The second annual high school tabletop gaming marathon Lvl Up 2020 took over Riverview Collegiate on Feb. 29, and Moose Jaw’s teenagers once again showed just how much they enjoy the 12-hour event packed with games, workshops, and cosplay.
Organizer Janice Lamb was amazed by the response to this year’s event, which saw more students in attendance this year than the year previous.
“We had kids from every school in the city, from Cornerstone, some kids from Vanier, Central, Peacock, and of course a strong showing from Riverview,” said Lamb.
The all-day Dungeons & Dragons sessions remained extremely popular this year, said Lamb, as did some of the new additions to the event.
Organizers added a video gaming component this year, hosted a coding workshop that taught the basics of creating an RPG video game as well as set up a Super Smash Bros. tournament that had attendees excited.
The Moose Jaw Gamers Association offered its expertise again this year as volunteers, facilitating the many different games throughout the day and bringing along some of their own gaming accessories for students to enjoy — such as a virtual reality gaming setup, which Lamb said was a huge hit.
“All of us were blown away by how much fun the kids had, and how great they were, and how wonderful our volunteers were,” said Lamb. “It's just cool to watch their passion. There were some kids that did 12 hours of Dungeons & Dragons, and they were right into it.”
For Lamb, she was once again amazed at the dedication of both the volunteers and the students who made this year such a success.
“The adult volunteers we had with the Moose Jaw Gamers, and the gaming community at large here, were so phenomenal,” said Lamb. “The amount of time and money they gave to get the kids involved in this hobby was truly super touching.”
The organizing committee included representatives from all four core high schools in the city, which Lamb felt really helped expand the event to include more students this year.
The goal for next year, she added, is to put together another marathon day for the younger age group, who have expressed a similar interest in being a part of the tabletop community.
“I know that there is enthusiasm for that, (and) so we want to broaden our age group,” said Lamb. “We'll probably do two separate conventions, one for the younger crowd and one for the high school crowd.”
It could be a great opportunity not only for the middle school age group to get involved but also to have the high school age group try their hand at facilitating some of these tabletop games for others.
Lamb facilitates a Dungeons & Dragons game for students at Riverview on Sunday night at 5:30 p.m. every week, which is open to high school students from all over the city, and the continued success of Lvl Up has her excited about the growing interest in the game.
“I think it really shows that kids do want to be social and game together, that they're looking for those opportunities,” said Lamb. “I think it's really cool to have them come together and have them create this community together, to get to know each other [because] it's such a great community to belong to, and the kids are looking for that sort of a thing.”
