Well, actually, more than one, but only one came out OK. It's a shot of the large room where most of the wargame tournaments are held. It's interesting that the prime space at the con still goes to the hard-core wargame crowd.
Showing posts with label WBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WBC. Show all posts
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I did snap one pic at WBC
Well, actually, more than one, but only one came out OK. It's a shot of the large room where most of the wargame tournaments are held. It's interesting that the prime space at the con still goes to the hard-core wargame crowd.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
WBC Busted
Oh, I had a good plan. But any wargamer knows that a good plan doesn't stand a chance against really bad luck.
Tuesday I had a really severe headache, but I thought (hoped) it was something that would soon pass and I went ahead with my arrangements for going down to the WBC.
I was going to drive down late Wednesday to stay at a nice lodge in Maryland about an hour away from Lancaster. I planned to go in early Thursday and Friday and put in full days of gaming. I wasn't planning to be too tournament-heavy this year. Instead I hoped I'd get a lot of open gaming in. I was planning to take part in the Up Front! tournament Thursday and the Memoir '44 tournament Friday, although I wasn't expecting to go too far in either.
Well, things didn't get better Wednesday at all. It was very painful, although not steady. It would wax and wane, giving me hope that it would wane into "all better" eventually.
I started driving Wednesday night and didn't get too far when I decided this just wasn't a good idea and turned around. I was in too much pain to face five hours on the road at night and tired.
Better to see what the morning brought.
Well, the morning brought more of the same, but I really, really wanted to go. So in the bright light of day the pain didn't seem so bad and I was relatively fresh, having managed to get some sleep eventually. Truth be told, the drive wasn't all that bad, but a lot of the credit for that went to Bayer.
So I arrived far too late for Up Front! and actually, there aren't a lot of tournaments that start in the afternoon, so I took one of the few available and played in one of the opening heats of Acquire. I played credibly, considering it was only my second or third game of Acquire and I was still in pain. I have in third out of four, and the other three were more experienced. I could tell that it took all my mental effort to keep up with the game mechanics, though, and I had no capacity left for any real strategy.
Well, it didn't seem like playing any longer would be productive so I headed down to the lodge in Maryland. Just before I got there I saw a walk-in clinic. It was closed due to the hour, but I decided that if the morning didn't bring a major improvement then I would forgo the Memoir '44 tournament as well and see what the doctor had to say.
Well, the lodge was really nice, but I wasn't disposed to enjoy it much, although I would like to go back sometime when i am feeling better.
Another bad night, morning finally came. I had a light breakfast at the lodge (It was a B&B) and got to the walk-in clinic when it opened at 10. I was the fourth person to sign in and the doctor worked very fast. I was impressed and grateful.
Turns out he had special expertise in sinusitis, which by this time I was pretty sure I had. I had pain in all the right places (eyes, cheek, upper teeth) facial swelling and nasal drip. Did I mention I was going to go into details?
Well, to make a long story shirt, he gave me a prescription nasal spray and an antibiotic and most importantly, let me know I wasn't going to feel better immediately.
So I went back up to Lancaster because I wanted to at least check out the vendor hall before I left, but I couldn't even say that was all that enjoyable. I picked up a couple of small things from GMT as they were offering a nice convention discount and I got Gallic Wars (a block game) from Worthington Games. I guess they decided that the German-style box was too expensive to continue and they returned to regular American style game box.
I was disappointed because in past years there's been a vendor there who sold some cool wargamer t-shirts but that store wasn't there this year. Overall the vendor area didn't seem very exciting to me, but that probably says more about the state I was in then the state of the hobby.
By the way, attendance seemed fine. I think Greenwood said that pre-regs were up and I wouldn't be surprised if the WBC set a record this year. They expanded the open gaming into a big theater-like room I've never seen used before.
When I tried to spend a little time getting familiar with the rules to Gallic Wars, though, I could tell my head was still far, far away from where it would need to be to play any kind of game. So I decided it was time to cut my losses and head home. It was the middle of the afternoon, the nasal spray was helping and I had a window of opportunity to get back home before nightfall. So I went.
As it turns out, traffic kept me from making it home before dark, but the last gleaming of twilight were on the horizon as I drove up the hill to home, so I was close.
So I got one game of Acquire in, bought one new wargame and a couple of accessories. So I can't say it was a complete waste of time, but it was pretty damn close to one.
