Weekly Events March 10 - 16
Written by Jim Ziegler Mimics are one of the most recognizable monsters in Dungeons & Dragons. Often appearing as a treasure chest, they appear in dungeons disguised as furniture, waiting for adventurers to touch them so they can trap their prey with their sticky skin and pseudopod arms. But mimics can be so much more than just fake treasure chests! Their shapeshifting abilities are enough that they can almost perfectly replicate the look of wood, stone, metal, leather, and other materials, allowing them to replicate almost anything you’d normally find in a medieval fantasy setting, as long as they keep the same mass. And what a lot of mass they have! The average mimic weighs 4,500lbs, which is about the weight of a pickup truck. Combined with their adhesive slime, a confused party of adventurers isn’t going to accidentally carry a mimic home. But a mimic’s shapeshifting ability offers a lot of possibilities! While mimics typically use themselves as lures to attract creatures to eat, more intelligent ones can set more elaborate traps. Since they can disguise themselves as stone, it’s totally possible for a mimic to disguise itself as the ceiling in a hallway, then drop on an unwary adventurer. Imagine if a Ford F150 dropped on you: You wouldn’t be in a state to fight back while it ate you, and might even suffocate while your friends tried to fight it. Common mimics are intelligent enough to communicate and even make bargains, so you could offer one food in exchange for information. They’ve also been bred small and light enough to be used as book covers, providing protection from the elements in exchange for regular meals. But if they can be convinced to protect a book, why not a body? Imagine if a mad fighter made a pact with a mimic, convincing it to assume the shape of a suit of armor to wear, in exchange for frequent meals. The ability to shapeshift his armor, stick to walls and other objects, and the need to feed his armor means that your villain would basically be Venom! Of course, if the mimic armor gets hungry or you manage to negotiate a better deal, the poor guy might end up being eaten by his own armor. Maybe it’s best to let the mimic be the wardrobe, not part of yours. GAM3ESCAPE’S GAMER’S EXTRAVAGANZA Saturday, 1:00 PM It's back after a long hiatus.:This special event is for all youth gamers! Hosted in conjunction with @tcg808marketplace. .We will have experienced players from Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Pokemon TCG, Lorcana, Star Wars Unlimited, Warhammer 40k, Gaslands, Dungeons & Dragons (we will have several dungeon masters hosting short games with pre-gen characters), Super Smash Ultimate casual play. They will teach you how to play all of these amazing table top games. If you already play, come hang out and have fun! Registration form link: https://forms.gle/ij2KEJsmM1PbeGwU7 Entry fee: $5 and includes Antics Pizza and a beverage. IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Journey Together Prerelease Saturday, 6:30 PM, Sunday, 3:00 PM A Pokémon Adventure wouldn’t be complete without your partner Pokémon! Experience the newest set, Journey Together, with old friends and new at Gam3Escape! Each player will receive a prerelease kit, plus two Surging Sparks packs. Entry fee: $30 Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 GATHER FOR MAGIC FNM: Standard Constructed Tournament Friday, 6:00 PM Standard is back at Gam3Escape! Bring your deck and battle with other Planeswalkers for packs, promos, and other prizes. Entry fee: $10 Gam3Escape’s Monthly Commander Bingo Saturday, 6:00 PM Bring a Commander deck and try to score a BINGO. Players who bring an Aetherdrift commander will receive an extra prize ticket. Entry fee: $10 Partner Commander-ish League Thursday, 6:00 PM Build a deck with two commanders and only commons and uncommons in the 98, then play against other decks with the same restrictions! Can you break the board without breaking the bank? Three colors minimum. Entry fee: $10 Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Grand Prix Series Advanced Constructed Tournament Friday, 7:00 PM Participate in the 2025 Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Grand Prix Series. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday 7:00 PM, Saturday, 2:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 A WHOLE NEW WORLD Archazia's Island League Monday & Saturday, 6:30 PM Travel to Archazia’s Island and meet all of Disney’s four-legged friends. Participate in Gam3Escape’s weekly Lorcana League to earn promos and other fabulous prizes. Entry fee: $10 STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Casual Play League Tuesdays, 5:00 PM, Saturdays, 1:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor and his Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/alolan_professor
