CREDIT: ERIKA FAUST
Project Play 2012 saw more than 400 attendees get their game on with video games, board games, demonstrations, a cosplay competition and more.

On September 22, J Gym and SC Building are going to become a whole lot more playful.

London-based Project Play, now in its second year, is a celebration of all things fun — board games; video games and card games to cosplay and anime; building blocks and pretty much everything in between.

Greg Picken, who co-founded Project Play with Mathew Hoy, described the event as two things in one. “On the front end, it's a great opportunity to check out new ways to play … On the back end, the whole event is built as a fundraiser. Every dollar that we raise through Project Play goes back into the community in the form of gaming bundles that are donated to local organizations.”

The first Project Play in 2012 featured tabletop tournaments, video game demos, vendors and the Sony game truck. “We're bringing back a lot of what people loved from last year,” Picken said, mentioning a League of Legends tournament, board game tables and a cosplay contest. “This year we're looking to make the event bigger and better.”

Something Picken is especially excited about is that Mega Bloks has come on board as a supporter of Project Play for this year. “I was joking with the gal from Mega Bloks that one of my dreams in life would be to have a swimming pool full of blocks to play with. She thought that sounded like a great idea, so they have hooked us up [with 300 pounds of Bloks]. We're going to have a couple of different areas where people can play with the blocks.”

When the boxes of Bloks were delivered to Picken's office at Tech Alliance, people started playing right away. “No matter what age you are, who doesn't love building blocks?”

There will also be a building competition complete with prizes. “We encourage people to design and create their best creations at home with Mega Bloks, Lego, Tinker Toys — whatever you can build — and bring [them to Project Play],” Picken said. Entries must fit in a 12x12” square on a table.

Last year, Project Play took over the Oasis and Alumni Lounge in SC Building. This year, it will include J Gym. “We've got more space to work with, which is really going to let us spread out and bring in more stuff,” Picken said. “We're inviting a lot more vendors and artists and crafters to be part of the event.” The expanded shopping area will hold quilters, jewellers, vintage game sellers and more.

No matter what you're into, Picken promises Project Play will be a lot of fun. “Whether it's stuff you've played before, it's something you love, or it's something you want to try out for the first time, or you might not even know that you're gonna love it until you get there and check it out — we've got a variety of stuff, and I'm really excited. It keeps growing.”

Last year's attendees keep coming forward to offer suggestions and ideas. “[We hope] to keep growing and adding new stuff and ultimately, of course, supporting the community. That's what makes it really great,” Picken said.

Last year, Project Play raised more than $5,000 to purchase gaming bundles, which included board games, video games, big-screen TVs, consoles, controllers and more. The bundles were donated to Merrymount Family Support and Crisis Centre, the Women's Rural Resource Centre of Strathroy and Area and Women's Community House.

“The one thing we learned last year from talking to the organizations that we supported is they do so many great things in the community on such a limited budget that oftentimes the last thing that they have money to put into is entertainment or gaming,” Picken said. “It really created a great gap for us to fill.”

This year, Project Play is supporting three different local organizations. “We settled on community centres as a bit of a theme this year. We have N'Amerind Friendship Centre, Glen Cairn Community Resource Centre, and the Northwest London Resource Centre, which are all doing great things to support different communities in London. They are certainly appreciative that we can help them out and provide them with some cool new gaming resources.”

Check out Project Play on September 22 in the Student Centre and J Gym from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets for Project Play are $10 for adults and free for children 10 and under. For more information about Project Play and the charities it supports, or to purchase tickets head to projectplay.ca.