Do you ever have the urge to be someone else? Or find yourself in a fantasy world, away from all the ups and downs of every day life?
Well, we hear you. That’s why we created Insider Man.
But you don’t have to create a fictional character who works as a journalist by day and is a superhero by night in order to escape whatever you’re trying to escape on that specific day. That does sound quite familiar, though, doesn’t it? All you have to do is try your luck at games like Magic the Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh (to name a few) and voila, you’re like a whole new person.
Most of the games are either classified as role-playing game or collectible card games, (which if you Google either one will give you quite the list of options), but we prefer the term fantasy games. Because what you’re really doing is embarking on a fantasy of some sort with an opponent, playing partner or within a larger group. And for that short amount of time, you are the one who calls the shots.
Now in no way are we going to try and pretend like we’re experts in any corner of the gaming world. It would be appropriate to make up some outlandish explanation given the fact that this is a story about fantasy, but we’d quickly be called out for our lack of knowledge and that would be quite embarrassing.
So instead, we checked in with the good people over at Double Midnight Comics to get the lowdown of what’s going on in the fantasy realm of Concord. We had been to one of their Friday Night Magic gatherings back in May to see what that was all about – and while that scene is poppin’, we had no idea there were so many games to get hooked on.
“I’ve played Magic, just not in any tournaments like the ones here, since I was 9,” said Double Midnight customer Patrick Griffin. “It’s a way for me to connect with different groups of people.”
But once Double Midnight manager Justin Defosses started rattling off the names of potential games to pick up and we feverishly tried to keep up, we knew we had stumbled upon something so big that only a store filled with superheroes could handle it.
The Friday Night Magic scene is a big draw each and every week, so from 7 p.m. till around midnight, there’s some intense game play going on in the back room. They also host Magic qualifying tournaments, state championships and pre-release get togethers, one of which will be held this weekend for Oath of the Gatewatch.
But just like Friday is Magic the Gathering night, Wednesdays is when Dungeons & Dragons players and their dungeon masters come out to play, starting at 6 p.m. While there are games played during the two-hour window, a typical game among serious players could take all day to complete – or even an entire weekend depending on how things play out. Unlike Magic, where just cards are used for playing purposes, when it comes to D & D (as the in crowd calls it) there are creatures and dyes used to dictate the game play.
Griffin, whose wife acts as his dungeon master for his games, currently has three long-term games going with his roommate.
“With Magic I can spend an hour putting together a deck and pick it up anytime,” Griffin said. “With D&D you have a broader range.”
The Concord Public Library also hosts a D&D night, on the first Tuesday of the month from 5 to 6:30 p.m., for 5th edition players – both children and adults. Who would have thought there were so many gaming options?
Double Midnight hosts Pokemon players on Sundays for open play beginning at 1 p.m. and hope to make it an even bigger thing moving forward.
“A lot of people come in with their kids and want to know how to play,” Defosses said. “Magic and Pokemon are really the big ones.”
The other store in Manchester has days designated for Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh, but it just didn’t seem to have the same kind of following in this part of the state.
“We want people to come down, explore the games and learn how to play,” Defosses said.
On the second Sunday of the month, they open up the back room from noon to 6 p.m. for what is called “A Lazy Gaming Afternoon” where anyone and everyone can come to the store to play any game they choose. The store has plenty of games to borrow or you can bring your own. So why not get your friends together for a game of Scrabble, Monopoly or Concordland (see page 15)?
And while Sunday is a designated time for people to come in, Defosses said they have demos available at all times so if the store is open, games can be used in the back room.
“The game room is always open,” Defosses said. “We open it up for the community so people can come and play together.”
Collectibles Unlimited on South Street offers Friday Night Magic, board game days and a whole host of other tournaments and get togethers as well.
There are also games like Munchkin, Hero Clix and Warhammer, along with Star Wars X Wing and Cards Against Humanity.
Like we said, if you Google role-playing games or collectible card games the list goes on and on.
In other words, if you feel like making your way into a fantasy land one of these days, there’s probably a game for you.
