This past weekend the family and I attended
ToonCon 2016.
Last
year just The Boy and I attended and that went over really well and The
Girl was super disappointed that she didn’t get to go, so we vowed that this
year we would attend as a family. Amanda almost didn’t go – earlier in the year
she signed up for a yoga teacher training workshop in Hamilton that would have ended up
running through part of the weekend, but it was cancelled a few weeks back and
so she was able to come with us afterall!
As the weekend approached I was horrified to see the weather
forecast was for rain – not a chance of rain, not periods of rain, just RAIN! There was even a Rainfall Warning issued by the Environment Canada Weather Service! Why would this be an issue if we’re indoors playing games all weekend? Well… we don’t own a car and the transit system in Saskatoon is not all that great, so we bike everywhere we go and the Sutehrland Hall - where the
event was to take place - was clear on the other side of the city and it meant if
it were raining steadily we’d all be quite soaked by the time we arrived. Also,
it would make getting there on Saturday with all the stuff I needed for my
REGINA
TRENCH! challenging to say the least!
FRIDAY
Undaunted, we set off in the rain Friday evening.
In the end it was very light rain Friday evening – and though we
call carried a complete change of clothes – we didn’t end up needing them! By
the time we left it was cold and damp – but the rain had actually stopped and
that was the last we saw of it all weekend!
We arrived a bit late and most
of the games had already started. Amanda had been concerned that we might end
up being late and having to just play on our own and we could have just stayed
at home and done that (as both the games we were to play Friday evening were
games we already owned!)!
As she predicted, instead of all
of us all getting to play with different people we ended up play with each
other – and Roch, who is a totally good guy, so all was not lost!
The Girl was on fire Friday night and ended up with the
highest score among all the 7 Wonders and so won a $10 gift certificate from
Dragon’s Den.
She was exceptionally pleased with herself – not that she won the gift
certificate – or even that she won at all – but rather than she was actually
able to collect up a bunch of science cards and collect sets of them –
something she’s been trying to do for ages since we first played it!
Next we played a couple games of
Dominion. In our first game, The Girl and I played against a couple of guys who
hadn’t played much before. I think there were a few cards in the set up that
were from a set I don’t have and hadn’t played with before (
Intrigue?
I think?). For once I actually beat The Girl (by ONE POINT!).
How is it I end up with these
hands…?
The second game I went was so
super fast I didn’t even get to take a picture. Amanda had played against the
same pair and said the same thing. They clearly played a LOT and knew exactly
what they were doing. But they did it SO FAST I didn’t even get to see what
they were doing!?
One of the great things about
going to a convention and playing with other people is that everyone has
different playing styles and it’s fun to see the different ways other people do
things – especially ones that are really good at it – but these guys were so
fast I DIDN’T get to see at all what they were doing.
When play I set cards down one
at a time and say what I’m doing out loud – as much to keep track of what I’m
doing myself (because I’m a bit of an idiot) - but also because I like teaching
games and teach a lot of them to my kids so I am always open about what I’m
doing and why and how and such. These folks were so fast as soon as I reached
for the card I was going to buy they were putting cards down – usually their
whole hand at once - and grabbing for their buy before I’d cleaned up. By the
time I’d actually cleaned up my own stuff into my discard pile and drew my next
hand – it was my turn again!? I have no idea what they did or how. I’m not
saying they were cheating or anything – I highly doubt they were – but they could have been for all I know! I guess they’re used to playing with a
different caliber of player and I shouldn’t expect everyone to play my way…
Since my second game was so fast
I got to sit and watch Amanda and The Girl play their second game. Now here’s
another guy who was totally on top of his game (in the orange cap) – Morgan
Galloway – and he was an excellent guy to play against (I got to play Star
Realms with him later in the weekend). While he was very, very good at the
games he took his time and was very clear and up front about what he was doing
each turn and I learned a lot from watching him play.
Later in the weekend he won a game in the raffle (
Sewer
Pirats) and decided it wasn’t a game he’d likely ever play and so he
gave it to the kids!?
There was other games after this, but we had decided that
10pm was late enough for us to be out – especially considering we had a 40
minute bike ride home – and so didn’t sign up for any of the games that went
later into the evening.
As I mentioned earlier it had stopped raining and so we
pedaled home in the chilly damp evening – but arrived home more or less dry.
While Amanda and the kids went off to bed – I went back to working on the
REGINA
TRENCH! terrain – talk about leaving it to the last minute, eh!? I
actually ended up staying up to 4am to complete it.
SATURDAY
I was a bit of a wreck in the morning having had 3 hours of
sleep, so Amanda and the kids headed off to the con on their own. I tried to
sleep a bit more (and mostly failed) and then went out and did my usual
Saturday morning errands (Library and Bakery) and then tried to get there for
the second game.
Again it was cool and damp and overcast most of the day, but we didn't get rained on. Actually Amanda and the kids got a lift to the Con with my mom (they also hauled my terrain and toys there as well!).
