Mr. Bistro's Gen Con Report

Luke Ski was there.

Okay, there was more going on than just Luke Ski, but the fact that he was one of this year's celebrities, when in the past he's just been another slob in a booth, says it all.  This was the Recession Gen Con: swag bags without swag, celebrity appearances without celebrities, and shoppers who weren't shopping.

There was less to see this year.  After one good pass through the dealer's hall I felt like I had seen everything, where previously it's required several passes to see it all.  In addition, the previously crowded walkways have been choked with fat, sweaty bodies, and this year there was elbow room.  A few dealers I know confirmed they made far less this year; attendees show interest but just don't have the cash.  That said, the turnout was great, and the gamer response to having less cash seemed to be: play more games.

 There were some interesting releases.  I can't review it yet, but I'm loving BSG: Pegasus.  It seemes like a well thought out expansion that really adds a lot of value to the game (no surprise there).  It also sold out right away.  The Warhammer Invasion LCG seemed popular as did Chaos in the Old World.  Chaos in the Old World seems to be a sort of passive aggressive Euro game.  You know the kind - that penalizes players for being in the lead.  Seems odd for a game about Chaos, but a friend of mine bought it so I'll try to post more later.  I played a miserable piece of shit from Steve Jackson games called Revolution.  This is the generic bidding game to end all bidding games.  Bid on stuff to turn them into other stuff to get more stuff.  No-brainer crap rules and  cheap production values make this $40 game a complete turd.

Rush 'N Crush was a complete and utter delight.  Take Formula D, add machine guns, mines, flamethrowers, buzzsaws, etc., and you have an incredible play experience.  This one came out of nowhere and was my favorite surprise at GenCon.  The rules are extremely evocative and you can really feel the effects of your decisions on your poor little racer.  This isn't the most unique game ever, but it's a great mish mash of things that have come before, and some unique takes on the theme.  I'm so glad I gave it a shot.  Weirdly enough this little gem comes from both AEG and Rackham.

The Adventurers was a big hit, but I didn't bother getting it.  They were only selling the $70 pre-painted version, and I had little interest in that, though I confess the prepaints were a good quality.  The game got a number of positive responses to it, but I just don't see how it can stay fun for long.  Tomb: Cryptmaster sold out.  I wasn't interested in more Tomb at the cost of buying a brand new game, but I watched a full session of it and fun was had by all.  If you didn't care for Tomb before, stay away from this one.  It's still similar enough you won't like it.  Fans should enjoy it.

FFG simply dominated the hall this year.  Their space was even bigger than last year (or it seemed that way), and they had tons of stuff to sell, lots of new toys to play with, and a massive demo section.  It's clear who the kings are.  WOTC gave a sad whimper.  They had their big pavillion again, but there was little new for D&D or Magic that people didn't already know about, or were things so far off they didn't really matter.  Nothing mind-blowing.  There was an announcement for D&D Heroscape, and that has garnered some attention as well as mixed feelings.  One has to wonder if WOTC's stick-to-two-brands strategy is working.

Hasbro had a curious announcement: Battleship Galaxies coming in 2010.  Why curious?  The announcement was aimed at hobby gamers, it is a complete revamping of the original theme and mechanics, and it's rumored to be headed by Craig VanNess.  I can't wait to see how that materializes next year.  I was also stoked to hear Zev promise both Propchecy expansions next year (the dragon one is almost finished) as well as the expansion for Shadow Hunters.

I bought Shadow Hunters this year - it isn't new, but it was new to me.  It's this absolutely ugly, cheap, and slightly retarded Japanese import that I had a hard time not falling in love with.  It's basically Werewolf with extras, but damn if those extras aren't fun.  Imagine BSG except there are three teams instead of two, and everyone starts out not knowing who is on their team.  And players can kill each other.  It handles eight players with ease and plays in about 15-30 minutes.  I loved it, but be warned: it really is kind of stupid.

I can't recall much more at the moment.  There's a Descent expansion coming that has a nautical theme.  There's also word of a $25 snow-and-ice expansion for Talisman.

All-in-all it was a fun Gen Con albeit one with a Will Work for Food sign.