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Valerie Emerson
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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I’m trying to decide whether the universe is out to get me, or if the universe has decided I’m actually pretty cool and feels the sudden need to make sure I have lots of fun things to do. The reason it’s hard to tell which it is, is because all of these things are falling on the same weekend.
Since January I have been planning to go to a once-a-year game day with a pirate theme, of all awesome theme possibilities. People will dress as pirates. They will play pirate games. They will have delicious pirate food and pirate drink. I've been looking forward to it all year. Literally. This falls on the Saturday after Labor Day.
However….
My friend Kate, who has just begun to teach me how to knit (and I’m fascinated with this new craft of mine) invited me to go with her to some kind of fair that has to do with wool, spinning, and knitting. It sounded like a lot of fun, and really interesting, and I would have loved to go with her.
However…
One of my coworkers, who I am pretty friendly with, is having a house warming party the weekend after Labor Day. This is not just a once-a-year kind of thing, it’s intended to be a once-ever event. Not something to be missed. You would think the choice would be clear.
However…
My aunt decided that my pregnant cousin, who is also one of my best friends, should have her baby shower… the weekend after Labor Day. On the other side of the state, in my hometown.
…
And so now I'm proving that I have my priorities straight... at least this time, I do. Instead of gaming, instead of going to a party or a fair with friends, I am going to a family event (something I don’t often do). But this is a baby shower which is a big deal, and Karrin is very important to me, and this baby is a very very big deal (which I assume is typical, but doesn’t take away from this baby boy’s importance).
I am also her ride to the baby shower. I considered throwing her in the car and bringing her to the game day instead, and making that her baby shower, but I’m pretty sure my sister and her mom would hound me to the end of my days if I tried something like that. Also, my elderly aunt is riding with us, and I don’t think she speaks pirate.
Arr!
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Valerie Emerson
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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This weekend I went to one of the public gaming groups in my area, and got to try a couple of games that have been on my watch list since before Gen Con. The game day was at one of our FLGS’s, which had an open copy of Elder Sign. Ben, our local rep for Z-Man Games, was there to demo Ascending Empires. I brought some games of my own, along with my boyfriend.
First we joined in on Ascending Empires. I’d heard of this game and was interested, until I heard about the dexterity element. Then interest waned and I passed it up at Gen Con. I have never been so happy to be so wrong. This game was excellent. Ben explained the rules and we got right into playing.
Game play was quick, downtime was almost nonexistent, and the flicking mechanic – totally new to me outside of Crokinole – had me completely charmed by the end of the first round. Every round I had to choose between expanding, growth where I’d already landed, or developing my tech tree. I made a few wrong choices that slowed me down, which was why the gentleman to my right (his name escapes me) ran away with the game with his orange planet strategy, leaving me in second place. I really liked this game, and it’s now on my ‘must buy’ list. I was tempted to go back to the FLGS and buy it at the store when I went to pick up some paint. So far I've stayed strong... holding out for an online order 
Then we played Elder Sign. The store owner picked it up at Gen Con, which was partly why I didn’t feel too motivated to get into a Gen Con demo when the game was already sold out. I sat down to play this with a few guys, the game was explained by the store employee, and off we went.
And… I have no idea why this game gets the hype that it does. I love me some Cthulhu Mythos, but this was a very watered down version of Arkham Horror, only with dice. And more dice. I felt about as engaged as I would be playing 10,000. The art was good, it was an interesting idea, but it left me saying “….Meh.” It was all right, I'd probably sit down and play again if a filler was needed, but I really doubt I’d ever buy it. It was the same reaction I had to Qwarriors, actually, so maybe I just don’t appreciate dice games. I'd rather play something else, or just straight out make time for AH. It's a better game.
Finally, I got a game of Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game going. Most enjoyed it quite a bit, as I’d hoped. The dice were a little hard on one of the players. While I’m sorry he didn’t have much fun, I think a big part of having fun with this game is enjoying the experience. The dice can screw you, and often do (I have yet to win or even come close) so the best thing you can do is enjoy the experience. During your down time, listen to the other players’ turns, which are pretty entertaining if you pay attention, so the down time can be interesting. At the same time, though, I don't think I would play it with more than four people again. I’ve been slow to rate this game, because I like it so much yet the time restraints might affect how often I’d be willing to play… but you know, I really think it deserves a solid 8, or even a 9.
I got a little irritated at one point in the day, with something I’m debating about whether or not I should write about more fully in a future post. I was playing Volle Scholle, with the owner teaching it while four of us played. I won, and another player made the comment that my boyfriend "taught me well." I get a lot of jokes and comments like this – that we king make each other, or things that imply that I wouldn’t be good at games if it wasn’t for my boyfriend. I might be taking these comments too seriously, but I think it’s time to start reacting to them, instead of just letting them pass. I’ve been a gamer for a lot longer than these people have known me, I deserve a lot more respect than that kind of comment implies.
