It wasn't always that way. Back in the late-90's / mid-2000's there was Fleet-Con, so named because it was held at the Fleet Club Atlantic, a popular watering hole for our Canadian Armed Forces. As Cons went it was always a pretty minimalist affair, though.
Typically you'd pay about five or ten bucks at the door. Inside there'd be screenings of genre films. Talented model makers would proudly display their amazing handiwork. LARPers, the 501'st Legion stormtroopers and klingons with obvious thyroid problems would all be in attendance. There'd usually be some sort of Halo tournament and a spot of organized table-top gaming, often tragically centered around the inexplicable appeal of dreck like Munchkin. *Eeeeesssh!*
Infinitely more important to us: all of the regional vendors would set up a table and sell their wares tax-in. There was also a shit-ton of available gaming space. So, honestly, Fleet-Con as just a thinly-veiled excuse to get a deal on board games and then play the crap out of them until we got kicked out.
For reasons still unknown to me, the original organizer of Fleet-Con packed it around 2003. So, for many dark and depressing years, there were no all-day gaming events to look forward to. In order to remedy the situation, I ran an event called Davecon back in 2007. Why Davecon? Three reasons:
(1) I'd intended the whole thing to be a bit of a joke.
(2) Anyone who knows me knows that I love board games and there'd be absolutely no confusion
as to what would happen at a convention bearing my name.
(3) I have a galloping-out-of-control ego.
There were only eight attendees that first year (me, Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey, Andrew, Sabina and Angela) and we managed to finish only three games (Betrayal at House on the Hill, Cave Troll and Bang!). Nevertheless, much fun was had by all and a part of me seriously thought about doing it every year. But you know how it is: you get busy, you get lazy and the next thing you know two years have got behind you (my apologies to Pink Floyd).
In 2009 Fleet-Con was resurrected for a one-shot charity event. Although it turned out to be a mere shadow of its former self, we were reminded of just fun it was to go to an all-day gaming event. Henceforth, I pledged to do what I could to give myself and my peeps one guaranteed day a year when they could forget all of their troubles and spend an entire day spazzed out on board-gamey bliss.
On March 13'th, 2010 the first annual Davecon was held in my teensy apartment. This time we had ten people show up: me (I figgered I should), Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey (occasionally dual-referenced as "Claudrey" or "Audria"), Andrew, Sabina, Angela and new participants Chad and Mark. I also put an emphasis on playing a bunch of shorter games simultaneously. This strategy worked out nicely and we managed to cram in ten complete games that day: No Thanks!, Ingenious, Citadels, Blokus (and its Duo counterpart), Ticket to Ride, Warhammer Invasion, Red November, Zombies!!! and a game which was destined to become a Davecon tradition: Ultimate Werewolf!
I also gave out ballots to people who played games and bonus ballots for winners. In the end, Sabina proved to be the winner, scoring a free copy of the classic Bruno Faidutti card game Citadels! This would come to be something of a tradition within itself!
The following year we had a turn-out of twelve peoples: me, Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey, Andrew, Sabina, Angela, Mark and fresh meat Mike, Dawn and Joe. We blew away our previous record of "Most Games Played In One Day" with Blokus, Kingsburg, Survive: Escape from Atlantis!, Drakon and Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit plus three matches each of Apples to Apples and Roadzters, and two games apiece of Shadow Hunters, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Ultimate Werewolf.
Once again Sabina's name was drawn for the grand prize: a $20.00 gift certificate. We had so many ballots that year that we also decided to crown our first Davecon MVP right on the spot. Having submitted the most total ballots for the day, Dawn was declared the first-time winner in this impromptu new category!
Since this was clearly the most successful Davecon to date, a follow-up was certainly in order. By the end of February we'd locked down the date of April 14'th but we still hadn't addressed one major problem: where to hold the event. The chaos of the previous year made it painfully obvious that we'd hit the maximum capacity of our humble little apartment so finding a new home for Davecon was imperative.
Mercifully a convenient solution soon appeared in the form of Quantum Frontier: an awesome comic/game/toy store in the North End of Halifax. The entire upstairs floor (cleverly dubbed "The Danger Room"), a fantastic space dedicated to gaming, is available to rent for private functions! As soon as I had a chance to peep it out, I knew that we'd found the perfect place. Sabina was kind enough to make all of the arrangements and soon the only thing left to do was wait for the big day to arrive!
I bombed into the store at around 11:30 am on Saturday to set up for the event. I posted an orientation sign up at the back of the store leading guests upstairs and a welcome sign at the top of the steps. I then set up my "registration table" where attendees could sign in and take a name badge. Then I ran back downstairs with my video camera and did some establishing shots of the store as I waited for my peeps to arrive.
