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Chris Miller
United States
Huntsville
Alabama
My Dog Has Fleas
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Figured I would share a few of my impressions of going to my first game convention.
I missed last years Tennessee Game Days unfortunately/fortunately (there was a fairly epic flood that weekend which closed roads, stranded people, totaled cars and flooded the Opryland closing it for the better part of a year), but it started me thinking about going this year. It managed to correspond with a weekend we didn't have anything going on, and my parents could watch our son during the day on Friday so I made plans to attend within the last few weeks.
Nashville is about a two hour drive north. I carpooled up with my friend Clay (BGG: Snoweel) another local gamer, both of us were staying with friends in the area so it made for a very affordable con (only $30 at the door for all three days).
We left here around 9 am on Friday, arriving there around 11:30. We registered and I met up with my friend Jason (BGG: Kain Rising). We decided to grab lunch before starting and ran to Big River Brewing Company down the street - good food and excellent in house brewed root beer.
We were back around 12:30. We were not really sure how to handle things so we just grabbed my copy of Thunderstone(organized for the epic variation), plopped down at a table and started playing. People would mill around and chat with us occasionally and we took in the lay of the land. Jason managed to beat me by a few VPs, but it was a good game. From there we had to try out the official Crokinole board of the TNGameDays - very nice. It made me want a nicer board (and I got my revenge on Jason since I have played Croke before  ).
When we were done we started checking out the library. We met up with Brad (BGG: ???) who was up for a game. After much debate we figured Ra would be good for three. Brad ran through the rules refreshing me and teaching Jason. Enjoyable game, but the learning curve on the tiles for new players is tough (after playing we discovered the PnP player mats in the box - D'oh!).
Next on the table was Kingsburg which Jason and I had played before, but Brad hadn't so we taught him. I caught him playing it later in the con so he must have enjoyed it. If I recall his impressions he was at first leery of the dice, but two turns in said "this is not a dice game." The copy was pimped with plastic dice which was a nice addition so I might have to buy some for mine (at the very least keep an eye out for Perudo while thrifting).
From there we met up with a few more people and played Medici with 6. I think it was mostly first timers. Interesting game that I think will go over well with my Friday night group - need to track down which version has the best graphics.
Oh and for the record I believe Brad trounced everyone at all of the games mentioned above.
It was about Dinner time so a group of people got together and walked a few blocks to Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant on the recommendation of some other people in the hotel. Turned out to be excellent - I highly recommend the patty melt if you are in the Nashville area. Sufficiently fueled we headed back to the con just in time for the Wits & Wagers Tournament.
Clay asked if Jason and I wanted to team up. We didn't have the right answer half of the time, but I need to take Clay to Vegas for his wagering skills. They actually had to give us an IoU card for part of our "winnings" during the game - which made us fairly secure in our position. We lost a bundle on the last question but still had enough left over to pull out a win - so we all walked away with a copy of the home version. Thanks to North Star Games for sponsoring the event!
After that we milled around a bit - I had traded a ton in the Math Trade so I asked around for random usernames. We decided since we wanted to get there early for the Flea Market the next morning (and had a bit of a drive) we would call it an early night and left at about 10:30.
The flea market was worth waking up for - I ended up buying 7 games, most of them from the same guy. In retrospect after buying the first and checking it out I should have bought any I was even remotely interested. Many were the German versions, cheap, immaculate condition and pimped. For example the Jet Set I bought had the expansion and the cards were even double sleeved.
TNGameDays has game "tours" going throughout the convention that involve several games with a theme taught by an experienced player and they hover around to answer questions making sure everything was going right. We had signed up for the "Cult of the New" tour (along with everyone else there apparently). While we were milling around after the flea market we were asked if we had signed up for it and if we wanted to start early since the roster was packed - we happily obliged to get the days games started.
Our tour partners for the day were a couple who had come over from Atlanta (names escaping me at the moment unfortunately). We started off with London. I hadn't heard much about it before other than it was a card based Martin Wallace game. It took a little bit of explanation, but wasn't too difficult at all. Don't remember the final score - I know I didn't win but I ended up with the least poverty - that has to count for something. I liked it, but probably wouldn't get played at home so it isn't on my "MUST BUY NOW" list, but at least it's on my someday/maybe. Jason was not a fan of it and the ATL couple enjoyed it - so 3 out of 4 thumbs up.
EDIT: Was just listening to a podcast and realized we played it slightly wrong - we were running the entire city whenever we took that action - that would make a big difference I think. Also it is three days later and I'm still thinking about it so I must have enjoyed it more than I thought at the time - so I've ordered it.
Next up was 7 Wonders at the front desk. I had played it previously several months ago, but only one time. Jason knew nothing about it and the ATL couple played it the day before. The guy teaching did an excellent job. Everyone enjoyed it greatly and I'm chomping at the bit to get my own copy even more (been trying for months - WHERE ARE YOU REPRINT!).
The final game on the tour was Cargo Noir - all copies were in use when we were done so we quick ran down the street to grab some McD's for lunch and run back. So Cargo Noir has been getting some "Meh" press around it since it's introduction - we discussed that previously but tried to go in with open minds. The rules were VERY easy though we did make one mistake with the Syndicate cards we found out that gave us a bit too much money (we were wondering why we were running out of chips). At it's heart it is a very simple set collecting game - very gateway. The components are beautiful, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the game. Since there is no scarcity among the cards or any value differences there was (at least to me on the initial play) no reason to make any big bets on the ports when you can get a guaranteed number of cards from the black market.
The overall impression was positive - we all enjoyed it. It just seems like it is one or two little tweaks from making it a very good game. I'm a little tempted to get it because it is would be a good introduction to auction mechanics to new gamers, but it would quickly be replaced by games like Ra or Medici.
After that we stretched our legs a bit and I tracked down a few more Math Traders. Jason and I sat down and played a quick game of his copy of Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas which drew some attention. It is a fun little game - I need my own copy of it.
There was a group playing Piratenbillard which looks VERY fun - it is now on my want list.
Jason left shortly after. I met up with Clay and one of my Math Trade recipients, Amy (BGG: ShutterbugTN) for a game of Loopin' Louie (which she just got from me in the trade). It attracted a ton of people - who were all amazed (don't you people read BGG  ). The library copy was checked out within a few minutes.
The three of us then broke out Tigris & Euphrates at Clay's suggestion. We hadn't played it before - Clay did a quick run through and I brought up the UFBRT review on my iPad while he finished setting up. I think I finally got the hang of it by the end of the game. Enjoyable, but I can see where AP could be a problem.
We followed that up with a quick game of Ingenious and I showed Amy how to play a round of Jaipur (though my brain wasn't working at this point - T&E must have short circuited something).
Then Clay and I packed up and left the con at about 8:30 to drive back to Huntsville making it back right around 11.
So to wrap everything up - a good time was had by all. Looking at it on screen I realize it was a very Knizia couple of days.
I learned a lot of new games, got to see a bunch of others in play and added enough to my collection via the Math Trade and Flea Market to keep me busy for a while.
A big thanks to everyone who put it on and the sponsors!
Can't wait till next year!
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