By JAZLYN SLACK
Start your quest Conestoga.
If you’re a fan of role playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons and Dragons, then grab some drinks, some friends and bring out your inner nerd as you begin your quest, the Drinking Quest.
Jason Anarchy, a graduate of the business administration management studies program at Conestoga and creator of the RPG drinking game, Drinking Quest, has had a love for RPGs since he was a child and was inspired to start a quest of his own.
With the help of a 62-card deck, your story unfolds. Gain experience points, lose hit points and if your character dies — start chugging.
Not a drinker? Not a problem. The game is designed for you to drink, but if you’re just looking for a good time with friends, grab some non-alcoholic punch and you’re good to go.
“I’ve taken into account that there will be players who are driving or maybe just don’t drink but still want to play a humorous RPG,” said Anarchy. “The idea is to grab something that doesn’t taste great, maybe a green tea or prune juice. Those would actually be pretty healthy options, your bowels would thank you and your skin would be nicely oxidized!”
In multiple places on the Drinking Quest box and in the instructions it says to know your limits and drink responsibly.
“I really made a point of being socially responsible with this. It’s very clear that the onus is on the player to know their limits and drink responsibly.”
Unlike other drinking games, Drinking Quest makes sure you pace yourself.
“In a worst case scenario, you might have to chug every half an hour — to a maximum of five drinks throughout the game — but it usually averages two or three and with the “one chug per quest rule” you’ll never have to do them back to back.”
For those of you who know your RPGs and Internet memes, there’s plenty of inside jokes for you to pick up on.
“The humour of the game is totally written for geeks in the Internet generation, there are a lot of geeky ‘in’ jokes,” said Anarchy. “I definitely didn’t try to make it appealing on a mainstream level. I wanted to make the best game I could for my niche. I never underestimate the intelligence of the player.”
Like any RPG, you control a fictional character and interact in a fantasy world. In the case of “DQuniverse” your character needs to earn the most Experience Points by the end of the game, and if you don’t win then “you probably drank the most so you still kind of won.”
A favourite card of Anarchy’s is the “Booze Hounds.” In each of the four quests there is a new version of the card. In Quest 2 you fight a pack of them and it’s a pretty subtle homage to the “3 Wolf Moon” meme.
“It’s not so obvious and I like that. People will be guessing “Is that … is that 3 Wolf Moon?”
Another favourite is a special ability called “Killer Buzz.” It has the Bar Room Hero character chugging a tankard of ale while holding a sword.
“He’s just got this crazy look in his eyes and I think it’s very definitive of the game.
“I’m working on Drinking Quest 2 right now and one of them is called ‘Obvious Troll.’ I have a habit of incorporating Internet memes into these cards.”
In a little over two months, Drinking Quest has sold nearly 500 copies in 16 different countries with “lots of new orders and surprises every day.”
You can buy the game online at www.drinkingquest.com for $25 with a $5 shipping fee. If you’re ordering from K-W you should have it within 2-3 days, personally delivered by the Drinking Quest administrative clerk, and for the rest of the world, usually 1-3 weeks through mail depending on your distance from Ontario.
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