42. I Game in Public

As the title says, I game in public.  This may be hard to believe for those who know me in person, but I assure you it's true.

Back at the end of June my job put me in Columbus, OH, on the opening day of the Origins Game Fair, June 23rd.  It was purest coincidence but a wonderful coincidence at that.  I was able to attend only that one day, and it was literally last minute.  I dragged myself out of bed extra early and headed over.  Unbelievably my hotel was a mere ten minute walk away.  By the end of an hour, I had registered and signed up for two games.  I am usually a planner but this was all done on the fly.  I wandered the exhibit hall until it closed, bought some cool things, then headed over to my games.

Here are the pictures I took with my phone.  I took A LOT of pictures, but despite my phone having a higher megapixel count than my home camera it doesn't have the light sensitivity it could, so many photos came out blurry (it does very well in sunlight and static scenes; not so well with indoor lighting and movement, but it's a PHONE not a camera, so oh well).  I have not included all the pictures I took; I wouldn't inflict that kind of torture on you, my voluntary blog-reader!

One thing I confirmed for myself is that I won't do conventions alone any more, at least not by prior choice.  That's why I stayed home from Gencon this year:  no one to go with.  It's really not much fun wandering the con solo.  However, next year's plans are already in the works.  Fear not for my mental health.

The Welcome sign at the Exhibit Hall entrance.

Looking to the left of the Welcome sign near Badge Registration:  the stairs.  What I found cool is the projected images on the stair steps.  I'm not sure where the projectors were.  I thought it was pretty neat.

Inside the Exhibit Hall, near the paint & take tables.  I couldn't get an in-focus shot of the Hall very well.  It was a good-sized Hall for Origins, and there were a lot of big name vendors there, as well as some new names I hadn't heard much of before.  Apparently the Hall was sold out:  good news indeed in "this economy."

A really cool tapestry/rug by a vendor (sorry, don't remember who).

A cool VSF model.  I can't remember which booth it was at, or for which game.  I should have taken more notes; now it's been two months and I've forgotten everything.

The other side of the above picture, same booth.  It is difficult to make out, but it's a 3D VSF battle scene.

Victorian Science Fiction is making a huge come-back (has it been and gone already?), or perhaps that should read, is really getting popular now.  A booth of foam (but real-looking) swords, and various costumes.  One booth of about four, as I recall.

I love large gaming artwork.  I'm sure I've got a wall that would fit it, but I don't have a wife who would allow it.

Another booth of VSF costumes.  It seems the VSF crowd is more of a LARP-type of gamer, or at the least someone who likes to dress in costume, even if they don't play.  I wonder if the VSF gamer and the VSF costumer ever overlap?

A selection of rather pricey hats.  $80 for something I can ONLY wear at a game convention?  How do people justify the expense?

I almost bought the Beholder hat, but just couldn't quite convince myself to do so.

I got to play the first convention demo game of Tomorrow's War, by Ambush Alley Games, published by Osprey.  It was at the Osprey booth, and it was a verrrry simple scenario.  I have to admit it didn't do a lot to tell me about the game, but I have to give the presenter a little slack, in that it was THE first game so he was a trifle rusty on the rules.  From everything I've read about the game, it's one I will be picking up when it's published in October.

More VSF goodness:  prop hand guns.

A view of the right half of the Miniatures Gaming Hall.  There were a lot of tables, and while possibly 30% to 50% were empty, keep in mind it was only the first day of the con.

What follows here is a selection of the tables in the Miniatures Gaming Hall.

Very large table of naval gaming.

Some of the ships from the previous game's vendor.  Where would you store them???  How would you get them home???

A scratchbuild 'Mech terrain board.

A very cool layered depth table.

I overheard that the space dock was scratchbuilt.  Very cool.

The second game I played, a demo of a then-as-yet unpublished game called Leviathans by Catalyst Game Labs.  It is available for purchase now, I believe.  In this photo, it was so new they didn't have all the ships models yet.  I liked it.  VSF strikes again!

Another 'Mech-type table.  More cool SF terrain.

This was a very large table, or perhaps it's just that the miniatures were very small.  It was either Microarmor, or some other 1:6000 scale game.  There are a lot of tanks on that board!

My last game, and the one that took the longest to play:  Isandlwana, using the PIQUET: Din of Battle Supplement.

A grand scale battle, beautifully painted figures, lovely terrain.

I played the "chest" portion of the Zulu attack.  Part of the reason I wanted to play was because I have never been able to play this battle, but I was also very interested in the rules.  I have heard differing opinions of them and wanted to see for myself.