Lindsay (sp?) at Quantum Frontier was super-nice: friendly, helpful and accommodating even as I ran around the place like a whirling dervish. After Andrew, Audrey, Claudia and Dean arrived, Patrick, store owner, popped by to introduce himself.
"So, is this, like...a tournament?" he asked, clearly amused by our enthusiasm. "Will there be a winner?"
After explaining our ballot-to-play-and-win system Patrick said "Okay! Hold on a sec. I'm gonna give you guys a prize!"
He took me downstairs and handed over a free copy of the board game Ninja Versus Ninja! After thanking him profusely I quickly turned to greet more arriving guests. By the time everyone was accounted for, we had twelve attendees in total. Sadly, Cheryl couldn't make it, having come down with a particularly nasty case of what appeared to be The Andromeda Strain only a few days prior.
By 12:30 everyone had arrived so I was quick to get my game-on. Inspired by Wil Wheaton's inaugural episode of TableTop, Andrew S. had prepared Small World for our amusement value. Intrigued by the colorful board and the bizarre fusion of fantasy races and special powers, it didn't take very long before we were joined by Davecon first-timers Matt and Andrew B.
I'd played Small World twice before and eked out a win in the first game so I was really looking forward to trying it again. It's actually quite simple: players first select a traditional fantasy race that's been paired up with some wacky random special ability. Your goal is to compete with your fellow players over a continent rife with variable terrain and resources. Eventually you'll put your first race into decline and select a new one to play. Picking a savvy combination of race and power, exploiting the map's terrain, sabatoging your opponents and timing the decline of your previous race will all aid players in their quest for victory!
Despite some frustrating luck with the die, I managed to conquer the north-east corner of the board with my Forest Dwarves and hold onto it for most of the game. The two mountainous and two wooded regions turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving, scoring six to nine points for me on every round!
Andrew tried to dig in with Bivouacked Ghouls but Matt saw the danger inherent in this and ousted him with his Spirit Tritons. Andrew B. cut a bloody swath through the southern regions with his Heroic Orcs, cutting down natives like cordwood. After three turns I put my Dwarves into decline and snapped up the Wealthy Sorcerers. Andrew followed suit not long after with a pack of Stout Halflings.
My Sorcerers were like a house on fire. They stabbed right into the heartland from the north, replacing several of Matt and Andrew's single active tokens with re-enforcements from the supply. Andrew B. and Matt played a great first game but may have taken their first races into decline a bit too late. They also kept kicking game runner Andrew in the cubes, giving me a chance to fester unmolested.
Matt switched to Seafaring Wizards but had some trouble exploiting their abilities. Andrew B. bounced back very nicely with his Berserk Elves, but his sketchy luck with the die seemed to work against him. Andrew went for numbers with his final race, selecting the multitudinous Ratmen.
My final race was perhaps my weakest pick of the game: Alchemist Humans. By this time, Andrew knew that I was the front-runner and cut deep into my Sorcerer turf with this Ratmen. I responded by sending my Humans down from the North, claiming a couple of farmland regions with some bonus Alchemical points to boot!
The final scores were me: 94, Matt, 83, Andrew B. 75 and Andrew S. 67.
I positively love this game! It's like a quicker, simpler fantasy-themed rejiggering of the Avalon Hill classic History of the World.
I positively love this game! It's like a quicker, simpler fantasy-themed rejiggering of the Avalon Hill classic History of the World.
While all of this was going on, Mark proved victorious in a life or death struggle (not really) against Dean and Mike in the Magic-meets-Dominion-meets-Yahtzee dice-building game Quarriors!
Rollin' bones seemed to be the order of the day as the dexterity game Tumblin' Dice also proved to be a major hit. In Game One, Audrey schooled her sister Claudia as well as fellow competitors Dawn and Sabina. The final scores were Audrey 104 (!), Dawn 98, Claudia 59, Sabina 28.
Next the gals tackled the card-matchin' party game Apples To Apples with Audrey continuing her winning ways. Over the course of the day, three more games were played, with Andrew B., Sabina and Angela all scoring big wins over various contendahs.
In Game Two of Tumblin' Dice, Claudia had her revenge with the best score of the day: 117! Who says hate doesn't make you powerful? Audrey was second with 78, Sabina came in third with 61, Dawn placed fourth with 60 and Angela was the last winner with 47 points.
In Game Three Dean proved triumphant in a squeaker match with 70 points. Dawn and Mark shared a score of 63 and Mike had a tally of one less!
Dean then proceeded to host a game of the dice-a-licious Kingsburg with Dawn, Claudia, Audrey and Mike. Despite never having played the game before, Dawn managed to beat her more experienced rivals.
