Things That Made Me Smile at GenCon 2009

I’ve covered the last four GenCons, three for Scrye magazine and this year for Team Covenant. It was an abbreviated trip this year getting in Saturday afternoon and then all day Sunday. Between covering the Monsterpocalypse Masters and playing in a couple City Smash events, I didn’t have nearly as much time on the exhibit floor as in years past. Since I got my hands on Monsterpocalypse at GenCon last year, I really wasn’t looking for a new game. But, walking around the exhibits and the show in general I still saw some things that made me smile. Here are a few of them.

Maybe it’s just me, but there seems to be more and more costuming at GenCon each year. I started things off right with a couple of the more entertaining costumes. Walking toward the convention center Saturday afternoon, I saw a lady rocking a She-Ra outfit and after I got my badge a couple of people dressed up as the Yip Yips from Sesame Street (the pink and blue Muppets who repeat sounds as they learn about Earth).  I’ve got friends who are costumers and the work and creativity that goes into the hobby is impressive. But I’m usually not one to get my picture with anyone in a costume. These Muppets made me laugh as a kid and the costumes looked great, so I got my picture taken with them.  There has been a costume contest for years and they just seem to be getting better and better year after year. It’s a good reason to walk around between games.

After picking up my badge one of the first rooms I noticed was a small conference room full of people playing at conference tables. I wanted to see what they were playing and was surprised to find a dozen or more Blood Bowl games going on. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a Games Workshop board game released in 1987. The game pits all sorts of fantasy creatures against each other in a mix of football, rugby, and basketball. The game has been revised several times and its rules are currently available online in a Living rulebook that is updated by rabid fans of the game. I walked into the huge main board game hall across the hall from this room to find another dozen matches in the main gaming room.

Down the hall in the exhibit hall are hundreds of vendors trying to sell people new minis games and here are people playing a game whose rules are available for free online. It’s an impressive display of how much fun Blood Bowl is, that without any kind of organized marketing by the company,  it is still in heavy play. There’s a league starting at an area game store and I just may have to print out those rules, get some minis, and give it a try.

One of those companies looking to start a new game is Wyrd Miniatures. They’ve been making minis for years, and now they are coming out with a new game to support their minis. Malifaux is played in a dark Victorian fantasy world where crews battle for control of the Breach. The miniatures are striking, and the game uses a deck of cards as a randomizing device rather than dice. So it has a different play to it. A friend has been playtesting it for the company and raved about how much fun it is. It was about the only game I really took time to demo at the show, but I can see from my demo why he raved. The deck and figure interaction is a fun change of pace. Plus, for a traditional miniature game it’s pretty affordable with a $35 game book, a $7.50 deck of cards, and $30-$37 for a starter box set (which is enough figures to field a crew in the game). Remember that you’ll have to assemble and paint the figures, but if you are looking for a minis game, this is one worth looking into.

Last year, Geek Chic showed up in the exhibits with an elegant hardwood gaming table. It was an impressive sight. This year they were back with a range of tables from the $650 GM valet to gorgeous tables in maple, cherry, and walnut with gaming specific features you will drool over. If you make it to GenCon next year, I imagine they will be back next year too and you should really check out their wares. Even if you aren’t in the market for a $2,000 heirloom quality table, you might find their hardwood movement sticks useful for moving minis around your games.

Diversification seems to be a priority this year for some game companies in this difficult economy. Aside from Warmachine, Hordes, and Monsterpocalypse, Privateer Press has already gotten into the card game business with Infernal Contraption. They’re expanding on that with Scrappers, another Bodgers game; and Grind, a standalone game of Steamjack combat sports.

Catalyst Games is a newer name for a company with a long history in the industry. The publisher of Battletech and Shadowrun, they have a range of new games coming out. The games are amazingly diverse from Ergo, a game of logical proof, to Poo, a card game of monkeys flinging the game’s name at each other.

Even if you get into the exhibits and check out the new games, be sure to walk a bit further and check out artist alley. I’m glad I made the extra effort this year. I have a new webcomic, Weregeek, I plan on checking out and some artists I’ll keep my eye out for in the future.

This is just a few of the hundreds of exhibits in the hall. GenCon is a huge show with thousands of games being played and hundreds of exhibitors to visit. It’s impossible to see it all. But, it’s worth it to try and see some of what is out there beyond your favorite card or minis game.

Even if all you see is someone dressed up as a Muppet that made you laugh as a child.