Yes, I know. Winter has come to the Prairies and your first instinct is to hibernate until it goes away. Mine too. But I’ve also learned that getting out and gaming can help speed the winter away. So here are a few local (Edmonton) gaming events happening in the next while, to help drive away the winter blues.

Gamemaster Support Group (Monday, February 13, 6-9pm) – Hub of nerdery and mighty fine comic shop and used-book store, Variant Edition, has begun hosting a Gamemaster Support Group, designed to give local GMs a chance to meet, discuss issues around GMing, and swap ideas and stories. I was very sad to miss the first of these, but I’m planning to make it to the next with proverbial bells on. The focus for this one seems to be GM materials, and they’ve asked the GMs attending to bring along examples of materials they use at the table. So I’m especially excited to see all the cool things my fellow GMs use at the table. Not only is a cool learning experience, but sometimes you need to vent and only your fellow GMs will understand.

Bitz Swap (Saturday, February 18, 9am-5pm) – Alongside the Colder than Carbonite 2017 Infinity Tournament, Bitter North Gaming will host a Bitz Swap. For those not in the know, amongst miniature gamers a bitz swap is a chance to buy and trade miniatures and miniature bitz, for modding your miniatures, building terrain, or just picking up an army you’ve had your eye on super cheap. If you’ve been interested in starting in the hobby, this is also sometimes a good opportunity to get into the hobby less expensively. And if nothing else it’s a chance to ogle some cool miniatures and talk to other tabletop wargamers.

KEFCon – The Gauntlet (February 25-26) – Hosted by The Gamer’s Lodge, The Gauntlet is a 17-hour gaming marathon fundraiser in support of KEFCon. Tickets are $20, and you get a $5 food voucher from The Gamer’s Lodge as part of that. The gaming goodness starts at 9am and runs to 2am, with multiple tables of gaming running the entire time. Plus there’ll be folks on hand to teach the games (I should know, I’m one of them), so it’s a perfect time to try out a game you’ve never played before. You can register for the games ahead of time through Warhorn. Beer, food, and gaming, what more could you want?

So get on out there and while away the winter with some gaming. Hopefully I’ll see you there!