News archives

29/07/2019

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REGULAR CLIMBING REIGNIGHTED!

I've had requests from a couple of people both in and out of the group about getting regular climbing going again. As such, expect irregular mid-week climbs and a regular Saturday morning slot from next week onwards.


This will be very beginner friendly as we're all out of practice, out of shape and suffering various health issues - come on over and join in. 

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WEDDING STUFF - THANKS

Thanks for your patience over last weekend so Sarah could sort some wedding stuff out. It was appreciated.

Special apologies to Nate who didn't get the memo and showed up only to find there was no game. Sorry, bud!! 

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OTHER (TO BE) WEDDING STUFF

For those of you not tracking your e-mails, Chris and Katie got engaged in Mexico! This is superb news and we hope you'll join us in saying "CONGRATULATIONS!" to the happy couple!

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BARTON BIRTHDAY INCOMING

Because he never really tells us this sort of thing I'll put this out there now - it's coming up to Ste's birthday soon. I hear there may be plans for a chow-down in the offing. Watch this space next week for more. 

22/07/2019

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IT'S A SOCIAL WEEK

Gaming is largely on hold this week due to a few events and some missing and some ill players.

Midweek slot is replaced by climbing this week, Ste has an eatery meet on tonight and Sarah has some Wedding prep stuff going on over the weekend. It's all go at the farm this week.

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A LONG MISSING PLAYER

One of our missing players, Jack P, showed up for gaming on Saturday unexpectedly bringing tasty treats galore and getting stuck in to Formula D and Splendor and polling back a huge deficit to almost claim 2nd place in our race....only to be pipped back into 4th at the very last roll of the dice. Unlucky but plucky!

It was great to see you , Jack - next time, throw more car radios and boost harder.

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CLIMBING REQUESTS

I've had several requests both inside and outside of the gaming group to set up some climbing sessions so expect this to make a return to regular status over the next few weeks. 

I'm rusty so if you want an easy start now would be the time to get into things here.

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DWARF METAL?

This little gem came from Dunning yesterday. Have a look at the video to the right and you'll see what I mean.

If you hear us scream "Diggy Diggy Hole" at short people for the next few weeks, you'll know why.

17/07/2019

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DUNNING DOWN!

Dee is quite ill and has sacrifices his attendance for the greater good - he doesn't want to infect any of us!


As such we are automatically a man down on both RPG sessions for the forseeable future. If you get a chance, drop him a get well soon and hook up with him online for some chat and company.

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MASSACRE ON THE DESSARIN RIVER

After seeing off the bandit assault from the Crashing Wave goons (liberal usage of Sickening Radience wins the day, it seems), the party are left with an Elf woman visitor to her camp. What does the emissary of the Dark Lady want this time?

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SATURDAY BOARDGAMING

RPG replaced by boardgaming this coming Saturday. All welcome.

 10/06/2019

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METAL GEAR WEREWOLF

The Curse of Strahd group are in the middle of an infiltration of the Werewolf lair to recover Ismark's body and remove a bargaining chip for the Werewolf clan to use. Instead, they've botched the attempt at stealth, had a fight with some clumsy wolves (SOOO MANY NAT1 ROLLS!) and have rescued a child that can turn into a Raven from a massive She-Wolf. Saturday, this will continue - will teh party flee with their rescued child or will they push on and complete the mission?

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GENTLE RIVER 'CRUISE'

After a drinking session with Ariks the fop, the party are heading up the river using their preferred mode of transport. Nope, not a boat, but horses. That fly. Thanks to frequent rests and usage of spellcaster resources (because why not?).

Will they catch up to the monks and recover the item they need? 

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ROCK BAND PARTY

On the 15th there is a Rock Band party planned at Butcher Farm. Be there or miss out of food, bad music and terrible plastic-guitar playing :-)

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NEW PSN FRIEND

Sarah has acquired a PS Plus account for some online play. Why not stop by and play a few games with her? Sarah's PSN ID is Pyramidcat86 if you'd like to add her.

03/06/2019

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MAD ABBOTTS AND MADDER PLANS

The Saturday group has found itself in a spot of bother after escaping the 'clutches' of the mad angelic Abbott and his horde of mongrelfolk, maiking it out of the Abbey with the hilt of a blade emanating with various magics. Nate thinks it's a lightsaber. Let's see if he cuts any arms off bounty hunters at the next cantina you arrive at. 

Meanwhile, Denney's new character is trying to talk her way out of trouble with the abbott and seems to be doing a surprisingly good job of it. 

Either way, the Abbott wants his wedding dress and wine. The Burgomaster also wants wine (to 'pay' the Abbott). The party, however, want to recover the earthly remains of Ireena's brother, Ismark, from the Werewolves before they can prove to Strahd how effective they are being and get back in his good books. 

Expect a Metal-gear-solid-alike session and a lot of angry furballs snapping at your heels.   

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WEDNESDAY DISRUPTIONS

Our Wednesday group this week needs a change of venue or it needs a rearrangement to another day as Sarah has a professional visit to the house.

Let me know what alternative days you may be able to do or if you are able to host this week as an alternative. 

