seattle Center Festál presents Dia de Muertos – A Mexican Celebration to Remember Our Departed, Oct. 31 – Nov. 1. Explore and experience the cultural roots of Mexico through live performances, spectacular community altar and cemetery, special hands-on activities, foods, face painting and exquisite rituals. Create sugar skulls and paper skeletons, explore community altars and march in a musical procession to remember the dead. The art and spirituality of Mexican culture is celebrated at Dia de Muertos. This “Day of the Dead” festival honors the lives of loved ones who have passed.

Friday, November 6: Ari Berman with Justice Steven Gonzalez: Fighting for American Voting Rights

7:30pm, Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Avenue

From the website: In light of controversial practices in Yakima and other parts of the state, the Washington Voting Rights Act aims to abolish unfair election systems–50 years after America’s landmark Voting Rights Act was passed for the same purpose. According to The Nation’s Ari Berman this is a prime example for why the fight for full voting equality isn’t over. Voting is an important part of the democratic process and for many Americans, one that’s hard to obtain–even President Obama says the system needs work. In conversation with Washington State Supreme Court Justice Steven Gonzalez, Berman will explore the history of voting rights and the landmark court decisions that have altered their course. He’ll explain the back and forth that voting rights have undergone throughout the past 50 years, and offer a glimpse at the future–one where, with support from Congress and the Supreme Court, representational voting rights can be achieved.

Tickets are $5.

Friday, November 6 – Saturday, November 7: Mass Effect N7 Fan Weekend

5pm – 1am, AFK Elixirs and Eatery

From the Facebook page:

In honor of BioWare’s annual N7 Day, AFK Elixirs and Eatery and Fanpup are partnering to bring you N7 Weekend! Grab your Emergency Induction Port and save the Galaxy from the threat of the Reapers… or just the threat of sobriety.

On Friday (Nov 6) come try out AFK’s custom Mass Effect-themed menu (with entries like Renegade Meatballs, Paragon Pasta, and Tequila Se’lai) host some Mass Effect multiplayer, and break out the board games. Then on Saturday, show up for the full-out N7 Day Celebration with raffle prizes, a cosplay contest, and a friendly Renegade vs Paragon competition! And don’t forget to wear your Renegade Red or Paragon Blue, there may be something special for the winning team!

Saturday, Nov 7th Events and Activities!

Paragon vs Renegade Competition
Choose your alignment by wearing red or blue, there will be more ways to earn points during the night, winning team announced at 10:00pm

Mass Effect Spirit Contest / Cosplay contest: 8pm
Dress up as your favorite character or rock your swag for a chance to win the Spirit Contest!

Activities During the Night:
Themed Food and Drink Menu
Multiplayer Mass Effect
Paper Trivia
Prize Drawings

*This is a free Fan gathering, Fanpup and AFK are not directly associated with Bioware, EA, or Mass Effect.

Saturday, November 7: Hmong New Year Celebration

Seattle Center Armory

From the website: Explore and experience the cultural roots and contemporary influences of the people from the hilltops of China, Laos and Thailand through live performances, visual arts, hands-on activities, foods, games, and a lively marketplace. Gain insights into the customary courtship ritual of ball tossing and participate in flower cloth sessions.

The Lunar New Year is a time for the Hmong people to reflect on the past year and seek out new beginnings. The Hmong New Year Celebration helps preserve the unique culture of this Southeast Asian highland culture that originates in the mountains of China.

Presented in partnership with Hmong Association of Washington.

 

 

Sunday, November 8: 7th Annual Seattle Slack Key Festival

2:00pm, doors open 12:00, Town Hall

From the website: Always a favorite on Town Hall’s calendar, this festival celebrates Hawaii’s famed Slack-key guitar tradition, referring to the style as well as the ways an instrument is tuned. This vibrant, finger-picked music showcases Hawaiian stories of feelings, aloha, nature, and more. This year’s performers include Grammy Award-winning Cyril Pahinui, George Kuo, Hiikua, Ikaika Marzo, Jeff Peterson, Nathan Aweau, Steven Espaniola, Patrick Landeza, Jeff Au Hoy, Peter Moon, Sean Olanui Robbins, and other masters of the style. The evening will also feature emcees Skylark Rosetti, Braddah Gomes, and Hula Halau Pulamahi I Ke Liko Lehua; Hawaiian tropical flowers; and some surprises. Explore the traditional, lilting sounds of this unique musical art form.

