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I went to Gencon. Here's a post about it.

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21 Aug 2017 15:22 - 22 Aug 2017 08:55 #252779 by drewcula
FAT:ties,
I've returned from Gencon unscathed. A little tired, but that's about it.
I wrote a lengthy post to my gaming club about the experience. None of them have ever attended, so I took it from the start.
I also wrote this on Facebook and didn't bother with much editing.

I'm just cutting and pasting it here. It may be on interest to some of you. I'm sure veterans will find mistakes in my account/facts - but cut me some slack.

Read at your own risk.

"Here's an essay no one requested. Just a collection of thoughts about Gencon and gaming. Probably written for my own benefit, but y'all may find it interesting if you want to piss away the minutes reading it.

GENCON 2017

This past week was my third visit to Gencon. 2017 was the 50th anniversary of the Con. It's moved locations a few times, but for the recent past and foreseeable future - it's located at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

Gencon is the largest Con in the Western Hemisphere and it's only second fiddle to Essen (Name of German city and gaming convention). I thought Essen was the Mecca of gaming, but after speaking with several Euro gamers at Adepticon this year - I no longer believe that. Everyone I've talked to about Essen say the same thing. "Gencon is better." I'll take their word for it.

2017 was crazy pants busy. While the gobsmacking spectacle of attending a first time could never be matched (2015), I was still a little stunned to see so-many-fucking-people. So many, Gencon had signs posted on all doors ON THURSDAY; ALL BADGES SOLD OUT. That seemed positively daft to me. Why the hell wouldn't you sell as many badges as you could? Get people in there, and have them buy stuff! Well, after three days - I realized they were at capacity. After Thursday, it was shoulder-to-shoulder gamer.

But no worries; Indy is expanding the Convention Center. The addition should be ready for 2018.

Thursday is crushed with gamers that want Publisher "exclusives." Those gamers line up at the doors of the Dealer Hall like something right out of the Dawn of the Dead. Doors open at 10:15 am, and the flood begins. For every niche gamer, there's some sort of con exclusive. I wasn't after anything in particular this year, but reports from several dozen people - the exclusives were "sold out" by Thursday afternoon.

Friday is a little less hectic that the Thursday rush, but the attendance increases.

Saturday is when shit really hits the fan. Everyone within driving distance that couldn't attend during the week rolls in. Further, Saturday is the "CosPlay Parade." Not only is attendance at an all time high, there are hundreds of people in costume. Frequently, those costumes are totally absurd in volume and they cock-block anyone trying to move through the halls, aisles, restrooms, where ever.

Sunday is "family day," and attendance is STILL crazy. Crazy because families get in for reduced prices. Seemingly they all shamble to the dealer hall because they wanna buy stuff. Dealers wanna sell stuff so they don't have to pack it up in the afternoon.

I wasn't having any of that this year. I left last night (Saturday). The airport was easy to navigate with hardly a soul around. I spoke with my bartender about it, and she said it was the calm before the storm because thousands would be swamping the terminal tomorrow (Sunday). That seemed a bit high to me, but whatever. I'm home and writing on Facebeook.

Part of reason I left last night - I was working the Con instead of fucking around with my friends. The past two years were spent primarily drinking and eating with old chums. I played my DreadBall tourney, and the lot of us played in the Epic Spell Wars tournaments - but that was about it. We played a lot of Love Letter at the bars. Gaming and the Con was just an excuse for us to get together and raise hell.

This time around, I agreed to help Mantic Games. I worked the gaming hall, and ran sessions of the Walking Dead: All Out War. Over three days, I ran 30 gamers through 10 hours of Walker Herds. Everyone I taught was having a blast and that's pretty contagious. It was kind of neat / validating to here from the Dealer Hall booth that the gamers who played with me had visited, and bought a bunch of zombie stuff.

TWD game is a war game, and I don't care for war games. Fortunately, this one has a very low bar rule system. No one says it outloud, but the game is very much a "sandbox" game. You can do whatever the hell you want with it. I thought from the core box it was a little lacking. The starter box presents the game as a two player skirmish alone. With a few expansions, a bunch of stuff becomes clear; anything is possible. I played solo last week for practice (I also practiced with Dave and Matt). There are co-op scenarios that follow the narrative arc of the comic. And there are still adversarial matches between competing gangs of survivors. And it's brutal. Zombies will gang up and kill you. Point blank gun fire will kill you. When a someone dies, they're coming back - as a zombie that will kill you.

