Sunday, August 26, 2012

Gencon 2012 Pictures



People always like to check out photos from Gencon, so here's the ones I took over the weekend. 



Mice and Mystics looks fantastic and I can't wait to pick this one up for my group

The Gumball Machine at the Steve Jackson Booth was Booming all weekend

Thor on a Pink Unicorn with a Rainbow in the backround.  Srsly?

I picked up a puppet for my daughter this year.  She's going to pick out her own next year.

If anybody wonders what you had to do to get all the drow dice, this is is.  Or wait until Sunday when they were all given out at the Wizards booth randomly

This is probably 3/4 of what I picked up at Gencon 2012 this year


Fresh Meat was NOT for sale at Gencon, but they showed me what they had and it looks fantastic.

My wife hates walking over the grates in the sidewalk, so I sent her a pic since she couldn't make it this year

The Magic World Cup stage was very impressive to watch

These are the two Drow Dice I earned fair and square.

AEG's Give Aways just keep getting better



The balloon Dragon was impressive when fully built



Viva Java and Heap were both fun to play
 
The man at this booth is amazing and was able to find several relatively unknown cards for our group


Mice and Mystics in action

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

GenCon 2012 Days 2 & 3


VG30 is back from GenCon 2012 and now that we've had a few days to rest, we can finally get some updates as to how Day 2 and Day 3 went for the Best Four Days in Gaming!

Mage Wars Continues to Sell Out All Weekend


Mage Wars was a great success at GenCon, selling out every copy of their game within an hour of opening.  On Saturday, the game sold out in less than 2 minutes.  Bryan Pope, you've got some dedicated fans, and we can't wait to get through a few games to post up our thoughts on your first game.


Tabletop: Behind the Scenes




It should be no surprise that we here at VG30 are big fans of Geek and Sundry, especially TableTop, a web show dedicated to table top gaming.  While attending, we were able to tell what their next few shows will be about.  We all know that Elder Sign is premiering next, but following that we have Dixit, and the Dragon Age Tabletop RPG.  Meeting one of the producers of the show and hearing how excited he was about the impact that they've already had on the market was amazing and I can't wait for Season 2.


AEG Board Game Night




If you aren't attending AEG's annual Board Game Night at Gencon, well, thank you, because that leaves room for the rest of us.  AEG's Board Game Night is limited to around 200 people, and costs $32 to get in.  What you get, however, is more than worth it.  Last year we received a copy of Nightfall, a copy of Myth, all of the released promos for Thunderstone and Nightfall, as well as a bunch of L5R cards.  This year, every participant received a Foil Box copy of Smash Up!, Nightfall: The Coldest War, more L5R cards, Thunderstone Advance Promos, and the unique opportunity to sit down with the creators of the games and tell them what we thought of everything.  This is such a great value, everybody should be signing up for this event, if only to get one of those loot boxes seen in the picture above.


Hickman's Killer Breakfast


It was a intimidating sitting with my gaming group after having tried to explain what Killer Breakfast is all about.  As Tracy and Laura opened the show with one of their songs, and I had to quietly explain in another song what T-P-K meant to a non RPGer, the show took off and was phenomenal.  My group quickly got into it, and I could hear them laughing next to me, and shouting out to kill the poorly introduced players.  Afterwards I asked them what they thought, and the only problem they had was that they couldn't always understand what people were saying.  Tracy and Laura, we need more microphones on stage!


Agents of Smersh Demo


Not everything at GenCon came up roses for VG30.  The Agents of Smersh Demo we signed up for was a big bust.  We had signed up for an 11:30 timeslot, arrived at 11:27, and found every seat at the demo table taken and the game already begun.  Why have a time sheet to sign up if you're going to just ignore it and do what you want anyway?  VG30 are backers of this game on Kickstarter, so we'll be getting our copy of the game to play and review in the next couple months.  Here's hoping that the game is more put together than the demos were.


Heap Demo


Video did get to get some demos in while at GenCon, however!  Heap is a game from Privateer Press which involves taking four vehicles and upgrading them with cards that trigger abilities as you equip them, and as you use them in the "Pile Up" which is a phase in which players play combat and defense cards in a style similar to Uno.  The last player standing gets to reap their rewards and equip new cards.  It was a fun game, and the Press Ganger who demo'd it for us was fun to work with and able to take control of what was going on quickly.


Viva Java Demo


The Viva Java demo that we attended, on the other hand, didn't go quite so well.  It was no fault of the demoer, or the game (which actually was a lot of fun), but whomever was booking the demos for the game were double booking, only giving them an hour to get through each game.  I at first sat alone while they explained everything to me, and then as we were beginning to play, the next group showed up.  Fortunately, I was invited to stay and play, which I did, but I didn't get to do much before I had to head off to my next event.  If anything, the demo made me want to play this game when it arrives from Kickstarter in the next couple months.


True Dungeon 2012


I really wish that I could have taken some pictures this year of what we saw when we entered True Dungeon, but I can safely say that it blew me away.  Jeff Martin and his team did such an amazing job of setting up the entrance and setting the mood that words cannot describe it in the reverence that it deserves. 

My group played the combat side as usual this year, and we were once again disappointed to discover that there were only three rooms involving combat (minus the one where you don't fight if you do everything right) and four rooms involving puzzles.  This is still lopsided.

The dungeon encounters felt fair this year, all the way until the second to last room in which you must have paid CLOSE attention to the banners hung in the training room and have a good memory for detail in order to successfully complete.  We managed on our second try, thanks to a small tip off we received prior to starting, but that was a bit harsh.

It felt good to get some revenge on the Draco-Lich that destroyed me two years ago.  The fight still felt a bit one sided in our favor, but I'm not complaining here having been brought down to 3 hit points.  I still find the original dragon we fought ridiculous, so it's good to see it toned down a bit for players who aren't covered in purple $100+ tokens.

I'd like to send out one last special shout out to the Living Statue that worked the combat side Saturday afternoon.  You did an incredible job, even as I tried to make you break character and laugh.  Massive props to you.

We have a few more GenCon topics to cover, including personal experiences from Video, some extra GenCon Pictures, and wrap up for the show.  We'll see you soon!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Gencon 2012 - Day 1





The hall is closed and Day 1 of the dealer's hall is over. VG30 scoured the floor looking for the newest games, and what we thought was going to sell out quickly. Here's the day's events!


Net runner sells out in 5 minutes




The ViGs (Very Important Gamers) had a huge advantage in buying their Netrunner an hour before the floor opened. Before the doors even opened to the general public, Fantasy Flight had sold half of their stock. Gamers were picking up 4+ copies for themselves, wiping out their supply by 10:05 am. This was clearly the sought after item of the con, and while Fantasy Flight had plenty of copies, they were quickly devoured by the masses. No word if there was a daily allocation, but based off the evidence we've seen, don't count on it.


Mage Wars sells Thursday Allocation in 1 hour




Mage Wars also was extremely popular, but Arcane Wonders decided to allocate their supply across Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. VG30 is honored to have purchased the first copy of the game, and we wish Bryan Pope the best of luck in the future of this game. If you want a demo, you should snag a spot now, and if you want the game, this should be our first stop.


Seasons sells out in first hour




Asmodee has a very limited supply of Seasons available for purchase at the con and they also went quickly. No word on daily allocations, but the small stack they did have was gone by 11am. We were lucky to snag a copy and will review it as soon as we can.


Drow Dice are frakking hard to get




The "Drow Dice" as they are being called are gorgeous, but it takes a huge time commitment to get them. The d4 is only available for a limited time in the morning at the Wizards booth, the d6 is the easiest to get by performing some paper craft, but the rest of the dice require play testing the new D&D Next, which is a solid 4 hours for just 2 more of the dice. If you're up to it, you should try to collect the whole set anyway, because these dice will be valuable.

We saw lots of neat stuff in the hall that we haven't gotten to sit down and play yet, we're hoping to bring more to you all tomorrow including Mice and Mystics, the Mage Wars Demo, and the infamous AEG Board Game Night. Stay up to date with happenings by following us on twitter, @videogamingat30

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

The Ones to Watch - Gencon 2012


Gencon is no stranger to having amazing games debut in its halls.  Tons of tabletop obsessions have had small beginnings during the Best Four Days in Gaming, and went on to be huge geek household names.  VG30 loves finding these games and showing them to the public before anyone else has (see our private demos of Mage Knight and Penny Arcade's Deck Building game from 2011) and this year will hopefully be no exception.  Here's the ones we're keeping a close eye on at Gencon 2012.  These games have all either directly or indirectly stated they will be available for purchase at Gencon. 

