Monday, April 9, 2012

G is for GaryCon (Followup)

If you haven't seen them already, here are my vlogs from GaryCon for days zero, one, two and three.

First of all, it looks like plans are underway for GaryCon V. The estimated attendance this year was around 550 people. At the rate things are going the convention may have to move to a bigger venue as The Lodge. I actually wouldn't be opposed to that. When GaryCon II was first held at the Lodge, I thought it was a great venue. It was big enough for all the con-goers and had great amenities like a Friday night seafood buffet and a Sunday morning brunch as well as a bluegrass band in the bar on Saturday night. It was a gaming convention with a little bit of everything else to keep things interesting. Then the hotel changed management and next thing we know, the restaurant is closed for the convention save for some burgers and overpriced bags of chips. This year saw a limited menu of "gamer grub", but it pales compared to the good breakfast I had with the Geekpreacher two years ago.

As far as gaming went, I overextended myself this year. At GaryCon I, I sat and played what would become HackMaster Basic with the Kenzer & Company D-Team. At GaryCon II, I ran my first HackMaster Learn to Hack and played Aces & Eights. At this year's convention, I tried to run and attend as many games as possible. And I ended up too tired to engage in any of the festivities in the bar afterward.



As for the games, they were awesome. I played in an old school OD&D game ran by Frank Mentzer. Not only did we not get into a single combat, I never rolled a single die the entire session. And it was still one of the most exciting games I've ever played.

I also got a chance to play the old Marvel Super Heroes game with Michael from the Dead Games Society. I forgot how fun that game was. My friends and I used to play Marvel all through high school. It's still as fun today as it was then. Any game that let's you play as Captain America and bank a shield throw off Doctor Octopus and into the Green Goblin is an awesome game.

Saturday night I was introduced to Pathfinder. The Pathfinder Society were great hosts to a newbie and got me up to speed rather quickly. I was so impressed with how they ran things that I used the Amazon gift card I got for my birthday to get the Pathfinder Core Rulebook. Not sure if there is a Pathfinder game in my area, but at least I will be prepared if there is.

My vlogs covered most of the Kenzer games I either ran or played. Overall, GaryCon is still worth being the only game convention I attend every year. Even with having to fly halfway across the country. Hopefully things will improve as far as hospitality and my own ability to pace myself.

Until next year.

1 comment:

  1. I'm not much of a gamer. But I have played Diablo & Starcraft. http://1000wrongs.blogspot.com

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