08/04/2019

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SPARKY TOWERS

The Saturday group elected to boardgame last week while Nathan was learning to drive (a very handy skill - how else are you supposed to go up and down the country visiting cool game shops/events and getting your loot home?) so we're still at the tower. Bring your earthing rods. You know, just in case of 'residual energies'. 

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UNDER RUNDRETH MANOR

Our Wednesday group have found a folded monk in a box (easier to fit him in that way) and perhaps unwisely bothered a Drow/Dragon living under the manor. Next session sees them fight this immense beast as Ste tried to poke to Drow with his stick. No, that wasn't a euphemism.

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JOBS NEWS PART DEUX

I've been out to St Rocco's Hospice recently for interview and will be returning for a tour and 2nd interview. Wish me luck!

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DESTINY 2 CHANGES

This week is ARC WEEK with the Arc based classes all getting buffs of one kind or another and most vendors having arc-based bounties to complete. Also, the questline to acquire THUNDERLORD is back! This exotic Machine Gun is a favourite around the crucible among players NOT using Two-tailed fox, Wardcliffe coil, Tractor cannon or The Colony and absolutely wrecks face in Gambit matches. The quest line is easy but lengthy grab this from the Hangar Bay as soon as you can before it's gone again.

01/04/2019

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BAROVIAN INTRUDER ALARMS

The Saturday crew are cracking on with the Curse of Strahd based campaign and recently broke into a dilapidated Archmage's tower looking for a woman called Esmerelda at the Bard, Rictavio's, suggestion. You might say the intruder alarm was a bit....shocking? 4D10 lightning damage shocking, in fact. And the moral of the story is don't go around touching strange doors on Wizard's towers.  

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DESSARIN VALLEY TRAVELS

Our Wednesday group is currently headed north from Amphail to Red Larch having earned themselves some horses from "Mayor Jim" after defeating the fake Ghost of Amphail the Just (a Harper agent, as it turned out). Now armed with some contact information for Zhentarim agents in Bargewright Inn that may be able to barter information with the group, the crew are following up on some information clues about recent monk graves found by the Red Larch constabulary. 

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JOBS JOBS JOBS

A massive CONGRATULATIONS are in order for both Denney Slater and Jack Prosser for both landing new jobs recently. A fantastic turn out for the guys! We wish you both well in your new roles.

19/02/2019

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LEURGY GURDY

Various members of the group have been struck down with illness recently disrupting plans but it seems people are mostly on the mend, allowing us to get together again for fun around a table. Expect to see events return largely to normal scheduling soon.

For any still suffering, get well soon. We miss ya!

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RED DAWNING REWORK

The Red Dawning campaign gets back on it's feet this week after some rewrites to the plot following Olly's departure. We'll do a recap and adventure forth into the Sword Coast this week, all being well with people.

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LEGO MOVIE 2

Sarah wanted to invite the crew to go see the Lego Movie 2. Because everything IS awesome when you're part of a team.....including going to a movie.

Just let us know if you're interested and we'll arrange dates around that. 

NOTE: It seems AMC are stopping evening showings as of Thursday this week for this one, as are most Odeon cinemas. 

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WHAT'S THE BEST KIND OF BEAR?

Steve bought me an Owlbear last week. A friggin' OWLBEAR. It's awesome. Now I need to unleash it on someone. Watch out! (Cheers, Dude!) 

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THANKS

We wanted to express our thanks for people's patience with disruptions recently. We're not quite out of the woods yet but wanted to let you know that your efforts are noticed and appreciated.

28/01/2019

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THE HAPPY!

This week sees our youngest member celebrate his birthday. I hope you'll all join me is withing Nathan many happy returns this week. I hope your SO gets you may gaming goodies, buddy! 

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THE SAD

One of our Wednesday group members, Olly, is sadly stepping away from the regular campaign due to time pressures on his week. We'll be 'parking' his character, Meguca, and continuing on without him.

The Wednesday crew will miss you, Ol. We'll keep your seat warm if you find the time to game again.

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RED DAWNING - CHANGES

With Olly leaving the crew, I need to perform some re-writes for the Red Dawning plot line (quite a lot of this next bit had ties directly to Meguca. I won't say much more than that). Given my schedule this week I doubt it would be fit for Wednesday so instead we will offer board gaming for this weeks session and pick up the campaign the week after.    

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TIME DISRUPTIONS

For a start, thanks to everyone for putting up with the schedule disruptions these last two weeks. As has been evident recently, there may be some time disruptions to RPG campaigns over the next few weeks as I have to find jobs, fight for jobs, attend interviews, prep for exams etc. Given the nature of my job I can't predict these time pressures, sadly, but I'll do my best to keep people in the loop. My apologies for this but if it helps, look at it this way - If I don't have a job, I can't buy cool stuff for us all to game with :)

Please, continue to bear with me for a while so I can sort my job out. I promise it won't be for much longer.   

17/12/2018

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RED DAWNING - NEW CAMPAIGN LAUNCH CHANGES

After talking to most of the Wednesday crew over the weekend, the general consensus is to delay Red Dawning until after the festive period to ensure people can engage with it properly without having an immediate break after session 1 for Chrimbo. This week, boardgaming is being offered instead with Ste potentially bringing over some of his lesser played stuff. 

