Alleycat At Neo 2025
This was a big year for Alleycat. For the first time, our wireless communications system came online, letting player scores upload automatically to the server and removing a major burden from staff. We also invested in our crew, building a staff training video that streamlined booth operations and gave volunteers the tools to succeed. With these upgrades, Alleycat finally got to focus attention on set design and player experience. To heighten the drama, we staged a fictitious server maintenance event, hiding the scores until the closing ceremony—an intentional nod to the suspense of a classic video game reveal.
The numbers told their own story: 3,838 Quickdraw matches were logged across the weekend, backed by a massive leap in scale from 62 devices last year to more than 200 in 2025. This expansion, plus the retrofitted Mark II’s, made it possible for more players to jump in, test their reflexes, and compare their skills across the city. Neo 2025 also delivered the showdowns fans came to see—our reigning champion, Reggie Bloodletter, was pushed to the limit by newcomer Hot Lock in a clash that spanned days. In the end, Reggie held his ground, becoming Alleycat’s first repeat winner and cementing his legend in the Alleycat archive.
intake film
This is what every player who comes through our doors watches to understand the game. It is very important to us that everyone be given the same information. We have reworked the film each year since 2023. This helps our players to understand the game and our culture.
Staff training film
This was the first year that we had a film to bring our staff up to speed in a similar way to what we offer our players. This helped streamline the training for our volunteers running the booth as well a way for volunteers to be trained at the Extremely Temp Agency, another faction at Neo that gives volunteers temp jobs as quests or missions.
