The location was reasonable: the Hyatt Regency hotel by the Bay. The hotel itself had good amenities. Most of the roleplaying games (RPGs) had an separate hotel rooms. However there seemed to be some poor distribution of rooms for the games, which meant some nearby guests were disturbed by the late night games. Luckily for me the, RPG rooms were all on the 2nd floor while mine was on the 3rd, thus I avoided any disturbances in the night. On the downside the food was fairly expensive and most of the alternatives required some driving. The quality of the food however was reasonable, even good in some cases.
The dealer's hall was filled with a good selection of board games, dice, RPGs and some interesting odds and ends. Of particular note was a booth for Cheap Ass Games (where I almost bought Unexploded Cow) and Geek Chic which sells custom gaming furniture. I've been eyeing one of their tables for some time. Thanks to my wife I have some credit in the form of some gift coins. So I'm obligated to buy something at some point.
There was also a booth "selling" prizes. This was a part of the RPG program at the convention. Each gamemaster (GM) was given a pin and about 10 dollars of "Kubla" Bucks to award to the players. these could be used to buy books, games and other knickknacks at the Prize Vault booth. It was pretty fun and my wife and I were able to pick up an Italian board game called Gonzaga about controlling medieval fiefs for free as well as a small art book.
- My Con Haul
Overall the games were great. The Don't Rest Your Head game run by Wilson Zorn was perhaps the best. In the game we played people in a small town who were unable to sleep. After days without sleep we found ourselves in a twisted mockery of our home town where it seemed our psychoses had become reality.
Most of the other games were equally great. The Apocalypse World game was fun and I was able to play a Hardholder for once. We even managed not to burn down the place. In Dungeon World, we constructed a world, saved a town and defeated a demon. Microscope was a game I've been hoping to play for a long time and we had a great time building a timeline for a race that discovered they were living in a cave. We had dinosaurs, oracles, cursed living obsidian, and a dynasty running from the first explorers to a cruel tyrant who destroyed art to the first astronauts.
I also found some time to hit the board game area. There seemed to be a fair assortment of games available as well as a lending library. One helpful item were flags at the pickup game tables for groups looking for players. I hit one of these to play a couple rounds of Avalon. This game is like Werewolf or Mafia where you play the knights of the Round Table trying to complete quests or (secretly) an Assassin trying to sabotage it. I also played Bump in the Night where you run monsters trying to scare the most children. I managed to win in a way the developer had never seen. It was pretty fun.
As far as getting into games, things were pretty straightforward. Their shuffler seemed pretty balanced and transparent. I got into four games, failed to get into two, crashed two board games and an RPG. The site lets you see your current weight in the shuffle so you tend to have a good idea of when you are likely to get into a game. As a GM you get a lower starting weight which probably explains my luck at the con.
There was a lot of other thing to see and do that I didn't have time to go to. There were war games including a massive set up with dinosaurs and a crashed saucer; tournaments a whole section for kids and teens, including a huge war game of horsemen, musket men, and cannons; plus seminars.
In the end Kublacon surprised me with how much it had to offer. In many ways (hotel quality, the shuffler, the diversity of games and vendors), I found it superior to DunDraCon. I would heartily recommend going to the convention if you are in the Bay Area, though I might recommend bringing your own food.
- Some games I played
- Our Microscope Timeline
As far as getting into games, things were pretty straightforward. Their shuffler seemed pretty balanced and transparent. I got into four games, failed to get into two, crashed two board games and an RPG. The site lets you see your current weight in the shuffle so you tend to have a good idea of when you are likely to get into a game. As a GM you get a lower starting weight which probably explains my luck at the con.
There was a lot of other thing to see and do that I didn't have time to go to. There were war games including a massive set up with dinosaurs and a crashed saucer; tournaments a whole section for kids and teens, including a huge war game of horsemen, musket men, and cannons; plus seminars.
- Kids at play or war?
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