Being a sucker for a board games based on vehicular slaughter I was powerless to resist Andrew's siren call to try out Road Kill Rally. After scoring a low roll to determine initial set-up I was surprised to find myself second to start, with Matt in first, Andrew S. in third and Andrew B. in the fourth and final spot. I'd soon find out that, unlike other racing games, having the pole position in Road Kill Rally is akin to having a giant target painted on your rear windshield.
Matt, being the first to start, was also the first to drive through the flaming barrier on the very next tile, resulting in a wipe out. I barely managed to navigate past this with Andrew² hot on my heels. Behind the wheel of a car armed with Machine Guns, Ram Plates and Targeting Computers, I felt reasonably confident that I'd be able to maintain my lead.
I missed running over my first pedestrian but managed to plow through three suicidal cultists at the cost of nearly wiping out. After passing by Satan's Summer Home, we were all fortified somewhat by a tile which gave us some desperately needed Rally Cards. My lead was still intact as I vanished into the next tile filled with obscuring smoke, but it wasn't meant to last. Even though my car's Ram Plates would have allowed me to smash through the subsequent rock slide and score a few more kills, I was going w-a-a-a-a-a-y too fast to navigate the accompanying red turn.
To make matters worse, Andrew B. kept trying to blow the real spoiler off my car which I managed to avoid by playing a "You Missed!" card. Meanwhile Matt and Andrew S. seemed quite content with the idea of ramming each other off the road. Although I kept leading the pack I also had no available target in my forward sights. As a result I didn't score any Victory Points for damaging my opponents nor did I get an opportunity to pilfer any Rally Cards from them.
Although he'd been attacked several times in the early goings of the game, Andrew S. continued to play a highly disciplined game, picking up two adult casualties and a few damage tokens to boot. Wisely he let the rest of us blaze a trail for him, putting the pedal to the metal only when appropriate.
As the pack grew tighter, Matt effectively turned Andrew B. into a briquette with his Flame Thrower, forcing a wipe out. Andrew quickly bounced back by getting up to speed and scoring several octogenarian hood ornaments. Sensing his intent to nail me from behind (!) I tried to drop a few well-placed mines into his path but my attack rolls were horrendous.
Andrew B's subsequent assault inflicted my first wipe out at the worst possible time, merely two tiles away from the finish line. By the time I got back up to speed, both Matt and Andrew S. had blown past me to take first and second place respectively. Despite his well-timed attack, Andrew B. placed fourth.
Andrew B's subsequent assault inflicted my first wipe out at the worst possible time, merely two tiles away from the finish line. By the time I got back up to speed, both Matt and Andrew S. had blown past me to take first and second place respectively. Despite his well-timed attack, Andrew B. placed fourth.
But even more important then where you finish in the race itself, there's all of those points earned for kills and opponent damage to tally up! When everything was said and done, Matt won with 150 points, Andrew B. had accumulated a healthy 130 points, Andrew S. surprised with 110 and I totally washed out with 70.
Some post-game advice: abandon any assumptions that Road Kill Rally is your typical racing game. Even if initial placement puts you at the head of the pack, don't be afraid to drop back, especially early in the game. Lead cars are a frequent target and really have little to no hope of dealing with crazy track tiles as they're being placed.
I feel as if we barely scratched the surface with this one. I love the speed/movement mechanic, the color-coded turn difficulty and the use of hand management to represent damage and wipe outs. I also dig how almost every tile creates a new and potentially deadly driving challenge. Component-wise the tiles are a very high quality cardboard, the art design is appropriately garish and the plastic figures are darkly amusing. All of these things help to evoke shades of Death Race 2000 meets Mad Max.
During our engagement with Road Kill Rally, Angela came away lording her manual dexterity over opponents Sabina and Mark in a wild game of Donkey Kong Jenga. Just prior to collapse, the tower resembled something designed my M.C. Escher.
The trio then segued into a tense contest of Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game. Sabina (as Sheriff Anderson and his son Billy) and Angela (playing Johnny and Sally) managed to whack their fifteenth zombie prior to sundown without a single casualty in the "Die, Zombies, Die!!!" scenario.
Another rash of Tumblin' Dice broke out immediately after. In Game Four Dawn nabbed first place with a score of 79 but Mark was nipping at her heels with 76. Mike placed third with 52, Audrey had a respectable 48 points and Sabina earned the dubious honor of posting the lowest score of the day with an inexplicably sad six points. The hell....!?
In Game Five Matt (53) bested rivals Sabina (46), Andrew B. (32) and Angela (11).
Game Six saw the same roster flip scores, with Andrew B. (51) just barely edging out Angela (50), leaving Sabina (39) third and Matt bringing up the rear (37).
Audrey triumphed in Game Seven with a score of 85, besting Sabina and Mike (both with 54) as well as Claudia's 50 and Dawn's 46.