Should be an entertaining night. Red Dawning starts on January 9th, after the new year festivities are done. 

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STRAHD IS RESTING IN HIS CRYPT......SO SHOULD YOU

The Barovian Nights campaign saw a second almost TPK this Sat gone (That's what you get for 'doing a Thanos' to innocent (ghost) kids). With the characters being escorted under heavy armed escort to Vallaki it's clear that all is not as reported with the town. With Strahd resting after his demolision of the Durst mansion and the Death cult dedicated to his name (and his encounter with the beserk Zorg), Strahd is resting.....and so the players will similarly get to take a rest from the campaign over the festive period. Barovian Nights will resume in January 12th in the new year. 

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STABCON - BOOK NOW!

Jan 4th - 6th sees the return of the annual gaming convention, STABCON, hosted in Stockport. We'll be booking in for some fun (as I usually do for my birthday. Means I get to buy games and break Gamesmasters without feeling guilty, Mwu-hu-hu-haaaaaa!) so if you want in too, let us know.


Event tickets are STRICTLY LIMITED and will run out over Christmas. Gotta book now if you want in. Let us know.

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DRAGONSCALE CHRISTMAS

This year the Dragonscale Christmas event (usually Boxing Day) has been set back to Dec 30th. This is due to group availability . As usual, this will be a festive gathering of fun and frolic with food, drink, games and silly things to do throughout.

We'll be running a "Keep talking and nobody explodes!" competition to see what team of crack, bombbreakers can save the world in the shortest time and there may be a return of the fan-favourite snack - CHEESEHENGE.

So we can get the right amount of scran, let me know if you intend to show. All gaming group members (Wed, Sat, reserve and C-Team) are welcome. Dogs also welcome (Sally, Freddy, Alfie, Brandy etc). 

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CLIMBING

We have a couple of climbs booked for over this week and between xmas and new year. If you fancy some up-the-walls action, let us know and come along. 

04/12/2018

LEVEL UPS AND NEW CAMPAIGN

Both Wednesday and Saturday groups are in the midst of level up activities. I'll post new character sheets to the site soon.

The Wednesday group are about to embark on a new campaign following the Alchemist's life arc coming to a close. They will start on the story arch RED DAWNING next week.  

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SLIPPING AWAY FROM STRAHD

The Barovian Nights campaign almost hit a TPK on Sat. Tackling the dungeons under the Durst Mansion, the party were caught between a Ghostly cult and their Avatar of Decay and an angry Strahd Von Zarovich.

A Beserk barbarian (Dee) went toe to toe with the vampire lord and the ghostly minions using an idea from an unconscious and half-drowned Gnome (Denney) while the selfless Priest (Nate) and the nimble archer/spell-chucker (Sarah) kept the cult at bay with their Channel Divinity/Magic Medallion combination. The game was TENSE.

All party members escaped with their lives (barely) and have rescued the ghosts of two frightened children in the process. Let's see what this week brings.   

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MY HERO ACADEMIA

Some of the Wednesday group have a visit to the cinema in Manchester planned this Wednesday to see My Hero Academia - a popular anime (plot synopsis of the series here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Hero_Academia). Looks like a good time Speak to Olly and Ste if you want in on this outing.

12/11/2018

RPGS THIS WEEK

The Wednesday game is on it's final session of the current adventure arc this week! Will the crew manage to confront the Halfling bandit-lord, Devaston, and reclaim their buddy Alchemist buddy, Alias Benbrook? 

The Saturday game is cancelled this week due to wedding prep and family commitments. We tried to find a reschedule slot but it simply won't be possible this week - sorry, gang. 

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CLIMBING

After both Jack and Steve's successes these last couple of weeks, I'm happy to report yet another huge success! Sarah managed her fist route climbs at Awesome Walls over the weekend, managing to get up several 6m and a whopping 12m tall climb despite having not been able to climb at all since her break. Well done, Minion!

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WEDNESDAY CAMPAIGN CONTINUATION

Seems like the group have elected to continue with D&D after they 'assault' Devaston's tower. There will be a level up at the end of this session and a chance to switch characters for anyone wanting to do that.

Once we've done the 'campaign clean-up' we have a two week break for boardgaming while I write the next parts or linkages for the campaign (and do some reading if we hit Dragon Heist). During this break, we'll be offering boardgaming as an alternative entertainment. Games to be decided on player preference at each session - willing to take requests.

29/10/2018

GHOULISH GAMING

Our RPG slots have settled back into their regular routing. Both Wednesday and Saturday groups are on as usual this week. 

As I'm already running CoS there won't be any specific Halloween event this year, unless someone wants to have a bit of Mysterium Saturday eve after D&D? Let us know and we'll set something up.

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 CLIMBING

Mr Jack Prosser joined me last week for some beginner climbs and did remarkably well. I'll be running another Climb this THURSDAY for any who are interested. Come on over, it's tons of fun. 

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CONGRATULATIONS

......are in order for Jack who passed his bike CBT today! Jack will soon be razzing around on two wheels. Good man!

22/10/2018

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WEBSITE UPDATES

They're slowly but surely happening! Meguca and Barry Fosset are updated, stuff is slowly being uploaded to the GDrive, game reports are in progress. I won't stop until we're back up to date. Keep an eye on it over the next week or so.