Weekly Events February 24 - March 2
Written by Jim Ziegler One of the design features in Dungeons & Dragons is Action Economy, which limits the number of actions that a character can perform in a turn. In general, each character gets four actions per round: they can move up to their maximum movement distance, take an Action or Magic Action, and then they get a Bonus Action. The fourth action is the Reaction, which is normally taken as an attack of opportunity. Players building their characters are often tempted to take multiple options that give them new Actions and Bonus Actions that they can take in combat. A Rogue or Monk may be tempted to select Harengon as their race in order to get the Rabbit Hop ability, which allows them to move as a Bonus Action without provoking attacks of opportunity. But then they’d need to choose between moving and attacking with their off-hand weapon, which can be a major source of damage. While it’s good to have options, investing too heavily into collecting different action options means that you’ll be unable to use most of them at any given time, and you’ll probably find one or two that you rely on while the rest just take up space on your character sheet. Of course, there are ways to squeeze some extra actions in. If a character has mastery with a Nick weapon, like a dagger, they can take an off-hand attack as part of their normal attack Action instead of as a Bonus Action. A Rogue that combines this with their mastered Vex weapon, like a hand axe or short sword, can even use that as their Sneak Attack. Another trick to get around the Action Economy is to note abilities that have a specific timing restriction, but aren’t directly linked to a specific Action. Sneak Attack is another good example: A Rogue may only use one Sneak Attack per turn, but the rules don’t say on THEIR turn. So a Rogue can get a Sneak Attack on their own turn, then take another one as part of their Reaction if an enemy triggers one. One outlier in the Action Economy is the “Free Action,” which doesn’t take any action slot, but should be kept within reasonable limits. Talking, for example, is a Free Action, but you should assume that means you can yell “Duck!” or “Get him!” without spending an action, not that you can recite a Shakespearean sonnet in six seconds. The Player’s Handbook also clarifies that you can interact with a single object as a free action on your turn, like opening an (unlocked) door while walking or drawing your sword as part of an attack. Action Economy is important for DMs to plan around, as well: Eight guys beating up one BBEG can feel underwhelming, but add in some low-level minions, a Lair Action or two, or mind control one of the player characters (or NPCs) and suddenly the game is much more dynamic. IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Pokémon TCG Standard Constructed Tournament Sunday, 3:00 PM Best of 1 format, 30 minute matches, age divisions honored as much as possible based on participation. Prizes include packs, promos, and other Pokémon merchandise. Entry fee: $10.00 Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 Pokémon Day 2025 Thursday Gam3Escape is excited to host the 2025 Pokemon Day event! Learn how to play from 4pm to 5:30pm Pokemon GO Scavenger Hunt 3pm to 9pm. Entry: $5.00 Pokemon BINGO 5:30pm. Entry: $10.00 Standard Tournament at 6:30pm. Tournament Entry: $10.00 Prize support for this very special Pokemon Day 2025 include Pokémon plushes, product, Illustration Contest promo cards, as well as booster packs and promo packs, and other items. All participants in events will receive a set of Illustration Contest promo cards and a 2025 Pokemon Day Sylveon promo. Tournament participants to receive special prizes and DOUBLE promo packs for this event. GATHER FOR MAGIC Magic RCQ Round 3 Standard Constructed Saturday, 12:30 PM It’s the Regional Championship Qualifier, Round 3! Deck lists must be submitted no later than 12:00 PM, and doors open at 11:30 AM. All participants will receive a borderless Mayhem Devil, while Top 8 will receive a special full-art Force of Despair. Entry fee: $20 Partner Commander-ish League Thursday, 6:00 PM Build a deck with two commanders and only commons and uncommons in the 98, then play against other decks with the same restrictions! Can you break the board without breaking the bank? Three colors minimum. Entry fee: $10 Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday & Friday, 7:00 PM, Saturday, 2:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Casual Play League Tuesdays, 6:00 PM, Saturdays, 1:00 PM, Sundays 5:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $10 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor and his Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/alolan_professor
Weekly Events February 17 - 23