$125 VIP (includes center front seating, Artist meet-and-greet); $50 front/center back seating; and $35 side seating. Doors open: 12:00pm for Hawaiian-style food and crafts.

Monday, November 9: #NerdNightOut, an Evening of Music and Comedy featuring the Doubleclicks, Jackie Kashian and Molly Lewis

The Triple Door, 216 Union Street, Seattle

7:30pm, doors open at 6:00pm

Tickets are $20 advance, $25 day of

From the website: The Doubleclicks are a nationally-touring, Billboard charting nerd band with a cello, a meowing cat keyboard, and songs about dinosaurs, Cats & Netflix, space and Dungeons and Dragons. Their YouTube videos boast over 2 million views and have been featured on Gawker, BoingBoing, io9 and more. Find out more at http://thedoubleclicks.com

Jackie Kashian’s comedy has been described as “like listening to a really racy episode of All Things Considered.” She is a national touring comic with a new hour standup special “This Will Make an Excellent Horcrux” which was one of the top five comedy specials on 2014. This year, she’s been on the Conan O’Brien show, @midnight and plays a podcaster on IFC’s Maron. Her weekly podcast is The Dork Forest, where she interviews people about their obsessions. It is available on iTunes and at her website: www.jackiekashian.com.

Molly Lewis (patreon.com/molly) is a Seattle-based singer-songwriter writes ukulele tunes about beards, heartbroken astronauts, presidential assassinations, and Stephen Fry. Her original songs and covers, accompanied by her masterful ukulele playing, have earned her over 4.5 million views on YouTube. Her new holiday musical ‘Thanksgiving vs. Christmas’, featuring The Doubleclicks and Joseph Scrimshaw, will be available this fall.

Friday, November 13: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!

7:00pm – 10:45pm, 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle

Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!

Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find King of Tokyo, Völuspá, Alien Frontiers, Locke & Key, Coup, Tokaido, The Resistance, Skull and Roses, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, Toc Toc Woodman, FLUXX and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.

There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay. Their pastries are delivered daily from local vendors including donuts from Mighty-O Donuts, croissants from Le Fournil Patisserie, bagels from Blazing Bagels, and the rest of their tasty treats provided by Little Rae’s All Natural Bakery. There are even GF cookies from WOW Bakery!

Friday, November 13: Hello Kitty Supercute Opening Party

7:00pm – Midnight, EMP Museum

$25 ($20 EMP members), $10 youth 5-17, free for children 4 and under

From the website: Join us for the opening party of Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, a celebration of fun, friendship, and happiness.

Welcome Hello Kitty to her new home at EMP Museum by saying “Hello!” and joining the festivities!

  • Snap a photo with Hello Kitty herself
  • Show off your favorite Hello Kitty attire in the Supercute Fashion Parade in partnership with UNIQLO
  • Find the beat with a taiko drum performance brought to you by UNIQLO
  • Share something special in the Hello Kitty-shaped Time After Time Capsule
  • Play a round of Friendship Bingo and other Hello Kitty games in the game center
  • Test how well you know Hello Kitty with Superfun Trivia, or watch Hello Kitty animation
  • Sip an Appletini with a piece of homemade apple pie turnovers (Hello Kitty’s favorite food is her Mama’s apple pie!)
  • Enjoy kawaii (“cute”) crafts like origami and jewelry making, or make a special someone a Thoughtfulness Friendship Bracelet
  • Cuteness Manicure by Julep
  • Collect little stars and stickers for your Super Sweet Sticker Book, or write a letter to Hello Kitty or her sister, Mimmy
  • Taste Japanese-style fare at the Tokyo Dog (hot dogs) and BeanFish (Taiyaki, classic Japanese comfort food) food trucks
  • Enjoy a J-pop dance party featuring DJ Hojo of JK Pop, Seattle’s J+K-pop dance night, with visuals by Sweat Jordan
  • featuring MC Rachel Belle, talk show personality and reporter for KIRO Radio Seattle

Plus, be the first to visit Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty as it debuts in Seattle. Hello! explores Hello Kitty’s colorful history and influence on art and culture through a showcase of rare and unique pieces from Sanrio’s archive, as well as mixed media works from international contemporary artists inspired by Hello Kitty and her world.

