I’m ecstatically happy to be writing this from America, in advance of my imminent arrival at GenCon 2016. Continue reading
Conventions
UK Games Expo 2016
My debut visit to the UK Games Expo was a bittersweet occasion – a band-aid to ease the irritation of not being able to visit GenCon 2015. This year my attendance was much more celebratory. Since I am attending GenCon, and returning to Nine Worlds as well, the UKGE marks the start of my convention season, which I’ve been looking forward to all year! Continue reading
2015 in Review: My Games
December is a time for meditation and self-reflection, to review the year that has almost passed and see what lessons can be learned for the future. It’s also a time when roleplayers go home to family or whatever, and with campaigns on hold, obsessives like me have nothing better than scrutinise their year in gaming. Continue reading
Trash Goblins!
My review of Nine Worlds mentioned that I took part in a Design-An-RPG contest – originally conceived as “75 mins to make a game, 45 mins to create an expansion for someone else’s”. We ended up not following the second half in the end, because other participants got clingy, and didn’t want other people challenging their creative control. But the first part went exactly to plan, and I ended up being embarrassingly proud of the game I produced. So I’m publishing it here. Continue reading
Nine Worlds 2015
It’s been nearly two weeks since Nine Worlds 2015 now, so we’re well overdue my review of the event. The short version is that I had a good time! Continue reading
UK Games Expo 2015
I like Dragonmeet and I like GenCon, but they’re far from equivalent experiences. Dragonmeet is a small, one-day, cheap and cheerful event, that draws attendance from a small number of game design luminaries, and runs in the city I live in. GenCon is a four day gaming juggernaut attended by the biggest names in the industry, that takes place on the other side of the planet and costs me hundreds of pounds to get to.
This year I was finally exposed to a sensible middle ground: the UK Games Expo. Continue reading
Dragonmeet 2014
The geek is a creature of habit – we don’t deal well with change. When I say that this year’s Dragonmeet convention last week, with its different location and the new stewardship of Modiphius Entertainment, pretty much matched my experience of the last three Dragonmeets, that’s definitely intended as a compliment.
#RPGaDay: Week Three
I’m still doing this #RPGaDay thing! Weeks one and two are out of the way – let’s see what’s left. Continue reading
Back in the UK
Well, GenCon is over and I’m back in London. Though the convention ended 48 hours ago, I’ve only had one sleep since then, so I’m pretty much running on fumes. Even so, my last trip to the exhibit hall feels distant indeed. Maybe it’s the speed at which Indianapolis transformed back-to-normal on Monday morning, but GenCon’s already starting to recede into memory. Continue reading
GenCon: Day Four Overview
I just sat down for dinner, with dessert, and I’m so tired that my speech is slurred. Which can only mean that GenCon 2014 has come to an end. The unofficial motto of GenCon is “eat, sleep, game: pick two”; I seem to have half-eaten and half-slept over the last four days, which is at least mathematically compliant.
Today was a short day, with events only running for six hours (contrast yesterday, when I was busy 9am to 9pm). Here’s what I got up to: Continue reading
