August has been a whirlwind of a month for me, so it was wonderful to let loose with an all night gaming session at the local gaming shop Rigoler. I wrote about the shop previously, and my appreciation of it has only increased the more I go.

The all night event officially started at 12 midnight and went to 5 AM at a bar in the same building as the shop, but the “pre-game” event started at 6pm and Rigoler was packed. My pre-game, though, was to go a local Bon Dance festival.

My friend and I showed up around midnight and there was already quite the crowd– more than 30 people in total. After brief introductions and a toast, we divided up into various groups– the bar became the spot for lighter games and the game shop became the battlegrounds of heavier games, plus a rest space.

Scythe in the Shop

While discussing what game to play, someone heard me talking to my friend about Scythe and our fate was sealed. Neither my friend nor I had played Scythe, nor knew the rules, so one player kindly gave us a very thorough explanation of the game. Despite the superb instructions, the amount of things to learn in the middle of the night was a bit overwhelming, but it’s a testament to the game’s design that we quickly picked up the pace. Our five player game lasted until 3 AM, and while I obviously lost, I had a lot of fun doing so and look forward to trying the game again. By this point, though, my brain was mush, so I skipped the follow up game and went to the bar to socialize.

Coyote in the Bar

I started catching up with some friends in the bar and made some new ones when a nine person game of Coyote started. It was my first time playing that as well, but it was very easy to pick up and lots of fun. After that it was mainly just chatting until the event ended at 5 AM and we took group pictures.

The gaming night cost ¥4,000 (~$40), which included three drinks and light food (snacks, sweats, rice and fried chicken). If you showed up at the shop prior to the event starting, you got a ¥500 discount on the normal play space rates. All in all, very reasonable for a gaming all-nighter!