Written by Jim Ziegler I’ve written before about how many different TCGs are available, each with their own mechanics and flavor that set them apart from the rest. Most are as close to Magic clones as they can be without dealing with a lawsuit, but a lot of them also try to solve “the land problem.”In case you don’t play Magic, in that game you need mana to cast most spells, and the default way of getting mana is from lands. Lands go into your deck like every other card, and you can only play one per turn, creating a system where the power level slowly builds up for each player.The problem is that if you don’t draw any lands, or if you draw too many, you don’t get to play the game. Other games with resource cards have similar issues: Pokemon decks can’t function without Energy, which is even worse if you’re playing a low-Energy deck like Klawf and put all four Energy in your Prizes. A lot of games try to solve the land problem. One Piece uses a separate DON!! deck, so you never have to worry about having access to your resources. Lorcana and Star Wars: Unlimited, meanwhile, both allow you to set most of your cards as resources, forcing you to decide whether to play a card or to set is as a resource. Pokemon suffers from another problem: The Basic Pokemon problem. If your first hand doesn’t contain a Basic Pokemon, you need to shuffle and draw again, repeating that until you get a Basic Pokemon. Each time you do, your opponent gets the opportunity to draw an extra card, which is a big advantage. Pokemon TCG Pocket solves both problems by replacing Energy cards with an Energy Zone and by forcing a Basic Pokemon into your first draw. The Neopets Battledome TCG embraces the land problem by placing resources (Codestones) in your deck, but solves the Basic Pokemon problem by giving you a second deck full of basic Neopets. You even get to choose which Neopet you want to start with!I’ve been playing a lot of Neopets lately, and even posted a video to teach others how to play. Make sure that you give it a watch if you’re interested in the newest game on the market! SUPER SMASH ULTIMATE PARTY Saturday, 4:30 PM Gam3Escape is once again excited to host Super Smash Bros. tournaments in conjunction with the UH Hilo Smash Bros Club! Double-elimination, with casual play between matches. Bring your own Joy-Con. Entry fee: $10.00 LEARN TO PLAY CHESS Saturday, 12:00 PM Interested in learning how to play chess? Already a player, but need someone to play with? Gam3Escape is partnering with the Big Island Chess Club to teach you how to play one of the oldest, most classic games you can find. Chess boards are provided. Entry fee: $5. IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Pokémon TCG Standard Constructed Tournament Sunday, 3:00 PM Best of 1 format, 30 minute matches, age divisions honored as much as possible based on participation. Prizes include packs, promos, and other Pokémon merchandise. Entry fee: $10.00 Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 GATHER FOR MAGIC FNM: Standard Constructed Tournament Friday, 6:00 PM Standard is back at Gam3Escape! Bring your deck and battle with other Planeswalkers for packs, promos, and other prizes. Entry fee: $10 Partner Commander-ish League Thursday, 6:00 PM Build a deck with two commanders and only standard commons and uncommons in the 98, then play against other decks with the same restrictions! Can you break the board without breaking the bank? Three colors minimum. Entry fee: $10 Gam3Escape’s Monthly Commander Bingo Saturday, 6:00 PM Bring a Commander deck and try to score a BINGO. Players who bring an Aetherdrift commander will receive an extra prize ticket. Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday, Friday 7:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Twilight of the Republic Store Showdown Tuesday, 5:30 PM The Republic is in decline. Will you try to bolster it? Or destroy it? Pick a side in the Twilight of the Republic Store Showdown! Best of three format, 55-minute rounds. Entry fee: $15 Casual Play League Tuesdays, 6:00 PM, Saturdays, 1:00 PM, Sundays 5:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor and his Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/alolan_professor
Weekly Events February 10 - 16
