During this event, many of our members will stream on the Real Women of Gaming Twitch channel, passing the baton to each other as we try to help the kids!
If you want more updates and details regarding this event, check out the Facebook event here. You can also use the hashtag #BeSomeonesSuperhero on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected.
As most of you know, we at Real Women of Gaming host three charity events a year. At the end of this month, we’ll be hosting our 3rd Annual Charities & Champions, a 12-hour Dungeons & Dragons live stream benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia through Extra-Life!
Event Information
We’ll we playing Dungeons & Dragons for 12 hours to raise $1,500 for CHOP. This year, Oresan_Fells will be running the game in the world of Osparia, the same world as our show, The Alabaster Forest.
Like every year, you can donate to help or hurt our players or Dungeon Master! Here’s how you can affect the game:
$5 – Grants 1 player or the DM advantage or disadvantage on their next roll $10 – Grants 1 player or the DM an auto-success or auto-fail on their next roll $15 – Give the players a pack of random goodies $25 – Add a rule to the current floor (example rule: If a player rolls a natural 1, they have to roll on the Wildmagic Table) $50 – Give the players a random artifact that they have to use (to be drawn randomly)
Our Dungeon Master kindly asks that you incite as much chaos in his game as possible!
Want To Play?
You can! For the entire weekend, Real Women of Gaming is putting together one shots that you can play in! For a donation of $15, you guarantee yourself a seat at one of our (virtual) tables!
These games will be run through Discord and Roll20. Join our Discord here!
We have five games in the works that weekend, so you can take your pick!
Keen an eye on Facebook, Twitter and Discord for the One Shot Schedule!
Interested in Sponsoring?
Sponsorships help us to cover the costs of events like this. All sponsorship money goes towards running the event, including transportation, advertising, and feeding our players and volunteers.
One sponsorship slot costs $25 and includes the following: – One hour of advertisement on stream – A promo video run during our breaks (approx. every 2 hours)
There is no limit to how many slots can be purchased.
If you are interested in sponsoring the event, please send us an email at realwomenofgaming@gmail.com.
FOR THE CHILDREN!
Please help us support our local Children’s Hospital through Extra-Life! Once we hit our first $100 in donations, we promise we won’t yell “FOR THE CHILDREN” again until next year 😉
WashingCon marked its 3rd anniversary as DC’s premiere board game convention with over a thousand gamers attending to play games, check out panels, inspect new releases from a few game studios, and participate in tournaments.
The organization of this event was on point – check in was a breeze, staff were easy to identify in their hot pink shirts (and plentiful throughout the rooms), and even the free game table, while understandably slow, was well managed. Anyone I approached for info was either quick to answer or to help us find who could answer (at one point I was led on a spirited chase across and around the hall to track down the RPG organizer – great pre-gaming workout!) There were notably MANY women volunteers – no real surprise with Labyrinth Games store owner Kathleen Donahue as WashingCon co-sponsor but certainly awesome to see.
The borrowing library was well stocked with new games as well as classics. Check in/out was a little fiddly but it didn’t take us long to get out into the play space, which was abundant. Ample space between tables also meant there were no ‘dead zones’ (inaccessible spots that just become wasted space) at the center of rows and no one felt trapped once the hall began to fill up. Play was lively, but the volume was tolerable.
Events were a mix of panels, tournaments, meet and greets, and demos. There were a couple to choose from in each time slot, which gave enough variety to fill up a day but not so much that we felt like you’d be missing tons of things by picking a few to attend. Of particular note was the focus on education through gaming – panels like Pokemon for Parents and Teachers and a special area for educators to check out STEM and language games echoed Labyrinth’s commitment to education and the community. Additionally, events for both new players and new designers created a welcoming environment. My personal favorite was the Women in Games panel featuring retails, designers, and con-runners in a lively discussion about the past and future of women in the gaming community, and creating more inclusive spaces.
(Speaking of inclusive spaces, WashingCon’s Zero-Tolerance policy for harassment is clear, being posted near check in, included in the program, and printed on the back of every badge. There is no wiggle room here, and the organizers are absolute in their desire for every attendee to be comfortable and ‘Play Nicely’.)