Mage Wars


VG30 found Bryan Pope and his game Mage Wars at Gencon last year.  It's hard to have missed them, to be honest.  Players were lining up to sign up for the chance to demo the game at some point during the weekend.  Sure, you got a free t-shirt for doing so, but those who checked it out ended up loving it.  Players select a Mage and construct a spell book based on their spell affinities.  Once constructed, players go head to head on an arena board consisting of zones.  The players select two spells each round to add to their hand from any in the spell book.  Want to case a huge creature the first turn?  As long as you've got the mana (that your Mage automatically self generates) you can do it.  The potential for this game is huge, and anybody going to Gencon needs to check out this game.  Sign up for a demo early to see if you like it (you will), because this game will be sold out by the end of the con.  Don't say we didn't warn you.


Fresh Meat
As of the writing of this article (11:03 pm CST 8/13), Smirk and Dagger have not yet confirmed that their latest expansion will make it to Gencon.  We sure hope it will, as Cutthroat Caverns is one of our favorite games to play.  This box adds 12 (!)  new characters to choose from, 34 cards that allow you to make your OWN character, new encounters, new relics, new cards for the main draw deck, and a giant box to fit all your cutthroat goodness inside.  The last information I can dig up on them is that they may have to airmail it to Gencon to be able to sell (likely limited copies of it) so you may want to make this a Day 1 purchase.


Seasons

Some people are calling Seasons the sleeper hit of Gencon.  It's a new game that people have been playing on en.boardgamearena.com, but the physcial copies haven't been made available to the public quite yet.  The game is drawing lots of attention due to its implementation of several other well known games mechanics, such as 7 Wonders, San Marco, and a touch of even Magic: The Gathering.  Based on its popularity at previous cons in which it was demoed (and hard to get into the demos), you should try to check this out early.


Smash Up



AEG isn't well known in our gaming group for having the most comprehensive rules, but we are often willing to overlook the mechanical problems because they put out some really fun games.  Smash Up looks like it could be a riot to play.  Different faction decks are drafted by the players until each has two factions (this doesn't sound like it takes very long).  When you've got your two factions, you shuffle them together to try to fight your opponents' bases.  Will you have ninja dinosaurs?  How about Alien Pirates?  The premise sounds simple, but a lot of fun.  We're looking forward to seeing this one in action on the floor.


NetRunner

Interested in trying to pick up the games that'll sell out at Gencon?  You probably want to be first in line for Android: Netrunner then, a LCG reboot of the 90's NetRunner game by Wizards of the Coast.  One box will get you enough cards to play a two player game, one player being the Corporations that are trying to protect their data and shut down the hackers, and the Hackers, who are trying to steal all of the Corp's data.  This was a lot of fun to play back in the day, and achieved a small cult following.  The sole tournament for this game has been sold out for well over a month, Fantasy Flight has pretty much said that you need to come and get your copies right away to make sure you'll be able to play in it on Saturday, all signs point to this selling out.


Level 7
We here at VG30 are big fans of Privateer Press.  They make fun games, they're a great company, and they're very connected to their fans.  When we saw Level 7, it struck our interest.  Upon looking it over, we feel that this is Privateer's version of the WoTC adventure board games like Castle Ravenloft, which we weren't really impressed with.  With that said, we still want to see it played, and every single demo for it is booked for the weekend.  This is another game that people are going to be seeking out to pick up early.


The Red Dragon Inn: Allies


Checking out Slug Fest's website, it seems that Red Dragon Inn 1 and 3 will not be at Gencon due to the trailer the games were on being stolen, however, the new Allies expansions will be there still.  Allies are single decks that are in the same theme as the characters from Red Dragon Inn 3.  That is, to say, characters have more than a subtle theme to the number of cards in their decks, and have personal traits that have to be managed to make the most out of the deck.  My playgroup is especially looking forward to playing as Pooky.

The Next Big Thing

VG30 is always looking for the next big thing, especially at Gencon.  Have we already listed the gem of the show on the site?  Or is there going to be something there that we haven't seen yet?  Do you think your company has got it?  Drop us a line at videogamingat30(at)gmail.com and invite us to your booth this week.  We'll be more than happy to swing by and check it out.  

We're not done with Gencon yet!  Gencon week continues with more posts this week, including our coverage straight from the convention floor beginning on Thursday.  Keep coming back for more updates, and we hope to see you there!


Monday, August 6, 2012

Road to Gencon 2012 - So you've decided to go to Gencon


Congratulations on your decision to attend GenCon 2012, one of the largest and most popular gaming conventions in the US, and certainly the Midwest.  Starting in just about a week, gamers from all over the globe will be traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on "The Best Four Days in Gaming". 

