Okay, I lied...

I didn't get something posted Thursday.  Sorry!  It's been a crazy week with work and I've been out until 9pm or later every night helping with a show on top of the normal 8-4 grind.  I'm working on my impressions of the Origin Awards nominations and plan to have that drop this Thursday, back on track.  Thanks for your patience!  Not sure who I'm talking to, no one reads this anyway!

Time to Get Serious...

...about blogging...  I love games.  I love to play them, I love to talk about them, I love to take them out of their boxes and reorganize them.  Yes, it's a condition, but I'm okay with it.  I have a hunch, if you're here, reading this, you might be in the same boat.  Well, allow me to captain you on the good ship Boardgame as we travel into the unknown waters of my brain.  I want this blog to be a regular thing.  Why?  Well, for one thing, I've got a lot rattling around between my ear holes and I'd like to get it out somewhere.  Even if no one reads it.  The fact that it exists somewhere in the universe will appease my addled brain.  Why else?  Like I said, I love talking about games.  This is an excuse to continue doing so to a captive audience!  I guess if you really squeezed my mind grapes about it, I love to write.  I used to not.  Now I do.  I'm not terrible at it (you may disagree, it's cool) and it's fun.  So this allows me to talk about something I love when I can't play something I love to people who (hopefully) love it as much as I do.

Oh yeah, I have a blog...

So I totally forgot this was here after I got back from Gen Con.  I need to write more.  I love to write.  It's usually nonsense but every now and then I come up with something brilliant (at least I think so).  It also gives me an excuse to throw on headphones and use my Digitally Imported premium subscription. 

So, thoughts on Gen Con.  It's been a while, but I think the big take away, for me, was the opportunity to meet some amazing people.  I got to nerd out over meeting one of my favorite designers, I got to meet a couple super-cool people I had only seen via webcam, and I got to spend time with some of my favorite gamers ever.  I met tons of people who do what I would love to do one day.  I don't know what it will be, but working for the boardgaming industry in some capacity is my dream.  I feel like it's a niche I can finally fit into.  Something I'm hyper passionate about and, at the same time, deeply involved with.  Whether it's DFW Nerd Night, my friends who run Gamer Nation Studios (and d20 Radio), or my involvement with Dallas Games Marathon, I'm constantly reminded of how awesome this community is and how much I want to be a bigger part of it. 

The Indianapolis Convention Center - Home of Gen Con

Okay, who did I meet?  Well, the nerd out moment was meeting designer Eric Lang.  What is Eric Lang responsible for?  Everything.  He designed Kaosball, Arcadia Quest, Warhammer 40,000 Conquest, Star Wars: The Card Game, Quarriors (co-desisgned with Mike Elliott), Dice Masters: Marvel vs. X-Men (also with Mike Elliott), Lord of the Rings Dicebuilding Game, Trains & Stations, Chaos in the Old World, Game of Thrones the Card Game (both TCG and LCG), Warhammer: Invasion, and Call of Cthulu: The Card Game (both TCG and LCG).  If you visit his website you will find a massive list of games he's working on (some are already released, I think Codename Horizon is WH40K Conquest but I can't be sure).  He came to the DFW Nerd Night party on Thursday night and sat around for a while talking.  It was awesome just to sit next to him and chat.  I tried my hardest not to fanboy but I bit the bullet and had him sign a copy of Conquest I had bought earlier in the day - both the box and a card (the Space Marine Warlord).

Eric , BeBo, Spencer, and my nostrils.  Enjoy.

Also at the party were Brittanie Boe and Spencer Reeve.  Brittanie is with GTS Distribution, at the time, Spencer worked in marketing for Cool Mini or Not.  Both have been on the Nerd Night YouTube show before and it was really cool to finally meet them in person.  We played a couple games and attempted a game of Sheriff of Nottingham but Eric ended up shuffling cards endlessly and mercilessly mocking Spencer.  It was an amazing time.

 

Glorious, glorious Imperial Assault.

The next few days were something of a blur, at least looking back (I really regret not getting to this sooner).  I spent the vast majority of my time in the exhibit hall perusing games and angling for demos.  One of my top moments was the Fantasy Flight Games In Flight Report.  If you aren't aware of this, every Friday, FFG does a big meeting where they use fancy powerpoints to show off what they have coming up.  Now, I didn't actually attend this meeting, but I did follow all the live tweeting that was going on!  The best thing, to me, is the announcement of Star Wars: Imperial Assault.  This game is two games in one.  The first is a retooled version of Descent based in the Star Wars universe.  Two to four players take on the role of members of the Rebel Alliance and attempt missions pitting them against the Empire.  Playing as the Empire is a fifth player, controlling Storm Troopers, artillery, and various other Imperial troops.  The game is based around campaign play that allows everyone to grow in power.  The second game in the box is a two player skirmish game using a lot of the rules and all the minis from the other game.  It looks to be very, very cool and will fill a void left by Wizards of the Coast when they stopped supporting their Star Wars Miniatures game.  This was the most exciting Gen Con announcement for me.

Well, that's about all I have time for this post.  Next time, I'll talk about the Board with Life event (with after party), True Dungeon, the Weber Grill Restaurant, meeting some amazing writers, and my eternal gratitude. 

Coming Soon...

So today got away from me and I wasn't able to prioritize a post. I will be making one soon though! At the moment, I'm waiting patiently for what I believe will be the single best event at Gen Con - DFW Nerd Nighters Gaming for Charity. We're expecting several hundred people including big names in the industry like Stronghold Games, Steve Jackson Games, Colby Dauch of Plaid Hat Games, Mike Selinker, Playdek and more. It will be an epic throw down of games all in the name of charity. At the moment I am punching my new copy of Dead of Winter so I'll leave you win a picture of a table full of zombies...

Priority One: Shopping

There's a lot to do at Gen Con.  Thousands of events, hundreds of demos, people to see, but first priority on the first day of the Con - shopping.  I'll be rushing to buy what are sure to be the hottest releases of the year and hoping I get a copy for my collection.  I've got a list, sorted by publisher with booth number and cost.  All I have to do is follow my predetermined path and I'll be golden!  Right?  Maybe.

See, because these are the hottest games of the year, it goes without saying that other people will have the same notion as me.  It will be a mob scene to get into the dealer hall, not to mention lines for miles, assuming you get the game you want! Hopefully all will work out for the best here.  My list is below and I'll be back to let you know how it went. 

Fantasy Flight Games - Warhammer 40,000: Conquest (LCG) x2, Edge of the Empire: Fate and Destiny Beta Rulebook (if available)
Plaid Hat Games - Dead of Winter, Summoner Wars: Alliances (if available)
Blue Orange Games - Niya
Z-Man - Pandemic: Contagion
Iello - King of New York

Wish me luck!

Welcome to Gen Con!

So I made it to Gen Con. Fourteen hours in the car and one stop over in Rolla, Missouri and I'm in downtown Indianapolis. I plan to use this to track my adventures at my first Gen Con. Hopefully I can show off some awesome pictures and amazing new stuff. 

I made my trip with Chris Witt of Gamer Nation Studios (urls to come later, typing them on the phone sucks). I'll be assisting him and the GNS team with their booth doing demos for Eons (out now), Edition Wars (out now), Eons: Cosmic Expansions (out soon), Patient Zero (in playtesting), Quintessential (kickstarting soon), Eons: Building Blocks (in playtesting), and Pillage (in playtesting). It's going to be awesome!

The plan for the week, other than booth work, is Nerd Night for Charity on Thursday, Board with Life Season 2 Preview on Friday, BwL Season 1 Series on Friday followed by True Dungeon. Somewhere in that I'll be hovering around the gaming events trying to snag a seat with my general tickets (more on that later). 

This first post is just to get things launched and put down a plan. I'll repost more later. For now, it's Italian dinner with some pretty awesome Star Wars nerds. 

Back later.