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MOOCHOUS THANKS

A huge THANK YOU to our Rock Band party attendees for taking time out to come over and have a bit of fun scoffing, boozing, warbling into mics and pretending to be rockstars with plastic toy instruments. It was a blast, we should do it again some time.

Special mention to the Saturday D&D crew for their patience with constant schedule disruption these last few weeks. Your patience is appreciated, gang.

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D&D STUFF

The Wednesday crew is nearing the end of the current adventure. Wednesday players should have a thought on whether they want to move onto Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for the next part of the campaign, whether they want a bit of PARANOIA to break up the play or whether we want to switch GMs (or switch to boardgaming) for the midweek slot for a while. Either way, this crew will remain active. I expect great things from the 'Murder Inn crew' for the future!

For the Saturday crew, normality resumes this week with the Barovian Nights game moving back to it's normal slot for Sat PMs.

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CLIMBING

We have some beginner's bouldering planned this week as I struggle to get back into shape after the back surgery. Meet me at the Depot Manchester in Trafford Park Tuesday night if you fancy some very easy, very light climbing and a lot of fun messing about on the walls. If you fancied a try, now's the best time to do it (while I'm still taking it easy myself!)

09/10/2018

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CONGRATULATIONS TO JESS AND JAMES

I've heard tell that both Jess and James have landed new jobs already after suffering redundancies at Principal Insurance. 

Please join me in wishing them both a hearty GOOD LUCK with their new endeavours!

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ENGAGEMENT FUN AT THE JUNKYARD

This Saturday sees us visit Junkyard golf for a little balls 'n' cocktails celebration of mine and Sarah's engagement. So far I only have two confirms - I need to be booking this TOMORROW so I need to know who's in by then as I will place the bookings myself. 

Remember, the cost for this event is expected to be £18 for the golf plus food. I'll pay the golf myself tomorrow for any confirms and you can pay me on the night. To save everyone traipsing around the city centre looking for a feed, I'm suggesting we go to Street on 1st afterwards (it's more or less next door). Menu to be found here: http://streeton1st.com/food-menu

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D&D THIS WEEK

D&D is on for both Weds and Sat. Sat players be aware of the early start and finish times to accommodate the Golf/food later that evening. Lifts into Mcr for the golf available from me for anyone who needs. 2 spaces up for grabs.

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CLIMBING

This is back on as of this week! Sarah isn't well enough yet but I am going to give my back a workout. If you want a go at this now is the time while I'm taking it slowly anyway. Drop me a line if you fancy a shot. 

02/10/2018

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SCHEDULE DISRUPTIONS 

Due to a mixture of player illnesses, and an unavoidable family event, this week's planned Saturday game is sadly canned. This is to be replaced with some evening PS4 action, probably a run on some Destiny 2 strikes or a Nightfall.

Saturday game will be ran again  on the 13th and 20th from a slightly earlier time of 1PM - you'll see why in a moment :)

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ENGAGEMENT 'PARTY'

So, Sarah and I both have our beautiful new rings and are looking to celebrate our promise to one another by doing something typically goofy (e.g. very us) so we are proposing a trip to the crazy golf shennanigans at JUNKYARD GOLF in Manchester city centre for two rounds (that's 18 holes total, all of the courses are 9 hole) and cocktails or beer on the 13th October, 18:30 onwards. We'll follow this up with food someplace close yet to be decided.

Because we have to book slots for this, I need to know numbers and to collect funds in advance. For the two rounds it'll be £19 to play.  Interested? Let me know ASAP! We'd love to have you down to help us celebrate!


By the way, check the picture to see the two engagement rings on the left and my eternity ring/Sarah's placeholder ring from Malta on the right.

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KATIE'S ROCK BAND NIGHT

On the 20th we're running a Rock Band evening for Katie and her band of merrie mates. This event is open to anyone who's interested, basically party food, drinks and bad karaoke whilst playing fisher-price guitars at ours.

Event begins from 7PM. People can gather from 6PM. Let us know if you fancy watching us all make a tit of ourselves whilst you get quietly drunk or if you want to get in front of the telly and be a star for the evening!

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DESTINY 2

So, we've been playing D2 recently (you know, because it was free) and some of us have got to the end game post campaign stuff. We now have a clan set up to get shared rewards so if you're playing D2 and want to get to the more fun activities (like the strikes and nightfall) and earn cool stuff (well, as cool as you'll get with D2) then let me know and I'll invite you to the clan so you can start doing clan bounties and earning gear with the clan. 

10/09/18

It's been a strange old week and there's a lot to put up so here's a little summary:

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THE GOOD.......

Happily, there's lot's of little pockets of good news this week. Check it out:

Olly celebrated his birthday last week and is having a gathering shortly. Watch out for updates from Ol himself. Be sure to shoot Ol an 'Happy Birthday' or two!

Ol's bird (who has been very ill of late) is reportedly making a recovery. Good news indeed and I'm sure a weight off Ol's mind.

I was handed the 'all-clear' on my recent cancer scare and am apparently healing faster than expected. Welcome news around Butcher Farm and certainly one that brightened us up.