Naturally I had to jump in and show these noobs in Game Eight how not to do it by scoring a mediocre tally of 33. Surprisingly my score didn't hold up to Mark's 83, Sabina's 77, Dawn's 67 or Claudia's 60. Man, it's pretty sad when the person who comes in fourth nearly doubles your score!
Next, Andrew B. managed to steal a win away from Matt (42), Angela (37), Sabina (30) and Andrew S. (27) with a score of 45 in Game Nine.
Finally, in the Tenth Game, Matt got the duke with a score of 65, leaving behind Andrew B. (46), Angela and Andrew S. (with 44 points apiece) and Sabina with 23.
Next, Andrew B. managed to steal a win away from Matt (42), Angela (37), Sabina (30) and Andrew S. (27) with a score of 45 in Game Nine.
Finally, in the Tenth Game, Matt got the duke with a score of 65, leaving behind Andrew B. (46), Angela and Andrew S. (with 44 points apiece) and Sabina with 23.
Then Dean expertly led us through a traditional run of Ultimate Werewolf. Even before there was a single casualty, Matt he Construction Worker discovered a horrible truth about one of his fellow villagers. Unfortunately, Mike the Slightly-Too-Chatty Minstrel immediately drew the ire of his fellow bumpkins just by opening his mouth. As a result, Matt's warnings about a certain piqued old lady who's eyebrows meet in the middle fell on deaf ears.
Ironically, every word Mike uttered seem to escort him closer and closer to the gallows pole. But when it came time to a vote, Mike pulled out a bravura performance of "Freebird" and managed to dodge the impending noose.
Overnight, Matt used his unearthly gift of second sight and was pleasantly relieved to confirm Mike's innocence. That same night, however, the werewolves conspired to nosh on Andrew B., the town's stalwart trapper.
Armed with the hard scientific evidence that I was being "too quiet", Sabina as Bria (a former adventurer until she tragically took an Internet meme to the knee) turned the harsh spotlight of accusation upon me. This was immediately seconded without hesitation or thought by Andrew S. Jerkstore.
I failed to sway the court of public opinion with my dazzling defense of "You're wrong! Case closed!" It wasn't long before Yim the Swedish Yuggler was a-hangin' in the air like a limp windsock. After I revealed my identity card, thus proving my innocence, I assuaged my premature demise by calling all of the conspirators a bunch of dumb-asses before taking a seat in the spirit gallery.
Spent after a long hard day of rank murder, the villagers promptly fell asleep. During the night our intrepid Seer looked into Bria/Sabina's heart and came away somewhat surprised. During the night, the werewolves enjoyed a penguin-flavored nosh, chowing down on Trenlow the Strong (Smelling), cleaner of horse-stalls (a.k.a. Andrew S.)
After her quick accusations resulted in the demise of two innocent villagers, Sabina/Bria (henceforth known as "Sabria") fell under scrutiny. Whipped up into the sort of frenzy only seen in old Frankenstein movies, the villagers wasted little time on logic or reason, even as Matt kept underscoring the town's old crone (a.k.a. Dawn). Soon, Sabina found herself swinging like a sixty-year-old Floridian with a Cialis prescription.
The surprisingly resilient Seer then learned the truth behind Gretchen the Barmaid's ample...smile. The mornings tentative light soon revealed that Lance (aka Mark) had been mauled to death, leaving the town's privies nastier then Snooki's navel. The villagers finally started to listen to Matt's strident warnings and strung Dawn up, who proved to be the first justifiably lupine homicide!
But the following night, Matt made the mistake of peeking into Audrey's hovel mid-transformation. The Seer quickly paid for his new-found wisdom by ending up as a human chew-toy.
Desperate, Claudia nominated the virtually mute Angela, a move that was hastily seconded by Audrey. With a defense even more lame then my own, it didn't take long before the town's exotic flamenco dancer (?) was strung up and beaten like a Mussolini-shaped piñata.
And with the death of yet another lycanthropy-free innocent, the wolves achieved parity. Audrey was declared the winner, her second victory in Ultimate Werewolf!
It was getting late but we managed to sneak in a few more games before running low on time. First Matt and Sabina scored three ballots apiece in two games of the buzzer-happy, verboten-word party game Taboo. Andrew lured Dean, Audrey and Claudia into a game of Stone Age and then proceeded to annihilate them without mercy. Being completely enamored with the wacky world of Kaiju films, I was an easy mark for Matt's demo of the Richard Garfield dice-fest King of Tokyo.
In King of Tokyo players assume the role of a giant monster trope and attempt to earn Victory Points by beating up on each other and occupying poor, beleaguered Tokyo (not for political reasons one can assume). While alone in the city, monsters can dish out the hurt all across the board but can't heal until they surrender their prize to an opponent's beastie.