When we’d signed up I think there was only one or two spots
open for Terra Mystica – so not enough room for all three of us (Remember,
Amanda didn’t sign up with us originally as she’d had other plans) – but The
boy really wanted to try it out and signed up for it on his own. I (and later Amanda) had signed up to
play Sentinels with The Girl. This being her first year I didn’t want her off
playing games on her own. She plays a pretty good game – but she is just 10.
I had planned to get there for
the second game at 12:30. As it turned out I wasn’t able to drag my ass there
until after one and found the family playing
Stone
Age together with Doctor John. Looks like a fun game.
This game was fun enough, I guess. I ended up playing with
The Girl (who has played a LOT of RACE for the Galaxy, but only played ROLL for
the Galaxy once before) and three guys that hadn’t played at all before. As I’d
played it twice (once at New Years and once
in
Calgary on our summer vacation) – and played a lot of
RACE
for the Galaxy - I was the “expert” at the table. There’s a LOT
going on in Roll for the Galaxy and has a bit of a learning curve. It took me six games of Race to really grok what was going on and I have a hard enough time keeping track of
the differences. So also having to try and explain the game and the various
strategies (which I’m not so sure I did a great job at) while trying to figure
out what the hell I was doing myself was a bit overwhelming (especially on
three hours sleep). I think I actually won, but it was a pretty hollow victory.
A LOT of people tell me they like it WAY better than Race for the Galaxy. I like both.
THE GAME AUCTION
One of the highlights of ToonCon
is the Game auction. John and Dave tag-teamed auctioning off 270 games in a
little over two hours.
It is fast and furious and it’s easy to get a little out
of control – which is why I spent a good deal of time Friday night looking at
all the games that were up for auction and making a list of games I was
potentially interested in and when I got home I looked them all up and
scratched a few off and figured out how much each of them was actually worth
and what I was really willing to pay for them and noted down what my maximum
bid would be (so… yeah… I guess I was actually only up until 3am working on
terrain – the other hour was sorting out what I was going to bid on at the
auction). I did the same thing last year and though there was a dozen games on
my list and over $200 in my pocket – I did not go over the maximum I was going
to bid and so I came home with ONE game (
Ninja:
Legend of the Scorpion Clan), which I paid $10 for (and still haven’t
played!?).
I assured Amanda that this year
would likely be the same.
It wasn’t.
Yeah…
I’ll point out that I did not go
over any of my maximum bids (and my maximum bids weren’t any higher than last
year!). Though I did end up bidding on two games that weren’t on my list
originally (
Doctor
Panic and
City
Hall), I got both of them for $10 or less each. In fact we spent less
than $200 on this whole stack (which is good, because my game budget was blown
ages ago and this was more or less grocery money we were spending – it’s rice
and beans for the next month kids!). The
Sentinel
Tactics stuff alone is worth about $200 – the copy of
Super
Dungeon Explore was still in the shrink wrap (another $100 game) as
was
Albion
and
Nefertiti.
Dominion:
Prosperity and
City
Hall weren’t in the shrink wrap, but had clearly never been played
(counters unpunched, cards still in shrink wrap).For me,
Star
Trek: Five Year Mission was also a big score because it was actually
pretty high on my wishlist of games (Porsperity and Super Dungeon Explore were
on the list as well, but not really priorities…).
Even Amanda, who is a bit of a penny pincher, got swept up in the excitement of it all and was encouraging me to bid on games that weren't even on my list (most of them were games that had starting bids of $1) - because she is, if nothing else, a sucker for a GOOD DEAL - most of them I didn't win - because others were thinking the some thing - but that is how I ended up with
Doctor Panic. Quarantine was also one she had pointed out the night before and was only on my list because she had suggested it - so it wasn't all just me going nuts!
All in all a pretty good haul!
Saturday Night was the big show – I ran my
REGINA
TRENCH! game – which focused on the First Canadian Division’s action
at the Battle of Thiepval Ridge on the Somme front, which was fought 100 years
ago this week! Adrenaline was all that was keeping me going at this point. The
game was a RIOT and truly the highlight of the weekend for me! So fun to play
with these fine gentlemen. I’ll have a whole separate post about that one… stay
tuned!
As with Friday evening there were other games that went on
later into the evening. But after Castles of Burgundy we called it a night and
head home.
Slept like a log.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning was bright and
sunny and there were a few others that rode their bikes today. Too bad the
Sutherland hall doesn’t actually have any bike racks… Mind you, they don’t
exactly have a parking lot either, so….
Games getting going on Sunday.
A game we have and are all familiar with – and we all got to
play at different tables with different people! (Well except me and The Girl
who played together).
Amanda’s Game
The Boy getting ready to start his.
The Girl and the two fellows we played with. We got in two
games with these guys. We won the first one easily enough, so we upped the ante
and added another epidemic card to the deck. That second game we lost – but
only by one turn. we lost because we ran out of cards in the player deck. I HAD
five cards to cure the last disease and was two spaces away from a research
station… I’ve never actually lost due to running out of cards before – we’ve
either won or lost well before the last cards came up!
