Free RPG Day 2015 @ Proud Lion!

by Rae

In addition to our normal gaming events scheduled throughout the month, this June sees the return of Free RPG Day! On Saturday 20th June, Proud Lion will be hosting sessions of D&D Expeditions, followed by an evening at Boston Tea Party where we will also be running Dread and Star Wars: Edge of the Empire.

D&D Expeditions is the perfect way to get a taste of 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons. Each Expedition is only a few hours long – perfect for a quick adventure! We will be running two different Expeditions on the day. The first will run from 10:30am until 3pm. The second will be a split session, running in store from 3:30pm until 5pm, then continuing at Boston Tea Party from 6pm until 9pm.

There will be a maximum of four players for each Expedition, and to ensure Expeditions are balanced, pre-generated characters will be made available - no custom characters will be allowed. Tickets are free, but must be reserved via Ticketsource in order to play. Please note this is not a drop-in, drop-out session – please only reserve a ticket if you will be staying for the complete session!

Our evening offerings at Boston Tea Party will also be free but will again require tickets via Ticketsource. Our first, Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, is based on the adventure contained within the Beginner Box, and serves as an excellent introduction into this science fiction RPG. Our second evening game will be Dread, a horror RPG that is centred around a classic game of Jenga. Both games will run from 6pm to 9pm at Boston Tea Party and can support up to four players. Again, both games will be using pre-generated characters for all players.

In order to reserve your space for one of these games, please follow the link below to our Ticketsource page, where you can select which game you wish to play and claim a spot.

In order to ensure as many people as possible get a chance, we are limiting each player to playing only one of the above games on the day.

Click here to reserve a ticket for Free RPG Day!

However, that doesn't mean you can't bring your own games! Feel free to grab your friends and run an RPG of your own along side us in the evening. We'd love to see more people getting involved and trying out different RPG systems! We'll see you all on Free RPG Day!

Rae has a lot of RPG stories in her head this week!

Big Game Hunting: Splendor Demo-Tournament

It's time for Big Game Hunting! This is a regular gaming event that takes place on the second Saturday of every month.  Players will get a chance to learn and play featured games all day long. This month we're doing something a bit different, and offering what we think of as a demo-tournament, featuring the fantastic Splendor!

Splendor is a brilliant strategy game which has players collecting gems and purchasing mines in the hopes of gaining power and influence. If one is able to acquire the right combination of mines, a noble will visit them, bringing that player even more influence. The winner is the player with the most influence points at the end of the game. The rules are wonderfully simple and easy to learn, making this game incredibly accessible yet difficult to master – especially if another player manages to snag that mine you've been saving up gems for!

So how will this demo-tournament work? We will, as usual, be teaching the game all day between 10:30am and 5pm. However, unlike other Big Game Hunting events, there will be an entry fee to play as many games of Splendor as you like for £4, paid on the day only. The reason is, for this event only, we are able to offer a chance to win some fantastic gaming kit to take home! Take a look at what you could get:

• An alternate gem token with every game played, to a maximum of five.
• A sixth Golden Jack gem token for earning a complete set of five tokens.
• A pack of four alternate noble cards for the first fifteen players.
• A full copy of the Splendor game (RRP £25) and a dedicated play mat for the overall highest scoring player over the day (to be drawn randomly in the case of a tie).
• A full copy of the Splendor game (RRP £25) and a dedicated play mat for one randomly drawn player from the day (highest scoring winner not eligible).

Players will also get their usual 10% discount voucher off Splendor (may need to be ordered, depending on availability). Please note that players will only be allowed to play consecutive games if there are no other players waiting to join in. Gem tokens and noble cards are only available while stocks last. The highest scoring player will not also be eligible for the random draw prize.

See you Saturday 13th June!

(We are sorry to say we will no longer be offering games of Krosmaster for this event as previously advertised. This is due to stock issues at supplier level. Krosmaster events will be scheduled in future, check back soon for more details.)

Rae can't believe it took her this long to get her own copy of Splendor!

Big Game Hunting Live - Colt Express and Takenoko

by Rae

It's time for Big Game Hunting Live! This is a monthly gaming event that takes place every month.