I can't say I'm disappointed yet, but maybe when I feel batter I will be.
Tuesday I had a really severe headache, but I thought (hoped) it was something that would soon pass and I went ahead with my arrangements for going down to the WBC.
I was going to drive down late Wednesday to stay at a nice lodge in Maryland about an hour away from Lancaster. I planned to go in early Thursday and Friday and put in full days of gaming. I wasn't planning to be too tournament-heavy this year. Instead I hoped I'd get a lot of open gaming in. I was planning to take part in the Up Front! tournament Thursday and the Memoir '44 tournament Friday, although I wasn't expecting to go too far in either.
Well, things didn't get better Wednesday at all. It was very painful, although not steady. It would wax and wane, giving me hope that it would wane into "all better" eventually.
I started driving Wednesday night and didn't get too far when I decided this just wasn't a good idea and turned around. I was in too much pain to face five hours on the road at night and tired.
Better to see what the morning brought.
Well, the morning brought more of the same, but I really, really wanted to go. So in the bright light of day the pain didn't seem so bad and I was relatively fresh, having managed to get some sleep eventually. Truth be told, the drive wasn't all that bad, but a lot of the credit for that went to Bayer.
So I arrived far too late for Up Front! and actually, there aren't a lot of tournaments that start in the afternoon, so I took one of the few available and played in one of the opening heats of Acquire. I played credibly, considering it was only my second or third game of Acquire and I was still in pain. I have in third out of four, and the other three were more experienced. I could tell that it took all my mental effort to keep up with the game mechanics, though, and I had no capacity left for any real strategy.
Well, it didn't seem like playing any longer would be productive so I headed down to the lodge in Maryland. Just before I got there I saw a walk-in clinic. It was closed due to the hour, but I decided that if the morning didn't bring a major improvement then I would forgo the Memoir '44 tournament as well and see what the doctor had to say.
Well, the lodge was really nice, but I wasn't disposed to enjoy it much, although I would like to go back sometime when i am feeling better.
Another bad night, morning finally came. I had a light breakfast at the lodge (It was a B&B) and got to the walk-in clinic when it opened at 10. I was the fourth person to sign in and the doctor worked very fast. I was impressed and grateful.
Turns out he had special expertise in sinusitis, which by this time I was pretty sure I had. I had pain in all the right places (eyes, cheek, upper teeth) facial swelling and nasal drip. Did I mention I was going to go into details?
Well, to make a long story shirt, he gave me a prescription nasal spray and an antibiotic and most importantly, let me know I wasn't going to feel better immediately.
So I went back up to Lancaster because I wanted to at least check out the vendor hall before I left, but I couldn't even say that was all that enjoyable. I picked up a couple of small things from GMT as they were offering a nice convention discount and I got Gallic Wars (a block game) from Worthington Games. I guess they decided that the German-style box was too expensive to continue and they returned to regular American style game box.
I was disappointed because in past years there's been a vendor there who sold some cool wargamer t-shirts but that store wasn't there this year. Overall the vendor area didn't seem very exciting to me, but that probably says more about the state I was in then the state of the hobby.
By the way, attendance seemed fine. I think Greenwood said that pre-regs were up and I wouldn't be surprised if the WBC set a record this year. They expanded the open gaming into a big theater-like room I've never seen used before.
When I tried to spend a little time getting familiar with the rules to Gallic Wars, though, I could tell my head was still far, far away from where it would need to be to play any kind of game. So I decided it was time to cut my losses and head home. It was the middle of the afternoon, the nasal spray was helping and I had a window of opportunity to get back home before nightfall. So I went.
As it turns out, traffic kept me from making it home before dark, but the last gleaming of twilight were on the horizon as I drove up the hill to home, so I was close.
So I got one game of Acquire in, bought one new wargame and a couple of accessories. So I can't say it was a complete waste of time, but it was pretty damn close to one.
I can't say I'm disappointed yet, but maybe when I feel batter I will be.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
WBC bound
So the next couple of days may be post-less, but there willbe a lot of new material afterward.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
WBC plans
I'm planning to be at the WBC for about three days, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in case anyone wants to get together for some FTF gaming. I'm not going too heavy on tournaments this year. I think I'm just going to play in the Memoir '44, Battle Line, Lost Cities and maybe Nuclear War tournaments. As none of those are lengthy games and I have no reason to think I'll see much success in any of them I should have plenty of time for FTF gaming.