Now, there may be certain rules mechanics that are simplified for a convention game, but in the final analysis I don't think I will buy these rules for myself.  It was a well-run game by an umpire with plenty of experience, but the mechanics lacked what I felt was necessary for a sweeping, horde of warriors.  In the end, the British retained their position, and the outcome was never truly in doubt.  I am very glad I played, and if any Piquet defenders want to chime in and change my mind I am willing to listen.  I also realize one should not make a decision to like or dislike a set of rules after only one outing, but I don't see myself being able to play again...possibly ever.  No one near me plays them at all!

One of my biggest concerns was not buying too much.  I wanted to buy a lot more than I did, but not because I couldn't spend the money, but because I had no way to transport it home!  I hadn't packed in such a way to carry loads of gaming goodness with me, so I was very tight on space afterwards.  But I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

That's it for my (very late) Origins 2011 report.  It doesn't really show you what you missed so much as it helps me to remember what I did.  But thanks for reading, anyway!

Next up, a shorter report on a smaller con:  Skirmish 2011.

2. A good foundation provides the building blocks of success

Welcome, fair traveler! Greetings and Salutations! Pull up a virtual chair and sit a spell. Listen to me wax eloquent on such diverse topics as tables and gaming and why I should be Emperor Of The Known Universe. I'll start this blog with a description of my gaming environment. My game room is not the biggest room in the house (I'll have to wait for the kids to move out first before I can grab the "playroom") but it's certainly bigger than any game room I've ever had before. In point of fact, I've never had a game room before. When we moved into this house in 2006, I knew my dream of my own room had come true, but what good is a game room without a game table to play on? I really didn't want to just stick some folding banquet tables in there, with some plywood on top. And I didn't want a ping-pong table either. I wanted something nice, a really nice piece of furniture that just happened to be a table. And I wanted it to be store-able, able to be folded up and put away or taken with me in a car. So I did a little designing and I had my Dad, who is much more experienced in woodworking, construct a table. The essential design is mine, but the details and the nuts and bolts (as a figure of speech) are his. Hey, I'm an idea man, what can I say? I should add that I did the staining; he did the woodwork construction but I finished it off. My Dad is no "gamer" by any stretch of the imagination. He really could not understand why I wanted it the way I wanted: the height, the legs not coming up to the edges, the purpose.... His idea of gaming is playing cards or doing puzzles. Even now I don't think he really gets it, and if he does then he doesn't approve. Different generation. Now for some pics. I'll put the text above the applicable picture; it's easier to write something and then insert the photo. Click on the picture for a larger image. First up: my game room, in most of its glory. That's my painting table in the far left corner. I have two more bookshelves against the left (hidden) wall, plus a closet filled with unpainted miniatures. Anyway, my table is 4' x 6'. It's divided into 3 top sections, each section being 2' x 4'. The kicker is, the sections are removable. The tops have parallel lips that sit inside the frame on top of the legs. Each lip has two holes per side through which I insert metal pins to secure the table top to the frame. That way you can push down on the edge of the table top and it won't pivot up or flip. It's pretty sturdy, but I haven't tried sitting on it or anything. Certainly it holds up under a 6'2" man (not me) leaning on it reaching over to move his army. It's difficult to see in the pictures above, but the frame is recessed under the edge of the table top by approximately 6", so you won't kick the legs as you move around the table, and you can sit in a chair and the legs are more out of the way than if they were right at the corners of the table. The cool thing is, when you remove the pins, the table top comes loose. Next, you lift each section off and stand them up against the wall out of the way. Having removed the table top, what you have left is the legs and the frame.Now, in order to either store or transport the table, you simply remove the middle extensions. These are attached by... by... well, I don't know exactly what they're called. They're "bracket clasps," for lack of a better description. Here's a picture.After you unlatch the clasps, the middle extensions lift out, thusly:This then allows the legs to fold up almost flat (one folds flatter than the other, gotta be a little careful with that when transporting them). This picture doesn't show the legs fully folded, just a little bit for demonstration purposes!Now I can put it in the trunk of my car (as long as I fold the back seats down) or stand it up in my closet. AND, if I don't want to store it I can still use it in a smaller capacity! Simply attach the two halves of the frame together and you have the basis for a 4' x 4' table.The two halves of the table top that are the outer halves in full mode, now become a nice square table for smaller, perhaps skirmish-level, games. And it takes up much less room.So there you have it, my gaming table. I actually have another 2' x 4' section from the original board, but have not figured out a way to extend the frame without really weakening the structure. One of these days I'll pester my Dad to work it up for me, then I'll be 4' x 8', ready for my kids to move out! Hoody-hoo! The best thing, since the labor was free, is that it only cost me materials. Back in February 2007, it was only $168 plus state sales tax, totalling roughly $180. Not bad for an "heirloom" piece of furniture, as my Dad calls it. Thanks for reading. Please remember me when you go to vote for Emperor Of The Known Universe. And keep checking back; my next subject will be: philosophy! (...and how it relates to painting miniatures....) Oh and pictures of miniatures. Pretty pictures.