The Stacks - Late Spring 2025

The Stacks have been busy in the months of May and June! They've been holding regular local events and going to conventions to represent Stack Up and just have a great time together. In this Stacks update, a couple of our Stacks get a double feature for how much they've been out doing with their communities. Read up for plenty of pictures!

Indianapolis, IN | May 3, 2025

The Indianapolis Stack attended the first in-person Goodman Game's DungeonCon at their Warehouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This was a warehouse sale and gaming event for Dungeon Crawl Classic and their spin off games. We were able to meet several of the writers and product developers of the games as well as meet many other dedicated fans in the community. From the Indy stack, we 5 total supporters join us - DJ (d4rthdelirium), Adam (knightmare96), Harold, Price, and Odie.

We opted for this event as several members of the Indy stack have really enjoyed playing Dungeon Crawl Classics and when this event was advertised everyone was excited to participate directly with the creators and have the opportunity to visit the inaugural iteration of Dungeon Con. One of the coolest things about this event was getting to meet the people who make the games we love happen, and play in games ran directly by them.

The event was a 2+ hour drive away for most of the Indy stack participants, so it required 5AM wake ups and a lot of travel. But we got to use that time to share stories and build the community. There was some disorganization on the event side of things due to this being the first event like this from the hosts. We certainly look forward to it improving over the years.

All-in-all, I think the event was a great success, and hopefully we'll be able to bring more people along and participate in more ways with this event.

DJ Gregory

Boston, MA | May 10, 2025

The Boston Stack rolled deep at PAX East 2025, diving into a weekend full of connection, camaraderie, and a little bit of controlled chaos. With a mix of veterans from various branches, we showed up not just as gamers, but as a brotherhood and sisterhood bonded by shared service and a love for community. Most of us hit the convention floor, reuniting with fellow StackUp supporters, streamers, and friends from across the gaming world. We also got to spend meaningful time with StackUp leadership, Stephen “Shanghai Six” Machuga, Alesha “PerkyDaisy” Smith, and Christy “Tatoress” Bowman, whose presence made the weekend feel even more like home. And yes, we partied a bit at the Twitch Boston PAX Afterparty… because what’s a convention without blowing off some steam?

To close out the weekend, we hosted a karaoke night at Viva Karaoke x Studios in Boston. It was the kind of night where voices cracked, drinks clinked, and the Stack family got louder with every chorus. Streamers, convention buddies, and local Stack members came together for a few hours of pure fun and real connection, proving once again that when we gather, we build more than just a good time.

Gene-Andrew Ouellette

Holloman AFB | May 19, 2025

Tonight was our weekly game night! The Holloman Community Activity center is going through a lot of construction, restaurant closures, and just weird circumstances, yet they've held strong in supporting our organization. They're opening the fire escapes to get us into our space around all the weirdness! They are pushing really hard to keep base clubs and organizations as active as they can.

This week, we played a lot of Citadels, The Chameleon, and We're Doomed! There was much back stabbing, stealing of turns, horrible clues, and throwing people from rockets!

Again, we're extremely thankful to have such strong support in the community. The team really goes out of their way to help us. Sadly, we only have 2 more weeks with Blake, as he's accepted an assignment elsewhere. He's brought a lot of great growth to our Stack, and we'll be worse off without him. As sad as it is to see him go, we're happy for his new adventure, as it's what he's really wanting to go do!

Theo Wiseman

Boston, MA | June 13, 2025

The Boston Stack proudly hosted a table at the 2025 Worcester Veterans Stand Down, a resource and benefits fair organized by Veterans Inc. With over 750 veterans and family members in attendance, our team connected with over 200 veterans to share StackUp.org’s mission of supporting mental health through gaming and geek culture. We also forged meaningful ties with fellow organizations such as 22 Mohawks, Run to Home Base, local VSOs, state agencies, and VFW commanders. It was a powerful day of community, camaraderie, and collaboration in service to those who served.

The Boston Stack also held a vibrant game night with space generously provided by Balance Patch in Boston. Returning veterans and civilian supporters came together to play Super Smash Bros, Mario Party, and tried their best to get Jackbox working, though without any luck. After gaming, the group carpooled over to Viva Karaoke x Stages, where the staff already know us well and welcomed us with open arms. We sang, laughed, and wrapped up the night in the main stage area. Both the Balance Patch and Viva teams have been genuinely supportive of our Stack and the mission of StackUp.org, showing once again how strong community grows through shared fun and connection.

Gene-Andrew Ouellette

Indianapolis, IN | June 21, 2025

This month, the Indianapolis Stack held our monthly game day to coincide with Free RPG Day 2025 at Elf 'N Moon in the amazing Fountain Square District in Indianapolis. This is a worldwide event used to promote local game stores and publishers by offering a chance for the stores to host events and draw in more traffic. We decided that we were going to run one of the newly released adventures for anyone who wanted to show up (Goodman Games "Dying Light of Castle Whiterock"). DJ had a friend in town from Pennsylvania who joined us as well as returning Stacks supporter, Adam. After over an hour of waiting, we never filled out our table to play and another table was struggling just the same as ours, so we combined tables and played with another group. It was fantastic.

This month, we had a new item to give out - Custom made and 3d printed Stack Up inspiration tokens. We shared these with the store owners (Veterans and gamers themselves) as well as other game masters and players in the store. It's just something small that can be used as a reminder that you're never alone - even in the worst of times. Hopefully giving just enough inspiration to live another day and to reach out.

All in, I really enjoy the energy at the game stores on Free RPG Day, and I can't wait for this event year over year. Next year, we're going to try and advertise our game more with the local game store's Discord and try and draw in a larger crowd. Summer is always tough to schedule around, but we're going to continue being a fixture in the local gamer community. I want our red shirts to mean safety, friendship, and community..

DJ Gregory

Thank you to all of the wonderful Stacks who have not only been hosting events but also taking the time to write up their after-action reports. At this rate, we're thinking of doing these updates more often. In the meantime, we want our volunteers to know we appreciate them and their efforts in supporting their local area Veterans and communities while representing Stack Up!

Like what you saw here? Got a community of friends you already game with but want to take that one step further? Hit the button below to join or start a Stack.