So what have you signed up for, exactly?  Well, I've been attending GenCon nearly every year since 1996 and I can guarantee you that I have not seen everything that goes on at the Con.  Each year GenCon seems to grow (last year's attendance record shattered the previous highest ~30,000 with ~37,000 attendees) and the Con and events just grow with it.

Except for Will Call's ability to handle all of us, that one hasn't evolved quite yet...
Today we're going to focus on the big things about GenCon that, in my opinion, everyone should experience.  Some of these things will be sold out already, but we here at VG30 are going to try to help you get in them.  Here's the secret that every GenCon attendee already knows..

Generic Tickets

Seriously? Nobody has ever taken a picture of GenCon's Generic Tickets?
If you're just now planning your GenCon events, you're probably noticing that most, if not all of the best events are sold out.  Fear not!  If you download the GenCon mobile app, you can keep up to date with when the tickets become available as people will inevitably sign up for more than they can handle.  If even that doesn't get you in, then Generic Tickets and a bit of patience is your way to get into pretty much any event, including the ever elusive True Dungeon.  Each ticket is $2 and you combine them to cover the cost of the event.  So let's say you want to attend a Magic Tournament, and the entry fee is $24.  You would need 12 Generic Tickets to get in.  You should probably pick up a hand full of them, and remember:  you can return your generics before the end of the convention for system credit so you can sign up for the events next year.

The Dealer Hall

This doesn't look like enough of a crowd, I can still see the ground.
Not able to get into the events you wanted to despite my personal promises?  I'm sorry, I am.  I got your hopes up and it turns out that just too many people wanted to get in.  That's ok.  You can spend all four days in the Dealer's Hall, play dozens and dozens of games, and not spend another penny on an event.  The GenCon Dealer's Hall is legendary.  Hundreds of gaming companies, both new and old, want to show off their games and introduce you to their latest offerings, and GenCon is a major release event for many of them.  The hall opens at 10am and closes at 6pm except on Sunday where it closes at 3.  Every year my group starts in one corner, works our way to the middle, goes for lunch, and finishes at the other side of the Con by about 4pm, and that's just getting the lay of the land with the possible exception of stopping to play something we REALLY want to play.  If you need some help to get through it all, might I recommend...


Cheese Weasel


The first year that VG30 went as a blog that didn't have enough of an audience to even call itself a blog, my wife and I attempted the Cheese Weasel ConQuest.  The ConQuest is a series of cards in which you take around the various booths listed on them, and either they present you with a challenge that you must complete, or they're tired of the thousands of people coming up to their booth for no other purpose than to get a bunch on their card and do it for them.  Wanting to use this opportunity to meet and speak with all of these companies, I made sure to let them know that I wanted to demo or talk about whatever it was that they were presenting, and I found some awesome new games and met some very cool people in the process.  Rather that wandering around blind, try out the Cheese Weasel ConQuest and really get into it, you won't be sorry. 

True Dungeon

True Dungeon is one of those events that you want to try to get into.  Typically, they sell out within a day or two.  But!  You have bought lots of Generic Tickets, right?  Great!  Give yourself 3 - 4 hours, and go and wait for an open spot in a party.  Players from my group report being able to get in multiple runs with no problem going in as a single add on to a party, especially on Friday night.  You don't need gear, they provide you with a bag of tokens to try out, and most parties are willing to help out a new player by throwing trash tokens to them.  Be warned, you're probably going to die by the end of the dungeon, but you'll have a good time doing it.  Speaking of dying..

Hickman's Killer Breakfast


Last year was my first Killer Breakfast, and I had a blast there.  So much, in fact, that I'm breaking in the rest of the VG30 staff this year.  The general idea of it is the GM, Tracy Hickman, is running an above epic level adventure for level 0 heroes.  Players come on stage, announce how they arrived into the game at that point, and come up with highly inventive ways to try to survive the adventure.  They don't work for long, and new players are introduced to take their place.  If you're squeamish about getting on stage and participating, don't worry, you can just watch from the audience and enjoy the show.  Henwy, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do this year.


For the next week Video, Gaming at 30 will be posting articles on our Road to Gencon, culminating with on site updates with what's going on at the Con.  Follow us @videogamingat30 and keep checking back for the Ones to Watch - Gencon Edition, Where To Eat, What to Pack, and more events to try to get into next week.  Get your sleep now, it's going to be a long two weeks.