This coming March, the Gaming Nationals will be coming to DMU. The annual event promises laughs, drinking, mayhem and lots (and lots!) of dice throwing.
Nationals is an event that has been running since the 80s in which RPG (Role-Playing Games) and Gaming societies from across the country all meet in one place to socialise and run games.
As the winners of last year’s event, the DMU Game Society is lucky enough to be hosting this year’s event, and they’re doing their utmost to make it the best yet.
Jack Cortese, Chairman of the society, said: “It’s a huge honour to be able to host the Nationals this year. We have, as a society, been looking forward to this opportunity for years.
“It represents a great chance for us to show off our campus and university to other students, and for the university to endorse itself.
“DMU prides itself on the culture that it has and the event will definitely bring much of that to the campus.”
Over the course of the weekend there will be a number of activities – a costume competition, scavenger hunts, a quiz, and of course, the games themselves.
The main gaming over the weekend will be RPGs and War-gaming (Dungeons and Dragons, that kind of thing) but there will also be some video-gaming and board-games.
So, what does this mean for you? Well, there’s a number of ways students can get involved.
The most obvious of course: join the society! They’re always happy to have more gamers aboard. You’d still however need to buy a ticket for the event. Where the ticket deadline has been set to December 31st, it is vital that those who are interested buy theirs soon, to avoid disappointment.
You could also register to game-master (run a game, if the term is unfamiliar to you) which is completely free. Game-mastering is a bit more challenging but it is loads of fun and you’ll have plenty of support if all this is new to you.
Another free way of getting involved in the event is to register as a runner; the Game Society really needs all the help they can get and, as an added bonus for all your hard word, lunch will be provided to you.
Although planning is still taking place, a number of societies have already agreed to get involved. The likes of DMU Acapella, Video-gaming society and the various music societies will all be contributing towards making the weekend a success. For any members of these societies, there are many ways in which you can get involved.
All of the money made during the games will be going to charity – this year all donations go to LOROS, a local hospice organisation.
Jack said: “LOROS is really important to us and we hope we’ll get a lot of donations for them out of the event.”
So if you’re looking to game, help out, take in the costume competition or just gawk at the on-goings, contact the society for more info. Hope to see you there!
The Gaming Nationals take place on the 27th-29th of March, and tickets for participants are £25 per head. The deadline for tickets is the 31st December, so hurry and get them added to your Christmas lists!
To register as a runner or Game Master, you can fill in the form available at: https://www.demontfortstudents.com/studentnationals/ (volunteering deadline tbc).
For any more information, please contact the De Montfort Game Society via their Facebook page: Official DMU Gaming Soc