You read it right! Half Price Books runs a ‘Retro Game Day’ competition every month and The Unpaid Gamers now sponsor this awesome event!
More details…
Retro Game Day is organized and ran by Craig Williams, and is held at Half Price Books at the Springhurst/Freys Hill location in Louisville, KY. Craig was kind enough to give us a great interview about the competition…
What is Retro Game Day?
It’s a monthly competition that is held over at Half Price Books on Westport (although I’ve heard that other HPB locations have started similar events). As the title implies, the games that are featured in the competitions are strictly old school – Nintendo 64 or PSone is as recent as they get.
What was your reason for starting Retro Game Day?
Two words: Video Armageddon!!!! Ever since watching The Wizard, I always thought it’d be cool to be involved in an old school video game showdown, like the Video Armageddon that was featured at the end of the movie. My store began buying and selling used consoles. Since we’re one of very few places that will actually buy older generation consoles and games, we typically get quite a few. So I jumped at the opportunity and offered to run a monthly video game event. My goal has always been to make this a day to celebrate retro gaming & entice people with a passion for it to come to the events on a regular basis. To that end, I think we’ve been very successful so far.
How does Retro Game Day work?
Players can sign up, or just show up, for the day of the competition. We feature one game a month, and I try to circulate through a variety of consoles and genres. Each player gets five minutes, or their first game over, to play the game and attain as many points as possible. At the end of their turn, they draw a “power-up” from a box that I designed to look like a Question Block from Super Mario Bros. The power-ups range from bonus points, to prizes, or coupons for the store. There is even a couple of what I call “game changers” in the box, such as the POW Block which, when drawn, completely erases the leaderboard and allows everyone who has already participated to try again (provided that they are still in the store before the event is over). The winner of each Retro Game Day is invited to return in December for a Championship Tournament where they compete for a chance to win a higher value giftcard and a trophy.
How long has Retro Game Day been going on, and how has it grown?
Retro Game Day has been going on for about two years. It has grown substantially since its humble beginnings. The first year was a bit rocky, because word hadn’t got out about it, and I was using Microsoft Word on my work’s computer to create posters that, quite frankly, weren’t particularly eye catching. For the second year, I decided to design the posters on my own time using a real graphics design program and I also added a “door prize” (usually a Game Boy or even an X-Box) that all players were eligible to win via drawing. This year, I’ve added the Question Box with the power-ups, in an attempt to liven up the competition, but also to give little kids a chance to walk away with something to show for it. I always felt bad when a kid would play only to have no hope for winning. Now, if that same kid draws the right power-up, his score just may end up unbeatable!
What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen on Retro Game Day?
The coolest thing so far is the end of the year Championship Tournaments. It amazes me how many people actually show up, on time and ready to compete! The intensity of the competition and the camaraderie is fantastic, which all culminates in someone being crowned the Retro Game Day Champion. I particularly love how excited the winner gets when I hand them the trophy (which I make, by the way) – they are often more excited about winning a trophy than winning a giftcard! That is what Retro Game Day is all about – a passion for gaming so sincere that it takes precedence over a cash prize. For a real gamer, bragging rights is enough of a reward.
As you can see by the poster, the next Retro Game Day is March 17, 2012. The next game played will be ‘Bust-A-Move’ for SNES. The first place winner gets a $25 gift card to Half Price Books, and a T-shirt from The Unpaid Gamers. Different members of The Unpaid Gamers will be at these events so come hang out with us and we will have a blast playing these games! We will keep you updated every month on the next games to be played and new prizes that The Unpaid Gamers will give out!
Great to see you guys at this month’s retro game day. It was very cool chatting all about random retro goodness. Hope to see you all at more of these in the future!
We had a great time Aaron! Thanks for hanging out and sharing your retro knowledge with us!
Thanks for the comment and for helping to create a great atmosphere at the retro game day. We really enjoyed being involved and look forward to contributing to many more in the future. We always love being around those who share the same passion for games. So hope to see you there next month for Sonic 3! Get your practice in while you can!