Written by Jim Ziegler One of the coolest and most problematic things about Yu-Gi-Oh is that unlike other TCGs, it doesn’t rotate sets. The cards I got in a 2002 Starter Deck Kaiba are still legal (minus anything making it to the banned list), even if they aren’t any good thanks to twenty years of power creep free from the balancing power of rotations. The old archetypes are also still supported, as demonstrated by the newest Structure Deck, Blue-Eyes White Destiny, which includes several new tools for the old Blue-Eyes White Dragon in that Kaiba Structure Deck. And it’s a good thing, too: Despite being hyped-up like crazy in the anime, the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was kind of pathetic in the game when it was eventually released in the United States. It’s also notable that continued support means continued printing, so you don’t need to drop twenty dollars to pick up an Ultra Rare version from the 22-year-old Starter Deck Yugi, since it’s been reprinted almost thirty times, most recently in the 2021 Maximum Gold: El Dorado booster. Twenty-plus years of reprinting the same cards has made a lot of them relatively cheap. Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon both have prints available for under a buck, and all five pieces of Exodia can be collected for less than twenty dollars. So why does it have a reputation for being so expensive? Like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh had incredible marketing in the form of an anime aimed at children (if you ignore the episodes that went unaired in the U.S., which fans dubbed “Season 0”.). But with that anime off the air, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of new blood playing the game. Most of the player base is made up of entrenched veterans, who already have copies of staple cards that make the barrier of entry high for new players. The Pokémon TCG keeps the prices low by printing higher-rarity cards that they know collectors and scalpers will try to hoard, like the “Moonbreon” in Prismatic Evolutions. They can sell thousands of packs to people hunting that big prize, who will then flood the market with the rest of the cards for rock-bottom prices, in order to recoup part of their losses. As much as it sucks to miss out on new product because of scalpers, it’s a net benefit for players. Maybe Yu-Gi-Oh needs some bored investors to get interested and start buying all the loose product to flip. IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Pokémon Day Sunday, 1:00 PM The ever-popular monthly Pokémon Day event is back with all of your favorite activities. See Pokémon Professor Jim to Learn To Play and for help building your new deck at 1:00, then hang around for everyone's favorite activity, Pokémon Bingo. Win packs, promos, and prizes! Remember, all players under 13 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Entry fee: $10. Pokémon TCG League Challenge Saturday, 3:00 PM Best of 1 format, 30 minute matches, age divisions honored as much as possible based on participation. Deck lists are required, and must be submitted by 2:30 PM. Late and illegible deck lists may not be accepted. Prizes include packs, promos, and other Pokémon merchandise. Entry fee: $7.00 Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 GATHER FOR MAGIC FNM: Aetherdrift Draft Friday, 6:00 PM Start your engines! Draft a deck from Aetherdrift packs and put the pedal to the metal to prove that you’re the best brewer and builder in Hilo. Entry fee: $22 Partner Commander-ish League Thursday, 6:00 PM Build a deck with two commanders and only commons and uncommons in the 98, then play against other decks with the same restrictions! Can you break the board without breaking the bank? Three colors minimum. Entry fee: $10 Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Blue Eyes White Destiny Structure Deck Celebration Saturday, 2:00 Celebrate the release of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Blue Eyes White Destiny Structure Deck at Gam3Escape's release celebration event! Receive the newest Yu-Gi-Oh Structure Deck and compete for a chance to win a promo Blue Eyes White Destiny Release Celebration playmat. Entry fee: $12 Grand Prix Series Advanced Constructed Tournament Friday, 7:00 PM Participate in the 2024 Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Grand Prix Series. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday, 7:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 A WHOLE NEW WORLD Valentines Day Pack Rush Event Saturday, 6:30 PM Shuffle two packs together, grab two free ink, and rush to 15 Lore! Full rules can be found here. STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Casual Play League Tuesdays, 6:00 PM, Saturdays, 1:00 PM, Sundays 5:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor and his Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/alolan_professor
Weekly Events February 3 - 9