Also, the damn game is smartly packaged. I have had such a love/hate opinion of how Mantic conducts business; its neat to see them actually not fuck up a good idea. I'm very impressed with the whole model. And the models/toy soliders look good too. Each Walker is a different sculpt. Thats neat. Also, those Walkers include zombie children. That's a first as far as I know.

One thing that's just a little disturbing; several survivors in the game are children. Carl, Sophia, Duane... When a child runs behind an adult survivor and fires a head shot, immediately killing them, it's a bit jarring. I know Carl is a budding sociopath, but I still find it unsettling...

While I'm still on the Mantic gaming thought; I got a few more games of DreadBall 2nd edition under my belt. I've refrained from sharing anything with y'all because I don't think any of you give a shit. I'll just say that there is some neat stuff happening.

On other gaming fronts; Fantasy Flight Games continues to just fucking rule Gencon. They are one of largest company presences at the convention. I was curious to see if anything would shift this year since they were purchased from Asmodee. None that I could see, expect maybe one very bizarre partnership. I saw a crossover game that on face value seemed retarded. Settlers of Catan & Game of Thrones. Still, gamers were playing it and having a blast. The production values were very impressive. IDK much about it, other than it focuses on the Northern Territory, the Wall, and the scary fuckers north of the Wall. Otherwise; FFG was showing off Fall Out, a new edition of Civilization, Arkham Horror Card game, Legends of the Five something something, and Star Wars. Jesus Christ. So. Much. Star Wars. New stuff for all their existing titles and then FFG dropped a big bombshell on Friday: a new Star Wars war game. Looks very pretty.

And that's probably a bigger take away/observation: War Games are hot right now. Games Workshop, CMON, and FFG have big IPs on the war gaming front. Smaller companies have their finger in the pie too. Mantic, Steamforged, the crew that does Malifaux. And then the upstarts. So many war games. It seems to be a lifestyle thing, so you can't do 'em all. Or rather, you can't do 'em all well. I guess you need to pick one and commit. Fortunately, I would rather eat a pile of hot dog shit than ever take a measuring tape and move a tray of toys around a large table. To each his own.

Herospace is my preferred war game, and that was toy-centric and designed for ten year olds. Despite being OOP for eight years, Heroscape is alive and well at Gencon. They were set up beside me, and I got to see some HUGE Heroscape tournament games. Also, I got meet Heroscape's designer Craig Van Ness. Very nice guy and he was kind enough to sign some 'scape stuff I had on hand.

RPGs are everywhere. Two seem to hold the top spot. D&D obviously has a big presence, but I swear Gencon is all about it's competitor: Pathfinder. I don't know much about either system at the end of the day, but Pathfinder has a big foothold at Gencon, and that whole exclusive thing I motioned before? The company that publishes Pathfinder had a limited run of their new RPG, Starfinder. A few thousand copies sold out on THURSDAY. Gamers stood in line for hours to get ONE copy.

I've been struggling of late with my opinion about RPGs. Probably another diary entry in the wings for me, but I'll write this now: I don't care for RPG groups with more than four players. I also am trying to understand it's cyclical appeal. I think it may have something to do with its early 1980s explosion with teens. Those same teenagers are now adults and maybe trying to share the magic of their youth with a new generation.

As far as I'm concerned, every development with RPGs in the 90s and early 00s were dumb as shit.

Gencon seems to be primarily about commerce. There's a lot of everything, but the dollar seems to be king. I spent sixty bucks and that seemed fine. Dice, a card game, a book, and some crap for Jenn. There was a lot of neat things, but nothing I "needed." If anything, the whole scene made me really fine tune my attractions and preferences.

Probably the coolest thing(s) I saw were: The Thing board game 'Outbreak at Post something-something." Ken​ is supporting another Thing board game on Kickstarter. I think I'll grab this 'Outpost' one as an alternative when it hits retail. While war games still ain't my thing, there was a Joan of Arc war game that at least looked cool as hell. Smaller scale with intricate detail really made it pop. There was a Bob Ross party game that I've been eyeing. A bit of a puzzler that I'm sure Jenn and I will like if nothing else. Knowing that it will be available at Target this fall - I left it behind for now. Dave told me about a submarine game last week. It's called 'Captain Sonar.' I saw it demoed and it's looks like a lot of fun. The only stumbling block is that it's really intended for 8 players (2 teams of 4). Anything less and it ain't gonna work. That kind of requirement is tough to meet. The real catnip for me was a new Batman game dropping next year. I can say for certain I'll be investing in this truck full of plastic when it kickstarts in Q12018.

It would be neat to see some of you guys experience Gencon. That's probably less and less likely as adulthood digs its claws into our lives, but it is what it is."
Last edit: 22 Aug 2017 08:55 by drewcula.

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21 Aug 2017 16:01 #252789 by hotseatgames
Captain Sonar doesn't require 8... it's just best that way. You can have fun with even 2 people.
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21 Aug 2017 16:07 #252791 by Shellhead
I have been to ten GenCons, including 1982 and 2003. I wouldn't mind going again some day, but it hasn't been a high priority in recent years, when I have either had limited cash flows or limited vacation time. I have had some amazing experiences at GenCon, and I recommend that any serious gamer should go at least once.

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21 Aug 2017 16:13 #252793 by Michael Barnes
I think RPGs are going to be the biggest growth category in hobby games over the next couple of years. There's been such a big resurgence in that area, all of the recent indie RPGs, Pathfinder continuing to exceed expectations, D&D keeping on keeping on...part of it is because I think we are seeing people move from stuff like Gloomhaven, Descent, Kingdom Death, whatever and into full RPGs.

Wargames are blowing up right now too. GW is of course a part of that and with AOS on the continued uptick and 8th edition hitting - let alone their boxed games - they are going to boom 2018-2020. The smaller companies doing quality work- Mantic, Warlord, etc. - are getting big licenses and drawing in fans. Infinity is huge.

The Batman game...errrrrrrrrrrrr. Want to be excited but a) it's like two years away and b) it's the people that made Conan. I liked Conan, but it was so fucked up and Kickstartery that it ruined itself.
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21 Aug 2017 18:14 - 21 Aug 2017 18:15 #252802 by hotseatgames
Like Michael mentioned... Batman is going to have the same issues that Conan did; you've got one person who is super happy (the one playing as Conan or Batman) and several others looking at their characters and thinking...eh.....

Conan's scenarios were so wildly "balanced".... no thank you.
Last edit: 21 Aug 2017 18:15 by hotseatgames.
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22 Aug 2017 08:00 - 22 Aug 2017 08:51 #252842 by drewcula
I'll offer a counter to the Conan issues.
Monolith learned a lot in the process.
I have faith they won't repeat their earlier missteps.
And as far as those steps go, they ain't so bad.
I finally received my updated rulebooks, and meanwhile - a lot of scenarios have dropped online.
Unbalanced? Some are, sure. But that's just a different kind of gaming experience. I'm okay with a few lop sided battles here and there.
As far as only one happy gamer? No way, not in my group. I think more of us clamor to play the Overlord. That role is very rewarding. Maybe more so than Conan.
Sure, Conan is fun. But the other heroes have unique abilities that keep them relevant.
I will say Conan is probably best suited for 3 players. 1 Overlord, and 2 others running two characters each.
When I think of what Batman has in store - I'm stoked. I prefer Batman's rogue gallery above all else, so I'm confident I'll want to get my turns as Overlord. Batman is bad ass (like Conan), but there should be plenty of flavor playing Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, etc.
Last edit: 22 Aug 2017 08:51 by drewcula.
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22 Aug 2017 09:23 #252855 by Black Barney
Shell, I was at GenCon 2003 too! I wonder if we bumped into each other. Maybe in a public park late at night?

That's crazy that the badges sold out, that means that pre-registration is going to nuts next year. They're going to promote that like crazy, scaring people that badges sold out this year.

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22 Aug 2017 11:14 #252872 by charlest

drewcula wrote: I'll offer a counter to the Conan issues.
Monolith learned a lot in the process.
I have faith they won't repeat their earlier missteps.
And as far as those steps go, they ain't so bad.
I finally received my updated rulebooks, and meanwhile - a lot of scenarios have dropped online.
Unbalanced? Some are, sure. But that's just a different kind of gaming experience. I'm okay with a few lop sided battles here and there.
As far as only one happy gamer? No way, not in my group. I think more of us clamor to play the Overlord. That role is very rewarding. Maybe more so than Conan.
Sure, Conan is fun. But the other heroes have unique abilities that keep them relevant.
I will say Conan is probably best suited for 3 players. 1 Overlord, and 2 others running two characters each.
When I think of what Batman has in store - I'm stoked. I prefer Batman's rogue gallery above all else, so I'm confident I'll want to get my turns as Overlord. Batman is bad ass (like Conan), but there should be plenty of flavor playing Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, etc.


I've enjoyed Conan the more I've played it. I do agree with Barnes that it sucks as a retail product. But the retail expansions are pretty awesome. I've loved both the Nordheim and Stygia releases thus far. Only downfall is they are expensive.