Finally, I have a question for anyone who wants to share their opinion. Most of the game groups I belong to are public; anyone who signs up can show up and play. I like that, because I get to meet new people and game with them all the time. I get to try new games because of these people. But the norm seems to be that if you bring a game to an event, more than likely someone will grab it and play it without asking, even if that game is put away in a crate or a tote bag.
Most times I’d gladly say yes if someone asked me if they could play one of my games, but sometimes I might say no because a) I’m about to leave, or b) I JUST opened that game, and really want to be in on the first play. I might not even say no because of #2. But I really wonder, doesn’t politeness dictate that you ask before you play with someone else’s toys? Do you bring games to events because you want to play them, or do you just want them to be played with and it doesn’t matter who does it?
Again, 9 times out of 10 I’d say yes if someone wanted to play one of my games, but I do want to be asked. Is that weird?
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Valerie Emerson
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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I went to Gen Con with Doug last week, carpooling with another couple to save on gas and for the extra company on the road. I had a wonderful time, ate badly, played board games, played RPG’s, and spent more money on one week than I have since I was in college racking up student loans.
But it’s okay. I have the Gen Con Defense. ‘It’s Gen Con, I have to eat out every day!’ ‘It’s Gen Con, and I earmarked this money for Gen Con. Therefore, it’s okay to spend $100.00 on Fortune and Glory: The Cliffhanger Game. And then $50 for The Ares Project.’ And so on.
And I stand by that defense. 
I had a wonderful time, and I’m already plotting things for next year with Doug. For instance, we’re thinking about getting a room in a hotel that’s connected to the convention center. Doug has some convincing things to say in favor of that, despite the extra cost. It’d be less hassle than driving in every day, we can just run back to the room for a break or to drop off the last purchase whenever we feel like it, and if we have two different things we want to do we can split up without worrying about keeping tabs on each other the whole time. We both have cell phones, but some places in the Convention Center are so loud I can’t hear it ring, and apparently vibrate doesn’t help me either. So. This seems like a good idea, and more tempting all the time. And I have twelve months to save up the money for my share of the room.
And there’s the Gen Con Defense. As long as we’re there, as long as we planned for this expense, then it’s okay. Right? Right!
There was a lot to see and do, and I didn’t get to do half of what I’d hoped, but I think my time was well spent anyway. Next year I’ll plan better, and actually get into an event or two, but this was a good year to just see what Gen Con is all about and enjoy the new experience.
We ordered our badges in advance and had them mailed to us (which I really recommend, after seeing the Will Call line!) and picked up our swag bags pretty quickly. We got a quick pass-through of the Exhibition Hall in, then settled in for our day of RPGs. We had some Ptolus and then some D&D. Both were fun games with excellent GM’s. Friday and Saturday were mainly about board games, and I did some demoing and shopping. The best game I demoed was Fortune and Glory, but I also picked up Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan too, without knowing too much about it 'cause the AEG guys sold me on it. I wrote a review for F&G, my first, and after a couple more Ninja plays I think that’ll be review number two. I missed out on a few games I was interested in – sadly, Elder Sign sold out before I made up my mind about it, and the same thing happened with Ninjato. I got to demo Battles of Westeros, and have now ordered it online. It will be mine very shortly. I’d better finish painting my Earth Reborn miniatures soon so I can get cracking on these other games! I got some Game Science dice and a new RPG, The One Ring, that I need to study up on so I can run it.
I had a few memorable moments. I actually met Tom Vasel, briefly, when he was walking around with my friend Cate. We were headed one way and they were going the other, though, so I managed not to gush at him about how much I love his podcast and videos I took part in the big math trade, and I am so glad I got half my trades taken care of before the actual meet up because that was chaos. There were so many people in amazing costumes, I wish I’d gotten more pictures. In short, Gen Con was a blast. This was the first real vacation I’ve had in years, and I am so glad I decided to go. There are a few smaller cons to look forward to in the next year, but I’m pretty sure Gen Con will crown all the other gaming conventions I go to.
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Valerie Emerson
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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We went to a gaming event yesterday at one of our FLGSes. I got to try a couple of interesting games to start with - Braggart, Portobello Market, Igel Ärgern, and Small World. I’m getting Small World in a trade next week, so I wanted to play it when I saw it was one of the store’s demo games. In all, the first part of the event was a pretty typical mix of Euro and Ameritrash for me.
Then I wandered over to check out the games on sale - something I did between every game, actually. I’d already picked up Acquire, but was checking to see if I’d missed anything else. I was looking at Commands & Colors: Ancients when Bob, another gamer in our group, came over. I asked him if he played war games, and he said yes. He had good things to say about the game I was holding, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend the money on this game in a genre I’d never really tried before, even though it was a good deal.
