Our total at the end of the event. This number may still go up, as we are expecting a few donations that are on their way.
I cannot be prouder of this year’s Extra Life team! The InnRoads Regulars came in with like a force this year. Not only did we meet our goal – we blew right past it by hundreds of dollars. When I set the bar at $1500, I will say that I was cautiously optimistic at best. I knew that our team could do it, but more important than that – I knew that God could do it. And yet, there was this lingering feeling in the back of my mind. “Be thankful you’ve raised what you have in the past. It’s no small feat to raise $1000. You’re asking too much of people. Especially with a fairly small team compared to some others.” I want to thank every one of you who may have helped us in our support of Children’s Specialized Hospital. Whether you were one of the thirteen team members that came out to play and raise support, or one of the dozens of people who supported those that did, you guys helped do something really great in the lives of some fantastic kids. It is my honor to serve as the captain of this team, and I look forward to doing it all again next year.
Now, some of the highlights from our twenty four hour journey into madness …
Picture by Katie Shotyk
It started out slow. Unloading this many games takes a lot out of a person, but thankfully I had help from Katie, our most enthusiastic team member by far and the top fund raiser on the team this year. After we had them all laid out and ready for the rest of the team, we came to that awkward moment when the collection is laid bare … “So which one do we want to play?” By that time her brother had also arrived, another member of the team, and we figured we’d open the event by literally opening a game. Thus my first game ticked off my ‘not yet played’ list was conquered. I hadn’t even had time to open Eminent Domain out of its shrink yet, so after the joys of popping cardboard was shared around the table, we started the event strong. That game may just be my favorite deck-builder. Wish I’d known that when I’d planned my top 10. Things may have been different.
Picture by Katie Shotyk
The day went on, and more team members arrived. As much as I enjoy the act of playing games, I think there are honestly few things I enjoy as much as introducing people to games they have never played before. This year, I was able to share a couple of my Gen Con pick-ups, as well as introduce the entire team and guests to Two Rooms and a Boom, a kickstarter game that finally arrived after a two year long wait. I will say – as annoying as it was to not receive it when initially promised – that game did not disappoint. We had the entire group begging for more. It was particularly funny when the two Blind characters ended up being part of the same hostage exchange and had to lead each other through the hallway to the other room. Yes. We can actually say that the blind were leading the blind.
This year also allowed for an Extra Life first for us. When my monthly Numenera group discovered that they each intended to be part of the team this year, the question was asked as to whether or not a session of our game might be part of the festivities. In the past, I’ve always shied away from running an rpg session during the event since the focus has always been about a board game 
experience. But I figured since so many of the team were actually the driving force behind it, I’d give it a go. Between my lovely wife and myself into our new home just a week before and organizing the Extra Life event as a whole – I was not as prepared as I usually like to be with the game, but my team seemed to love it. My favorite moment had to be when I took on the mad-scientist voice of Adrian Goodacre, the technical mind for the Iron Brotherhood crime syndicate I created for my brother’s character, and he puffed his chest out in false bravado – I loved seeing the heads turn and smiles cross every face as I proclaimed “I have seven things within arm’s reach that could reduce you to ashes, and you want to push ME around?!” Many of those participating would never consider themselves a role player, but I caught at least three different people checking out my copy of the Numenera core book after we had finished playing. Another successful experience.
All in all I can’t say enough about how well this year’s Extra Life went. We had streamers playing video games, a slew of pictures and video updates going out from the team, and when it was all said and done we had people messaging us to say that next year they planned to make sure they would be part of the team. In short, expect to see the InnRoads Regulars storm the gates of Extra Life again next year – because now we’ve got a new goal, and we’ll have so much more to play.
If you wanted to help us support Children's Specialized but did not get a chance during the event, you can still donate at our team page if you'd like. We have team members who did not reach their personal goals, though we are no longer actively seeking donations for this year's event.