Every turn, players roll eight customized die and then mix and match the results like a poker hand. They also have the option to use two additional re-rolls. The numbered faces (marked one to three) score victory points when matched in multiples, the heart symbols heal your patron monster while outside the city, the claws can be used to attack the current occupant of Tokyo and energy bolts can be exchanged for cool cards that improve your chances and/or hinder your rivals.
Matt's giant ape (appropriately named "The King") was the first to score some Veeps by wading into Tokyo but he had to clear out after Mike's Kraken came a-knockin'. He held onto the prize as long as he could but eventually had to surrender the title after getting knocked down to a single Life Point!
Andrew B. didn't stay in the city for very long, choosing instead to pursue a few interesting strategies via the power-up cards ("OooOooo, an 'Extra Head!'"). It kept his monster (Meka Dragon?) relatively intact but it didn't net him a ton of Victory Points. Meanwhile, I patiently waited for my chance to pounce by rolling modest doubles and triples and generally staying clear of the city core.
I tentatively moved into the city after my monster Giga Zaur finally managed to evict current occupant Andrew. My trepidations were instantly justified after I got the shit hammered out of me in short order. I could only hold on to Tokyo for a turn or so before slinking away to lick my wounds. After healing somewhat, I used my energy reserves to purchase a card which allowed me to change a single die roll to whatever result I wanted. Unfortunately I was forced to play it on Mike instead of myself in a vain effort to delay his rampaging ways.
Revitalized, Mike returned to his old stomping grounds and tossed the competition out on its ear. Not long after he turned his creature dial to twenty Victory Points and the Kraken was crowned the new King of Tokyo! The final scores: Mike 20 points, Matt 18, me 16 and Andrew B. had 12.
As a fusion between a Halo "King of the Hill" death match and the dice-chucking mechanics of Mmm...Brains! or Zombie Dice I thought this was a deliriously fun little game which made a very strong case for purchase. I can't help but think about how much more awesome it would be to re-skin this with Toho monsters. Wouldn't it be so much better to be using Godzilla, Rhodan, King Ghidorah, Gigan or even that pansy Mothra instead of the copyright-friendly generic wannabes included in the game? Sadly the Toho license always seems to go to virtually unplayable crap like Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars.
While Andrew was finishing up Stone Age, I led Mike, Dawn and Mark in a match of Shadows over Camelot. In this thematically rich co-op game, players take the role of King Arthur and the noble Knights of Camelot. Collectively they attempt to complete quests for legendary items of renown such as the Holy Grail, Lancelot's Armor and Excalibur. If successful, they can claim and use these helpful artifacts in game and also score victory points in the form of White Swords which are displayed on the Round Table.
At the start of every round, each player's Knight takes one of three unpalatable actions which advances the Forces of Evil. This often comes in the form of a Black Card draw, which frequently complicates a quest or hampers the efforts of the heroes in some way. Soon, the Knights will find themselves scrambling around the realm, trying to put out a slew of fires that come in the form of Saxon and Pict invasions, challenges by the diabolic Black Knight and catapults laying siege to Camelot.
If a quest is failed, Black Swords are placed to symbolize the defeat of the Knights. The game ends when the twelfth sword token is placed on the Round Table. Successful players will need to know who should quest solo, when to collaborate on a callenging task and how to share valuable resources.
Before we got started Andrew S. goaded me into including the Traitor rule. When you invoke this option, each player is dealt a Loyalty Card. Seven of these dedicate the recipient to Arthur's cause but one card will command the player to sow the seeds of discord amongst the Fellowship. Naturally, these roles are kept secret until the Traitor is exposed or the game ends. If a Traitor stands unrevealed at the conclusion of the game, two of the swords on the Round Table are flipped to their black side!
Since I had three new players to the game, I probably shouldn't have played with this rule since the game is challenging enough without it. I'd played Shadows over Camelot only three or four times before and never with a traitor in our midst. But I have to admit that I was curious about this unknown X-factor so I let Andrew twist my rubber arm.
As Arthur, Mike kicked off the game. For awhile he mostly stayed in Camelot, drawing a surplus of White Cards which we used to complete quests and tilt the odds more in our favor. Mark as Sir Tristan used his ability to depart Camelot as a free action and went right after the Black Knight. Dawn as Sir Percival ventured forth to try and prevent the Holy Grail from slipping into oblivion. Alarmed by Excalibur quickly fading away from us, I raced to the quest and started playing Fight cards as soon as I could.
Mark won his quest against the Black Knight and finished off the work I'd started in recovering Excalibur. I tried to aid Dawn in the Grail Quest but the two of us could do little to stop the oncoming deluge of "Despair" cards. Dawn did manage to stem the tide of invading Saxons but seemed horrified when she found out that the invasion would soon begin anew!
