Go Play Northwest

What is the Donut?

The Donut is a pitch circle, a method of getting people together into games on the spot without scheduling in advance. When done in person, it’s typically a large circle of prospective players ringed around a small group of volunteer game facilitators, much like a donut shape, hence the name.

Why do we have the Donut at Go Play NW?

One of our goals for Go Play NW is no player left behind—we want all our attendees to be able to get into a game every session.

How does the Donut work?

Each session (or donut group, if we’re doubling up) we’ll start by gathering everyone in one audio channel called a stage, where our donut moderator will explain the full donut process. In brief, the moderator will ask for volunteers to pitch games, and those volunteers will each have a turn to talk briefly about the game they want to facilitate and how many players they can have.

How can attendees help make the Donut work?

Although the donut is spontaneous in concept, it definitely helps everything run more smoothly if you prepare a bit in advance. Here are a few ways you can help: Take time before the convention to consider what games you can facilitate effectively online./ For the Donut to work we need people willing to step forward and volunteer to facilitate a game!

How do we organize games?

At Go Play NW, all of our games are run by our guests (you). We’ll have two options on offer for players and facilitators/GMs: scheduled games and the donut.