I am a very lucky gamer; I get to go to around half a
dozen cons per year (seven in ’15, five in ’16, who knows in ’17?). The fact
that I am retired is one enabler; tickets for airplane rides and nice hotel
rooms when I get there is the main motivator for me to go play games with
strangers all around the Eastern U.S. Some days it is very cool to be Tim.
I just enjoyed two cons only two weeks, and 1063 miles,
apart. The 1st was TotalCon
(full name-Total Confusion Con) #30,
in Mansfield, MA; the 2nd was GaryCon
VIII, in Lake Geneva WI. They are both run by dedicated volunteers for the
most part, and both are great fun.
In chronological order:
TotalCon
(hereinafter referred to as TC) has
been going for 30 years now; they know what works for them and their market.
Nearly all the volunteers that I have met over the several times I have been
asked to come are avid gamers of one sort or another. They have the best kids’
programs and games of any con I have ever attended anywhere.
2016 (Feb 18-21) was no exception; it was a great con
despite all the obstacles thrown up by the new ownership of the Holiday Inn. (I
was apprised of their worries well before the con; everyone had their fingers
crossed.) The new owners fumbled the ball badly, not once but several times.
There were a lot of grumbling attendees, but I hope that by now they have realized
it was not all, or even very much, the fault of the organizers. Refurbishing
was supposed to be done by Feb. 1-it was not. Over five dozen parking spaces were
lost to trailers, construction stuff and dumpsters. At least two halls were so
full of detritus and scrap that you could not pull a small suitcase through
them. Rooms were not ready; I went from supposedly being closer to the action
to being shuffled to the farthest wing of the complex. (Have I forgotten to
mention that the con virtually takes over an entire, rather larger, Holiday Inn
complex, complete with indoor pool and spa?)
Other than the hotel hassles, as far as I could see TC
went off without a hitch. It was certainly a pleasant change from last year,
when the snow was piled higher than second- story windows.
I had my own tubular meat side-missions. Jenn Gerber took
me to Casey’s Diner in Natick for
their “All Around”. It is a very nice
dog with a pleasing snap when bitten, on a steamed roll that we would call here
in the Midwest a New England Split or a Clam Roll, topped with mustard, onions
and relish. Very tasty and highly recommended. For such a tiny diner (that you
must go to to fully appreciate the funky ambience) it makes a mighty dog, and
some of them are gamers.
The next day Angelia Parenteau took me to the New York
Diner in Woonsocket, RI. It seems that folks from RI, sometimes known as Swamp Yankees for reasons unknown to me,
don’t eat hot dogs. At least, they
don’t call them that; they advertise Hot Wieners or Hot Weenies. What Angie got
me to try are known as “gagguhs” (a linguistic mutilation of the word gaggers);
thankfully, they are better than their name would seem to indicate; mustard,
onion and meat sauce comprise the toppings. The dog was good, the meat sauce
interesting but the bun was a standard hotdog bun and somewhat uninspiring.
When you go to a given con a few times, you begin to make
“con friends” that you only see there and hope to see each time. TC is no
exception; I have made many con friends there and look forward to seeing them
each year.
Home for 10 days and then off again:
Another Tale from
the Red Road
The Mad Mage, my bombardier/navigator, and I got an early
start on Wed AM; first stop for us is always Corkys Dogg House in Cedar Lake IN, a tradition I started with The
Axeman (Rich Franks) when we went to the last Lake Geneva Game Convention before Gary died. It is my annual truly
authentic Chicago Dog experience. This year, tho’, was different; I went for
the Polish sausage. First you must understand that the Vienna Beef Co makes one
of the best mass-produced Polish in the country. There is a certain method of cooking it that I think
was once called “Maxwell St. style”. You take a frozen sausage and drop it in
the fryer; when cooked the skin is crunchy and crackly and the insides just
right for eating. Memory did not disappoint. It was sublime. The Mage (Jim Wampler) treated
himself to a pair of them this year; Damn the Chron’s, Full Gulp Ahead!
The weather this year was downright cold. I know, I know,
I used to live there, but that was 35 years ago; Cincy weather has been much
milder. And my bones are older.
Gary Con VIII
(hereinafter referred to as GC) was
going to a new venue- The Grand Geneva Resort. It used to be, way back when,
The Lake Geneva Playboy Club. Yes, the
same site we tried (in ’77, I think) when it was the Playboy and nearly killed
GenCon.
With no half-nekkid Bunnies about for many years now, the
Grand Geneva has morphed into quite a posh place. GC would not be able to
negotiate room prices anywhere near what they do get now if it took place “In
Season”. I had a gas fireplace in my room…
For the first time since GC 1, I had two events with only three players signed up. I am
guessing that whatever perverse thrill drove players to seek violent and
notable deaths in my previous adventures has worn thin. All those TPK’s were
fun for us all, but as the singer sang, “… the thrill is gone.” I am going back
to storytelling and puzzle- and mystery-solving. There will be plenty of
hazards, fear not, but I now wish to ferret out more subtle minds to duel with
and confound. I love pitting myself against the collective mind of the party.
(Probably more on this in another blog)
As luck would have it, I had tossed a new favorite game
into my pile of stuff when I packed my car. The game is War of Kings, a Kickstarter project I backed because it had neat
pieces and has since turned into a favorite for 2-6 players; the 6-player is
brutal. I offered to run back to my room to get it and teach it to them. I had
played with one or more of the guys in both groups, so I did not have to persuade
very hard. I figured that I owed them 4 hours of gaming, so what the hell? All
six guys loved it and we had two really fun games of 4 players each time. They
were all skilled players and the game is subtly simple, so both contests were
spirited. I think I may have sold a few copies…
I ran my infamous “mouse-game” and we had a great time,
and everyone lived, to boot. (Sorry, no spoilers)
The Finals of Circus
Maximus were great on several levels: all the players were skilled at the
rules; all were paying constant attention; we used my custom track that is 44 squares
longer and finished in about two hours. Lots of mayhem, three chariots flipped
and one driver trampled. All in all, the mob was pleased.
My big moment came at the Charity auction. I had made the
offer to allow my scraggly ponytail to be snipped for charity. I am happy to
say that I got $200 for it; I turned down an offer of $400 to shave my head.
All in all, we raised about $12,000 for the charity. When you consider that GaryCon can raise $12K with an
attendance of about 1200, it makes you think what GenCon, with an attendance of well over 50K, could raise at its
Charity Auction if it really tried. The gage has been tossed.
The transition into the new venue was not without
problems; however, the majority of them were not visible to the general public
and so little suffering resulted. As this con has run a tighter ship each year,
I am confident that they will grow into this new venue just a like a hermit
crab grows into a new whelk shell.
The “GaryCon Vibe” was present, even in new digs. I have decided
that this past Con is the last that I will attend and NOT see all the old
friends I mean to. Every year there are old friends that I know are at the con
but I keep missing; from now on I am leaving Sat. night open to catch up with them
and be in better fettle to return on Sunday to Cincy.
Frank’s party was outstanding, I got to spend some time
with some old friends, got to spend some quality time with new friends—GaryCon VIII was great. I hear the
resort is already taking reservations.
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