(Please note that May's Big Game Hunting Live has been pushed back a week to accommodate for Free Comic Book Day at the beginning of the month, and will be taking place on the 16th May.)

Players will get a chance to learn and play featured games all day long. This month we're featuring two excellent games: Colt Express and Takenoko!

In Colt Express, you play as a bandit, determined to become the richest bandit the Old West has ever seen. But you're not the only one who's decided this here train is yours to plunder, and you'll be competing against your fellow bandits to get the most loot! This game features a 3D train which allows players to run on the roof, move through the cars, and punch or shoot their way through opponents in an attempt to gather the most wealth from the passengers. Players have to watch out for the Marshal, though, who will make that task even more challenging!

In Takenoko, players are caring for the bamboo garden of the Japanese emperor. Not only must they ensure that the three types of bamboo continue to grow by irrigating and cultivating plots of land, but they must also look after the sacred panda who inhabits the garden. The panda will help itself to its share of bamboo, so it's up to the players to ensure the panda's appetite is steered in the right direction.

During the day, we will be running open demos from 10:30am to 5pm for both games. Feel free to drop in at any time, we're happy to teach you how to play!

See you Saturday 16th May!

All participants will receive a voucher that entitles them to 10% off Colt Express and Takenoko.

Rae thinks there are too many board games and not enough time to play them all!

Free Comic Book Day 2015!

by Rae

Tomorrow will see Proud Lion taking part in Free Comic Book Day! This annual event takes place the first Saturday in May as a celebration of comics, allowing readers to delve into familiar favourites or discover something new. As in previous years, Proud Lion is pleased to say we will have a fantastic selection of free comics for you to pick from!

Many of you will remember our previous Free Comic Book Day events, and will already be aware that our supply of free comics tends to disappear very quickly. Last year in particular saw our tables emptied within an hour! We want to ensure everyone who visits the shop on the day gets a chance to pick up a free comic, so to allow them to last a little longer, we are changing the rules slightly from previous years.

For this year's Free Comic Book Day, every visitor to the shop will be able to take up to five free comics. This means you can pick up one copy of up to five different titles you think you'd like to read! All our available titles will be on offer from 10am, and it will be first come, first served. If there's something in particular you'd like to get your hands on, try and get down early to make sure you don't miss out!

FCBD 2014, photo courtesy of @OldManRupee

Here's a list of the free comics we will have on offer:

• 2000 AD Special
• And Then Emily Was Gone #0
• Bobs Burgers
• Bongo Comics Free-For-All!
• Boom Studios 10th Anniversary FCBD Special
• Dark Circle Comics #1
• Dark Horse Fight Club The Goon The Strain
• DC Comics Divergence FCBD Preview
• DC Comics Teen Titans/Scooby Doo Team-Up
• Doctor Who Special
• Legendary Comics Sampler
• Marvel’s All-New, All-Different Avengers #1
• Marvel’s Secret Wars #0 FCBD
• Motorcycle Samurai
• Neil Gaiman’s Lady Justice
• Perfect Square Presents Pokemon
• Savage Dragon Legacy
• Sonic The Hedgehog Mega Man Worlds Unite Prelude
• Spongebob Freestyle Funnies
• Steampunk Goldilocks
• Street Fighter Super Combo Special
• Stuff Of Legend Call To Arms
• The Tick
• TMNT Prelude To Vengeance
• Transformers Robots In Disguise #0

We will have guests Jon Lock and Lucy Brown in store, with a selection of books from Big Punch Studios. Don't forget to pick up your free copy of the FCBD special edition of Big Punch Magazine! (This does not count as one of your five free comics.)

In addition, we will be offering the first 100 attendees an opportunity to choose either FCBD 2015 CBLDF DEFEND COMICS or FCBD 2015 OVERSTREET COMIC BOOK MARKETPLACE as an extra free comic, sponsored by True Believers Comic Festival 2016! The first 50 customers to make a purchase in store will also receive a free True Believers 2016 badge.

If there are more than five comics you're interested in, we will be re-opening the free comic tables from 3pm for readers who are looking to pick up extra titles. Please note this is only while stocks last!

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Rae and Ben will be up bright and early in the morning to make all the final preparations for FCBD.