Convention Report: GAMECON-1 - December 4, 2005 (Day Two)

By Tom Vasel
December 14, 2005

Day Two
Day 2 of the conference I got there a little later, due to it being Sunday morning.  Once I did arrive, I played some games with Dale, finally beating him in Columns.  I also learned Fire and Ice.  I have to say that I’m really impressed with Pin International games, and hope that they get more distribution and press. 

I saw the Avalon Hill Cosmic Encounter sitting alone, all by itself and no one playing it.  Even though it’s not as good as my Mayfair/Avalon Hill combination, it’s still a tremendous game!  So I found some people who were interested, rounded them up, and started teaching them the game.  About halfway through, a coordinator came and got me and told me that my next presentation was about to begin.  So I left them playing, and went to speak once again.

I had originally planned to give two more lectures: My top 100 games, and “What makes a good board games?â€?  Edwin decided that we should combine these, so I started off by listing some of my top 100 games, then I would list a point about good board games, etc.  When I named Settlers as my # 100 – a few people looked stunned, and I knew I had my audience.  When I reached Puerto Rico at # 94, there was actual applause!  Most of the gamers in Singapore and Malaysia, while they think Puerto Rico is a good game, find it overrated by Americans.  I found this humorous – but continued to go through my games.  I thought that people would get tired of listening to one hundred games mentioned and talked about, but there were more people listening to me this time than the day before!  I had a great time, and talked afterwards to many people who had read my reviews.  Apparently I have a bit of a fan base, and while this is certainly unwarranted, it was actually quite fun to have fifteen minutes of fame.

After my talk, I headed down to look at the games for sale, and spotted that they had just gotten Descent (Fantasy Flight Games, Kevin Wilson) in – straight off the boat from China.  I asked Edwin if we could open up one as a demo copy, and almost ran to an open table.  Descent comes in a huge box – the same size as Twilight Imperium 3, and was full of hundreds of figures and tokens.  I immediately started reading the rulebook, as several eager players came up and started punching out pieces and sorting them out.

We played the first mission in the book, with me as the Dungeon Master.  Let me get this out of the way first – Descent is FUN!  It’s a dungeon crawl game that reminds me of the old Hero Quest game, but using the system that Kevin Wilson introduced in Doom: the Board game.  I liked Doom a lot, but in Descent, the system has been refined and works better.  There is a huge variety of weapons, armor, treasure, monsters, etc. – and even though it took us three hours to play through the first scenario, we were never bored.  Descent just reeks of fun, fun, fun.  It’s a hack-and-slash type system, but players don’t ever feel overwhelmed – although the final enemy was certainly a doozy.  The four guys I played with had a great time, and we were all ready to play again.

However, I wanted to see some other games, so I went off to look at the new Vegas Showdown by Avalon Hill.  The theme and the rules looked intriguing, so I sat down to learn how to play.  Gameplay includes bidding on different parts of one’s casino, trying to score points in different ways.  I got off to a rocky start, buying a horribly expensive piece, and I never recovered.  I was starting to get very interested, however, until the game abruptly ended.  I’m not sure I like how quickly the game ends, but I think I’ll have to play it again some more.  It seems like building a lounge, then a nightclub is the best way to go – having money doesn’t really get you too many benefits (which is ironic, with the game being about casinos).  Currently, I’m going to give the game a neutral rating, and will have to play it again before I decide for sure.  It was fun, but seems a bit forced and the ending too quick.

I also got a chance to play QQ-Chess, a mixture of European and Chinese Chess, by Lewis Lim and DK Liew.  The game was a typical chess variant, with some cool features – knights being able to bounce off a piece of their own type to capture an opponent.  What I liked best, though, was a variant in which you can choose a piece of your opponent’s, and have it become a traitor for your side.  I played a game against the producer and lost quite horribly, but it was a tremendously fun time.  It also can be played four players, and may have solved the thousand year old mystery of four player chess.

After this game playing, Edwin started handing out the awards for the Settlers, Carcassonne, and Acquire tournaments.  He pulled me up on the stage, and I sadly handed out the prizes (I say sadly, because I wanted them).  Each winner got a copy of the BGG calendar, as well as some German gaming magazines, and a small expansion for the game they won (like River II for Carcassonne).  Some more awards were given out for the CCG and miniature winners, and then the conference started breaking up, with gamers packing up tables and heading out.

I myself had to run, as I had a flight to catch that night so that I could arrive in Korea the next morning.  So I sadly bid all my new friends farewell and headed out.  The next morning, I arrived in Korea, wishing I was still in warm Malaysia!

Some final comments on Game Con 1

- It was an excellent first conference for gamers.  Edwin did a magnificent job in getting so many different gamers of different types to work together to produce a rather large production.  Thousands of people came through, and there were very few hang-ups that I could tell.
- There was a huge emphasis on teaching games to new people.  There was a dedicated team from Singapore who took shifts in teaching games such as Acquire, I’m the Boss, Citadels, and more to anyone who walked by.  At any given time, there was dozens of games in progress.
- The tournaments were small (well, except for the CCG tournaments, which were huge), but were run well, and I think we’ll see them grow in future years.
- I had a great time talking about games to people who actually listened! 
- The enthusiasm here is simply incredible.  There are about the same percentage of people in Malaysia and Singapore who are “gamersâ€? as there are anywhere else in the world.  But these guys (and gals) are on a mission (“crusadeâ€?, they call it) to promote these games in the schools and to ordinary folk.  Game Con 1 was a great start, and I know they are already planning for Game Con 2.
- There are a lot of good games being produced in the East, whether from Pin International in Thailand, or Fun Factory in Singapore, and some of these games have the opportunity to reach a lot of people.

I was extremely thankful and pleased to be able to attend Game Con 1.  I hope to continue to go to these conferences, and that they grow and expand.  Perhaps in times to come, Game Con 1 can become the “Essenâ€? of the Far East.

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games�
www.tomvasel.com

Pictures - Click the picture for a larger version
	The World’s Hottest Race
	The CCGers were in constant swing, always playing.  They were very organized.
	The final Vs. showdown, for a $2,500 prize!  Hmmm, maybe I should be playing this game.
	40K in action.
	40K in action.
	Railroad Tycoon
	Games for sale.  I couldn’t resist, and picked up several.
	Niagra being taught.
	Nexus Ops
	The final round in the Acquire tournament.
	Here I’m giving my “Top 100 Games speech”
	Vegas Showdown
	Vegas Showdown
	My pathetic casino.
	The finale of the Memoir ‘44 tournament
	QQChess
	QQChess
	Handing out the prize to the winner of the Acquire tournament
	The winners of the painting contests.
	Descent
	I plan the demise of the brave adventurers into the dungeon.

© 2005 Rick Thornquist

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