Sarah has been walking around independently without crutches for the first time since the Font trip and will be returning to work full time in her office rather than from home later this week. Not being properly mobile is always frustrating and this has also been a cause for some joy in the Butcher Farm household.

(I'm a little late to press with this but) Jess and James have announced their engagement!!! Jess's ring is beautiful and custom made (great choice, James!) and the pair are extremely happy. Please join us in congratulating them on such uplifting and excellent news!

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...THE BAD...

Three members of our group have all been hit by redundancies recently - Jess, James and myself. As a result, please expect that some of us may not be as socially active for a while as we've gotta watch dem copper pieces. Jobhunting commences in 3...2...1... (my thanks to the group for their suggestions and leads so far).

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...AND THE UGLY.

We almost had character deaths on both Weds AND Sat this week for Olly and Denney! Quick thinking on both Katie and Dee's behalf saved deaths from occurring (and a well-timed critical failure on behalf of an attacking Wolf didn't hurt).

Following the fight with Alec's adventuring party in Secomber last Wednesday, the party (and some of Alec's people) have sort of been arrested and questioned. Meguca and her rival archer, Nyssa, are both in jail while the rest of Meguca's party are negotiating to allow the bones exchange and the opportunity to fix up the damage to the inn for their freedom. 

Ol decided to save me the trouble of painting miniatures for what you've now turned into a recurring rivalry (or potential for future employment?). See his genius, below. Left to right it's Nev (the mysterious Rogue), Decker (the Priest), Nyssa (the Arcane Archer), Alec (the leader), Grylls (the Wildman/possible Druid), and Lex (the mad firebomb-throwing magic-user).

03/09/2018

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SATURDAY GROUP ENTER BAROVIA

The weekenders have found themselves deposited in a dark and misty land called Barovia, where Vampire Princes, roving packs of werewolves and killer mists hold sway. Leveled up as they are, will they prove to be a match for the Gothic horrors of Ravenloft?

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WEDNESDAY GROUP RESUME AND HAVE TROUBLE WITH THE LAW!

The Weds group are back from a 1 week break and have to deal with both a murder and damage caused to a crime scene (and the Inn) during their scuffle with their companion adventuring group. The Lord's Alliance garrison is on alert. The law is coming for them. Will they get paid? Will they do time? Will they fight a capable group of adventurers for coin and bones? Join us this week to see where this goes.

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ROCK BAND EVENT, COMING SOON

I have had requests to run a Rock Band night (mostly for Katie's crew) which Sarah and I will be making plans for this week. Expect plans and invites to appear soon.

If you fancy singing at the telly or strumming a fisher-price guitar in time with coloured lights for laughs with some beer, wine and snacks then let me know and we'll make sure you get your invite. 

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PLAYSTATION PLUS NEWS

There will be SEVEN playable games for the PS4 this month as part of PS Plus. Some of these are Vita or PS3 games also available on the PS4 but even so, it's a big haul for PS4 fans. 

DESTINY 2 is part of the line up and is already available for download early. If you get onto this and are looking for a Fireteam, Dee, Denney and myself have one set up already. Let us know if you want in and we'll get hooked up before we get too far in.

27/08/2018

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MID-WEEK LEVEL-UP

There's no D&D this week but the mid-week group should apply a level-up to their characters before next week. Let me know if you want the electronic versions of your character sheets. 

This week's session is replaced with boardgaming as we get to our mid-campaign break.  I now have to try and re-write the opening to the next adventure thanks to the fight the mid-week group now seem to be in with another adventuring group. Mistrust, politics, murder investigations and trying to get paid. Frankly, I'm surprised that there's not been a character death yet - I wonder how the town guards will react to two groups of heavily armed adventurers running amok in the town? 

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SATURDAY GROUP FIND THEMSELVES IN THE MISTS OF RAVENLOFT

Having fought off the Werewolves and fulfilled the prophecy naming them "Wolf-Killers", the group think the werewolves were likely followers of the Barovian Prince. After escaping the forest with the Mercenary Archer and one of the Vistani, they have all found themselves somehow escaping out of a forest....into another forest that shouldn't have been there. Possibly infected with Lycanthropy, the group must seek refuge and a cure quickly.

Welcome to Barovia, Team. Strahd may like to have you (round) for dinner.

Level ups are completed for the Saturday crew (Denney, I gave you the suggestion spell but you can change this for whatever you'd prefer if it doesn't suit). Gaming slot is now returned to normal.

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WILTONFEST

Saturday sees the return of the annual WILTONFEST - a climbing festival held at the Wilton Quarries in Bolton. I had planned to make a visit but sadly my back wouldn't be up to it so I'll have to give it a miss this time. 

Anyone that's interested in Climbing should give it a look though - There will be charity events, Masterclasses, product demos and items for sale as well as the famous Wilton Quarry BBQ!

Check the BMC website for details of the meet and how to book onto the Masterclasses. Other details can be found on www.ukc.co.uk

20/08/2018

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BBQ SEASON

Our Big-Hearted and Benevolent benefactor of butchery (our BBQing Barton Brother) has beckoned us all to his Bang-Up, beautiful, bonzer and best British Barbecue which promises to be a bounteous and busy bounty of bits of meaty goodness. 

Vegetarian options are: Tofu, Chips and watch everyone else eat.

Kick-off is from 3PM next Saturday. Bring a bottle and anything you may have a need to eat that isn't a massive slab of meat. Contact Chris for more details.

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MID-WEEK CREW NEARING MID-CAMPAIGN BREAK

The mid-week crew have almost finished their assault on Morren's Overlook (Cadoc Keep) and are preparing to assault the remaining defenders and reclaim the circlet (and possibly the rest of Cadoc's remains). I predict that there's one session left if the crew maintain their focus after their short rest. Fill the skeletal knight and his newly drafted troops prevail against a newly invigorated party? Will Katie get to drop another flaming sphere on the Ogres? What other surprises will I have waiting for the team? There's a lot to do so I'm suggesting people gather at ours this week a little earlier - you will likely need all the time you can get for this one.

Once the keep is done and the characters are safely en-route to Secomber, there will be a 1 week break while we level-up and I set up the next portion of the adventure. 

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SATURDAY CREW FINISH PROLOGUE ADVENTURE

The weekend crew have just finished a set-piece battle in the edges of the High Forest against the lycanthrope Wolfpack and their newly formed spawn. Despite having lost the Dwarves and the Captain in the battle, the players have barely saved two of their number from death and the merc archer who was assisting. With the mists closing around them and an unfamiliar forest seemingly all around where the grassy plains should be,  will the characters and their ally find a cure for the lycanthropic curse that may be taking hold before the next moon rises? 

Saturday's session is now cancelled due to medical issues. Apologies for the disruption. Expect to see new character sheets by the weekend for your approval. 

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SOME SCHEDULE DISRUPTION THIS WEEK

I have a hospital visit this week that will interfere with Thursday - Sunday plans for me. I may have to pull out of Friday and Saturday social events at short notice (sorry) and am cancelling Saturday gaming and Sunday climbing this week. 

Apologies for this. Normal service should resume next week with climbing sessions taking a hiatus for a while. 

13/08/2018

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BIRTHDAYS GONE BYE

So two of our group had birthdays this last week: Ste Barton and James Purrett. Please join me in wishing them both a hearty HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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STE'S B'DAY BASH

As is normal for a Barton birthday there is a plan of an evening out doing some non-roleplaying activity followed (or accompanied) by beer and food most delicious. Ste is likely to release details later this week when he can. Let us know if you want to help him celebrate.

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SATURDAY ROLEPLAYING THIS WEEK

Weekend group need to be aware that the game slot has indeed been moved forward to accommodate the Birthday event. Please be ready for a fight with the wolfpack when you arrive :)

06/08/2018

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C-TEAM MEMBERS GETTING NEW HOUSE!

Exciting times for our Warlock/Thief combo from our C-Team, Koren and Daz. They've put in an offer on a lovely new house in Carrington and have a mortgage in principal. If all goes to plan it looks like they'll be moving really soon. Well done, you two! Give us a shout if you need any help with the move! 

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SARAH LOSES CAST, BECOMES ROBOSPRATT

Sarah finally got her cast off last week. While she still needs her crutches, it was a huge relief for her and makes some things a lot easier. They've swapped the cast for a giant black armoured boot. It makes her look like some sort of tea-drinking, crutch-waving robot. Watch out if she ever gets hold of my airsoft gear - she may end up going all OCP on our asses!

"Drop it! Dead or alive, you're coming for tea" 

30/07/2018

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THE WEREWOLF HUNT COMMENCES

....but are the players the hunters or the hunted?

D&D is back on this week as normal (we should have our usual players available now) and that means the Saturday group has some very scary stuff coming up. 

As they are resting in the temporary camp and now know they will not be hunted until they arrive at the werewolf encampment for a spot of supper and storytelling, the characters can relax. ALL PLAYERS CHARACTERS SHOULD APPLY A LEVEL UP NOW. 

I suspect you're going to need it. Mwu-hu-hu-hu-haaaaaa!

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OBLIVAEON GETS SCHOOLED

On Saturday the SotM Oblivaeon event taught us a few things:

Surprisingly, the big bad and his horde of horrid men got their asses handed to them without a single loss from the Sentinels team and only a single destroyed environment deck (Oblivaeon wins if he kills 5 environments). Our setup was Scholar, Luminary (ex-Baron Blade villain), Dr Medico, Writhe and Akash'Thriya (ex-Akash'Buta villain). With Denny using the scholar almost exclusively to enable Ste's Luminary deck, Sarah keeping me, Dee and our rewards alive and both Dee and I acting as giant beat-sticks late game we were victorious!

Our thanks to all attending players for their patience and tenacity during the first play-trough of OblivAeon. We'll let y'all know when round 2 is planned.

Week commencing 23/07/2018

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D&D on HIATUS THIS WEEK

With several of our players across both groups on holiday or away doing things there are no D&D slots planned this week. We DO however have a very special event that Ste and I have been looking to do for a while. See below for details!

Normal service resumed when players are available again.

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THE END OF THE MULTIVERSE IS UPON US!

Some large packages dropped this week for Ste and myself. Greater than Games finally shipped Sentinels of the MultiVerse: OblivAeon to the Kickstarter backers! Holy cow, what a beast this new game is, and the new cards we have a very pretty indeed. 

