Sunday, August 19, 2012

My Highlights from Gencon


Well that was fun. I just returned from four days of gaming in Indianapolis at Gencon 2012. I went with one mission in mind... Is it possible to overdose on gaming? Thankfully I got my fill and came home hungry for more.  Lots of photos incoming...

The highlight of my weekend was playing lots of Warmachine.  I signed up to play Iron Arena matches all weekend to accrue points for prizes from Privateer Press. I had a lot of fun and played with people from all over the country (and Canada).  I did fairly well, winning as many games as I lost.  One really cool thing was playing pickup games against Pro-level Retribution players.  I really learned a lot by playing (and losing) against them. Everyone was really friendly and Privateer Press provided some really cool terrain boards to support their premier event.

Scenario boards were popular and always busy
my army against Circle on a regular table
and against Skorne.... Hordes players everywhere
another nice scenario table
and another with a train on it
Privateer Press prize area
I also played a couple of events that a local Indiana gaming club was putting on.   Hats off to the club, GRiPT Games.  Really cool guys that love the game. I played in their Wall and City events and had a blast.
I was the attacker in the Wall scenario
I beat up the Circle player defending it but I did not breach the wall in time
The City was a continuous team event with destructible terrain
Destroying buildings yielded random cards with one time use effects
Interesting Stormwall conversion on the right
Of course, there was other things of interest going on besides Warmachine. I did get to play some board game demos that were fun (Level 7, X-wing, etc). Also I did do a bit of shopping in the giant (and really crowded) exhibit area. I did get into a heated "discussion" with one of the Forge World employees about Land Raider doors. I was wrong, but the salesman had a really condescending tone with me. In my defense, it was hard to argue with a British guy wearing a kilt.

The only 40k I saw was this Apocalypse game that did not look like fun for the Tyranids
as they slowly marched into a fortress of guns with this waiting
The X-Wing game is fun, but the starter is a bit overpriced IMO
Here's me playing the demo right before I got both my pilots killed (Luke and Biggs KIA, sorry Rebel Alliance)
Prepainted mins included - custom Death Star theme boards are not
Nicely painted DUST minis
Very nicely painted Warmachine minis in the Privateer Press Display
Hey Forge World ... try "Painting" your minis for your display next time (/facepalm)

WWII war gaming remains as popular as ever - Bolt Action Terrain Board
More Bolt Action going on
Malifaux seemed popular
And some little card game called Magic:TG seemed to be everywhere
another popular game had Dungeons as well as Dragons

Wizards of the Coast promotes diversity
Drow seemed popular at their exhibit...
and around the gaming halls as I found out!

Special thanks to Chad "The Ticket Oak" at Gamer's Sanctuary. Also, thanks to my buddy Chris for letting me crash at his place in Indiana.
Thanks for viewing!

9 comments:

  1. fffffffffffffffffffff so awesome. Going in 2013 for sure. I think X-Wing will be a mistake for FFG. I have tried the 'move stuff in a vector' games and they're like doing accounting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. X Wing was fun, but not $40 for three models fun. But what do I know, they sold out of the special ships and almost all their starter boxes.

      Delete
  2. Looks like a lot of fun! Count me in for the trip next year - We can stay with my family!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So much cool stuff I would have liked to see - and maybe even played in some RPGs. Hope I can make it next year. Thanks for posting pics for those of us who have to 'be there' vicariously.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RPGs are still way more popular than minis games. However, they are not as photogenic. We tried to get in the D&D-Next Beta, but the lines were 3 hour wait, minimum....

      Delete
  4. Jesus. that looks awesome. Want to go badly next year, and that X-Wing looks awesome. Love that style of game, especially since it is Star Wars. Nice coverage, did you happen to win anything for all those games of Warmachine?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't been in a few years, and that is a mistake I plan on correcting next year. Was following your posts throughout along with Twitter stuff. Thanks for posting!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for the pics and report!

    ReplyDelete