If you weren't at our 3^rd Mario Kart tournament, you missed a lot of excitement! 25 students, in 3^rd through 8^th grade, played for 3 hours of riveting races. Everyone was a skilled racer. Once again, our winner, Lorenzo, had only registered that morning for the games, as had our second-placer, David. But late registration doesn't mean anything--the third place racer, Jack, registered well in advance.

The game choice for our next tournament in December will be voted on by students who come to our open video gaming sessions. This summer open video gaming is held each Monday, from 10:30 to noon, and Friday, from 1:30 to 3. Come try out our new Playstation 3 games!

General Tournament Information

• Prizes will be Best Buy gift cards. Winners will receive a $30 card for first place, $20 card for second place, and $10 card for third place.
• There will be at least 8 Wiimotes with Wheels available.
• Tournament sign-in will be open from approximately 1:15-1:30 PM. Walk-in registrants will not be accepted, unless pre-registrants and waitlisters have not arrived by 1:25 PM.
• No registration after 1:25 PM. We will begin the tournament once all players are registered.
• When you arrive at the tournament, you must check in and register using your own name with the tournament organizers. You may register with a gamer nickname as well. Be sure that it is memorable so that you know who you are when called to play.
• You will have 2 minutes to respond when called to play. If you do not arrive within the 2 minutes, you will forfeit your match (you'll receive zero points for that match). 
• Trash talking is allowed, but no swearing or bad behavior.

Tournament Rules

·         Players may pick any character. Players also may switch characters between matches.

·         There are two available modes for the tournament. The mode will be randomly selected for each match. Available modes: VS and Battle. Courses will also be randomly selected.

·         There will be three qualifying rounds. Qualifying rounds will be 4-player races. Players will go into the game's sudden death matches if tied at the end of a race.

·         During qualifying rounds, players will earn points based on how they finish (40 for 1st place, 30 for 2nd place, etc). At the end of the 3 qualifying rounds, players with the top 16 scores will advance to the elimination rounds. If we are running behind, only the top 8 players will advance.

·         If multiple players are tied at the end of the qualification rounds, a tiebreaker match will be held. Tiebreaker matches will follow the same rules as the qualifying round matches.

·         Final rounds will be two players versus each other, seeded single bracket elimination. Seeding will be done based on qualifying round scores.

·         The scorekeeper will determine when a match begins.

·         When a match is ended, players must leave the score screen up for the scorekeeper to record the results. Passing this screen will invalidate the match and all players forfeit.

·         Tournament organizers have the final say in all decisions.

 

The Mario Kart Tournament will take place on Wednesday, July 14 from 1:30 - 4:30 PM.  Registration is a must and is open to students who have completed grades 3 - 8 and who have St. Charles library cards.

Click here to register online.

Join us this summer for open Wii Gaming, not once, but twice a week! Drop by on Mondays from 10:30 AM to noon, or Fridays from 1:30 to 3:00 PM. Try out some new games, and, if you are really adventurous, try out DDR on Wii mats. The game is taken to a new level! Drop- In Gaming is for students who have finished 3rd through 8th grades, who have St. Charles Library cards.

Several new games are available, or will be available soon. Jump Start Pet Rescue, Littlest Pet Shop, Endless Ocean, Up, Monsters vs Aliens, Baseball Blast!, New Super Mario Brothers and Katamari Forever. If you don't see them at the ASK ME desk, be sure to put them on hold. If you have seen the games at the ASK ME desk, you will know that most of them never make it back, they just keep on checking out.

On Tuesday, March 30, we will hold a DDR-Dance, Dance Revolution- tournament as part of Spring Break Gaming day. You don't need to be experienced in playing the game, everyone in grades 3 - 8 with a St. Charles Library card is welcome. Bring your dancing talents! Click here to register online. You can also drop by the ASK ME desk or call 630-584-9390. Have your library card handy! Watch this blog for tournament rules next week. In the mean time, come practice on our new wireless Wii dance mats during drop-in gaming, every Friday from 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM.

Happy New Year! We have several new games for check out in Youth Services: LEGO Rock Band, LEGO Indiana Jones 2, Little King's Story, MySims Agents, and SimAnimals. You probably won't find them in their place at the ASK ME desk, but you can put a hold on them through the catalog. Never put a hold on anything before? Here's how to do it.

There were many surprises at our Mario Kart gaming tournament on December 29. Participants who ranked lowest after the preliminary rounds bested kids who ranked much higher. 'Just goes to show that you don't ever know how well you will do! Our first-place winner was Brett, who had only heard of the tournament that morning and registered just in time! Our next tournament will be DDR-Dance Dance Revolution, at 1:30 on March 30. Break out your dance pads!

Our third and biggest Mario Kart Tournament will take place next week, on Tuesday, December 29. You still have time to register to compete. You can register from this link. Don't miss this final, fun event of the year!

Come join us on Fridays for Wii gaming! Gaming is open for students in grades 3 - 8. Just show your St. Charles library card at the door. Anyone who brings a new gamer will receive a coupon for a treat, and so will their friend. Just two more weeks this fall, on December 11 and December 18 from 3:45 - 5:15 PM.

We had a successful first National Gaming Day at the library. Games were enjoyed by 36 people, ages four through adult, in the Helen Gale Story Room in Youth Services and the Carnegie Room on the mezzanine. People who played for an hour or more were entered into a drawing for a gift certificate for Game Stop. The winning person has been notified and their certificate is on its way. Look for more gaming opportunities in the upcoming Discover Your Library. Of course, we always have drop-in Wii gaming on Friday afternoons for grades 3 - 8, 3:45-5:15, through December 18.