It's time to start the first quarter BUCKET RAFFLE!!! What's a bucket raffle, you ask? It is a raffle version in which you get to decide which prize(s) your raffle ticket(s) try to win for you.

Did we say prizes? Why, yes, we did! We have a table piled high with rare items from Looney Labs history that we will be giving away over the course of this anniversary year. We've got out of print games, interestingly colored pyramids, uncut sheets of Aquarius cards to use for decoration, various promo cards, Andy's old LARP equipment... all sorts of fun stuff.

So how do we win them? By putting your raffle tickets in the bucket for the prize you're trying for and being the lucky winner. You can adopt a strategy of putting all your tickets in a hot item's bucket with a bunch of others and hoping for a long shot, or you can split your tickets between several less filled buckets to improve your odds of winning... it's entirely up to you!

But how do we get the tickets? By completing a variety of tasks to help us promote Looney Labs and our games. The list of tasks will change each quarter, as will the list of prizes. The more tasks you do, the more raffle tickets you earn! And hopefully you'll have some fun along the way.

So where is this list of tasks? It is on an app called Gleam. To get started, you will need to create a free account by following this link. Gleam will then track your progress for you and let you know how many tickets you've earned.

A few more details:

• We would like to use your words and images to help us sell more games, but that is up to you. Agreeing to allow us to use your creations is one of the tasks you can complete. If you do not wish to give that permission, simply do not complete that task.

• Prizes will be displayed throughout the quarter in posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - and will be posted on this Silver Jubilee Raffle page as they are announced.

• The last day to complete tasks for this quarter will be March 15th, at which point you will be given a link to distribute your tickets in the buckets you choose.

• You will be able to see how many tickets are in each bucket in real-time, and will be able to change your bucket placement until March 28th.

• Winners will be drawn and notified on March 31st.

• A new round will start on April 2nd!

Have fun!

IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Last month we announced two all day events to kick off our Silver Jubilee parties. However, ticket sales were much lower than expected, so we did a Facebook survey to see what we were doing wrong. Our main takeaways were that (1) all-day events are too long, (2) some folks did not have the finances to participate, and (3) because we said each person could only participate in one event, many were holding off to see what other events might be happening later.

With all of this in mind, we have revamped our plans. We will be running 15 events in the next few weeks, each with just a single focus and each fairly short--most are a half hour or an hour long. Examples include a Q&A session, Homeworlds training sessions, play sessions on Board Game Arena, a prototype show and tell, some Parsely games, and more! And we will continue this series of short and focused events throughout the year, offering more than a hundred events in all. One $25 ticket purchase admits you to any and all events for the entire year, provided there is space available.

To be more specific about individual event registration, priority will go first to those who have not yet attended any events, in registration order, followed by those who have only attended one event, and so on. This will ensure that everybody will have a chance to attend at least a few events, and perhaps many. This plan will hopefully alleviate the "too much time" and "but what if there's something better later" problems.

To alleviate the financial issues, we are asking those who would like to attend, but finances are too tight, to fill out this form. Once we determine how many people this involves, we will work out a plan to ensure that everyone gets a chance to join in the fun.

So... are you interested? If so, your first step is to buy a ticket in our webstore. You will then receive an email with more details and registration information for the first fifteen events. We look forward to celebrating with all of you soon! And remember... if you want the latest on what we are doing for our 25th anniversary blow-out, this Welcome Page is the place to go for more details.

I’ve been hearing about something called Tiny Fluxx for a couple of years now. How do I get a copy?