Media Release
For Immediate Release
21 February 2014

New Zealand Festival of Mindsports

Game players from all over New Zealand are visiting Thames at the end of February to take part in the first New Zealand Festival of Mindsports.

Totally Thames in partnership with Thames-Coromandel District Council Major Events and the Grahamstown Business Association, will stage the first New Zealand Festival of MindSports in Thames from Feb 28 to March 2, 2014.

Tables with people playing games would appear in the main street and a street party featuring four bands would celebrate the occasion, spokesman Rick Brown said today.

A mind sport is a sport or a game of skill where the mental component is more significant than the physical

"You use hands to play backgammon, for example, but your mind does all the work,’’ Mr Brown said.

All mind sports are welcome to take part.

War gamers, chess, scrabble, bridge, backgammon, draughts, sudoku, and mah jong were among the many coming to Thames, Mr Brown said. War gamers in the United States had registered their interest in participating next year. Sudoku was setting up an online competition as a preliminary to a final to be staged in Thames using computers.

Mr Brown said the festival would provide three levels of competition.

Level one would give people the chance to compete for fun. "There’ll be demos and have-a-go tables’’

Level two was more serious, with players competing for medals in their favourite mind sport.

Level three would be for players keen to compete across five disciplines. Gold, silver and bronze medals would be won by players who picked up the most points by competing in any five of the traditional mind sports: chess, bridge, backgammon, draughts, mah jong, or scrabble.

"The winner of level three becomes the very first Pentamind Champion of New Zealand,’’ Mr Brown says. "The festival will be a wonderful opportunity to play, learn or watch the champions do battle.’’

To register, or find out more, go to www.mindsportsfestival.co.nz

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