Saturday, November 14: Kabuki Academy

11:00am, Town Hall

$5 for adults, free for children

From the website: Kabuki–Japan’s traditional art of singing and dancing–is a skilled, colorful representation of the nation’s heritage. For Tacoma-based Kabuki Academy, bringing this traditional culture to modern audiences is essential for creating the next generation of culturally-aware individuals. They’ll showcase these traditional arts in their engaging–and interactive–performance. The academy’s Mary Ohno (who studied classical Japanese dance for more than 60 years) will instruct children in this classical dancing, the complimentary shamisen music, and other Kabuki arts.

Tuesday, November 17: All Geeks, All Games at Mox Boarding House

6:00pm – 10:00pm, Mox Boarding House, Bellevue

From the event: Join GeekGirlCon and Mox Boarding House in Bellevue and help us continue to expand our community of diverse and inclusive gamers to the East Side! We want to fill that beautiful Tournament Room with folks enjoying our favorite games in a safe and accepting atmosphere. Why mess with the headache of traffic when you can come and play games with us instead.

Staff from both organizations will be on hand to help facilitate gameplay for the shy to the extroverted, from the expert strategist to the board game neophyte. With a huge lending library of games on hand, there will be something for everyone!

Wednesday, November 18: Homeschool Day: The Science of Sound

Noon – 4:00pm, EMP Museum

$20 ($17 EMP members) includes one student and one parent registration.

From the website: Join us in November for a super-sonic Homeschool Day focused around the Science of Sound. Led this year by ethnomusicologist, Ph.D., and rock guru Rob Carroll, this workshop, designed especially for homeschool families, will delve into the science behind how sound is created, transmitted, and perceived by our ears.

The day will feature a two-hour hands-on workshop, a gallery activity in our exciting Sound Lab space, and free time to explore the EMP galleries.

Parent participation in workshop classes is strongly encouraged. Classes are suitable for students 6–14 years of age.

Registration includes museum admission for the day and is required.

Friday, November 20: Whiri Tū Aka

8:00PM, Great Hall, Town Hall
$20 advance/$25 at the door/$20 seniors/$17 Town Hall members/$10 students. A limited number of $5 day-of-show Teen Tix for those 18 and under also will be available.
From the website: Four women, four representations of Maori culture–and one stunning a Capella collaboration. Based on the desire to share their country’s traditions and values, Whiri Tū Aka was formed in 2012 by producer Mina Ripia. With the group’s other four members–Gaynor Rikihana, Kirsten Te Rito, Betty-Anne Monga, and Lisa Tomlins–Ripia has expertly drawn together their individual stories for a musical reflection of their true Wairua (spirits). Inspired by love, motherhood, and the power of the female voice, Whiri Tū Aka’s Maori performance will cross language barriers and speak to the soul with its heartfelt harmonies.

Friday, November 27: GeekGirlCon Board Game Night at Wayward Coffeehouse!

7:00pm – 10:45pm, 6417 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle

Do you love board games and enjoy teaching others how to play? Explore the board/card game hobby and meet folks happy to teach you their favorite board games! No pressure though, you can just come and play with folks who love playing games. And the best part about the GeekGirlCon game nights with our friends at Wayward? They are absolutely FREE with no cover charge!

Our group is inclusive and totally newbie-friendly. We play a wide range of modern board and card games as well as some classics. You might find King of Tokyo, Völuspá, Alien Frontiers, Locke & Key, Coup, Tokaido, The Resistance, Skull and Roses, Settlers of Catan, 7 Wonders, Toc Toc Woodman, FLUXX and many more!

Bring a game with you or just bring yourself. Join GeekGirlCon staffers, make some new friends, play some games, and enjoy some delicious organic, fair trade, and shade-grown coffee.

There are also local pastries and vegetarian/vegan treats, if you get hungry during all that gameplay. Their pastries are delivered daily from local vendors including donuts from Mighty-O Donuts, croissants from Le Fournil Patisserie, bagels from Blazing Bagels, and the rest of their tasty treats provided by Little Rae’s All Natural Bakery. There are even GF cookies from WOW Bakery!

JC Lau
“Rock On!”

Make Believe

Written by GeekGirlCon Copy Writer Winter Downs

Like a lot of kids, I loved the kind of unstructured make-believe games you’d play when all the toys got boring. Whether we were fairies with magical powers, or adventurers fighting minotaurs in the heart of a labyrinth, my friends and I loved telling impossible stories and being someone else for an afternoon.


