Just Days Away - Are you Ready to Win Some Prizes? by Norma Gallien

In only five days, we'll be up on the 76th floor of the Columbia Tower playing and partying for a good cause! It's been a whirlwind of activity here at FTW, as we prepare to give you a most epic Night of Board Gaming for Good on Top of the World. We've been a bit silent on this page as we've been updating and streamlining a lot of our looks, all while still finalizing the details of the event, but we can't keep silent about how crazy excited we are for Friday! We hope you are, too.

We'd like to fuel your excitement even more by showing off just some of the games our awesome sponsors have given to us to give to you! The Youtube video on the right shows some of the prizes you can win in the raffle. 

You can only win if you're there, so if you haven't already, buy your ticket

The Prize List! by Matt Winberry

Our sponsors are the lifeblood of our events. The following is a list of the prizes that you can walk away with at our event! Check back often, as this page will be updated frequently between now and Game Day. Don't have your tickets yet? Get them here!

Asmodee Games
Dark, Darker, Darkest
Elysium
Hit Z Road
Nations
Room-25
Werewolves: The Pact

Action Phase Games
Kodama
Ninja Camp

Art's Ideas/Giant Jenga
Giant Jenga (x6)

Calliope Games
12 Days
Double Double Dominoes
Roll For It! Red & Purple
Roll For It! Deluxe
Thieves!
Tsuro
Tsuro of the Seas & Veterans of the Seas
Ugh!

Cheapass Games
Before I Kill You, Mister Spy... (x3)
Brawl: Bennett, Chris, Darwin, Hale, Morgan, Pearl
Deadfall (x3)
Deadwood Studios, USA
Get Lucky
Give Me the Brain
Kill Doctor Lucky (x2)
Stuff and Nonsense
Unexploded Cow

Daily Magic Games
Mana Surge (x2)
Swinging Jivecat Voodoo Lounge
Valeria: Card Kingdoms (x2)

Game Company No. 3
Oh My God There's an Axe in My Head!

Iello Games
Kenjin
The Three Little Pigs

Mayfair Games
1844/54 Switzerland/Austria
Barbarossa
Catan Traveler Edition
Global Mogul
London
Catan Histories: Merchants of Europe
Murano
Revolution

Meeple Realty
Prizes still TBA

Renegade Game Studios
Lotus

Slugfest Games
Gambling? I'm in!
Red Dragon Inn
Red Dragon Inn 2
Witch Doctor Natyli
Zariah the Summoner

Tasty Minstrel Games (TMG)
Bomb Squad Academy
Bottlecap Vikings
Eminent Domain: Battlecruisers
Flip City
Orleans

USAOpoly
Game of Thrones Clue
Harry Potter Clue
Lift It
Munchkin Marvel
Nefarious
Star Trek Panic (x2)
Star Trek Risk
Star Trek Trivial Pursuit
Tapple 10 (x2)
Telestrations After Dark
Wonky (x2)

August 22 Pre-PAX Update!! by Matt Winberry

Hey everyone! Planning is coming along quite well for the Top of the World event next Thursday. We're ahead of where we were at this time this spring, so here's a few tidbits:

One of the main sources of feedback we constantly get is that the raffles take too long. All things considered, this is a good problem to have, because it means we're giving away LOTS of prizes! Our team discussed many ideas for this, including automation, moving the time, splitting up the drawings, and other things. We decided that we definitely need to move the time frame up, so we will start this no later than 9:00 this year. Not only will this get it over with faster, but it will allow you to potentially get your winnings on the table that very evening if you so choose. We decided against automation, because the human cost of pro-bono development of custom software (hours) didn't justify the end result (MAAAYBE we save 5 minutes). Therefore, we're going to tackle things much like we did in the spring: Lightning quick drawings with multiple people engaged in getting the games to the winners. Our goal is to get the entire thing done in under 30 minutes. Also, we will still have "guaranteed win" tickets, but we are going to insure a more equitable split between these prizes and the prizes in the general drawing. That means that, depending on the total number of prizes we end up having, there might be a cap on the number of guaranteed win tickets.

Speaking of prizes! There's not a whole lot to share... yet. We want to make sure that our donors are 100% "in" before we say anything, but we can list a few who are locked in. You'll see some usual suspects here, plus a few more. This, of course, is subject to change, but at this point, we feel confident that we will be receiving donations from the following:

  • Calliope Games
  • Cheapass Games
  • Daily Magic
  • Game Company No. 3
  • Japanime Games
  • Indie Boards & Cards
  • Mayfair Games
  • Renegade
  • Slugfest Games
  • USAOpoly

Again, lots more in the hopper. We'll be revealing these as things become more clear. Look for the first detailed prize list to be posted here sometime later this week.

Yes, there will be vegetarian food this time.

Clearing things up: Exactly who is hosting this event? by Matt Winberry

There has been some confusion as to exactly who is hosting this event, so here's what's up. FTW Events, a fully incorporated federal 501(c)3 charity organization in good standing, is the offshoot of Dawgsled Events, the organization that hosted the original TableTop Day on Top of the World event back in 2013. This event coincided with the original TableTop Day, put together by the Los Angeles-based company Geek & Sundry, in March of that year. After this first event, we teamed up with another group of people, and we co-hosted the first Pre-PAX event, the second TableTop Day event and the second Pre-PAX event. After that, we parted ways, with FTW Events (still Dawgsled Events at the time) hosting the 3rd TableTop Day event and, most recently, as FTW Events, the Top of the World Board Game extravaganza on ECCC weekend this past April. The other organization was the sole host of last year's Pre-PAX event, but they opted not to host an event at the Columbia Tower this year. FTW Events has stepped in and taken over this event and will own it moving forward.

We're only 15 tickets away with 48 hours to go! by Matt Winberry

Hey everyone! Our campaign to sell 50 of the "kickstarter"-class tickets is 70% complete! We just need to sell 15 more tickets, and this event is a go. We need to get this done by Wednesday the 10th. If you know you're coming, get your tickets now! They'll be cheaper, and you'll be all set!

PS: For those of you playing Pokemon GO, there are 2 PokeStops accessible from the Club. We'll make sure to keep those lit up with lures all night.

Scaling Back and Scaling Up! by Matt Winberry

Announcing the anxiously awaited launch of this year's Pre-PAX board game extravaganza atop Seattle's Columbia Tower!

No doubt about it--2016 was a tough year for us. We faced a lot of internal adversity, and while we're eyeing 2017 as our year to come back with a vengeance, we want to keep the momentum going on this great event in 2016! Therefore, the theme this year is one of "Scaling Back and Scaling Up". We're not reserving as much room atop the tower this year, but the amenities in the space we have are going to be a step up. Since there's less space, the base ticket will be $20 more expensive than last year, but the dinner offering will be greatly expanded. You will not be going hungry!

Many, many more details are still to come, but by now, you know the drill. However, much like a Kickstarter, we need to raise enough cash in the first two weeks to insure that this event will happen! Therefore, we're putting the first 50 tickets on sale for a reduced rate. We MUST SELL THEM by August 10th, or we may have to pull the plug (and issue full, 100% refunds to anyone who already has tickets). Therefore, if you KNOW you're coming, please get your tickets now!

Also, FTW Events is now officially a 501(c)3 charitable organization! Any and all monetary donations (for raffles, silent auctions, or just donations in general) are 100% tax deductible. Also, a portion of your admission is tax deductible. We will figure out the total amount and have tax receipts available at the event.

Much, much more to come soon!