Matt Carlson: Gencon 2019 (The Bizarre of the Bazaar)

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Matt J Carlson

If all my writing has you tired out, here’s a nearly all pictorial view of the oddball (to me) underpinnings of the show. Read on to see the overconfidence of a man in a purple jersey, class it up with a nice pen, or turn on the charm with a nice fez. It’s not over til someone rides off on a sheep…

Continue reading →
Posted in Commentary, Humor / Satire, Reviews | 5 Comments

GEN CON for a Day

Posted on August 10, 2019 by xitoliv

Gen Con’s not a convention I favor. Despite only living a few hours away, I’ve only been once, and I didn’t enjoy it too much. This year I gave it another shot, as I had some folks I wanted to stop and say hi to, and, as I said, it’s a short drive, so a trip up for Saturday doesn’t necessitate a hotel room, flight, or any of the higher ticket con expenses. I only planned to buy one game, Hats, but it was sold out.

Besides, my fortune from 2nd lunch on Friday said it would be thrilling.

When I’m travelling west from home these days, I try to see if I can visit Milktooth in Indianapolis for breakfast. The full service doesn’t start until 9, and in what I believe will be my three trips that direction this year (two of which have now past), that’s tough to schedule. I’ve made it twice between 7 and 8, and so pastries and coffee it is.

I’m not great at talking to strangers, including at conventions, but I’m getting better at inviting those walking by to play a game I’m setting up. One area I don’t struggle at, is asking strangers if I can have a treat when I see them with a box of donuts or a container of cookies, so I made an effort to return the years of favors, and walk around with a box of treats, determined to offer them to folks I know, but also anyone who asked, and situational strangers: the fellow whose job it is to mark the end of the line for the Asmodee store or the folks that I demo a game with.

Continue reading →
Posted in Convention Report | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Matt Carlson: Gencon 2019 (RPGs)

Posted on August 10, 2019 by Matt J Carlson

I feel like an old grump, but everything is going online and streaming nowadays. The world of RPGs is no different. Groups like Critical Role far outstrip the viewership of any of the traditional boardgame-coverage channels. (By my estimate, 600,000 subscribers and regularly hitting 1,000,000 views on YouTube is about 5x the viewership of one of the bigger boardgame channels and that doesn’t include a significant streaming viewership.)

It is only appropriate to mention the RPGs at GenCon as the convention gave birth to the genre back in the 70s. Gencon has traditionally been THE place to buy, play, and learn about RPGs ever since. Here’s what the “big names” are doing as well as some smaller titles and various tools and accessories for gaming.

Continue reading →
Posted in Convention Report, Reviews | 2 Comments

Nine Tiles Panic (Game Review by Brandon Kempf)

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Brandon Kempf
  • Designers: Jens Merkl & Jean-Claude Pellin
  • Artists: N/A
  • Publisher: Oink Games
  • Players: 2-5
  • Time: 20 Minutes
  • Times Played: 3 

“Those are just aliens wearing an Edgar suit” 

Oink Games has been rather hit and miss with me. I’ve loved my handful of plays of Deep Sea Adventure and the super fun version of Modern Art, but not really all that excited by anything else that I have played. With our recent love of the game Mesozooic I jumped when I saw Nine Tiles Panic, which is another real time puzzle game, albeit a bit different.

Continue reading →
Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Matt Carlson: Gencon 2019 (Digital)

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Matt J Carlson

In days past, GenCon was full of videogame vendors.  Over time, fewer and fewer showed up. However, the digital side is coming back, thanks to the increasing offerings of boardgames translated into the digital realm.

Continue reading →
Posted in Convention Report, Reviews | 1 Comment

Madrino (マドリーノ)

Posted on August 8, 2019 by xitoliv

Designer: Aiko Oyama, Toru Oyama
Artist: Aiko Oyama, Toru Oyama
Publisher: NANAWARI
Players: 3-4
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 20 minutes
Times Played: 7 with a purchased copy 

Madrino is a roll-and-write game about making floor plans.

If I lost you at “roll-and-write”, stick with me for a bit.  You don’t have to stay the whole time, but hear me out a little bit longer.   I’m going to come to the conclusion that this is a _party_ game. That’ll be important in a minute when I tell you that there’s no points, and it’s not a race game.  You look around, and just decide who wins. Seriously. (But not too seriously. This is a party game.)

In theme, the players work for an architecture firm.  You have a client who is slow to make up their mind on what they’d like in their home.  Today, they’ll tell you about where the front door should be. Next week, they’ll want a picture window in a corner, and a diagonal wall with a door, and a toilet somewhere in the Northeast. 

Continue reading →
Posted in Reviews | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments