GenCon 2019

All discussions regarding Board, Card, and RPG Gaming, including industry discussion, that don't belong in one of the other gaming forums.

Moderators: The Preacher, $iljanus, Zaxxon

User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43488
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Blackhawk »

I really wanted to get Nemo's War. I hung around one of the demos and watched it for a bit, but I just couldn't afford it this time.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
hentzau
Posts: 15092
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:06 am
Location: Castle Zenda, Ruritania

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hentzau »

hepcat wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 1:36 pm I didn't really play a lot of games that were new to me. Mostly I just shopped and played some games I don't get to play much back home.

Thursday:

Star Trek Ascendancy - Sadly, the guy who ran it screwed up Borg placement and they appeared as my neighbor within 2 turns. The Romulan Empire (me) died soon after. Then I took over for the Klingon player who had to leave early...on to discover the guy running it was also confusing Borg spires and Borg cubes in terms of movement, effectively doubling the rate they appeared in the process. The whole thing was a mess. However, it's a testament to just how great Ascendancy is that I still enjoyed myself.

Friday:

Wings of Glory: Tripods and Triplanes - My first time playing it. The other player didn't show, so the guy running it played a few rounds with me so I could see how it played. I really liked it. Now I'm torn between this and their Battlestar Galactica starship game.

Legendary Encounters Covenant - Just an expansion to Legendary Encounters Alien. Nothing too big changes with it. Just adds a few extra things like new roles and aliens. I liked that David from the movie can show up and help you...until he screws you over. You have to get out before he does, it seems.

Witchborn: Enter Perdition - An interesting skirmish level miniatures game with an RPG heavy mechanic built into it. It's also very app driven as the app acts like the GM, giving out flavor text in the form of stories and events. It's okay, but I'll probably just stick with Frostgrave and other Osprey games like it.

Saturday:

Unicornus Knights - Unfortunately, I lost my damn tickets and had to go get them reprinted and missed this one. But thankfully I discovered it was the 20 dollar door buster sale item at the AEG booth so I just bought a copy. It looks utterly horrible, but apparently it's got a pretty loyal fan base who say it's good in spite of the look and sound of the game.

Empires of the Void II - I own this one but don't get to play too often. It's kind of a 4 x minus with less emphasis on the exploit and exterminate. I played with just Zarathud and the guy running it. I enjoyed it even though a few of the rules were taught wrong. But then again, I always enjoy EotVII. It's just such a nice balance between space opera and RPG.

Shadows of Malice - Finally, I played a 6 player game of Shadows of Malice. They're doing another print run now and the maker has fixed some of the issues that folks complained about in the older rules. Movement is now an action, and you get two actions per turn, for one thing. That helps to prevent folks from just leveling up at an ungodly rate by cruising around the map like they were riding a souped up dune buggy. Unfortunately, we split into two groups right away and instead of reseating ourselves accordingly, we just yelled over each other all the time. It ended up more annoying then fun. But that's not really the game's fault, I guess.

As far as purchases go, I picked up a copy of Untold Legends and Fields of FIre Vol. II on the cheap from the cool stuff booth. Then a copy of a faction pack for dead characters in the new edition of Malifaux, as well as a copy of a new roll and write game (a genre that saw a release list of approximately 3728 different ones at Gencon) called Welcome to Dino World. The latter has a solo AI from the great David Turczi, of Anachrony fame.

Rounding it out was some new stuff for Holplamachus (just some new titans). I danced around the big box of Edge of Darkness from AEG, but I couldn't justify 120 bucks for a game I knew nothing about...no matter how pretty it looked.
Didn't get the promos for Fallout that were there???
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
User avatar
YellowKing
Posts: 30125
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:02 pm

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by YellowKing »

Blackhawk wrote:...but I just couldn't afford it this time.
Last year the money didn't bother me because it was my first time, it was a bucket list thing to do, etc.

