Win Andúril, the Flame of the West, wielded by Aragorn in Lord of the Rings at GaMaYo

Attendees at GaMaYo will be able to enter a raffle to win a sword – no ordinary one – it is Andúril, the Flame of the West, wielded by Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. This sword was reforged from the shards of Narsil to help defeat Sauron and defend Middle Earth. The raffle prize is being offered by Em Aspinall to raise funds for game dev mental health and Safe in Our World.

For the fundraiser, Em is walking 660 miles from Hobbiton to Mordor, in support of game dev mental health and Safe In Our World.  Em is currently on the first leg of the journey between the Shire and the village of Bree. They’ve walked 100 miles, and raised over £700 of their £1000 goal. Last year, they walked 200 miles from Elturel to Baldur’s Gate, raising £2000, in just one month – so they’ve upped the challenge, with a 6 month walking campaign, that will support better awareness, tools and resources to improve mental health in games.

Anyone who follows Heckin’ Flop will know that they have been streaming Mon/Wed/Fri at 6pm to support their fundraiser further, with games like Tiny Glade, where Em recreates Lord of the Rings locations like the Hall of Edoras, in Rohan (image below). Plus, every £100 miles unlocks a new Lord of the Rings parody song like this one.

 

Em says “You can hear a sample of some of the songs coming in this parody “Now That’s What I Call Mordor” video, and I’ve had support from Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) who kindly encouraged people to donate. I also announced my fundraiser with a parody recreation of Bilbo’s Birthday Speech, from the first Lord of the Rings movie! This fundraising campaign is also the first I’ve done to invite friends along with me. In my personal Discord server for my own community, we have The Heckin Fellowship, a group of nine companions, all contributing mileage towards a shared challenge – to see how far we can go together, and already we’ve collectively walked over 660 miles, which is the full length of this challenge. In less than 1 month!

This fundraiser is so special to me because of that support, because of those friends who are walking with me, from all over the world. Our Samwise, Thrace Fulton, is all the way over in California – and we’ve been playing a Lord of the Rings themed dark urge run of Baldur’s Gate 3 every Wednesday as we travel together. It’s been so motivating to have people along this journey, and I’d love to do another in the future that encourages more people to get moving for their mental health. As this is a 6 month long campaign, there’ll be more exciting adventures in the future. I’m hoping to go to a cave at some point, to represent the Mines of Moria leg of my travels. I’d like to try axe throwing and archery, to represent the characters Gimli and Legolas. Ultimately, this quest is about self improvement, new experiences and sustainable happiness, often found in the most unlikely of places. It’s been amazing, and I’m so excited to see where this journey leads me next.”

 

So please buy a raffle ticket when you come to the event on 21st November! Alongside bags of new ideas, feedback on your games, expert advice and contacts, at this GaMaYo you could well be leaving with a Lord of the Rings sword…!