The intent is to run the new game mode on Saturday. We'll need a team of 5 willing heroes to battle the 10,000 +180 +120 hit point BEHEMOTH that is OblivAeon himself. Yep, you read that right, the big bag has 10,300 HP! Even with Legacy (aka. Not Superman) on the team, that's a lot of punching!! (It'll be like Akash'Buta - there will be ways to knock chunks off his total by dealing with other things first).

So, what's OblivAeon about? The superheroes of Earth and beyond have fought against the effects of an unknown cosmic power for a long time, and each time they managed to prevail. However, other realities and timelines have not been so fortunate. The goal of this cosmic entity's encroachment upon the Multiverse has been the collapse of all realities and timelines into a singularity which will self-implode, leaving naught but OblivAeon, the true heir to nothingness.

OblivAeon (or as we like to call him, KOMG (short for "Knock-Off Multiverse Galactus)) itself has manifested on Earth in this timeline to put an end to the pitiful resistance. If it succeeds, everything will be destroyed. However, if the heroes are able to stop OblivAeon, the cracks which run through all realities will be repaired as the cosmic power that created them is destroyed, effectively cutting the timelines and realities off from each other. 

This is the very last Sentinels of the Multiverse expansion and completes Greater Than Games' SotM card game with their craziest story yet. Come and help the Freedom Six, the Void Guard, DarkWatch, the Prime Wardens and the other Heroes and former villains to face off together against the literal end of everything. 

Week commencing 16/07/2018

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BOARDGAMING WEEKEND AHOY!

This coming weekend we're running a BOARDGAMING WEEKEND as the group has missed Summer Stabcon. We intend to put out some games we've not played yet and a few faves. We'll be running two game tables so players can pick and choose the sorts of games they want. Between our collection and Bry's there's plenty on offer here but if you have a game you are sorely wanting to play, bring it along and we'll get it to a table.

We'll be running this as a drop-in, drop-out affair so if you want to play, just show up when you want and leave when you've had enough. Plenty to keep people going both Saturday and Sunday.

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THE GROUP MAY GROW AGAIN

Thanks to Nathan, we may see the membership rise still further as he is bringing in one of his group members to join our Saturday game, stealing the final slot on that campaign.

Dragonscale grows from strength to strength, it seems! With any luck, we'll get a chance to meet our new member (Chris) this coming weekend.

Chris? Oh sh*t! That means there's TWO of them! Dear God, what have I done???    :)

Week commencing 09/07/2018

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MID-WEEK LEVEL UP!

After a fantastic bit of IRL codebreaking to uncover the message scored into the inside of a looking glass case taken from their gobbo attackers, the midweek group earned an inpromptu level-up! 

If you haven't already submitted your level increase selections, please let me know what you want ASAP so I can get your new character sheets produced for Wed.....with you pact weapon bonuses this time! 

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DENNEY BE SO CRAY-CRAY - HE BE CLIMBIN' DA WALLZ

A big congratulations to Mr. Slater for completing his first two climbs at The Depot last week. I'm sure any of you that have been out with Sarah and myself to have a go will appreciate the effort this must have taken our resident Bardic Gnome.

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GAMING TABLE EXPANDS IT'S WAISTLINE

The remaining modules (well, most of them) arrived at Butcher farm for the gaming table. Now everyone can have a little dice/token/what-have-you shelf. 

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JESS AND JAMES ' HOT TUB TIME MACHINE

Paragons of our C-Team, Jess and James, have acquired themselves a lovely way to keep warm in winter and cool in summer - they've now got a back garden outdoor inflatable hot tub! We love ours, gang, we're sure you'll love yours, too! Pool party at their house!!! :)

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GLUE ATTACK

Dee has had to suffer a mindless act of vandalism on his new car. Some little scrotum has thrown glue over his bonnet. With quick thinking and a bit of hard work Dee's managed to clean it. Good job it wasn't something more serious like brake fluid or polystyrene cement! Sorry you had to suffer this, Dee.

Week commencing 02/07/2018

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GEEKINSON DELIVERY TO BUTCHER FARM

My gaming table has arrived AND IT IS GLORIOUS. I Frikkin' LOVE my new table. I hope you will, too. It is very nice to game on.

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SATURDAY CAMPAIGN OFF THE GROUND

Thanks to the excellent additions of Nathan and Denney (who both played brilliantly on Sat) our weekend campaign slot is now back on. One session in and the group have already stirred trouble up that may just 'bite' them on the ass later. Keep up with the campaign log to follow their exploits.

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I COME FROM A LAND DOWN UNDER.....

A member of Sarah's Aussie family is staying with us from Thursday through to Sunday. While we don't plan to have this interfere with the gaming slot, it may have to so watch your messages just in case. 

Anna's great, and she'll be happy to meet you all . 


Week commencing 25/06/2018.

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 NATHAN FIELDING ENTERS THE BATTLEFIELD!

Our 4th Saturday player came down to meet some of the crew this Sunday. Some character creation was done so we now have 3 of the 4 required characters built.

Nathan turned out to be exceedingly pleasant and easy to get along with. He displays a good knowledge of gaming, fiction and anime but as it turns out he hasn't really had much time yet to get into board or card gaming despite being a Fanboy3 regular. 

