Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Why I Want To Go - Queen of Hearts XXIX

Written by: Kai "LukeJohn" Yang & Maleigha "Magnolia" Johnson


I'm super excited for this year's Queen of Hearts Tournament!  It's one of the Realms' major events, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.  

The event staff always make it a weekend to remember.  The times I've gone, I had a great experience seeing all of the fun competitions and battles. Some were challenging, others encouraged teamwork, others made you bring a ball all the way on top of a hill with two parachutes, but I can't wait to see what will happen this year! 

After seeing my supporting team pour hours of hard work into preparation, it makes me appreciate how much this event brings people together.  We are excited to bring that energy to this weekend and have a wonderful time with you all.

See you all at the field,

Magnolia 



Queen of Hearts has been going strong for MANY years now and it’s always an event that I look forward to. It’s a place where the year’s worth of training/fight practices culminate through the war maneuvers and individual tournaments. Given the competitive nature of parts of the event, I find it a great place to get some insight into improvements made and where I still need to get better. If you’re the kind of person who likes to scrap, get into the thick of things, or support others from the back lines, then this is THE event to do so. Shout out to last year’s grueling castle battle; may have been tough in the moment but I will fondly look back on that for the remainder of my time in Realms as one of the most fun battles I’ve been in. 

That’s not to say it’s all throwing down all the time, there’s plenty of lighter hearted but equally engaging content throughout the day. I’m never gonna forget last year’s Rock Assault, 3 seconds from the word “go!”Ranger sniping the target from the polar opposite end of the field! Or Targetball where an opponent and I ran right up to each other, and instead of throwing the dodgeballs, just broke down laughing. What I mean to say is that there’s something for everyone; be it high-pace, intense fighting or the loosely associated nonsense and silliness that I love from this game. 

On the non combat side, players also get to flourish their creativity through the crafting, bardic, and other tournaments. I’m consistently impressed with the level of skill people in this game have when it comes to these aspects; and If my preliminary observations are any indication, this year will be no different. The showcase of what everyone’s accomplished honestly feels more like a celebration than a direct competition sometimes, in a way that combat cannot replicate. 

I guess I’d sum this all up by saying Queen of Hearts is the event where you not only get to show up and be yourself, but also as the best version of yourself - in any way that you want. See you all on the field! 

- LukeJohn