The Quake 2 Thunderdome!

Remember, this is the grind, the battle royale between you and your mind, your body and the devil on your shoulders telling you this is just a game, this is just a waste of time, your opponents are stronger than you. Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heartbeat, burn away your self doubt with the fire that’s beneath you. Remember what you’re fighting for and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress, she can turn on a dime with the smallest mistake, she is ever searching for the weak place in your armor, that one tiny thing you forgot to prepare for. So as long as the demon is hiding the details the question remains: IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? ARE YOU SURE?

And when the answer is YES, when you have done all you can to prepare yourself for battle, THEN it’s time to go forth and boldly face the enemy, the enemy within. Only now you must take that fight into the open, into hostile territory. You are a lion in a field of lions, all hunting the same elusive pray with a desperate starvation that says VICTORY is the only thing that can keep you alive. So believe that voice that says that “you CAN run a little faster”, and “you CAN throw a little harder”, and that, for you, the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.

On September 27, 2025 20:00 UTC time, The Café gang will attempt to organize several Quake 2 deathmatches (no teamplay) on our own Quake 2 server, for glory or shits and giggles. Everybody is invited to join us in our attempt to have fun killing ourselves in various and innovative ways (just kidding, we’ll mostly die due to failed rocket jumps and grenading the walls).

The Café members will get a shiny new badge to wear with pride (and prejudice), and while the participation is not mandatory, the badge will certify their valiant effort in stopping the Strogg… I mean the Cafégg. In the end we’ll all be Knights of the Shiny Railgun!

If you want to join us, you will need a Quake 2 client (Windows, Linux, BSD, macOS, OS X), the Café Quake 2 server address, 46.226.105.97:27910 (“multiplayer” -> “join network server” -> “address book” and fill that in, IP:PORT format) and about an hour of your free time. Server is running Yamagi Q2 and the map will be q2dm1 because it’s the best-known and the most balanced. You don’t need to do this retro-style on your grandpa’s “computer”, but bonus style points for original Quake 2 CDs, Pentium machines, CRT screens and Pamela Anderson wall posters. Or Nick Carter posters, we ain’t judging here. Tryhards not welcomed!

So, prepare the beer, peanuts, pizza or whatever food-for-the-soul you enjoy, chug some Redbulls, pop that old Pantera casette in your tape deck for extra energy, send the kids to sleep, brush up your Quake 2 skills, wear your id Software t-shirt and practice your rocket jumps.

Campers beware, they will be hunted down and gibbed, or even teabagged. There will be no winners, only exhausted people.

If you’re not familiar with Quake 2 yet (heathens!), it’s just like CounterStrike only better.

Let the games begin!!