If we don't frighten him too much, he'll make a great new victi....er....I mean, asset to the team. Welcome aboard, Nate! 

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WEEKEND ROLEPLAYING

With Nathan joining us (see above) we now can get the weekend RPG slot back on the go. The intention is to play weekly Saturday afternoons and when Nate's shifts or Sarah's Aromatherapy customers clash with the game slot we'll switch out to board gaming, possibly at a different venue.  Details as it happens.

There will be no session Zero for this group. Dee - submit your character when you can, please.

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SARAH's BIRTHDAY - A THANK YOU

Sarah and I would like to extend our gratitude to all those who managed to attend the impromptu BBQ/Loopin' Chewie/Shadow Hunters session on Saturday. You all made Sarah's birthday a fun-packed day of food and frolics. 

It certainly was a spirit-lifter. Many thanks to you all. 

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FILTHY CASUAL CREW HITS THE BIG TIME

Our Rock Band Rivals band hit the #1 position IN THE WORLD on Saturday for this season. While I'm sure we won't stay in that position, it's nice that a bunch of try-hards can get to the top as long as the serious crews all f**k off for their holidays, or that the leader-boards screw up, that is :)

Either way, I'm calling that a WIN. 

Week commencing 18/06/2018


 THE MAGICAL FOREST OF FONT TAKES ANOTHER VICTIM

Font was GREAT. What a place! Sadly, Sarah broke her ankle trying to save a gnarly slab problem. There was a sequence of amusing issues that followed after what was a simple slip on a glassy hold, including 12 random climbers having to rescue the rescuers. There's a story to tell, I'll let Sarah tell you in person. 

As a result of this event, I'm going to have to ask that we move the Wednesday game to Butcher Farm.

My apologies for the trouble this causes but Sarah really isn't fully independent at the moment and the Farm isn't really crutch friendly. 

For any who want to see the fabulous forest and the rocks we were climbing we do have pics. Just ask if interested.

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OLLY AND DENNEY JOIN THE BATTLE!

I didn't flag this properly last time but we have two additions to our RPG groups: Olly (who joins us from Chris and Ste's other groups) and Denney (an old workmate of both Jack and myself). Ol is very much an RPG veteren, bolstering the Wednesday group while Denney is more or less an RPG beginner, bolstering the new Saturday group while the C Team are on a break.

Say Hi to them if you don't know them and be sure to be nice. I'm sure you'll see them around a table with us soon enough.  

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SARAH's BIRTHDAY APPROACHETH

Thanks to, ahem, obvious circumstances, I'm binning my original intimate meal out plans for Sarah's birthday this Saturday. Instead, I have a plan to use the incoming heatwave and host a gamer's BBQ THIS SATURDAY. 

I need to firm up a detail or two so I'll chuck out some details tomorrow. All of you are invited. If interested, drop me a line.

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CHRIS BARTON SHOUTS........

Message from Chris follows below. Apparently, it's all you need to shout.

https://youtu.be/GpMWDGDlHPo 

Week commencing 11/06/2018

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Denny makes his mark

Denny Slater joined us on Saturday for some gaming and despite being new to it all he brought us a lovely board game gift (Bears vs Babies) and then proceeded to hammer us all at Tiny Epic Galaxies on his first try AND THEN neutered both Sarah and myself playing the hard-to-master Terraforming Mars game, coming a respectful 2nd place. Watch out, crew, there's new blood around the table and he plays HARD.

(Thanks, Denney!)

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Geeknson  table coming to Butcher Farm

At the UKGE last week I bought a customised gamer-specific dining table. This will make playing games a lot more comfortable. Now Geek Chic are gone, Geeknson are the world's premier brand in gaming furniture. Check out their stuff here:  Geeknson site

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The Dark Room

Sarah, Dee and myself wen to Jon Robertson's excellent live action computer text based role playing game. Basically it was what if an escapee from Mad Max played Zork at you for an hour straight. It was fricking hilarious.

Want to see for yourself? Jon's EB Expo show was filmed and posted to youtube. See below for a taste at what we were involved with:

https://youtu.be/j0l6aq3b9zc 

Week Commencing June 4th 2018

 UKGE TRIP

The trip out to the UKGE was a success this weekend gone but, wow, is that thing now HUGE! We barely had time around it all! There's some key custom stuff yet to arrive from the con, some kickstarters to get involved with and a ton of cool sh*t we got, including some puzzles, new games, expansions for existing  games, minis, paintbrushes, tokens, organisers and the biggest damned D20 that our table will see. I'm gonna bounce this bad-boy off misbehaving player's heads. using your phone during a session? TAKE D20 TO THE FACE, BEEYATCH!

My bank balance is weeping....but when my main purchase shows up the group will definitely benefit from it, I promise :)

My thanks to the Great White Ginger for driving us this time.

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D&D GAMES

We have two confirmed D&D games now, one on the Wednesdays and one on the Saturdays. Unlucky for you lot is that I'm running them BOTH. Mwu-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!

Session Zero for the Wednesday group is this week. This coming Saturday we have a 'meet the players' boardgaming session for the Saturday group as we're waiting on confirmation for a 5th player there. 

Details in the descriptions below.