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22 Aug 2017 11:31 #252875 by derekjinx

drewcula wrote: "Dave told me about a submarine game last week. It's called 'Captain Sonar.' I saw it demoed and it's looks like a lot of fun. The only stumbling block is that it's really intended for 8 players (2 teams of 4). Anything less and it ain't gonna work. That kind of requirement is tough to meet. "


I too was at GenCon, my second go 'round, with a few new people. We all had a good time. I liken it to a golf weekend with pals, as a break from family and work obligations. We spent 3 days in hobby gaming bliss. We left early Sunday as we had a hotel in sticks northwest of the downtown core, and a 10 hour trek back to Toronto ahead of us.

Glad you had a good time and look out for SONAR the 2-4 player version of Captain Sonar. It was for sale at GenCon and not my bag, but looked fun anyway.

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22 Aug 2017 12:05 #252882 by Shellhead

Black Barney wrote: Shell, I was at GenCon 2003 too! I wonder if we bumped into each other. Maybe in a public park late at night?


I was staying at a friend's house near Crown Hill Cemetary, along with several other friends. He had a spare fridge that was set up to dispense beer from a keg inside, and the fridge was painted to look like R2-D2. That year is kind of a blur, but I think I was back at the house every night of the convention, grilling food, drinking beer, and playing boardgames. During GenCon, there was anywhere from 10 to 20 people at the house at any given time.

And I don't remember what I events played that year. I spent a lot of time shopping in what was once known as the Great Hall, and playing pickup games in what used to be called Game Bay Seven or somesuch. And for some reason I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean at Circle Centre with the female cousin of one of my friends.

Overall, it was fun time, but I spent a lot less time gaming in the convention center compared to any other GenCon that I have attended.
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22 Aug 2017 21:01 #252913 by Grudunza
Went to Gencon for the first (maybe last) time. It was fun and crazy, but not sure it was worth the trouble. Especially disappointing that my daughter got some kind of con crud early on, so that put her out of commission for much of it. Some good times and games, and doing the Dice Tower live show was fun. Seeing TMBG in an arena rock show was especially cool. Anyway, I did the geeklist thing here , FWIW.
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22 Aug 2017 22:34 #252920 by engelstein
By far my favorite part of Gencon this year was watching Alan Moon do an completely-off-the-rails standup routine at the Dice Tower Live event, ending with an f-bomb, mic drop, and walk off.

Just watching Tom hide behind his hat was priceless.
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23 Aug 2017 00:18 #252926 by Grudunza

engelstein wrote: By far my favorite part of Gencon this year was watching Alan Moon do an completely-off-the-rails standup routine at the Dice Tower Live event, ending with an f-bomb, mic drop, and walk off.

Just watching Tom hide behind his hat was priceless.


Ah yes. Live theater. That was memorable, at least. Not for the jokes, though. :D

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25 Aug 2017 00:46 #253110 by cdennett

engelstein wrote: By far my favorite part of Gencon this year was watching Alan Moon do an completely-off-the-rails standup routine at the Dice Tower Live event, ending with an f-bomb, mic drop, and walk off.

Alas, they decided to edit that part out of the podcast...here's hoping someone can get their hands on the recording and get it out there. (Or perhaps it's there, not like I've looked)

I will say the exhibit hall felt even more crowded, if that was possible, and anecdotal evidence is that they moved a shit-tonne of product (like selling more on Thursday than the entire previous GenCon). I heard stories of 2.5 hour waits at the FFG booth, and this was on Thursday... Good for the exhibitors, at least. My schedule was so booked, I had very little hall time compared to other years.

TMBG concert was awesome, but they've also been one of my favorite bands for the last 27 years. It was way better then when they came to Houston last year, that's for sure. It's funny, several of the guys in my group were annoyed to be "wasting" part of GenCon going to a concert, but everyone left happy that they went.

I will say, in general, board gaming at GenCon kinda blows. You need to supply your own group to get something played. I'm learning to just avoid the ticket events unless I'm already following the development of a game already (which is rare). I did get to meet Sam Bailey (of Forbidden Stars fame) and play his new prototype, though. Also got into a game of Cthulhu Wars setup on the BGG forums.

You need to go to GenCon for the role playing sessions. Had some really great ones this time, though we have a couple of GMs that we target every year.

Every year I debate whether it's worth the expense and hassle to go to GenCon, but this was one of my favorites. But this was also the most difficult time to get my purchases home...


Now to find someone to play The Expanse with...
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