Monday, February 20, 2006
On Saturday, I attended the Pandemonium gaming convention for the first time since ... well, since the first time I went about seven or eight years ago when the con was held at the Holiday Inn on King. While the con has changed management in that time, it seems many of the disorganization problems continue to pop up. That said, though, I had a lot of fun on Saturday (even if I still think the $25 entrance fee is a bit too much). The board/war game area was well-run by the TABS crew, and I got into three different pick-up games throughout the day -- first In The Shadow of the Emperor bright and early when I found Logan sitting alone in the board/war/minis game room because of a scheduling error that left him without a game, then a nearly four-hour game of Railroad Tycoon, and finally a pick-up game of Brawling Battleships with Dave B. just before the TABS raffles were dealt with.
Of all the games I played, I think I enjoyed In The Shadow of the Emperor the most, even if I did come in last in points. The game is pretty neat, as it's really all about politics and putting your lords into positions in various duchies and diocese in order to try to take power. One person is always the emperor, and that person gets a few little perks. Logan was chosen randomly as the emperor at the beginning of the game, and he managed to hold his title right up until the end of the game when Rob (who brought the game) finally earned the support of both Dave M. and I. I'd been a loyal toady all game until Emperor Speakman broke a tie between Dave and I in Dave's favour. When Rob challenged the emperor in the last turn, I threw my support behind the usurper. ;)
Still, it didn't really matter, the former Emperor Speakman managed to gain a hell of a lot more victory points than any of us. Even though I'd managed to hold onto three duchies for a good portion of the game, my final victory points were the lowest. Everyone was shocked except me. I kept getting pounded on all game just because people thought I was winning. :P
Railroad Tycoon ended up being a good game, although not a great game. Since it's an Eagle Games title, the board is frickin' hunormous, although it only represents a map from the U.S. mid-west to the eastern seaboard. It has some nice bits and some flexibility in what cargo you want to move, but it just doesn't compare to Empire Builder, which has a smaller board with a larger section of map (the entire U.S. as opposed to just half of it) and random cards that tell you what freight you have to move from one location to another to gain money. Also, Railroad Tycoon is based specifically on victory points, whereas winning in Empire Builder is based on how much cashola you have at the end.
There's not much to say about Brawling Battleships that I haven't said before. I've played the game a few times now. Sometimes I do well. Sometimes not. This time, not. Dave B. kicked my sorry ass pretty hard.
After everything was finished, a bunch of us from TABS made our way over to Casey's at Kennedy Commons for some drinks and dinner (although we had to wait in the bar for an hour-and-a-half). I was starting to get tired by the time we actually sat down to eat, and I was quite happy when I finally got home and saw my bed.
Provided TABS has a strong showing next year, I think I'll probably attend Panda again. I think I might try my hand at actually running a game of some sort so I can save a few bucks on admission. You see, if you volunteer to run a game one day, you get in free for that day. As I found out, it doesn't even matter if the game actually happens, you still get in free. Food for thought. ;)
Of all the games I played, I think I enjoyed In The Shadow of the Emperor the most, even if I did come in last in points. The game is pretty neat, as it's really all about politics and putting your lords into positions in various duchies and diocese in order to try to take power. One person is always the emperor, and that person gets a few little perks. Logan was chosen randomly as the emperor at the beginning of the game, and he managed to hold his title right up until the end of the game when Rob (who brought the game) finally earned the support of both Dave M. and I. I'd been a loyal toady all game until Emperor Speakman broke a tie between Dave and I in Dave's favour. When Rob challenged the emperor in the last turn, I threw my support behind the usurper. ;)
Still, it didn't really matter, the former Emperor Speakman managed to gain a hell of a lot more victory points than any of us. Even though I'd managed to hold onto three duchies for a good portion of the game, my final victory points were the lowest. Everyone was shocked except me. I kept getting pounded on all game just because people thought I was winning. :P
Railroad Tycoon ended up being a good game, although not a great game. Since it's an Eagle Games title, the board is frickin' hunormous, although it only represents a map from the U.S. mid-west to the eastern seaboard. It has some nice bits and some flexibility in what cargo you want to move, but it just doesn't compare to Empire Builder, which has a smaller board with a larger section of map (the entire U.S. as opposed to just half of it) and random cards that tell you what freight you have to move from one location to another to gain money. Also, Railroad Tycoon is based specifically on victory points, whereas winning in Empire Builder is based on how much cashola you have at the end.
There's not much to say about Brawling Battleships that I haven't said before. I've played the game a few times now. Sometimes I do well. Sometimes not. This time, not. Dave B. kicked my sorry ass pretty hard.
After everything was finished, a bunch of us from TABS made our way over to Casey's at Kennedy Commons for some drinks and dinner (although we had to wait in the bar for an hour-and-a-half). I was starting to get tired by the time we actually sat down to eat, and I was quite happy when I finally got home and saw my bed.
Provided TABS has a strong showing next year, I think I'll probably attend Panda again. I think I might try my hand at actually running a game of some sort so I can save a few bucks on admission. You see, if you volunteer to run a game one day, you get in free for that day. As I found out, it doesn't even matter if the game actually happens, you still get in free. Food for thought. ;)
// posted by Chris @ 3:15 PM 
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