Get Your Game Faces Ready for Hawkland Gaming Festival Saturday, Sept. 19

Roll the dice, play your cards, and test your strategy during the Hawkland Gaming Festival at College of Southern Maryland (CSM) La Plata Campus on Saturday, Sept. 19., from 9 a.m.- 9 p.m. 

The community gaming festival will take place in the Center for Business and Industry (BI Building) and the Campus Center (CC Building) to celebrate and enjoy tabletop gaming while raising funds for CSM student scholarships.  

Attendees can join hosted games and demonstrations scheduled throughout the day to learn something new. Players are also encouraged to borrow any title from the school's game library or bring any game that can be played on a flat surface, including card games, role playing games, miniature battle games, dexterity games, and more.  

Art Professor Andy Wodzianski, who founded the event in 2023, hopes Hawkland continues to grow as a place for the gaming community to come together. 

“Tabletop gaming is the perfect activity to reconnect with humanity, set your screens down, engage face-to-face with a like-minded person, and have fun.” Wodzianski said. “Hawkland creates a welcoming space for people to share a love of games, meet others in the community, and discover something new to enjoy.” 

CSM is partnering with several local game stores to host demonstrations for attendees to try new games and browse a vendor hall.  

Jennifer Galloway, owner of Swords and Spoons in St. Mary’s County, said Hawkland gives the community a chance to come together.  

“Southern Maryland has an incredible and growing tabletop gaming community,” Galloway said. “As a local game store owner, I get to see every day how games create friendships and community, and I love seeing an event like Hawkland bring all that together on an even bigger scale.”  

New this year, the festival will include a puzzle swap for attendees to donate a gently used and complete puzzle and select a new one to take home.  

Admission to the festival is $10, with proceeds supporting student scholarships through the CSM Foundation. Additional event details, including scheduled games and a list of participating vendors, are available on the Hawkland Gaming Festival website.