Side Quests to Start Off 2026
Hail and well met, fellow adventurers —
I hope your new year holiday season went smoothly enough, and that you’re finding at least some small moments of joy and connection in what’s already been, well, a hell of a year.
For the Side Quest Crew, we took a much-needed short rest for the first week of January (even if that short rest did include a 14-hour inventory-counting day), but it’s been heartwarming and lovely to get the shop back open again and see all your beautiful faces. In our first week back we’ve had a wildly successful “goblin swap” for books/games/dice/puzzles, 3 separate game nights, and a book club! Nothing like community to keep the horrors at bay, huh?
So, speaking of community, here’s what’s coming up in the back half of January — I hope you can join us!
The biggest thing on our horizon is, of course, SomerCon! Our not-so-mini TTRPG convention is happening Sunday, January 25, from 11am-11pm at the Armory. We’ve sold out every one of our 30 games, so we’ve released a new type of ticket: “Daytime Only + Waitlist”! It’s only $10, and it gets you into the con to check out our 18 vendors, snag a mini at the free paint-and-take station, attend the free meetups and panels, and of course be on the waitlist for any games that might open up at the last minute. If you’d like to also come to the evening Dungeons & Drag Nuns show that’s raising money for charity, just tack on the $20 “D&DN Show Only” ticket at Eventbrite!
Before that, we’re throwing a little “goblin party” on the 20th to celebrate the release of two goblin books: “How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days” by Jessie Silva and also our second January book club pick, “Nine Goblins” by T. Kingfisher! It’s gonna be a chill night where we hang out in our sweatpants, have some snacks and drinks, and talk about books and hopefully a new goblin-themed game that Lara, Caroline and Morgan have been making called “War Pigs.”
Aside from those, we also still have spots available for the Community Game Design Jam with Kay Marlow Allen, our Space-Craft Cinema night screening of “Treasure Planet,” and our Game Designer Talk + Game Demo night with George Philbrick, designer of “Thieves of the Tome”!
Check out our Linktree for all tickets!
May your blade be sharp as your wit and your toes be as warm as your heart,
Caroline 💜