Even though the Geek Culture Club is no more at EdCC, there are still many activities for local nerds to have fun.

The one you’re probably most familiar with is the “Magic the Gathering” group that hangs out in the college cafeteria. If that isn’t your cup of tea, you can always start a new geek-themed club or any type of meetup group.

There are also plenty of activities outside the college during break or during the quarter to keep nerd culture alive.

“I have enjoyed the time that the club was around at school, but once you leave there must be other avenues that a nerd can enjoy her activities,” said Nicole Perez, a former member of the Geek Culture club.

Emerald City Comic-Con has just ended, but plenty of other conventions are on the horizon: For Pacific Northwest geeks there’s Norwescon (Northwest Convention of Science Fiction and Fantasy).

The 40th Norwescon will be held April 13–16 in the DoubleTree by Hilton Seattle Airport in SeaTac, Washington. The theme will be “Over the Hills and Far Away” and features guests of honor such as writer Ian McDonald, artists Cory and Catska Ench, astrophysicist and science writer Ethan Seigel and the spotlight publisher Angry Robot Books.

This convention is especially advantageous for writers, as it hosts up-and-coming author’s panels styled to help improve your novel or screenplay.

Publishing companies also attend to give writers pointers on how to submit their work. The panel schedule includes everything from “Writing that Gripping Plot that Sells” to “Creating Believable Sex Scenes In-World.”

Norwescon also hosts the Philip K. Dick Award, given to the author of the best original novel of the previous year in paperback form. The Philip K. Dick award was first presented at Norwescon in 1984, and was given to Tim Powers for his novel The Anubis Gates.

The Pacific Northwest Writers Association also has a booth at Norwescon. They will always be glad that you stopped by, and have many activities outside of conventions as well: They have a writer’s workshop and meeting hall in Issaquah. The PNWA is a great organization which helps all authors of all genres and literary styles.

Norwescon has many different areas for gaming, hanging out and sharing interests in the common world of Geekdom. A gaming room runs until two a.m. each day of the con (a four-day event starting on Thursday and ending on Sunday).

If you don’t want to travel to SeaTac for the convention, there’s also the “Around the Table” gaming pub located on 76th and 196th in Lynnwood, not far from the college.

To quote their website, “‘Round the Table is all about bringing people together … ‘Round the Table. Sure we serve beer, cider and other drinks. And yes, we sell games and puzzles. But what we’re really about is getting people away from their computers.”

It’s a great place to hang out, play “Munchkin” or Dungeons and Dragons and yes, Magic the Gathering and Pokemon tournaments. For those gamers that are over twenty-one there is a good selection of local brews.

‘Round the Table has a friendly and family atmosphere; you can always bring your children to the gaming store and let them enjoy the experience of the gaming world.

Vincent Anderson said, “Around the Table is a great place. I have enjoyed going there and catching a board game or playing in the X-Wing miniature tournament that they hold.”

Spring break is coming up soon, so what else is there to do?

On Fridays and Saturdays there is Magic the Gathering and Pokémon tournaments going on at most local comic shops, one of which is “World of Collections.”

The company was established in 1986 and has been responsible for providing geeks a fun place to purchase their gaming and comic supplies ever since. Their specialty is in comics, gaming and trading cards.

The AFK Tavern is another local favorite at 1510 41st St Everett, Washington – a great place to get food and have an entertaining night out with your gaming group.

Finding a new gaming group can be difficult, but once you find one that fits your personality with the others in the group, that is gold and you as a group should try to bond over other activities at the same time.

For all that down time after doing your finals, or just needing a vacation from the mundane world, there are new video games such as the just-released “Zelda – Breath of the Wild” for the Wii U and the Switch.

Breath of the Wild is the biggest, most open-world Zelda game ever made, but it brings with it a massive change in design philosophy, and the way it treats players. Breath of the Wild is the first main Zelda title since 1991 to feel like it respects its players implicitly.

Breath of the Wild isn’t without some of the same basic Zelda foundation. You play as Link, the hero of the beloved fantasy world Hyrule, though what that means and who Link is differs from previous games somewhat (as it does in every Zelda game).

The story opens as a confused Link awakens to a world he doesn’t recognize. Mystery is everywhere, from the hint of hyper-advanced fantasy technology to the evidence all-around of a disastrous, society-ending war.

There are many new games coming out in 2017, so stay tuned and keep your eye out for the others and reviews on them.

Then there is that one last, best way to gather friends and have fun: Have a movie or TV show weekend marathon. Such as watching the seven Star Wars movies or going back and watching the classic Star Trek movies. Or your friends can binge-watch the Firefly series with a review-type setting, as they have done on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K).

There are many more activities to do as a “geek” as long as you have the imagination; you can always try larping (Live Action Role Playing)!

LARP is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically act out their characters’ actions. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world while interacting with each other in character.

The outcome of player actions may be mediated by game rules or determined by consensus among players. Event arrangers called gamemasters decide the setting and rules to be used and facilitate play. The adventures are endless.

Event Information:

Around the Table: 7600 196th St SW #300, Lynnwood 98036. Hours: Sun-Thu 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri-Sat 11 a.m.–12 a.m.

World of Collections: 22611 76th Ave W #101, Edmonds 98026. Hours: Mon-Thu 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sat-Sun 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Ancient Order of Gamers: http://ancientgamers.weebly.com/.

2017 Norwescon: http://www.norwescon.org/ April 13-16 2017.