Written by Jim Ziegler Several months ago I talked about product fatigue, and mentioned that Magic, in particular, frequently starts the next spoiler season before the latest set is fully digested. Last month, Wizards of the Coast seemed to be trying to take it to the next level. The newest Magic set, Aetherdrift, comes in at a weird time. It’s releasing on Valentine’s Day, which is fitting for a set that puts a fresh spotlight on Chandra and Nissa’s relationship. But spoiler season for the race-themed set started about a week before Innistrad Remastered was released, so many of us barely saw the cards for Innistrad before being run over by a bunch of wacky racecars. Innistrad may be my favorite plane in the entire Magic cosmology. The gothic-horror theme has so much overlap with the traditional fantasy settings of old-school Magic, like Dominaria and Mercadia that it felt like going home after less familiar settings like Mirrodin and Kamigawa. It probably also helps that after quitting Magic for a few years, Innistrad was the set that I came back to. That overlap also allows Innistrad to feel like a more fleshed-out setting than planes introduced in other top-down sets. The different styles of clothing, while they evoke vampire hunters and mad scientists, feel like they fit with the Clerics and Barbarians and Minions of Dominaria, maybe a couple hundred miles removed where the styles are a little different. It never felt like characters we’ve known and loved were visiting a theme park and dressing up to play tourist in Wild West World. Bloomburrow was fresh and inviting. Duskmourne felt trope-y again, but it rolled so quickly into Foundations that I can hardly recall how excited I was for it. Now, Innistrad remastered is here and gone again in the blink of an eye, in time for a set that doesn’t even bother to hide the Mario Kart Easter eggs. On the bright side, there are a lot of new toys for Pilot decks, a fun new variant of Commander in which you get to include Vehicle or Mount in your Command Zone, along with a creature to pilot it. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s worth a look! FIRST FRIDAY MARKET Friday, 5:00 PM Stop by for Gam3Escape’s First Friday Market! TCG vendors include @tcg808marketplace, @shakacardz, @tcghawaii, @tcg808rips, & @porygontrainer. @shaylax.ink will be there with her games and kawaii stickers, and a new vendor, @malahanaipua, that has Sanrio items, keiki goody bags, FUNKO Pops, art and crafts, and games! @filedabahiadohavai will be there with Brazilian plates! Plus freeze-dried candy, face painting, and balloon animals. SUPER SMASH ULTIMATE PARTY Saturday, 1:00 PM Gam3Escape is once again excited to host Super Smash Bros. tournaments in conjunction with the UH Hilo Smash Bros Club! Double-elimination, with casual play between matches. Bring your own Joy-Con. Entry fee: $10.00 IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Pokémon TCG Standard Constructed Tournament Saturday, 3:00 PM Best of 1 format, 30 minute matches, age divisions honored as much as possible based on participation. Prizes include packs, promos, and other Pokémon merchandise. Entry fee: $10.00 Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 GATHER FOR MAGIC Aetherdrift Prerelease Event Friday & Saturday, 6:00 PM Start your engines! Build your deck from a prerelease kit and race to first place! Winners get early Aetherdrift packs, losers get to eat their dust. Entry fee: $35 Partner CommOnderish League Thursday, 6:00 PM New League Season starts in February. See in store for details. Entry fee: $10 Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday & Friday, 7:00 PM, Saturday, 2:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 A WHOLE NEW WORLD Azurite Sea Lorcana League Monday, & Saturday, 6:30 PM The adventures in the Inklands continue with Locana League. Bring your sealed deck, or join the fun! The initial entry fee includes a starter deck of your choice, a booster pack, and a 200-card deck box to keep your sealed cards from getting mixed up with your collection. Entry fee: $25 (one-time charge) STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Constructed Tournament Tuesday, 6:00 PM Battle on the ground and in space to take down your opponent’s base. Bring your favorite Star Wars: Unlimited deck and compete for pride and prizes. Entry fee: $10 Casual Play League Tuesday, 5:00 PM, Saturday, 1:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ Jim also writes for CoolStuffInc! Check out his latest article: https://www.coolstuffinc.com/a/jimziegler-seo-01312025-why-cant-werewolves-have-nice-things Like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor
Weekly Events January 27 - February 2
