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Thames MindSports Festival poses mental challenge

Thames MindSports Festival poses mental challenge

Limber up your brain because MindSports is back.

The New Zealand Festival of MindSports is being held in Thames over two weekends, 30/31 May and 6/7 June.

The festival features games of all sorts, including old favourites chess, draughts (checkers) and blackjack as well as newer arrivals such as Dungeons & Dragons, Sudoku, Edo Jidai and more.

One of the big draws this year is the NICON 2015 War Gamers North Island Tournament, to be held over the first weekend.

Participants muster their armies of carefully painted model soldiers - whether historical or fantasy - and battle it out over large tables adorned with landscape features.

On the second weekend the National Backgammon Championships will be held.

On the same weekend, bring your laptops or tablets to the Grahamstown Bar and Diner (GBD) on Pollen Street for the Sudoku championships - you can play online or with old-school pen and paper.

"The festival is two weekends of games and other activities for all ages," says Marlene Perry, Community Development Officer for Thames-Coromandel District Council and the primary organiser of MindSports.

"It's a true community endeavour. All the different games are organised and run by dedicated teams of volunteers."

There has been wide interest from outside the Coromandel, Ms Perry says, with people coming from across the Waikato and further afield to compete.


The games are being played in venues across Thames, including the War Memorial Civic Centre and a range of cafes and clubs.

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The inaugural MindSports last year featured the first New Zealand Pentamind championships.

Young Aucklander Alpheus Ang took the title - winning the highest total scores in five different games.

He was named the New Zealand Sudoku champion, won the draughts competition, placed second in the chess tournament and won two other events.

The 12-year-old will be back in Thames this year to defend his title.

There will also be a team Pentamind challenge, so businesses or other organisations can get teams of five people together.

One player from each team plays chess, draughts, backgammon, 500 or scrabble and the team with the highest total score wins.

For those who like some libation with their thinking, there are pub quiz nights at the GBD on Pollen Street on each Saturday during the festival - 30 May and 6 June.

The GBD is also hosting music nights on Friday 29 May and 5 June.

On the Queen's Birthday public holiday, 1 June, Cafe Melbourne is hosting a Princes and Princesses dress-up party.

It costs $20 to register to play any or all of the games at this year's MindSports, except the NICON 2015 War Games Tournament, which costs $35. People under 18 get to play for free.

Five dollars of every registration fee goes to raise money to build a new skate park in Thames.


For more information, please visit our website www.coromandelartstour.co.nz

ENDS.

© Scoop Media

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