The day started with VIG swag; Well, technically with a shower & getting dressed, but then VIG swag. There was a lot of it, but I have essentially no luggage space, so Naomi+Jay very kindly swung through the JW in their truck & took it off my hands to give it a good home.
We’d arranged that they’d let me know when they were on their way, and I’d be waiting in the hotel pull-through valet parking area. As it turned out, our timing was perfect, because the message arrived just as I woke up and checked my phone, giving me enough time to have a shower and get dressed, and then they arrived in the pull-through area just as I walked out of the lobby. Could not have timed it better if we’d tried.
This is one of those situations where everyone thinks they got the better end of the deal, which is nice. For my part, while I could just put the games in the lobby with a “Free To A Good Home” sign on them, it feels wrong somehow? And trying to give them away to individual people takes forever.
For reasons unknown I didn’t get breakfast at the hotel, but instead wandered to the stadium & the food trucks.
The Official Pizza Of Gen Con 2024 is … Nice enough, I guess? It’s a mildly spicy pizza with jalapenos and crushed corn chips on it, so it’s kind of interesting, but not earth-shattering? I mostly tried it today because it was the only time I’d ever seen the line be less than 20′ long, so if I was going to try the thing, this was my moment.
Probably I just don’t get the hype of the Official Thing Of 2024? Pizza for breakfast is pretty good though.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/417505/dabba-walla
Caught up with Tom once I read the booth number correctly, and mentioned the very pretty Old Gods Of Appalachia dice I’d seen at the Monte Cook room; No idea how, but they look like they’re made from anthracite. I’d looked at them earlier in the day because I had a $5 off voucher from the game yesterday, and I’d seen the ones the GM for that game had, but decided that I couldn’t justify the cost despite how pretty they were.
Well, Tom very generously bought me a set. (Not pictured, because they’re already packed)
Last game of the con was something using the Cypher System from Monte Cook Games, in their “Predation” setting, which has cut-off/abandoned colonies scattered through history; Specifically, the part of history with dinosaurs.
The game was good, as was the GM, but 4/6 of the table was a family group who tended to cross-talk among themselves & to talk over people, which … Got annoying? The ‘highlight’ was probably when the father asked a question of the GM, but kept talking over the answer, multiple times, by giving detailed response options to his own question. I’m assuming that after shepherding a teenager or two around the con for four days you probably get stuck in that mode, but … The Nice GM Cannot Answer Your Question If You Don’t Stop Asking It, So Maybe You Could Shut. The. Fuck. Up.
But we solved the problem, saved a lost kid, and got to ride on a dinosaur. Best. Day. Ever.
Both the GM for Predation and someone I chatted to earlier about the game “No Thank You, Evil” mentioned that MCG are/will be looking for people to run games for them at next year’s convention. Not sure why; Maybe they were telling everyone, or maybe I asked intelligent questions?
It’s something I’d wondered about with Magpie Games, when they put out a call for GMs, but I’d want to have at least some experience running their games before doing so at a convention where people have paid money to play. But it’s something to think of for next year.
Or the Vendor Hall.
I’m not sure what to call it.
Predation finished a little bit early, so I wandered around in the Vendor Hall with no particular agenda until the final call was given, the end of the Com was announced, and a huge cheer went up from the vendors. ( And a lot of the attendees )
Spent some of the late afternoon getting the dinner and hanging out with Frank and Ben, but then the tiredness started to overtake us all, so we called it and headed off our separate ways.
Spent the evening packing up my room and making sure that the suitcases were not over the weight limit. I finished that process up on Monday morning, but the hard work was done on Sunday evening; Lots of closing suitcases to weigh them, noting down the weights, and redistributing things to try to get them roughly even and under 50lb.