Photo source: little girls R better at designing superheroes than you

I’ve tried many roleplaying games since, but nothing quite scratched that itch for collaborative creation–until I discovered Story Games, tabletop storytellng games with an emphasis on narrative and invention.

Whatever kind of story you want to tell, whatever scale you want to tell it on, however structured you want the game to be, there’s a story game for it.

If you like having the details of your setting defined, there are games like Durance, which explores power hierarchies on a prison planet, and guides the players through figuring out what particular shortages the prisoners suffer. If, on the other hand, you like a game that leaves the setting up to the players, pick something like Shooting the Moon, a game for three characters (one beloved, and two suitors vying for their favor). It has plenty of info on creating complicated relationships, but can take place on a pirate ship, in a law office, on an alien planet, in ancient Rome, or anywhere the players can imagine.

Genres? We’ve got genres. There’s Zombie Cinema for action horror, Shock for political sci-fi, Dungeon World for a classic dungeon crawl, and Hot Guys Making Out for yaoi manga, to name a few.

A few of these games need someone to step up and take the storyteller role, which is kind of like the Game Master in a traditional RPG like Dungeons & Dragons, but it usually has far less control over the direction and outcomes of the story. Rather than waiting for the storyteller or MC to fill in what happens next or what’s behind the locked door, players chime in with suggestions, making it a much more collaborative experience. A good example would be Apocalypse World (and all the games that grew from it, like Dungeon World and Monsterhearts). If you want your character to find the diary of their rival, just narrate that you find it. Of course, that doesn’t stop the person playing your rival from interrupting you reading it, or from saying you find out something you were better off not knowing. The Apocalypse World games also use dice to resolve some conflict situations, which can lead to some interesting unintended consequences.

Shock and Shooting the Moon don’t have MCs or storytellers, but there are very clear rules about taking turns in framing scenes, driving the scenes toward a conflict, and resolving that conflict.

At the other end of the scale, there’s Ribbon Drive, a meandering road trip set to a soundtrack. (And yes, players get to make the soundtrack!) Scenes tend to be longer, quieter, and more conversational. Scenes don’t have to contain conflict or obstacles at all, and when they do, it’s more likely to involve interpersonal tension than violence. One of my favorite things about Ribbon Drive is that the whole group collaborates on creating the setting and the characters based on the first two songs of the soundtrack, which gives you an excuse to sit your friends down and make them listen to songs you like. Or maybe that’s just me.

Most games I’ve mentioned so far are roleplaying games in the usual sense, where each player takes one character (or sometimes more) and speaks their words, narrates their actions, and advocates for their interests. While other players and MCs may introduce new events, facts about the environment, and so on, players get the final say on their individual characters.

Some games, however, are on a completely different scale. Microscope, described as a fractal game of epic histories, has the players explore vast swaths of invented history, only occasionally zooming in to play out scenes with individual characters. Even then, the characters don’t “belong” to any one player, and if they show up again in the story they might be played by someone entirely different. The typical scale of a game of Microscope might be the rise and fall of a galactic empire. This is a great introductory game for someone who feels nervous about roleplaying as specific characters.

Map-drawing game The Quiet Year is smaller in scope, covering one year in the life of a small post-apocalyptic community teetering on the edge of destruction, but rather than playing characters, players represent subgroups and factions engaged in a tug-of-war about how the community should prepare itself for the trouble to come. They don’t collaborate or make suggestions, they just show their contempt in the form of a token whenever another player takes an action they don’t like.

The Quiet Year: amateur cartographers welcome.

Photo source: Buried Without Ceremony

Getting Involved (in the Pacific Northwest)

 I hope this has given you some idea of the variety of different experiences you can have playing story games, and piqued your interest. If you want to try out the hobby among welcoming, experienced players, a group from Story Games Seattle camps out in the gaming area of most big local cons, including GeekGirlCon. They’ll help you figure out which game you might like, and then play a demo with you on the spot. There are also the annual gaming conventions Gamestorm (in Portland) and GoPlay Northwest (in Seattle), which both feature story games as well as more familiar roleplaying games.

If you can’t wait that long, get yourself to a meetup at Phoenix Comics and Games on Thursdays, or Wayward Coffeehouse every other Saturday. Phoenix’s next session is July 10 at 6:30 p.m., and Wayward’s next session is July 12 at 2 p.m.

Meetup groups:

Winter Downs
“Rock On!”

Join The Discussion #GeekGirlCon

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