I'll be bringing along Martin Wallace's Waterloo, Friedrich, Bonaparte at Marengo, Napoleon's Triumph and Axis & Allies War at Sea, but as always I'm willing to play almost anything.
I'll be bringing along Martin Wallace's Waterloo, Friedrich, Bonaparte at Marengo, Napoleon's Triumph and Axis & Allies War at Sea, but as always I'm willing to play almost anything.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Con scene, 2009
Summertime means convention time for game hobbyists and the industry the supports their addiction. While there are conventions all year round all over the country, the big four game conventions are concentrated in the summer months and have all settled down more or less permanently towards the middling parts of the country -- or at least the East Coast.
While each con has its area of emphasis, just about any kind of game can be found at all four of them and they all include open gaming areas.
The Big Four cons are:
Origins Game Fair
June 24-28
Columbus, Ohio
Emphasis: Board games
Notes: Descendent of the Origins Game convention started by Avalon Hill
Historicon
July 16-19
Lancaster, Pa.,
Emphasis: Historical miniatures
Notes: Originally a regional convention, this has grown into the de facto national convention for historical miniatures gamers.
World Boardgaming Championships
Aug. 3-9
Lancaster, Pa.
Emphasis: Competitive play of board games
Notes: Originally AvalonCon, this became an independent production after Avalon Hill was bought out by Hasbro. Takes place at the same site as Historicon. There are also "pre-cons" starting the weekend before the main convention begins.
Gen Con
Aug. 13-19
Indianapolis, Ind.
Emphasis: Role-playing and collectible card games
Notes: The oldest national gaming convention.
Monday, August 11, 2008
WBC report: First impressions
Well, first off, I didn't win any trophies -- not that I expected I would.
I really hoped to get a chance to play some stuff that I've been wanting to play and haven't gotten to for various reasons. In that quest the WBC was an enormous success. I got to play Acquire, Napoleon's Triumph, Memoir '44, Battle Line, Nuclear War, For Honor & Glory and Axis & Allies: War at Sea. I only managed to eke out a victory in one game of Battle Line and the game of For Honor & Glory.
I was close to a second victory in Battle Line but my winning claim was thwarted by two consecutive Tactics Cards (they were using the rule that you could only claim at the beginning of your turn, giving the opponent a chance to affect the outcome with a Tactics card.)
Napoleon's Triumph as a learning game and I see today on re-reading the rules that we played at least one key rule wrong, so that loss can be chalked up to experience. A lack of experience also pretty much doomed my chances in both Memoir '44 and Acquire, but in both cases I learned a lot from the defeats and feel my play will improve.
The Axis & Allies battle was pretty close but I can definitely attribute my defeat to poor unit selection. Note to self: Never buy PT Boats!
The Nuclear War tournament was surprisingly frustrating. The game is, by nature, a real crap shoot anyway, but I definitely got more than my share of crappy card draws and other bad fortune. I played four rounds and in the first three I was either the first or second player eliminated. In the first round my initial population draw (seven cards in a 5 player game) netted me less than 20 million people! Needless to say it didn't take long for that to go away. The third game was the worst one, as I didn't even get to play a turn. I got hit with one of those 25 million people Top Secret cards and I had exactly 25 million and was out before I got to even play a card! The tournament was saved from being a totally sour experience by the fourth game where I managed to be battling for the win and fell victim to a propaganda card during a brief interlude of peace.
The con, as always, was well organized. By this time Greenwood's got a workable system in place and many of the attendees have been there enough times that everyone pretty much knows what to do. The same veteran faces were there. Damn! We're all getting old.
There's definitely a changing of the guard under way, though. The euro-style games are becoming ever more prominent and wargames less so, although there are still quite a few wargames in evidence.
The wargaming crowd has pretty much moved en masse to the card-driven style games first made popular by We The People, although some of the most popular games of that genre are not even wargames -- Twilight Struggle and Making of the President 1960!
The other real growth area among players was Borg's Commands & Colors system, which saw well-attended competition of all four of his games (C&C: Ancients, Battle Cry, Memoir '44 and BattleLore).
It still made me feel good to see some old standbys still going pretty strong and when I got there Friday the final rounds of such stalwarts as Waterloo, Afrika Korps, PanzerBlitz and Battle of the Bulge '81 were wrapping up.
