To our second monthly Newsletter. It's that time of the month again (though that time of the month will slowly creep forward till we are sending these at the start of each month, by some combination of math, vibes and general motivation)

It has been a trying time in politics lately with the now infamous definition of gender bill up for debate. We don't usually make a huge thing about Pride month, because as far as we're concerned, every month is Pride month at Artemis. We would however like our customers to know that we unequivocally support our queer, trans & nonbinary community, and we have submitted our opposition to the bill in question.

Stay safe out there, folks.

Alia

Prize Draw!

I did a little posting around to see if we could whip up some more subscribers, with the tease of a draw for one of my newest favourite games - Harmonies. If you've recently subscribed, or are an active member of our community you'll be in this!

Well, our winner.... is: Morgane Zimmer!

Congrats Morgane! I'm sure you'll love Harmonies as much as I do.

Kids D&D

We're going to try running our first Holiday program this upcoming school holidays. It'll be a 2 day D&D special run by Drama teacher Sam Millar. This will be suitable for ages 8+, and cost $120 for two days. There will be a primer on character creation for new players, the basic rules, roleplaying tips & tricks, miniature painting, and we'll culminate in a D&D game at the end of day 2. BYO packed lunch, or lunch money - we're conveniently located across from Mcdonalds.

One Piece TCG

We've been ramping up One Piece TCG play recently, and we're now running an event every Saturday at 12:30pm. If you're interested in playing, feel free to come along to any of them to watch, learn & join in the fun!

We're also running a Learn to Play event on August the 1st, which would be a great time to join in if you're less sure about hopping in the deep end with a TCG. This event will be $30 and everyone will get a Starter deck to play a tournament with. All players are welcome from beginner to experienced!

Flesh & Blood Sealed League

We've just started up a Sealed League for the new Omens of the Third Age Flesh and Blood set. This has been a popular event in the past, and involves buying a sealed kit, then playing matches assigned each couple of weeks, choosing when suits the pair of you to play, and being awarded with a fresh booster pack to add in after your game. It runs until you've played everyone else in the league, and a Kimberley overall victor is crowned.

New players are welcome to join in anytime, by buying a sealed pack and a booster for each week they've missed. This game has quite a steep learning curve but is a very satisfying challenge once you get there. We have a core group of very dedicated players here who are very into this fantastic NZ designed game!

Jun 13 2:30pm ~ $65 ~ Magic the Gathering ANZ Super Series Strixhaven Sealed

Jun 19 6pm ~ $20 ~ Riftbound Summoner Skirmish constructed

Jun 27th 2:30pm ~ $75 ~ Magic the Gathering Marvel Champions Pre-release

Jun 27th 6:30pm ~ $5 ~ June Artemis League Dungeons & Dragons

Jul 7-8 10am-4pm ~ $120 ~ 2 day Kids D&D Holiday program run by Drama teacher Sam Millar

As well as all our regular monthly & weekly events - Magic the Gathering Commander & Junior League, Riftbound Nexus Nights, Flesh and Blood Armoury Events, twice monthly paint nights, yarn nerds Sundays & board game nights!

One of my favourite new products we've gotten in this year is the Ravensridge Emporium range of Solo & two player RPG books.

These fill a fantastic niche in the RPG world, as sometimes it's just difficult to get a group of people together to play. Cartograph Atlas and Host also make great world-building tools for your other RPG games. Gamify your game making! What a great idea.

Ravensridge is an indie Australian RPG design company - they also make some fantastic dice & dice-themed jewelery if you manage to catch them at a convention or want to order from their website directly, so check them out!

I had this one recommended to me by another LGS and to be honest when I got it in I was thinking "Quick, light, fun game, probably not my personal vibe but solid nonetheless"... boy was I wrong. I LOVE this. While it only takes 5 minutes to learn and 15 minutes to play (which is great as someone who loves games but has a toddler), its depth and complexity go far beyond what I'd expect from that. I've played it a couple of dozen times since getting it in in March, and I'm still finding little tricks to play on my opponent.

It's a bit reminiscent of Stratego, but much quicker to play and with a more modern twist. You play one game, and you want to keep coming back for more. It's also great to demo or teach.

It's a very clever game and does what it does very well. The only real downside I can see is that it's only for 2 players! We sold out of our original stock of copies pretty quickly, but have just had a restock land.

If you are a Gisborne Local, or stopping by, join us for a Board Games Night every First & Third Friday of the month and check out this and many other cool offerings in our In-store Board Game Library!