This week we’re happy to feature a guest article from Sherry Wallace, who in addition to being one of the co-owners of Pints & Pixels, is also the Con Chair for the upcoming Rocket City Gamefest.  Sherry tells us more about what’s happening at Pints & Pixels and what to expect at Rocket City Gamefest, as well as more about tabletop gaming in Huntsville.  Thanks, Sherry!

Hey everyone!  Pints and Pixels has been welcomed by Huntsville with open arms and we are so grateful to all of you for your support. The games are a big hit. The only thing that can keep up with Carnevil is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and whatever the newest pinball game is. But when we’re not playing arcade games, eating chili, and drinking craft beers, we play board games! Lots and lots of boardgames.

And we’re not the only ones. Huntsville is booming with boardgamers and, with Christmas coming, we expect everyone to have a ton of new games to try out soon. If you’re looking for some awesome places to play and some great folks to play with look no further.

The North Alabama Boardgamers meet at 6:00 pm on Wednesdays at the IHOP on 72 in Madison, 6:00 pm on Thursday at the IHOP on University and 1:00 – 6:00 each Sunday at the Parkway Place food court. The Deep offers open boardgaming every Saturday at 11:00 am, Straight to Ale plays board games on Tuesday nights at 6:00 pm, and Grounded Coffee in Madison hosts games on Fridays from 6:00-9:00 pm. UAH also offers sports based games on Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the Charger Union. So, almost any day you have a hankering to play there are gamers waiting to welcome you.

All these places allow you to bring you own games or join in a game brought by others. It’s a great way to try before you buy and find new games that you know you like before you purchase them. It’s also wonderful for trying out a game you might not have enough players for at home. These folks are seasoned gamers who love to play and love to teach. They are a very welcoming bunch of folks because, hey, the more people they have to play with, the more games they get to play. Newcomers are welcome and there are games for every experience level.

Huntsville is definitely a boardgaming hot spot. But if you are looking for the biggest bang, Huntsville will be hosting the 2nd annual Rocket City Gamefest the weekend of January 20-22, 2017 at the Huntsville Marriott.

Like all the other gaming opportunities, open gaming will be available for each day of the Gamefest. No games? No problem! We have a huge lending library with over 300 games for you to check out and play. We have everything from old favorites to the new hotness, fresh from Kickstarter.

Don’t know how to play? Still not a problem. We have teachers on staff who can teach you. We also offer several tournaments over the course of the weekend. If this sounds like this could be a lot of fun for you and your family, feel free to visit our website [rocketcitygamefest.com] for more information.

Let me end by giving a big thank you from Pints & Pixels and the Rocket City Gamefest for the great support we have received from our community.

This holiday season we want to give back to the community that has welcomed us so warmly. To celebrate our first Christmas at Pints & Pixels we are showing our holiday spirit by supporting Huntsville Toys for Tots with our very own Tokens for Tots. Bring in a new unopened toy and get 10 free tokens or bring a new bike and get 100. Help us fill that toy box to overflowing! We look forward to seeing you all soon.