The Heart Monitor

$10,000 raised for Extra Life
Karington Hess Karington Hess

$10,000 raised for Extra Life

Open Heart Games just passed a major milestone and it is all thanks to you, our generous donors. It is my honor to announce that since the creation of Open Heart Games in 2020, together we have raised over $10,000 directly benefiting our local children’s hospital, Carilion Children’s right here in Roanoke, Virginia!

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New Incentives for our Extra Life United Marathon!
Karington Hess Karington Hess

New Incentives for our Extra Life United Marathon!

For our next 12-Hour Charity D&D Marathon we are introducing new incentives, which players and viewers can purchase in order to help (or hurt) our party and of course, the biggest reason of all, to help us raise more money for Extra Life and meet our year-end goal for 2023 of $5,000!

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Our Hearts Are Full of Gratitude
Karington Hess Karington Hess

Our Hearts Are Full of Gratitude

It means so much to us, as small business owners with big dreams, to build this community with you all and we are so thankful. We hope that the weeks ahead bring you peace and joy and, of course, opportunities for playing games! Thank you.

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It’s My Party and I’ll Blog if I Want to.
Karington Hess Karington Hess

It’s My Party and I’ll Blog if I Want to.

Is this going to be a sappy thank you note from me to all of our fans? Yes. Is this going to be a shameless plug for our Extra Life fundraiser? Also yes. Is this blog also going to have an interesting suggestion as to how to tie birthdays into your roleplaying campaigns? Unsurprisingly, yes.

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Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Day Recap!
Karington Hess Karington Hess

Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Day Recap!

It’s official! Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Day 2022 is in the books! As of the writing of this blog, we are just shy of the halfway point to beat last year’s total of $4,061! All of the funds donated benefit Extra Life and our local children’s Hospital Carilion Children’s here in Roanoke, VA!

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Help Wanted! Adventurers in Peril! (Or how you can help us raise money for Extra Life!)
Karington Hess Karington Hess

Help Wanted! Adventurers in Peril! (Or how you can help us raise money for Extra Life!)

Our brave adventurers need your help in their assault on the Castle of the Fire Giant King!

Our third Charity Marathon is scheduled for Saturday, August 20th from 10AM to 10PM. You can find more information here! One of the things we wanted to add for this Charity Marathon was the ability for those watching at home to help join in the fun! So I am proud to announce that for the first time ever we will be offering a host of incentives that you can purchase from the comfort of your own home via our Extra Life Page to help (or potentially hinder) the party!

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How It Started Vs. How It’s Going. Open Heart Games— Our First Year!
Karington Hess Karington Hess

How It Started Vs. How It’s Going. Open Heart Games— Our First Year!

It’s the last week of December. A special time of year. Time seems to behave differently, and we are filled with a sense of reverence as we have completed another circuit around the sun. The excitement of a new year full of endless possibilities seems to electrify the very air. We gather with loved ones and raise a glass to everything that happened in this past year. We celebrate our accomplishments, mourn our losses, congratulate ourselves on our achievements, and forgive ourselves our failures. We’ve had an exciting first year in business and we’ve learned a lot. In the new year, we look forward to continuing to build our community, raise money for our local children’s hospital, and come up with new and exciting ways to engage with our wonderful group of gaming-enthusiasts. Thank you for being a part of it. Let’s look at all that we have accomplished together in the past 12 months.

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OMG! OHG!
Karington Hess Karington Hess

OMG! OHG!

Extra Life Game Day 2021 is in the books! To describe our marathon as anything less than a roaring success would be an understatement. We began the event $55 short of our goal of raising $2,000 for charity and finished the night nearly doubling our goal!

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For the Kids! Extra Life Game Day 2021.
Karington Hess Karington Hess

For the Kids! Extra Life Game Day 2021.

As of today, we have raised over $1,700 towards our goal and have become the largest Extra Life donor in support of our local children's hospital, Carillion Children’s. All of this is possible due to the support of our friends, family, and our wonderful community of gaming fans. A heartfelt thank you to all. And while we are close to our goal, we still have work to do. So make plans to join us once again as we venture into the dungeon on Saturday, November 6th at 10am EST. FOR THE KIDS!!

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The Giants are Back! Extra Life Game Day 12 Hour Marathon!
Karington Hess Karington Hess

The Giants are Back! Extra Life Game Day 12 Hour Marathon!

In honor of Extra Life Game Day, and by popular demand, we are bringing back our 12 Hour Marathon and continuing Against the Giants. . .this time with Frost Giants! The event will take place Saturday, November 6th from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm EST and will once again be live-streamed on Twitch! Registration for this event will open October 1st and will be limited to 7 players.

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A Heartfelt Thank You
Karington Hess Karington Hess

A Heartfelt Thank You

We had such a wonderful time running and streaming 12 hours of D&D 5E: Against the Giants. We’d especially like to thank our players for making it so much fun, Jeff with World Gone Geek for helping us stream, Josh with Obelisk Productions for helping us to get set up and showing us the ropes and designing our overlays (the photo credit of which goes to Taylor of Taylored Photography), and Josh K. for helping monitor our chat! We would also like to thank everyone who donated, tuned in to watch, or shared their support for Open Heart Games on social media. We’ve got such a great community here. Thank you all.

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Extra Life 12 Hour Marathon Survival Guide
Karington Hess Karington Hess

Extra Life 12 Hour Marathon Survival Guide

Here we are, folks! Just days away from our first 12 Hour Marathon benefiting the Extra Life Charity! We have our players. We have our brand-new Twitch channel all set up. And fortunately, this is not my first rodeo; I used to run 12 hour marathons at the Malted Meeple also to benefit the Extra Life Charity. Therefore, I have decided to share some of my wisdom and answer the question: what can you do to prepare for a 12 hour marathon of gaming?

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12 Hour D&D Marathon: Against the Giants!
Announcement, Event Karington Hess Announcement, Event Karington Hess

12 Hour D&D Marathon: Against the Giants!

Charity is at the heart of what we do. Since our inception, we have been working with Extra Life to raise money for our local children’s’ hospital, Carillion Children’s. Every month, we donate a portion of our sales to this terrific organization and cause. Today, we are extremely excited to announce our newest event—A 12 Hour Marathon! The event will take place Saturday, August 21st, in celebration of Extra Life Tabletop Appreciation Weekend! The marathon will begin at 10:00 am EST and will end at 10:00 pm EST. And this time, we are not just donating a portion—the entire ticket price will go directly to Extra Life! We won’t touch a dime!

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Giving Back with Our GM AMA
Karington Hess Karington Hess

Giving Back with Our GM AMA

As we launch our second campaign in less than a week and prepare for our next major event, the Game Master Ask Me Anything or GM AMA, I am reminded of the importance of giving back. Charity is at the heart of what we do. We give a portion of each month’s sales directly to our local children’s hospital, Carillion Children’s via the Extra Life charity. With our Game Master Ask Me Anything, we hope to accomplish two things; both of which are our way of giving back to the tremendous gaming community that has offered us so much.

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