There really wasn't a lot of buzz about new games as far as I could see, although there were a few new ones out. I think it's fair to say that the Hot New Game of the convention was the one that was barely there. There was a demo copy of Agricola in the Open Gaming tent that got constant play and I spotted a couple of other copies that folks had managed to get, although at least one of those was the Germ edition. Z-Man games was there and I overheard them being asked about the status of the game -- completely sold out -- with a new shipment expected later this summer. All their copies were sent out in preorders and they had none left to sell at the WBC.
It does look like an interesting game, in the euro way. As to whether it will live up to the hype and be the new Tigris and Euphrates, Puerto Rico or Ra I can't say. On the other hand, all those games' events were well populated, along with the Ticket to Ride and the other titles.
The rise of the Euro has also affected the demographics of the attendees substantially. While there are plenty of us classic old wargamer types still wandering about -- bellies and beards included -- the WBC now also features notable numbers of younger and female players as well. While it's nice, of course, to see more women gamers, the most hopeful sign of the WBC for me was the large number of younger players. Many are, no doubt, attending because of gamer Dad, but overheard snippets of conversation in the cafe, bar, corridors and game rooms showed that at least some of the attendees are members of gaming groups that are sprouting up around the country. At least some are probably getting organized using the Meetup Internet services.
Overall, it was a good time. My goal next year is to win a little more, though.
I really hoped to get a chance to play some stuff that I've been wanting to play and haven't gotten to for various reasons. In that quest the WBC was an enormous success. I got to play Acquire, Napoleon's Triumph, Memoir '44, Battle Line, Nuclear War, For Honor & Glory and Axis & Allies: War at Sea. I only managed to eke out a victory in one game of Battle Line and the game of For Honor & Glory.
I was close to a second victory in Battle Line but my winning claim was thwarted by two consecutive Tactics Cards (they were using the rule that you could only claim at the beginning of your turn, giving the opponent a chance to affect the outcome with a Tactics card.)
Napoleon's Triumph as a learning game and I see today on re-reading the rules that we played at least one key rule wrong, so that loss can be chalked up to experience. A lack of experience also pretty much doomed my chances in both Memoir '44 and Acquire, but in both cases I learned a lot from the defeats and feel my play will improve.
The Axis & Allies battle was pretty close but I can definitely attribute my defeat to poor unit selection. Note to self: Never buy PT Boats!
The Nuclear War tournament was surprisingly frustrating. The game is, by nature, a real crap shoot anyway, but I definitely got more than my share of crappy card draws and other bad fortune. I played four rounds and in the first three I was either the first or second player eliminated. In the first round my initial population draw (seven cards in a 5 player game) netted me less than 20 million people! Needless to say it didn't take long for that to go away. The third game was the worst one, as I didn't even get to play a turn. I got hit with one of those 25 million people Top Secret cards and I had exactly 25 million and was out before I got to even play a card! The tournament was saved from being a totally sour experience by the fourth game where I managed to be battling for the win and fell victim to a propaganda card during a brief interlude of peace.
The con, as always, was well organized. By this time Greenwood's got a workable system in place and many of the attendees have been there enough times that everyone pretty much knows what to do. The same veteran faces were there. Damn! We're all getting old.
There's definitely a changing of the guard under way, though. The euro-style games are becoming ever more prominent and wargames less so, although there are still quite a few wargames in evidence.
The wargaming crowd has pretty much moved en masse to the card-driven style games first made popular by We The People, although some of the most popular games of that genre are not even wargames -- Twilight Struggle and Making of the President 1960!
The other real growth area among players was Borg's Commands & Colors system, which saw well-attended competition of all four of his games (C&C: Ancients, Battle Cry, Memoir '44 and BattleLore).
It still made me feel good to see some old standbys still going pretty strong and when I got there Friday the final rounds of such stalwarts as Waterloo, Afrika Korps, PanzerBlitz and Battle of the Bulge '81 were wrapping up.
There really wasn't a lot of buzz about new games as far as I could see, although there were a few new ones out. I think it's fair to say that the Hot New Game of the convention was the one that was barely there. There was a demo copy of Agricola in the Open Gaming tent that got constant play and I spotted a couple of other copies that folks had managed to get, although at least one of those was the Germ edition. Z-Man games was there and I overheard them being asked about the status of the game -- completely sold out -- with a new shipment expected later this summer. All their copies were sent out in preorders and they had none left to sell at the WBC.
It does look like an interesting game, in the euro way. As to whether it will live up to the hype and be the new Tigris and Euphrates, Puerto Rico or Ra I can't say. On the other hand, all those games' events were well populated, along with the Ticket to Ride and the other titles.
The rise of the Euro has also affected the demographics of the attendees substantially. While there are plenty of us classic old wargamer types still wandering about -- bellies and beards included -- the WBC now also features notable numbers of younger and female players as well. While it's nice, of course, to see more women gamers, the most hopeful sign of the WBC for me was the large number of younger players. Many are, no doubt, attending because of gamer Dad, but overheard snippets of conversation in the cafe, bar, corridors and game rooms showed that at least some of the attendees are members of gaming groups that are sprouting up around the country. At least some are probably getting organized using the Meetup Internet services.
Overall, it was a good time. My goal next year is to win a little more, though.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
World Boardgame Championships
Well, this year I was able to pop in to the WBC for a day, at least.
I had a good time, if not a particularly successful one, at the con.
I was able to play Battle Cry. I got my hopes up with an early victory in the first game of the 3-round Swiss-style tournament (New Market scenario- CSA) but the next two games came a cropper. My opponent in the New Hope scenario was able to get some good early shots in, which didn't give me the time I needed to really pick apart his defenses. As a matter of fact, he was able to be aggressive and attack me and I wasn't able to make that into the mistake it should have been. I was the USA in that one.
The final round was Brandy Station. The tournament was large enough that it was clear that only players with 3-0 records were going to advance, so my opponent and I already knew this game was the final one for each of us. I tried some aggressive moves that didn't pay off and the game ended fairly quickly, albeit bloodily. I was again the USA.
I enjoyed wandering around the vendor area, A lot of interesting stuff was available, but I restrained myself from much in the way of new game purchases. I picked up the Battle Line reprint, which I've wanted for quite a while. It's a highly regarded game on Boardgame Geek. As far as brand-new designs, the only one I go was Cowboys: The Way of the Gun, the Wild West Gunfight game by Worthington. It looks like a very streamlined version of Gunslinger, which is one of my favorite games. Unfortunately it'd be very hard to get someone into Gunslinger these days as its a really complex, detailed and slow-moving game, which is why I decided to pick up Cowboys, which is much more in tune with today's gaming community.
I also picked up some additional material for BattleLore, Wizard Kings, Down In Flames, Close Action and Heroscape.
The highlight of the trip, however, was finding my friend Harve Mossman in the Open Gaming area. He was busy playtesting Columbia's upcoming game Athens & Sparta, but we had time to catch up a bit on things and make arrangements for a visit later this year.
I wish I could have spent more time at the con, of course, but I'm thankful for the time I did get.
I had a good time, if not a particularly successful one, at the con.
I was able to play Battle Cry. I got my hopes up with an early victory in the first game of the 3-round Swiss-style tournament (New Market scenario- CSA) but the next two games came a cropper. My opponent in the New Hope scenario was able to get some good early shots in, which didn't give me the time I needed to really pick apart his defenses. As a matter of fact, he was able to be aggressive and attack me and I wasn't able to make that into the mistake it should have been. I was the USA in that one.
The final round was Brandy Station. The tournament was large enough that it was clear that only players with 3-0 records were going to advance, so my opponent and I already knew this game was the final one for each of us. I tried some aggressive moves that didn't pay off and the game ended fairly quickly, albeit bloodily. I was again the USA.
I enjoyed wandering around the vendor area, A lot of interesting stuff was available, but I restrained myself from much in the way of new game purchases. I picked up the Battle Line reprint, which I've wanted for quite a while. It's a highly regarded game on Boardgame Geek. As far as brand-new designs, the only one I go was Cowboys: The Way of the Gun, the Wild West Gunfight game by Worthington. It looks like a very streamlined version of Gunslinger, which is one of my favorite games. Unfortunately it'd be very hard to get someone into Gunslinger these days as its a really complex, detailed and slow-moving game, which is why I decided to pick up Cowboys, which is much more in tune with today's gaming community.
I also picked up some additional material for BattleLore, Wizard Kings, Down In Flames, Close Action and Heroscape.
The highlight of the trip, however, was finding my friend Harve Mossman in the Open Gaming area. He was busy playtesting Columbia's upcoming game Athens & Sparta, but we had time to catch up a bit on things and make arrangements for a visit later this year.
I wish I could have spent more time at the con, of course, but I'm thankful for the time I did get.
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