Medieval Poker Experience: Social Gaming Comes to Morgantown

Over the last year, you may of heard of Medieval Poker - or played it during a demo or pop-up game in Morgantown.

Now, the creator of the indie game - Dave Thompson of Changing Vegas Studios - has announced the next step of his company's journey in reimagining table gaming for the modern gamer.

Reimaging Table Gaming

Thompson remarks: "Medieval Poker is more than a table game. It's more than a blending of Hold Em Poker and strategy games like Magic or Yu-Gi-Oh! We've always envisioned it as a Social Gaming Experience. You come to play, not just to get better at the game and win prizes, but to bring your friends and meet new ones." 

The Medieval Poker Social Gaming Experience sits at the intersection of three of the fastest-growing markets in entertainment: gamification ($16B+), social gaming ($22B+), and tabletop ($15B+). Medieval Poker is social by design. Research shows that games with social features appeal to players 30 percent more than solo-play alternatives. People prefer experiences over transactions.

Enjoy An IRL Experience

Instead of just sitting down at a poker table and waiting until you get good cards, you get to become part of the story. At the Medieval Poker Experience, you choose your class and which member of the court you want to support, and then the starter pack of Power cards you get reflects that particular play style. Just like in a video game, you go on quests, earn experience points, and vie for the leaderboard. There's a whole dress up and fashion aspect to the Experience. The live dealers are in Medieval garb and players are encouraged to cosplay. 

Art, too, is an important part of the Experience. In creating the game, Thompson used a combination of freehand drawing, Photoshop, and OpenArt to design all of the 100+ collectible cards spread out among the different strategy combinations. Players who know both poker and strategy card games catch on to the game the fastest. Newbies like the tutorial session and the free game that's part of playing for the first time. There's no pressure to perform. It's all in fun - and it's affordable.  

After the pandemic, many people are looking to get out and socialize again and enjoy friendly competition. Unlike casinos where table games are often a win/lose proposition, Medieval Poker is win/win. Players earn Changing Vegas chips that they can use in the shoppe or save to play more games. The company plans to commission local area artisans to handcraft their prizes and products.

Head to Ascend Morgantown for the Summer Series

Ascend Morgantown and its Program Manager, Ryan Ratcliff, have been a wonderful business partner to Changing Vegas Studios. Ascend is one of the main reasons Thompson moved his entertainment studios from Las Vegas to Morgantown in November 2024. After being a high-limit dealer in Las Vegas for 15 years and dealing the World Series of Poker. he finds it refreshing to be in a town made up of small businesses and close to 20,000+students who love gaming. 

Thompson has two other games in the works patterned after craps and roulette, and he's working on an AI experience tracker and a mobile version of Medieval Poker. 

FACT SHEET

The Medieval Poker Social Gaming Experience - Summer Series - Starts June 2

Location: Ascend Morgantown, 1279 University Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26505

(Park in nearby city lot.)

Dates: June 2, June 18, July 7, July 21, August 4, August 18

Time: 6 to 9 pm

Cost: $25 for Starter Deck of your choice. Includes tutorial session and a free game. $10/game.

Game Version: 5th version of Medieval Poker. After playtesting, we've just ordered hundreds of new cards.

More Information: https://changing.vegas

See us on Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok