Guise Knights

Article by  a Heck of a Guy called Hoss! --- Read more from this author

GUISE KNIGHTS GO TO RINCON

Check me out. Went to RinCon last weekend, had a pretty good time. Also in attendance were Ms. Kitty, Lady Bratt, the Jolly Red Giant, Sanity and her hubby (The Immortal God Emperor of Cleveland), a few hundred gamers from the Southern reaches of Arizona, a few industry notables like James Ernest and John Wick, and geek media sensation Wil Wheaton. This is the second time RinCon has been held, this year at the Tucson Convention Center. Still a young Con, the weekend suffered from some organizational snafu’s. There were no signups for games on arrival, and we were told that we should have reg’d for games online. Perhaps we should just show up, and maybe we could get into the games we wanted? *sigh* After some squawking on our parts, this was rectified. Further troubles were had in finding game locations, (program vs. real world mismatch) No-shows on the part of some GM’s (not the Con’s fault, but I missed a few games I had looked forward to) and just a general feeling of disorganization. I don’t mean to leave you with the impression that the weekend was a bust; far from it. The amount of space available was spot-on. The GM’s I interacted with were of pretty high caliber, overall. The convention itself provided a good deal of prize support, and some great rewards for GM’s. The SAGA Game Library was awesome, and staffed with some really friendly and well-informed folks. I’ll definitely attend next year, and we just might come out in force. Watch this space for further news on that score.

New Games Played: 1) Small World -A light strategy boardgame from Days of Wonder with a fun fantasy feel, interesting mechanics, and a lot of replayability. Likely to buy in the near future. Review forthcoming. 2) Galaxy Trucker -Some cute hooks, a decent theme, but doesn’t seem worth the high price tag. Would be willing to try again. 3) Aye, Dark Overlord! -This was one of the breakout hits of the Con, for me. Not heavy on strategy or bits, easy to pick up, big on laughs. Definitely being added to the GK repertoire. Review forthcoming. 4) Zombie Mosh -Didn’t play this myself, but LadyBratt had a blast with it. See her review. 5) Android -Okay, I didn’t actually play this one. I meant to. I wanted to. I sat down at the table and listened attentively. I’m a fan of Fantasy Flight games, and I think that a convention is the perfect opportunity to sample before shelling out $75 or more for a game. I’m still not sure whether the problem was the GM or the game itself. What I am sure of is that ’bout half an hour into rules explanation, I found myself with a head stuffed full of information that didn’t seem to connect. Rather than blow a gasket midgame, I excused myself. I may see if anyone I know own it, and attempt a private session. 6) Zombie Café -Quick, light, more theme than game, with an early Cheapass feel to it. Fun for half an hour or so. 7) Red Dragon Inn -Light game, played basic set once before, first time with expansion (allows for 8 players). Fun theme, simple rules, role-play opportunity. Will definitely play again, may eventually purchase if on sale.

Old Friends Revisited 1) Apples to Apples -Always fun as a late night party game. Got a little weird out. Lots of laughs. Wish we had had a room to go back and continue playing, preferably with booze. 2) Drakon -Beer & pretzels tile-laying game. Seats 6. Good for a few laughs, not heavy on rules. Good gateway game, too. 3) Blokus -Excellent gateway game. Tetris-esque. Great way to ease into the Convention. 4) Dominion/Intrigue -Tournament listed as “regional championship”. Guise Knights well represented, with 50% of the final table being Knights. Tournament won by Yours Truly. Mad Props to Lady Bratt for exceptional play. (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/451559)

Random Coolness 1) Sanity hosted a game of “Huzzah!” an old Cheapass classic. Guess who joined her at the table? James Ernest, the guy who invented it. Autographed her board and everything. Was gracious about being trounced at his own game. 2) LadyBratt got to show off her new tribal outfit, courtesy of the ever-talented Zoot. Pictures forthcoming. Rawr. 3) JRG got to show off his custom-made animeeples for Agricola. Very cool stuff. Pix forthcoming. 4) Our new friend Dingo got to sing with Wil Wheaton during his Rock Band Event of Awesomeness! Tore the place up, too. We’re going to try to get video. Rumor has it that Zoot and Bandobras also did a set with Mr. Wheaton. We’ll try to confirm.

Coming up on the horizon, DarkCon looms large on our calendar, and it’s never too early to plan for RandomCon (moved to July) After the long summer hiatus, we’re coming back in force. Look for more updates, more reviews, more photos, and more full-on Robot Chubbies! Drop us a line and tell us what you think!

-Hoss

Tags: Conventions, RinCon

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 12:40 PM and is filed under Conventions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.