Let Eric Play !: GENCON 2012

Here we go, the actual first day of the CON! So exciting as I got to meet many people including Tom Vasel, Eric Summerer and Ryan Metzler from Dicetower network. Although I REALLY wanted to get a copy of Seasons, I was very surprised to have heard that they were sold out within minutes of the doors opening. I had not count on that. Now I am hoping I can order it (supposed to be available 30 Aug) and get it before I fly back to Singapore.

Day 1

30 minutes before opening! And this happens almost EVERYDAY of the CON!

Beginning of Cardhalla. This event has been going on for
about 14 years I believe. Every year people will donate
unwanted cards and people can build structures like a growing
card city of sorts. Then attendees get to donate money and
throw coins to bring down these structures. All proceeds are
donated to charity. So cool ya?

FFG's Merchant of Venus demo table. Eric Summerer enjoyed
himself playing the demo version and had good words to
say about the game. I am SO looking forward to getting this.

OMG SO MANY DICE. There are at least 5 booths selling
dice. Its a pity I don't play RPGs else I would find it hard not
to buy different varieties. There are some metal dice that are heavy
enough to become weapons though, if one can throw them
fast enough.

FASTTRACK - Looks like a remake of an older game
now with NHL branding. Its a quick agility
game where you are trying to get rid of all the
discs on your side of the board. I wonder
how long the rubber band will last though.

STRING RAILWAYS - Now in English! I played
this before at a meetup and it is rather light
and unique. I probably won't get it though
unless there are additional changes to it.

SNAKE OIL - Party game where you have 2 cards and you
try to combine them and convince the current player's role
that yours is the best. I am not a big fan of party games though.

TSURO OF THE SEAS - Its like Tsuro version 2. With a hidden
tile element as well as dragon tiles which are like traps for
the unwary ship, it seems to be a bit more interactive than
Tsuro. I probably won't get this.

There are areas where parents with kids can chill out and get
away from all hustle and bustle. GENCON is also fun for the
family!

MONSTEROLOGY - This is a CCG game that interacts with your iPad.
The CCG game can be played by itself OR with a game in iPad.
Quite innovative I feel and it will be interesting to see what
it does for the gaming industry. I wonder how they prevent
piracy and reusing the same cards on different iPads.

Blindside - Abstract game that seems to have quite
a buzz. It has neat looking arrows and components.
Never tried this though so not sure how it goes.

DOTZEE - Fun abstract game. Each player can only take a
dice on the borders and roll it and then place it back into
the grid by shifting it in. If you score a straight/full house
etc, then you will score a point. First to reach 10 points will
win the game. The components are nice, hefty and it is quite
a fun game to play.

SPARTAN - Based on the tv game. Seems to gotten a lot of
hype and sales from attendees. I am not too sure about the game
though. I did not get a demo in but from what I heard
its a lot of negotiations between players and participating
in gladiatorial matches to earn points. Lets hope someone else
in my group gets it ;)

WEYKICK FOOSBALL - Awesome wooden
components where players use magnets to
move their 2 wooden players on the board and
try to score a goal. Looks really fun but will
be a bit tough to bring back to Singapore.

URBANIA - Mayfair's newest game. I had a demo
later on and I got my copy. I've been
looking for a better real estate/property type
of game and I think this is it. Someone in BGG
mentioned this is like Ticket To Ride
reimagined and I guess that is correct but
its a good game nevertheless!

STAR TREK CATAN - Looks like a rethemed Catan. Components
looked good though. Still haven't owned a Catan and this
will be on my wishlist but I don't think I will get it as there
are a lot of other games out there!