Written by Jim Ziegler You know how every year McDonald’s releases Pokémon-themed Happy Meals, with promotional reprints of current cards? The 2024 set, themed to match the Year of the Dragon, is finally out… now that it’s 2025 and the Year of the Snake starts this week. The promotion was revealed a couple months ago, and started in France in December. Some Pokémon content creators even went so far as to buy the French Happy Meals online in order to stream opening them early, because the American release didn’t start until the fourth week of January 2025. In addition to the late release, this (last?) year’s set also features cards that have already rotated out of the Standard format, like the Charizard from Vivid Voltage bearing regulation mark D, which rotated out in 2023. It seems bizarre to give out cards that are already prohibited from being used in normal play, especially when they’re good enough to build functional decks around. I used this exact Charizard in an off-meta Leon deck that did pretty well, considering the other decks being played at the time. It’s a good way to get your fix of packs if you aren’t lucky (or rich!) enough to get ahold of Prismatic Evolutions, but coming this late raises the question: Will McDonald’s have a dedicated 2025 set? Or have they broken the pattern of releasing a new set of promos every year? If the Pokémon TCG isn’t your jam, the burger chain is also hosting Poké Stops and gyms for an undisclosed period, and the Happy Meals come with a gift code for twelve Pack Hourglasses and twelve Wonder Hourglasses for Pokemon TCG Pocket if you order them through the mobile app. These codes can be redeemed at least twice, between two different accounts, so make sure you share them with your friends. It seems like each account can only redeem one of the codes, so ordering a Happy Meal each day isn’t going to get you an extra pack a day. But if you want free packs without buying burgers, keep an eye on my Bluesky profile, where I’ll be giving away all of my gift codes as soon as I have enough to reach the character limit. If you have a code and can’t figure out how to redeem it, I’ve got you covered: Check out my Pokemon TCG Pocket guide on how to redeem gift codes! IN THE WORLD OF POKÉMON Pokémon Standard Constructed Tournament Sunday, 3:00 PM Show everyone that you’re the best! Like no one ever was! Join the battle at the weekly Standard Constructed Tournament! Regulation F, no deck list required. Entry fee: $7. Pokémon League Casual Play Monday and Saturday at 6:30 PM, Sunday at noon Receive a pack of your choice from any in the store, as well as a promo pack. Participants are entered into the end-of-season prize pool. Entry fee: $10 Pokémon GO Scavenger Hunt Grab an achievement sheet in-store and GO out to collect them! Complete the scavenger sheet to earn a booster pack and a promo pack, and to be entered into a drawing for an Elite Trainer Box and other prizes. Entry fee: $10 GATHER FOR MAGIC FNM: Standard Constructed Tournament Friday, 6:00 PM Standard is back at Gam3Escape! Bring your deck and battle with other Planeswalkers for packs, promos, and other prizes. Entry fee: $10 Commonder-ish League Thursday, 6:00 PM Build a deck with only commons and uncommons (and a commander of any rarity) and play against other decks with the same restrictions! Can you break the board without breaking the bank? Entry fee: $10 Casual Commander Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 6:00 PM The most popular format in Magic, Commander, is back on the table. Bring your favorite deck, or playtest a new one against other magicians. No entry fee: These battles are for honor, not prizes! TIME TO DUEL! Yu-Gi-Oh! Advanced Constructed Tournament Wednesday & Friday, 7:00 PM, Saturday 2:00 PM Duel for supremacy in the Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. Earn booster packs and OTS Tournament Packs while demonstrating your skills as a duelist. Entry fee: $10 A WHOLE NEW WORLD Azurite Sea Lorcana League Monday, & Saturday, 6:30 PM The adventures in the Inklands continue with Locana League. Bring your sealed deck, or join the fun! The initial entry fee includes a starter deck of your choice, a booster pack, and a 200-card deck box to keep your sealed cards from getting mixed up with your collection. Entry fee: $25 (one-time charge) Azurite Sea Lorcana Set Championship Tournament Saturday, 3:00 PM Deck lists due 30 minute prior to event start time, 2:30pm. Entry: $25 ($20 league/monthly members) STAR WARS: UNLIMITED Casual Play League Tuesdays, 6:00 PM, Saturdays, 1:00 PM Whether you’re an aspiring Jedi, a sinister Sith, or a bounty hunter looking for your next score, Star Wars: Unlimited has all the excitement of your favorite space opera in cardboard form. THIS MEANS WAR(HAMMER)! Casual Warhammer Friday & Sunday, 5:00 PM In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war. At Gam3Escape, there is only Warhammer! Whether it’s a Tyranid terror or a Blood Angel battalion, stage your army and prepare for battle at the weekly Casual Warhammer event. CARDFIGHT! VANGUARD! Divinez Constructed Tournament Monday, 5:30 PM Bring your cards and get ready to fight! Cardfight! Vanguard is back with weekly tournaments, every Monday night. Entry fee: $6 Check out Jim's articles at The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/author/james-ziegler/ and like, follow, and subscribe to his Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Alolan_Professor