Despite our setbacks, things were still running fairly smoothly as we approached the endgame. Then, the thought of an unrevealed Traitor began to nag at me. Mike in particular was doing some odd things, like using Arthur's power to pass along some m'eh cards all the while just kinda hangin' around in Camelot. Even more suspicious: he began to play every single Black Card face down. Granted this gave him a free bonus White Card in return, but it also kept Quest opposition completely unknown; a common tactic used by the Traitor.
So, naturally, I accused Mike of being a rat. Aaaaaaand, of course, he wasn't. Double dumb-ass on me. Because of the false accusation, one of our White Swords was turned to black, swaying the match towards the Forces of Darkness. Naturally, since I'd pointed an accusatory finger at Mike, suspicions were immediately leveled at me (and deservedly so). My genuine display of contrition seemed to excuse me from any further inquisitions.
But things were looking dire. Unfortunately a revitalized Black Knight and the surging Picts quickly put us right back behind the 8-Ball. With all but a few slots still vacant on the Round Table, we were trailing the Forces of Darkness by one Sword. Undaunted, Mike gave us a fighting chance by jumping into the field, winning Lancelot's armor and then using its ability to banish the worst of the Black Cards to the bottom of the deck. This gave us a glimmer of renewed hope. Could we still pull off a win?!?
Our only hope now would be to try and slay the Dragon, which would have allowed us to flip a Black Sword to White in the final tally. Unfortunately, with the Excalibur Quest done and the Grail Quest lost, each matching Black Card drawn was now being translated into a Siege Engine! I managed to destroy one, freeing up a vacant spot, before a Black Card ordered us to place two of them on the board, bringing the total to twelve. The game was over and we'd been defeated!
Although I take full responsibility for virtually assuring our loss, a tie wouldn't have won us the game and an unrevealed traitor would certainly have lost it. Having said that, I probably should have discussed my intentions with my follow Knights before blurting out an accusation. I promise, guys, we'll try this again real soon, only this time we'll play it without the paranoia-inducing Traitor rule (at least at first)!
Our day ended around 8 pm with the draw for our two prizes. After Claudia expertly explored every nook and cranny of the Dark Lord of the Sith for errant ballots, Andrew B. pulled his own name to score the $55.00 Grand Prize! He then drew Matt's name which allowed him to take home Ninjas vs. Ninjas! This couldn't have worked out better since he'd been drooling over the game ever since it came up as a possible prize!
All told, Davecon 2012 proved to be a rousing success. The venue was perfect, the new-to-me games totally rawked and the prizes this year were better then ever!
Although I now have a full year to ponder tweaks and improvements for next year's event, I'm left a bit cold knowing that we may not have another full-day gaming even until Hal-Con rolls around in October.
Honestly, I really started Davecon in the hopes that everyone in my circle might end up creating their very own customized eponymous event. Just think of the possibilities: twelve attendees this year could translate into one mini-con a month!
Who knows, maybe one of these days I can attend back-to-back Andrew-Cons!
Photos by Michael Chiasson and Angela Wiwczor.
Ironically, every word Mike uttered seem to escort him closer and closer to the gallows pole. But when it came time to a vote, Mike pulled out a bravura performance of "Freebird" and managed to dodge the impending noose.
Overnight, Matt used his unearthly gift of second sight and was pleasantly relieved to confirm Mike's innocence. That same night, however, the werewolves conspired to nosh on Andrew B., the town's stalwart trapper.
Armed with the hard scientific evidence that I was being "too quiet", Sabina as Bria (a former adventurer until she tragically took an Internet meme to the knee) turned the harsh spotlight of accusation upon me. This was immediately seconded without hesitation or thought by Andrew S. Jerkstore.
I failed to sway the court of public opinion with my dazzling defense of "You're wrong! Case closed!" It wasn't long before Yim the Swedish Yuggler was a-hangin' in the air like a limp windsock. After I revealed my identity card, thus proving my innocence, I assuaged my premature demise by calling all of the conspirators a bunch of dumb-asses before taking a seat in the spirit gallery.
Spent after a long hard day of rank murder, the villagers promptly fell asleep. During the night our intrepid Seer looked into Bria/Sabina's heart and came away somewhat surprised. During the night, the werewolves enjoyed a penguin-flavored nosh, chowing down on Trenlow the Strong (Smelling), cleaner of horse-stalls (a.k.a. Andrew S.)
After her quick accusations resulted in the demise of two innocent villagers, Sabina/Bria (henceforth known as "Sabria") fell under scrutiny. Whipped up into the sort of frenzy only seen in old Frankenstein movies, the villagers wasted little time on logic or reason, even as Matt kept underscoring the town's old crone (a.k.a. Dawn). Soon, Sabina found herself swinging like a sixty-year-old Floridian with a Cialis prescription.