A little room on the east side hosted RPGs. Spaces for games where reserved online, a great decision which entirely negated the long hopeful line we’ve seen at places like PAXU. Games were interesting and well moderated and a good eye was kept out for time. My only issue was volume – this area was packed full of enthusiastic role players so it was easy for the din to rise enough that you had to strain to hear someone across the table.
Several designers were demo-ing games as well. I was particularly taken with Catlilli Game’s STEM based offerings (enough that I interviewed designer Catherine Swanwick about women in games and game development not too long ago.) I also tried Twistocity, an hysterical tongue twister game that wound up becoming a must-buy for a friend. I attempted to resist the siren call of game buying but still wound up bringing home Herbaceous and our first Unlock.
WashingCon 2018 is one of my most eagerly anticipated cons this year (out of the twelve to fifteen I’ll be visiting.) It’ll be held at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center September 8-9. Tickets go on sale March 1st. If you’re planning on going send me a note via Girls play Games – lets play something together!
DragonCon 2017 attracted more than 80,000 fans to the pop culture-sci-fi convention in downtown Atlanta. Unfortunately for a couple con-goers it wasn’t all parties and costumes.
Two women are recovering from head injuries after they were hit by chairs thrown from a tenth floor Marriott hotel balcony Sunday Sept. 3rd around 1:40. The Atlanta police department is investigating, but suspects have not been located. Congoers Kelly McDaniel and Jamie Temple-Thompson Amador both wound up in the hospital after being struck with the falling chairs. McDaniel credits her Loki headdress with saving her from further injury – she was struck in the head and wound up with staples.
Director of Media Relations for DragonCon sent Channel 2 the following statement:
“Two women at Dragon Con were injured at the convention early Sunday morning when two chairs were dropped from an outside balcony on the 10th floor in the Marriott to a landing below. The women were treated and released at separate hospitals.We are grateful that the injuries were not more severe. And we are proud of the Dragon Con attendees who stepped up quickly, realized the severity of the situation and provided immediate assistance.”
Kelly McDaniel and Jamie Temple-Thompson Amador
Reaction from the DragonCon community has been supportive of the two cosplayers as well as the convention. Jennifer M., who drove from LA with Amador told AJC.com, “The love and support from the Dragon Con family is heart warming to say the least. We can’t wait to return for an even better experience, and reconnect with our new Atlanta family!” Atlanta resident Tim M. shared with RWOG, “The security and crowd control were on point: authoritative but polite and professional… I was consistently impressed with the way they and the various hotels’ security as well as Dragon Con’s own volunteers remained visible and engaged, but let people have their fun.” Long-time Dragoncon attendee Jessica H. added “I’m actually surprised they’re not even more incidents given the number of people in the way hotel room are configured. All in all, I bet incident rates of this type are extremely low.” “DragonCon security operations do a lot of hard work to keep stuff like this from happening… But every year there is something. I honestly don’t think that this is going to slow down the con. Sh*t happens, people do their best to prevent it, and at the end of the day it’s up to people to self police themselves and their friends.” came from regular Con volunteer Shayna A. And yet another con attendee (who preferred not to be named) mentioned there were incidents regarding “throwing bottles and beer cans off balconies every year but for that many people they do a great job of keeping the crowd safe.”
Birds Eye View of the Con from the Marriott Balconies
Ultimately we’ll be waiting to see what both the Marriott and DragonCon do to increase security for DragonCon 2018 in regards to this occurrence. RWOG is glad to hear both cosplayers are on the mend and we encourage anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the APD at 404-577-8477.
We want to take this time to sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
On April 9th, 2016, we did something amazing. We raised more money than we ever have in the history of Real Women of Gaming. We raised $1,404 for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia through Extra Life so far and we couldn’t have done it without you.
In case you missed it, here’s a little recap:
The event started at 12am EST with me, Vanri the Rogue, playing a small game called The Rivers of Alice. It was frustrating, to say the least, so I only played for an hour before moving on to Firewatch, a game I’m very much enjoying (look for a review in the near future).
At 3am EST, KinkedNitemare hopped on stream to play The Magic Circle. It was a wildly interesting, if not downright strange, game. It was a favorite in the Twitch chat.