This year, I really started to question whether it was worth it. Flight and hotel alone was $700, and by the time you add up food and rental car and everything else I was topping a grand. What did that buy me? Between BGG Hot Games Room and games library, around 20 hours of uninterrupted game time, a chance to demo a game in development, a Dice Tower show, and getting to see some games before they were released. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time, but that's a VERY steep price to pay for that.

When I think about how that same money could easily pay for an entire nice family vacation, I really have to question the logic of making it a yearly trek. Particularly when there are plenty of folks at Gen Con who are going to post videos and previews of everything I would have seen there.

I had committed to this second trip already at the start of the year, but I told my gaming buddy that next year's definitely not a sure thing.
User avatar
Isgrimnur
Posts: 82085
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Chookity pok
Contact:

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Isgrimnur »

Plan for BGGCon, grab a cheap hotel near myself or coop, and drive in and out with us to play games for 4-5 days.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

hentzau wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 3:52 pm
Didn't get the promos for Fallout that were there???
I didn't see any, sorry.
Covfefe!
User avatar
Smoove_B
Posts: 54567
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 am
Location: Kaer Morhen

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Smoove_B »

YellowKing wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:56 pm I had committed to this second trip already at the start of the year, but I told my gaming buddy that next year's definitely not a sure thing.
I'd like to go once myself (just to say I did), but my buddy and I have the same general feeling attending our local convention. We go and mostly use the dedicated, uninterrupted time to play games we can't seem to get to. Sure, we try out some new stuff but really it's ~3 days of us just gaming. To pay $1000+ to do that every year would be too much. For us, it's $75 to attend the local one.

Back on topic: No one was going to tell me about Marvel: Crisis Protocol?
Maybe next year, maybe no go
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43488
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Blackhawk »

I don't disagree with the assessment.

However.

Every gamer should do it at least once. It's a unique and honestly amazing experience.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
Zarathud
Posts: 16433
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:29 pm
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Zarathud »

hentzau wrote:Didn't get the promos for Fallout that were there???
He was at their booth four times with me, so I have no idea why not.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
User avatar
Zarathud
Posts: 16433
Joined: Fri Oct 15, 2004 10:29 pm
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Zarathud »

For me, GenCon this year was a splurge between family health crises and overwork. Heavy and oversized things were my focus.

Game Table Acquisitions:
3x6 ft reversible space mat from Gale Force 9
Dry Erase Tiles (2 packs sand, 1 pack dungeon) from Roll 4 Initiative - will likely buy another pack after getting it on the table

Board Games:
Druid expansion for Mage Wars
Cloudspire (everything but the miniature towers) from Chip Theory Games
Unicornus Knights ($20 deal) from AEG
Munchkin mini pack (girls, guys and zombies)

RPGs:
Map of Farun (D&D world) for my home office
Monster Stat Tracker foldouts
Human minis (6 pack) from Roll 4 Initiative

Family:
Sombra hat, Vault Tec shirt for me
D.Va hat, Party Animals (playing D&D) shirt for Kid 1
Hedgehog hat, Mimikyu shirt (Pokemon) for Kid 2
Cat pin for Wife, who passed on the Good Omens shirt

I was fortunately unable to buy Wingspan, so I couldn’t get the crazy expensive bling upgrades from Meeple Source. I was similarly unable to buy a window Star Trek Voyager themed stain glass sticker for a friend, and the hand towels were too expensive. I also held the line on the Sythe modular board and Edge of Darkness, but wavered a few times due to hepcat.
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." - Albert Einstein
"I don't stand by anything." - Trump
“Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” - John Stuart Mill, Inaugural Address Delivered to the University of St Andrews, 2/1/1867
“It is the impractical things in this tumultuous hell-scape of a world that matter most. A book, a name, chicken soup. They help us remember that, even in our darkest hour, life is still to be savored.” - Poe, Altered Carbon
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

Zarathud wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:15 am
hentzau wrote:Didn't get the promos for Fallout that were there???
He was at their booth four times with me, so I have no idea why not.
Because I didn’t see any. Nor did I see any signage about any promos. If I had, I would have taken them up on that.
Covfefe!
User avatar
hentzau
Posts: 15092
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:06 am
Location: Castle Zenda, Ruritania

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hentzau »

hepcat wrote:
Zarathud wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:15 am
hentzau wrote:Didn't get the promos for Fallout that were there???
He was at their booth four times with me, so I have no idea why not.
Because I didn’t see any. Nor did I see any signage about any promos. If I had, I would have taken them up on that.
Apparently they had clear resin coursers (stealth boy edition, no painting necessary, woo!) and glowing ghouls. They say they’re going to make them available at the major cons they attend. I could have ordered them online (they put them on their site during the cons for anyone to order.)