The surprisingly resilient Seer then learned the truth behind Gretchen the Barmaid's ample...smile. The mornings tentative light soon revealed that Lance (aka Mark) had been mauled to death, leaving the town's privies nastier then Snooki's navel. The villagers finally started to listen to Matt's strident warnings and strung Dawn up, who proved to be the first justifiably lupine homicide!
But the following night, Matt made the mistake of peeking into Audrey's hovel mid-transformation. The Seer quickly paid for his new-found wisdom by ending up as a human chew-toy.
Desperate, Claudia nominated the virtually mute Angela, a move that was hastily seconded by Audrey. With a defense even more lame then my own, it didn't take long before the town's exotic flamenco dancer (?) was strung up and beaten like a Mussolini-shaped piñata.
And with the death of yet another lycanthropy-free innocent, the wolves achieved parity. Audrey was declared the winner, her second victory in Ultimate Werewolf!
It was getting late but we managed to sneak in a few more games before running low on time. First Matt and Sabina scored three ballots apiece in two games of the buzzer-happy, verboten-word party game Taboo. Andrew lured Dean, Audrey and Claudia into a game of Stone Age and then proceeded to annihilate them without mercy. Being completely enamored with the wacky world of Kaiju films, I was an easy mark for Matt's demo of the Richard Garfield dice-fest King of Tokyo.
In King of Tokyo players assume the role of a giant monster trope and attempt to earn Victory Points by beating up on each other and occupying poor, beleaguered Tokyo (not for political reasons one can assume). While alone in the city, monsters can dish out the hurt all across the board but can't heal until they surrender their prize to an opponent's beastie.
Every turn, players roll eight customized die and then mix and match the results like a poker hand. They also have the option to use two additional re-rolls. The numbered faces (marked one to three) score victory points when matched in multiples, the heart symbols heal your patron monster while outside the city, the claws can be used to attack the current occupant of Tokyo and energy bolts can be exchanged for cool cards that improve your chances and/or hinder your rivals.
Matt's giant ape (appropriately named "The King") was the first to score some Veeps by wading into Tokyo but he had to clear out after Mike's Kraken came a-knockin'. He held onto the prize as long as he could but eventually had to surrender the title after getting knocked down to a single Life Point!
Andrew B. didn't stay in the city for very long, choosing instead to pursue a few interesting strategies via the power-up cards ("OooOooo, an 'Extra Head!'"). It kept his monster (Meka Dragon?) relatively intact but it didn't net him a ton of Victory Points. Meanwhile, I patiently waited for my chance to pounce by rolling modest doubles and triples and generally staying clear of the city core.
I tentatively moved into the city after my monster Giga Zaur finally managed to evict current occupant Andrew. My trepidations were instantly justified after I got the shit hammered out of me in short order. I could only hold on to Tokyo for a turn or so before slinking away to lick my wounds. After healing somewhat, I used my energy reserves to purchase a card which allowed me to change a single die roll to whatever result I wanted. Unfortunately I was forced to play it on Mike instead of myself in a vain effort to delay his rampaging ways.
Revitalized, Mike returned to his old stomping grounds and tossed the competition out on its ear. Not long after he turned his creature dial to twenty Victory Points and the Kraken was crowned the new King of Tokyo! The final scores: Mike 20 points, Matt 18, me 16 and Andrew B. had 12.
As a fusion between a Halo "King of the Hill" death match and the dice-chucking mechanics of Mmm...Brains! or Zombie Dice I thought this was a deliriously fun little game which made a very strong case for purchase. I can't help but think about how much more awesome it would be to re-skin this with Toho monsters. Wouldn't it be so much better to be using Godzilla, Rhodan, King Ghidorah, Gigan or even that pansy Mothra instead of the copyright-friendly generic wannabes included in the game? Sadly the Toho license always seems to go to virtually unplayable crap like Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars.
While Andrew was finishing up Stone Age, I led Mike, Dawn and Mark in a match of Shadows over Camelot. In this thematically rich co-op game, players take the role of King Arthur and the noble Knights of Camelot. Collectively they attempt to complete quests for legendary items of renown such as the Holy Grail, Lancelot's Armor and Excalibur. If successful, they can claim and use these helpful artifacts in game and also score victory points in the form of White Swords which are displayed on the Round Table.
At the start of every round, each player's Knight takes one of three unpalatable actions which advances the Forces of Evil. This often comes in the form of a Black Card draw, which frequently complicates a quest or hampers the efforts of the heroes in some way. Soon, the Knights will find themselves scrambling around the realm, trying to put out a slew of fires that come in the form of Saxon and Pict invasions, challenges by the diabolic Black Knight and catapults laying siege to Camelot.