The Boy had only played one game of Pandemic and then
wandered off to look at things in the "Game Library". We found him later playing
Munchkin
Gloom with one of the organizers – Steve – a guy I used to sell Magic
cards waaaaaaaaaay back when I worked at the original Collector’s Edge (like,
twenty years ago!!). The Boy is a huge introvert (not unlike the rest of his family)
and not the sort to go and just start up conversations with strangers – so we
were pretty amazed to discover this going on. It was a testament to how very
relaxed everything was here and how comfortable he felt. I think he was truly
“in his element”.
The Boy and I had decided to play this
last
year after watching the
Tabletop
episode about it. It was fun so we signed up again.
The Girl and I ended up playing with my friend Brent who had
signed up thinking it was
Samarkand
- a game he’d played with Amanda and myself before at our place. We had a lot
of fun. Brent is a GREAT guy to play games with. We were all figuring out the
game so we’d point out things to each other and helping each other figure out
how to do what we wanted to try and do. Brent ended up with this wicked cool
Djinn that allowed him to place a camel on any place that only had meeples on
it – so our game was relatively quick and Brent crushed it! Keira and I
amazingly tied for second.
You can see the back of Amanda’s head in the background at
the table she was playing at. It seems they were a bit more… competitive... So
while she sort of had fun (but not nearly as much fun and Brent and Keria and
I!) she did recognize that it is a really interesting game with a tonne of
replayability. This has gone on the list of acceptable games to acquire for the
family (well… maybe next year…).
The Boy ended up playing with
our friend Leah and another fellow I don’t know - he seemed pretty impressed at The Boy's ability to play the game - "i'd overheard him say "you play better than my wife!" (to which The Boy, who is not the most tactful person ever, replied "HOW BAD IS YOUR WIFE!?"). Seems like they had a lot of
fun too. Leah and The Boy ALSO tied for second!?
In the break between the last
two game Steve got both out kids and Al (from the
Dragon’s
Den)’s kids playing a game of
Get
Bit.
The Boy went off and played
Tzolk’in:
The Mayan Calendar for his final game of the weekend. He said it was
fun enough, but there was a lot of stuff going on in the game and it was a bit
overwhelming and hard to figure out the strategies behind it. I asked if he
thought he’d have a better idea how to play next time now that he’d played a
game, but he wasn’t so sure…
The rest of us went and played
Star
Realms. I’m not sure why? Maybe Tzolk’in only had one space left or
maybe I just wasn’t keen on the idea. A friend of mine (Other Tim) had brought
over Star Realms to play with us a few months back and I was kind of “meh” on
the game – I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it… So I’m not quite sure why I
signed me and The Girl (and later Amanda up for it). Regardless, I’m pretty
glad I did because I actually had a GREAT time playing the game.
My first game was against Gary
(gosh, I hope that’s his name…) – who you can see playing against The Girl in
the picture above – and it was a lot of fun. I can’t remember who won…? Might
have been me.
My second game was against
Morgan (mentioned above) and I’m pretty sure I got beat down pretty hard in
that game. But it was totally fun and he’s a great guy to play with. Afterwards
I felt a little like Scot Pilgrim near the end of his epic adventure after his
first showdown with Gidian (“I feel like I learned something… it’s too bad I’m
DEAD”).
I got in a third game playing a
four-player-free-for-all with some of the guys you can see at the table in the
background; Nick and Terry (I think…) and… dang it, I can’t remember the other
guys name. I should really take notes. It was a BLAST! At first I thought
they’d all played a lot before – as they all seemed very good at it, but it
turned out only one of them had, and he had played a LOT – and he skooled us
all pretty good. Most of the game it was pretty much the three of us against
him – and he very EASILY could have taken us out one-by-one and won the game,
but, being very much in control of the game, he instead decided to kind of just
toyed with us and prolong the game. Eventually we took him down, but we were
all beat down so badly (by him!) that one more round saw they other me and Nick going down and leaving
Terry the victor! Or maybe it was Terry I took out and then Nick took me out…?
Damn I can’t remember that either!? Ah well, I do remember having fun – and
that’s the important bit, right?
Don King patiently taught Amanda the game. She enjoyed it so much I think I heard her mention something about Xmas stocking stuffers... I don't know, I think the kids will probably use their two gift certificates to go and get themselves a copy sooner than that! (One of the guys I was playing with - Terry? - had won a gift certificate for one of the games he had played in, but gave it to The Boy - apparently he'd driven up from Moos Jaw and didn't make it to town often and doubted he'd ever get to using it).
If anyone that actually played
this weekend reads this and notices discrepancies between what I’ve posted and…
you know… reality – PLEASE feel free to post a comment correcting me. I was
running on fumes most of the weekend and it’s all a bit of a haze at this
point…
If I could sum the whole weekend
up into one sentence: Games were played with awesome people and much fun was had.
I would like to give a super huge thanks to
John Burt and all the other organizers for putting together another fantastic
weekend of gaming – we’ll all be back for sure next year!!
(and next year will be pretty
close to the 100th anniversary of Paschendale…)
Hopefully I'll get posts up about the terrain making and the REGINA TRENCH game later today or perhaps tomorrow.