Looks like they’re still available to order online. I don’t have enough interest to order, but were I there I would have bought in a heartbeat.
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

A link to that before the convention probably would have helped. :wink:

Although I probably wouldn't have bought them anyway had I known about them beforehand (although I would have picked some up for you if I had). When I think of promos, I think of free stuff. I'm trying to play Fallout on the cheap, so I'm most likely not going to be buying anything for the game that isn't on sale/available at below MSRP. Otherwise I would've gone nuts on the new AI and Raider faction packs they debuted at Gencon. They also had a great deal on a bundle for the starter that I think I convinced Harkonis to pick up. 125 for the starter, a faction pack, a character pack and something else I can't remember. It almost made me think about buying it and giving the starter to Seppe or someone, but the faction packs they offered didn't include the new ones. :cry:
Covfefe!
User avatar
coopasonic
Posts: 20968
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 11:43 pm
Location: Dallas-ish

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by coopasonic »

YellowKing wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:56 pm I had committed to this second trip already at the start of the year, but I told my gaming buddy that next year's definitely not a sure thing.
Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Aug 05, 2019 5:58 pm Plan for BGGCon, grab a cheap hotel near myself or coop, and drive in and out with us to play games for 4-5 days.
:think: I am not sure how my wife would feel about it, but we do have a guest room.
-Coop
Black Lives Matter
User avatar
Fishbelly
Posts: 420
Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2004 10:10 am
Location: Conroe, TX (north of Houston)

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Fishbelly »

Zarathud wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 12:42 am For me, GenCon this year was a splurge between family health crises and overwork. Heavy and oversized things were my focus.

Cloudspire (everything but the miniature towers) from Chip Theory Games
Please tell us EVERYTHING about Cloudspire once you get a chance to try it out. I'm wearing myself out, checking when my copy is due to ship out. :cry:
User avatar
hentzau
Posts: 15092
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:06 am
Location: Castle Zenda, Ruritania

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hentzau »

I got lucky...I had a co-worker that was at Gencon and she knew I was a big fan of the Fallout game so she got me the promo minis along with the Dragonborn mini. Should be coming my way soon!
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

And you didn't think to tell her to get ME the promos???

But in all seriousness, you had sent out an email to the Chicago group about promos before Gencon, but had specifically written "freebie" promos. I wasn't aware you wanted anything else or I would have asked you. Sorry again.
Covfefe!
User avatar
Smoove_B
Posts: 54567
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:58 am
Location: Kaer Morhen

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Smoove_B »

Tell the truth - you had no room because your entire car was filled with Golden Girls Funko Pop stuff.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

Image
Covfefe!
User avatar
Isgrimnur
Posts: 82085
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2006 12:29 am
Location: Chookity pok
Contact:

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Isgrimnur »

hepcat wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 11:38 am Image
It's almost as if people are the problem.
User avatar
Blackhawk
Posts: 43488
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 9:48 pm
Location: Southwest Indiana

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by Blackhawk »

I did think of you when I saw the Funko Golden Girls game on display.
(˙pǝsɹǝʌǝɹ uǝǝq sɐɥ ʎʇıʌɐɹƃ ʃɐuosɹǝd ʎW)
User avatar
hepcat
Posts: 51302
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:02 pm
Location: Chicago, IL Home of the triple homicide!

Re: GenCon 2019

Post by hepcat »

I openly wept and threw myself on the display stand.
Covfefe!
Post Reply