grayhawkfh | TCEP 16 in review (Reply)

Short version: People came, they played games, they ate fresh bread, they had fun. By any standard, this makes it a success.

Long version: This will be placed behind cuts.

Thursday: During the day, I printed the badges and other paperwork needed for the con. Well, I usually try to pack the car on Thursday night. It's one less thing I have to do on Friday. And I was able to do so, just much later than usual, as it was Back To School night at B.'s school. Once I got home, I enlisted everyone's help to get the bins and suitcases and other stuff upstairs to the car. I had something to eat, then cut the badges and packed them as well. I finally fell into bed around midnight.

Friday: Up early to make sure the kids got off to school, then out to run some errands for last minute purchases.

mousecat0 stayed home to wait for the contractor to repair the water damaged ceiling downstairs. Got home, placed drinks on ice, packed the remainder of the gear, and rested for an hour or so before heading over to the hotel.

Once there, I checked in and found that I was the only person there from the convention. Oooookay then. No problem. I loaded our stuff into our room and the gaming and con stuff into the function space. Generally hung out and talked with people as they slowly trickled in. Once our registration team was up and running, I did the con a favor and went to grab a shower. Clean and somewhat refreshed, I returned to hang out until it was time to decamp to Outback for the annual dinner. After dinner was comprised mostly of me doing not much of anything. I decided to call it a night.

Sadly, sleep was in short supply on Friday night for 2 reasons. The first is that I don't sleep well in hotels. Mainly because I am very sensitive to noise when I sleep. If it's not familiar, I have to identify if it is a threat. Hotels have many unfamiliar noises.

The second part is much more amusing. In Hotels, we tend to have

mousecat0 and B. sleep in one bed while F. & I sleep in the other. F. kept rolling over and letting his arm flop, which resulted in my getting punched in the face. I kep moving his arm, yet it kept flopping back *whack!* and punching me some more. It got to a point where I put a pillow between us as a wall to stop from getting socked in the face. I eventually fell asleep for a few hours.

Saturday: Got up, got the kids up, and headed out to Dunkin' Donuts and ~~Char~~Starbucks for Munchkins and Pumpkin Spice lattes (The ONLY drink I will hit ~~Char~~Starbucks for on a regular basis) for that morning's game of Munchkins and Munchkin. We ended up playing Munchkin Booty, which F. won. After we cleaned that up, I got into a game of Arkham Horror, in which we not only managed to prevent Azathoth from coming through, but also won by closing all the gates and having more Gate trophies than players. Quickly ran out to Five guys for burgers, then came back to run my Deluxe Illuminati Game. I had three other players; the Gnomes of Zurich triumphed over Bavaria, the Bermuda Triangle, and the Network.

mousecat0 was not feeling well, so I sent her off to take a nap before the game. The next game I got into was my 8 pm The Stars Are Right/Revolution! event. Well, I didn't actually play, but I taught others to play, and that is just as cool.

mousecat0 came out for a while, and I played a round of Monty Python Fluxx, and then Agricola. As much as I enjoyed playing Agricola, I don't think I'll be buying it anytime soon. It's too "crunchy" a game for most of the people in my home at this time. After that, I chatted with some of the Barking Mad board members, then fell into bed.

Sunday: F & I got up, got showered, and got some breakfast at the hotel breakfast buffet. My "Choose your Chez" event had us playing Chez Goth. Spent the better part of the afternoon setting up the characters for the Arneson/Gygax Memorial Dungeon Crawl, then spent the evening running said Crawl (this will again get it's own post). Cleaned out the rooms some, then called it a night.

Monday: Time to clean up and pack out. Loved, loved, LOVED having a room with an exterior door. OMG it made packing out the room SOOOOOoooo much easier. Must reserve similar room next year. Family had breakfast at the hotel buffet again. Started people on a game of Munchkin Quest! Played Revolution! again. Packed up our games. Packed the car. Met people for the Dead Dog Dinner at Denny's. Enjoyed it much more than the last few years because we were in a room in the back, together at one long table, and it was reasonably quiet. Got into some great discussions over superhero movie casting (including a Dr. Strange movie, with Jeremy Irons as Baron Mordo and Alan Rickman as Dormammu, though I don't remember who we cast as Strange...)

Saw a number of new faces. This is good.
Missed several old friends. This was not good. Understandable in nearly all cases, but dammit, I miss seeing these people!
mousecat0 saw her Dr. today - she does not have the flu.
I really need to find someone to take over the Game Room. I have a feeling I'm going to need to focus on other aspects of the convention for the foreseeable future.
Agricola: For my first time playing, I didn't do too badly, and it's the sort of game I am finding I enjoy more and more. That said, I can't see spending the money to own this one, as it will sit on a shelf and collect dust because this is not the sort of game that the rest of the family likes.
Revolution!: AWESOME game. I hope that the success of the game encourages SJG to produce more Euro-style games. Quick to learn, quick to play. Little to none of the "Screw your neighbor" that seems to always be present in a SJG game.
The Stars Are Right: Also cool, but the way the rules are presented...leave me wanting. I need to think about this.
Games I saw that I didn't get to play but wanted to: Stone Age, SmallWorld, & Battlestar Galactica. Not that people wouldn't play them with me, but just didn't have the time.