For a while now, I’ve said I do not and will not play war games. The idea just didn’t appeal to me, and I associated the entire genre with Risk, a game I hope to never play again. But Bob said these were different, and he had a game that was similar to C&C at home - Battle Cry: 150th Civil War Anniversary Edition - and he could get it to the store to teach me, if I was interested. I said yes. I thought I should at least give it a shot.
The game arrived and we set up. I claimed the Confederate side, joking that it was because I expected to lose. Then Bob went over terrain, the types of units, how the cards worked, and how the game is won. Everything made sense to me, and as we finished getting ready to play I got more excited to play. I was reminded of novels I’d read and movies I’d seen about the American Civil War, and the theme seemed to jump out from the pieces and the cards. Then we played. And I won, by pretty decent margin. I had a great time - and I’m pretty sure it isn’t just because I won. I have doubts about this particular game, because of how badly the cards can screw the players (which is probably why I won), but I’d still play it again in a heartbeat.
Now I’ve played my first war game, and I loved it. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like the game as much if it didn’t have the figures, which is why I didn’t grab Command & Colors: Ancients even though it was a great deal. Bob's going to teach me Battles of Westeros tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. A whole new genre of board games has been opened up to me, and I’m just sorry I didn’t give this kind of game a chance sooner.
So the lesson of the weekend seems to be, don’t write a game or a genre off until I’ve given it a fair chance. I had a great time that I would have missed out on, if I hadn’t taken the chance to learn this new game.
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Valerie Emerson
United States
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
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I’ve been a geek for as long as I can remember. I was a comic book geek (huge X-Men fan), played Atari and then Nintendo, and read piles of fantasy and science fiction books. One of my cousins and I collaborated on our own comic book series, which she’s still holding onto (probably for blackmail purposes).
In terms of board games, I had quite a few games that I played with my brother and sister, growing up. We had Monopoly, Scrabble, Yahtzee!, Trouble, High Ho Cherry Oh... all kinds of family and kid games. We played card games too, like Go Fish, War, and then poker and BS when we were older, although the older we got the less we played games together. When my dad taught my older brother to play checkers, and then chess, I insisted I was ready to learn too... and got my butt handed to me constantly. I think I must have liked it anyway, though, because I kept on playing.
I’ve been a gamer for years. I learned about Dungeons and Dragons when I was in middle school. My brother played a few sessions, and taught me how to play. He ran a session for me before I had any clue what was going on, where my character got lost in Pandemonium or some such dimension. Then I ran a session for him. I still didn’t know what I was doing, and it’s funny to remember the scene where he stole a +20 sword from a magic shop and terrorized the town before I finally ended the game! I played more (correct) D&D in high school, in a few random sessions when I could get into it. It was a problem for me to find people play with, being a girl, and really not knowing many people who played in my small hometown. When I was a senior, I made friends with a guy my friend was dating, who taught me to play Magic: The Gathering.
I spent more money on M:TG than I like to think about, especially my first couple of years in college. Then I freed myself from that addiction and went back to more role playing games. I played Risk and Axis and Allies, but they didn’t really appeal to me. I played them mainly because that’s what my friends were doing. Mostly, I played RPGs, dabbled in HeroClix, and more than flirted with getting into Warhammer. I painted the figures, but didn’t get to play enough to really get into the game. My army of Dark Elves is sitting in the basement, the worse for wear I’m sure, waiting for me to either break them out again or put them on eBay.
Years after college, I played my first gateway game, Betrayal at House on the Hill. One of my friends had it for a night of Friday night gaming, and we played it at least three times. I had a blast, and I immediately set out to get my own copy... only to find out that it was out of print, and only available for about $200 online.
So my journey to boardgaming was delayed, until I moved to Milwaukee. I found and joined a gaming group, primarily because they were about to start a D&D campaign. I went to their other get-togethers to be sociable, and got to try all these ‘new,’ intense board games I’d never heard of before. I played games like Heroscape, St. Petersburg, Age of Conan, Formula D... For some reason I was a little slow to get into them, even though they were fun enough.
I think I just must have been on the wrong wavelength, or that I needed more experience. I felt clueless through most of them, until the last couple rounds of any given game. Because once I started playing with a second group, I caught on and got hooked. Carson City, Cyclades, and Dominion were the games that really pulled me in, as well as my new WotC edition of Betrayal at House on the Hill. I now prefer board games over RPGs, though I’ll still sit down and roleplay once in a while. This other group introduced me to the Geek, which is what has me here today.
Now I have a decent start on a collection and a pretty good idea of what kind of games I like. Most of the time I catch onto a game when it’s still being explained. I have an awesome gamer boyfriend, and most nights we get in a board game or at least a card game like Dominion or Race for the Galaxy if we’re not just playing video games. I’ve been reading a lot of blogs and articles on the geek, and I decided to start a blog of my own.
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