Why ELS Part 1: Inception
As many of you know, Lady Diceacorn and I, Meepline, run the monthly game day, ELS Day. Many people don’t know why that is the name, or why we even started this little endeavor. For our next few blog posts, we’ll take you on a little trip about our background, and breaking down the name ELS itself.
Our ELS Day logo.
Neither of us started ELS Day. We answered the call for those interested in helping with the organization of an all-women’s game day, but the idea itself came from elsewhere. Tyler, the owner of Pandemonium Books and Games, was inspired to create the game day based on what he had witnessed in his experiences with gaming at cons. Gaming, like other hobbies has some dark places and he was inspired to create a space where those who identify as women could game in a friendly, encouraging environment. So, he approached a woman named Vivian to execute the plan and come up with the foundation and name. Pandemonium put the call out for other women to email Vivian if they were interested via Facebook and Twitter. I saw the post and Mr Meepline encouraged me to send a message, since I had been looking for a way to get out of the house and make some new friends. I then messaged my cousin and asked her to come with me, since I was horrible in social situations.
The name ELS Day comes from what we all wanted to embody through our gaming and coming together. ELS stands for Earhardt, Lovelace, and Shelley, 3 inspiring women throughout history who were living embodiments of the types of games we play. Earhardt for adventure, Lovelace for logic, and Shelley for storytelling. In subsequent posts, we’ll break down each of these pieces for you. For now, we continue with the Inception Story.
The only existing image of the very first ELS Day!
That first ELS Day was a changing point in my life. It was the first time I had gotten together with a group of women with similar interests, to just hang out, play games, and have a good time. It was eye-opening. Within minutes of meeting Vivian, my shyness melted away, and then I met Lady Diceacorn. If you had told me that I would meet a soulmate that day, I would have laughed. But meet a soulmate I did. A year passed, with an ELS Day occurring monthly. Sadly, at the end of that year, Vivian had to hand over the reigns due to an opportunity she had worked hard to achieve. We were very happy for her, but sad to lose our “mother,” as it were. Since Lady Diceacorn and I were there since the beginning, we agreed to share the duties between us. And Pandemonium was unable to continue hosting us due to changes with their store layout, and what we wanted for our game day.
We were unsure of how to proceed, and then my cousin mentioned the Ladies of Comicazi. She had had a table at the first LadiesCon and so had a contact in Tiny Doom. We reached out and started a dialogue that ended in them helping us organize the first ELS Day at Comicazi. I was unable to attend that first day, due to giving birth, but when I was able to attend one, I remember feeling the same nervousness. It was just as quickly dispelled upon actually meeting the Ladies. It felt like Home. After that day, Lady Diceacorn and I gushed to each other about how amazing the day had been, and how amazing the future was going to be. When they invited us to become official Ladies, we had to put on our chill faces and wait until we were out of view before the most excited and non chill high five session began. I may have also cried when I got home, but shh, don’t tell anyone.
Our most recent ELS Day, Try an RPG Day, featuring GM Lady Diceacorn, and players Smalerie, Meepline’s cousin, and 2 of our regular ELS attendees!
Next ELS Game Day is on June 9th from noon to 6pm. Our featured game is Above and Below, a beautiful exploration game by Ryan Laukat of Red Raven Games. Meepline absolutely adores all of the games by Red Raven Games, and will have several to share with all the identifying women and girls who attend!
Until next time, may you always roll better than Meepline!