Scene
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Monday, Sept. 26, 2016
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NORTHERN STAR ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Coloring is healthy for adults Marisa Pieroni Columnist
Photo Illustration by Sophia Phillips | Northern Star
Gamers gather around prerelease boxes, waiting to get their cards at midnight Friday at The Gaming Goat,229 E. Lincoln Highway.
‘Kaladesh’ unites gamers together Sophia Anne Phillips Staff writer T@SophiaAnnePhill
DeKALB | About 30 local gamers flocked to The Gaming Goat, 229 E. Lincoln Highway, for the prerelease of “Magic: The Gathering’s” new card set “Kaladesh” midnight on Friday. Philip Henrikson, owner of The Gaming Goat, said this is the largest “Magic: The Gathering” event the store has had. He usually gets 20 to 25 participants at prereleases. The card set, to be released Sept. 30, has a steampunk theme to it. “Magic: The Gathering” is a strategic trading card game that has a variety of ways it can be played. The game has a worldwide community of more than 12 million players, according to the game’s website.
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The biggest need is connection with humans on this unique level that gaming provides. Philip Henrikson Owner of The Gaming Goat
Gamers tend to start playing the game because they know someone who plays. Sophomore illustration major Lincoln Held has been playing the card game for about four years and started when a group of his friends introduced him to it in high school. “If you have a group of friends to play with, then it’s something you can do, usually, without it getting old [regardless of] how many times you play it,” Held said. “They release new content like every couple of months.” When a new “Magic: The Gathering” card set is going to be
released, local gamers get together for prerelease tournaments. “The weekend before the set is released, all the stores that carry “Magic: The Gathering” get to do a prerelease tournament,” Henrikson said. “The people who participate get to open up cards from the new set and build a deck out of that.” The format of a prerelease is called “sealed.” Players open new packs of cards they have never seen before, which means no players have an advantage over another. “For prereleases, it’s all cards that people aren’t really used to, so it puts them all kind of like on the same level,” Held said. “Sometimes the players will get kind of alienated from each other. It’s something that brings the players together from all the different formats.” Held said the competitiveness of a “Magic: The Gathering” prerelease tournaments is different depending on the location. Some places are very competitive, and at The Gaming Goat, prereleases are more relaxed. “It’s typically a really noncompetitive experience,” Henrikson said. Henrikson, who is a resident of DeKalb, bought The Gaming Goat when he was 20 years old and has been the owner for about a year and a half. Henrikson has tried to create a less competitive feel to the store so that players can play games like “Magic: The Gathering” in a fun, non-confrontational environment. “We’re trying to fill needs that people are having,” Henrikson said. “The biggest need is connection with humans on this unique level that gaming provides.”
Adult coloring books may be the newest and healthiest obsession thanks to a recent explosion in popularity in mainstream media. Anyone can pickup crayons and enjoy the benefits of coloring and still feel like an adult, because coloring books are no longer just for children. Renditions from “Swear Words Coloring Book,” a coloring book full of curse words, are shared on social media. Artist Chance the Rapper’s third solo mix tape was named “Coloring Book,” making a reference to the mainstream coloring obsession. This activity is fun and a favored pastime of children, but nowadays is fun for adults, so get coloring. Go to NorthernStar.info/ DeKalb_Scene to continue reading about the benefits.
Free coloring pages Go to bit.ly/1vo8DEZ to find free coloring pages to print out.
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