At 6am EST, W1k3d0n3 came on screen with the new Hitman game. It was extremely funny and amazingly entertaining. He was a trooper who stayed on for nearly 5 hours!
The in-store event had some technical difficulties to begin, but it went off without a hitch otherwise. Even the horrific weather didn’t stop us from raising our amazing total. There were games to play, laughs had, and someone gave Crymson a megaphone and a crown (it went to her head!).
On stream, Vel played Orcs Must Die! Unchained, and Brawlhalla. We also had an amazing time playing Rocket League and Garry’s Mod: Prop Hunt. Finally, at the end of the night, a ton of people won amazing raffle prizes.
The final donation count was $1,404.
The videos from the stream are being uploaded to our YouTube channel daily, in case you missed it.
If you didn’t have a chance to donate, but still want to, you can do so HERE! It will be open until the end of the year!
Truly, thank you all so much for donating, spreading the word and watching our live stream. You’re all amazing and helped us do a wonderful thing.
We love you guys!
Sincerely, The RWoG Team
We would like to give a special thanks to all of our sponsors and partners:
Have you ever wanted to be a superhero? Well, you’re in luck! Help us raise money for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHoP) and you’ll be the best superhero ever!
On April 9th, 2016 (this Saturday!), Real Women of Gaming is participating in an amazing multi-stream charity event. We will be joining Firelight Studios and Sir Turtle Gaming to play games, give away some free stuff and raise awareness and funds for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Art and Music Therapy Department through the charity Extra Life.
What is Extra Life?
According to their website, Extra Life began in 2008. The charity brings gamers together for 24-hour gaming marathons to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals. Since it was founded, Extra Life has raised over $14 billion.
Why CHoP? Founded in 1855, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was the nation’s first hospital devoted to the care of children. They’ve had a dramatic impact on their community as well as around the world with innovations in treatment and care.
Real Women of Gaming, Firelight Studios and Sir Turtle Gaming have chosen to support CHoP because it is our local CMN Hospital. CHoP has had major benefits on our community and this is our way of saying thank you and returning the favor.
Why Art and Music Therapy?
Art and Music Therapy can play an important role in recovery and treatment for children. When conducted by trained professionals, Art and Music Therapy can benefit sick and injured children in the following ways:
Inspiring self-expression
Helping process traumatic experiences
Boosting self-esteem and positive body image
Fostering a sense of independence
Promoting social interaction and communication skills
Encouraging the development of healthy coping strategies
What can I do to help?
There are a few things you could do!
First, you could join Real Women of Gaming on Twitch or in-person at Uncanny! Comics in the Plymouth Meeting Mall on April 9th. Our livestream will start at 12AM. The in-store event will start at 10AM.
Second, you could donate directly to Extra Life through this link. Our goal is $5000. I know we can reach it!
Third, you could tune in to Firelight Studios or Sir Turtle Gaming‘s respective Twitch streams or join them at Uncanny! Comics in the King of Prussia Mall or Montgomery Mall locations. Both livestreams will begin at 10AM and finish at 10AM on April 10.
Finally, if you’re a night owl, you can join all three live streams at Gamer’s Heaven in Phoenixville, starting at 9PM on April 9th.
Join us in supporting this important cause and remember: It’s For the Children!
It should not come as a shock to anyone that we here at Real Women of Gaming love Superheroes and Supervillains. We play games, talk comics, watch television shows and even cosplay as them. They inspire us. Sometimes we even play at being heroes in our own way, like when we stand up to bullying or team up with the super force that is Extra Life Charities.
In December 2015, we gamed to raise money for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) through Extra Life and far exceeded our goals, even if it was just so we would stop reminding our viewers that it was “for the children.” We were overwhelmed by the response.
Now, on April 9th, we will be joining Firelight Studios and Sir Turtle Gaming to raise as much money as possible for the benefit of CHOP’s Art and Music Therapy Department. This time, it will be on a much larger scale. This marathon of gaming will be for twenty four hours, with multiple streamers and in multiple locations. If you want to know more information, it will be added to the end of this article.
Speaking of Superheroes, it got me thinking about what superpower I would want. I posed this question to the rest of the Real Women of Gaming. See our answers below:
Birds Eye View of the Con from the Marriott Balconies