If a quest is failed, Black Swords are placed to symbolize the defeat of the Knights. The game ends when the twelfth sword token is placed on the Round Table. Successful players will need to know who should quest solo, when to collaborate on a callenging task and how to share valuable resources.
Before we got started Andrew S. goaded me into including the Traitor rule. When you invoke this option, each player is dealt a Loyalty Card. Seven of these dedicate the recipient to Arthur's cause but one card will command the player to sow the seeds of discord amongst the Fellowship. Naturally, these roles are kept secret until the Traitor is exposed or the game ends. If a Traitor stands unrevealed at the conclusion of the game, two of the swords on the Round Table are flipped to their black side!
Since I had three new players to the game, I probably shouldn't have played with this rule since the game is challenging enough without it. I'd played Shadows over Camelot only three or four times before and never with a traitor in our midst. But I have to admit that I was curious about this unknown X-factor so I let Andrew twist my rubber arm.
As Arthur, Mike kicked off the game. For awhile he mostly stayed in Camelot, drawing a surplus of White Cards which we used to complete quests and tilt the odds more in our favor. Mark as Sir Tristan used his ability to depart Camelot as a free action and went right after the Black Knight. Dawn as Sir Percival ventured forth to try and prevent the Holy Grail from slipping into oblivion. Alarmed by Excalibur quickly fading away from us, I raced to the quest and started playing Fight cards as soon as I could.
Mark won his quest against the Black Knight and finished off the work I'd started in recovering Excalibur. I tried to aid Dawn in the Grail Quest but the two of us could do little to stop the oncoming deluge of "Despair" cards. Dawn did manage to stem the tide of invading Saxons but seemed horrified when she found out that the invasion would soon begin anew!
Despite our setbacks, things were still running fairly smoothly as we approached the endgame. Then, the thought of an unrevealed Traitor began to nag at me. Mike in particular was doing some odd things, like using Arthur's power to pass along some m'eh cards all the while just kinda hangin' around in Camelot. Even more suspicious: he began to play every single Black Card face down. Granted this gave him a free bonus White Card in return, but it also kept Quest opposition completely unknown; a common tactic used by the Traitor.
So, naturally, I accused Mike of being a rat. Aaaaaaand, of course, he wasn't. Double dumb-ass on me. Because of the false accusation, one of our White Swords was turned to black, swaying the match towards the Forces of Darkness. Naturally, since I'd pointed an accusatory finger at Mike, suspicions were immediately leveled at me (and deservedly so). My genuine display of contrition seemed to excuse me from any further inquisitions.
But things were looking dire. Unfortunately a revitalized Black Knight and the surging Picts quickly put us right back behind the 8-Ball. With all but a few slots still vacant on the Round Table, we were trailing the Forces of Darkness by one Sword. Undaunted, Mike gave us a fighting chance by jumping into the field, winning Lancelot's armor and then using its ability to banish the worst of the Black Cards to the bottom of the deck. This gave us a glimmer of renewed hope. Could we still pull off a win?!?
Our only hope now would be to try and slay the Dragon, which would have allowed us to flip a Black Sword to White in the final tally. Unfortunately, with the Excalibur Quest done and the Grail Quest lost, each matching Black Card drawn was now being translated into a Siege Engine! I managed to destroy one, freeing up a vacant spot, before a Black Card ordered us to place two of them on the board, bringing the total to twelve. The game was over and we'd been defeated!
Although I take full responsibility for virtually assuring our loss, a tie wouldn't have won us the game and an unrevealed traitor would certainly have lost it. Having said that, I probably should have discussed my intentions with my follow Knights before blurting out an accusation. I promise, guys, we'll try this again real soon, only this time we'll play it without the paranoia-inducing Traitor rule (at least at first)!
Our day ended around 8 pm with the draw for our two prizes. After Claudia expertly explored every nook and cranny of the Dark Lord of the Sith for errant ballots, Andrew B. pulled his own name to score the $55.00 Grand Prize! He then drew Matt's name which allowed him to take home Ninjas vs. Ninjas! This couldn't have worked out better since he'd been drooling over the game ever since it came up as a possible prize!
All told, Davecon 2012 proved to be a rousing success. The venue was perfect, the new-to-me games totally rawked and the prizes this year were better then ever!
Although I now have a full year to ponder tweaks and improvements for next year's event, I'm left a bit cold knowing that we may not have another full-day gaming even until Hal-Con rolls around in October.
Honestly, I really started Davecon in the hopes that everyone in my circle might end up creating their very own customized eponymous event. Just think of the possibilities: twelve attendees this year could translate into one mini-con a month!
Who knows, maybe one of these days I can attend back-to-back Andrew-Cons!
Photos by Michael Chiasson and Angela Wiwczor.
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