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Hosting a Classic Game Night


fcgamer

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Has anyone here hosted any classic game night parties? I've somehow become the local go to guy when people here want to get rid of their old CRT TVs, this gave me the idea of hosting a classic game night towards the end of the year, get numerous games hooked up on multiple TVs all at once, etc.

I'm just curious who here has hosted some gaming nights. I'm looking for tips on the Dos as well as the Don'ts, as ultimately I'd like to host something of decent size (10-15 people maybe) for a memorable gaming time, twice a year.

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Just now, Reed Rothchild said:

Get your shit setup ahead of time.  Stick to 1-3 consoles.  Don't do games with long windups and dead time.

I want to have three or four consoles going at one time, thoughts?

Also definitely looking for game recommendations, can include SNES 😉

Smash TV seemed to be a hit.

 

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Editorials Team · Posted
12 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

I want to have three or four consoles going at one time, thoughts?

Also definitely looking for game recommendations, can include SNES 😉

Smash TV seemed to be a hit.

 

I've done 3-4 TVs before, but still arranged the living room so it still felt like one shared atmosphere.

Games that were hits: Super Bomberman 1-5, Wild Guns, Super Smash TV, Tiny Toons Sports Challenge, Caveman Games, Punch Out, Ice Hockey, NHL 94, NBA Jam, Joust, Bubble Bobble, etc.  Cooperative and mini game styled stuff.

Stick to crowd pleasers.

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Any arcade port or arcadey game where you can trash talk and compare scores is good.

Familiar puzzle games that can be played quickly are usually sound.

You want to opt for games that can be done in a few minutes so everyone gets a turn, with maybe a handful of longer games thrown in so someone good at it can show off. Especially if they can talk while doing it.

 

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It wasn't "classic gaming" at the time, but we used to do "Halo Night" every weekend, without fail, for probably a year or more.  As I've seen others say while skimming through to post, absolutely do your best to have your stuff set up ahead of time, plus make sure that it's actually working as you think it should, as this will alleviate most of the headaches and bickering that can occur during one of these things.  Also make sure that you've got enough controllers available, and equal numbers of each type (matched to the number of guests, if you can manage), as that will help prevent fighting over who has to use what.

For non-dedicated nights, we'd either ask everybody ahead of time what they felt like playing, or have everything on-site at the time and let folks decide then.  Ultimately, we ended up playing "party" games a lot of the time, but we also had rhythm games (Frequency & Amplitude in the pre-DDR and pre-pre-Guitar Hero days), many/multi-player coop games (Champions of Norrath and Dark Alliance were favorites), and sometimes lightgun games (preferably ones that either have infinite continues if there's a plot or are score/skill based if there isn't).

Have enough snacks and drinks on-hand before things begin.  Even if you're asking your guests to do that part, try to make sure you've got a little bit of *something* on-hand, as inevitably, someone will forget to bring what they say they would, which will end up causing (minor) grief or delays.  Depending on how long you're intending on going, and what time the event is occurring, either plan to make something more substantial for everybody, or let everyone know when they get there to get their heads together and agree on delivery/take-out for sometime later, so that's all settled and easily handled when the time comes.

Hopefully your event goes off without a hitch.  Good luck!

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Honestly, it completely depends on the vibe you are going for, if you wanna sit around bullshitting and drinking, then anything goes. My favorites were games you could laugh at for one reason or another.

If you wanna get into it, then exactly what Tulpa said. Just don't be obnoxious about it, it's supposed to be a good time, if you get carried away then you will ruin everyone's fun.

Although, limiting yourself to 'classic' games might not be as fun as you think. Theres a lot out there, don't limit yourself. Play what your guests wanna play.

Edited by SNESNESCUBE64
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  • 3 weeks later...

You know what, on my last day before my UK graduation (May 10, 2003 -- The second most important day/event of my whole life) some of my dormmates gave me a nice farewell by them and me playing Mario Kart 64 together and they also watched Jackass (an MTV show at the time) though I wasn't all that into it.  I was probably the only senior in that dorm...I lived in the same room/dorm (Blanding 3  Room 208; just above its front door) all four years believe it or not.

But yes I have been wondering if there are gamers that do the old fashioned kind of multiplayer.  And I was so looking forward to doing so with my wonderful wife for our big Sweet Sixteen anniversary but sadly the week before... 😞 

Now what do I do with my spare NES and Everdrive? 😞 

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I would think the game choice depends on your friends being gamers or not. Personally in my circle of friends the games would be stuff like; Halo, arcade beat Em ups (X-men, Turtles, Double Dragon, etc), Goldeneye, SMB3, Contra, Metal Slug, so many good games to choose from 

Oh and MarioKart, everyone loves mariokart. 
 

If you are advertising via Facebook take or poll or ask people to comment a game choice. Might as well let the people have a say. 

Edited by a3quit4s
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