Game lovers convene

This week it's not about a single game, but rather a full on weekend binge of gaming.

Recently it was trip to PrairieCon in Brandon, a really great gaming convention within reasonable driving distance.

It was my third visit to the Con, and second year in-a-row.

This time it was a full deal too. We, there were four of us in a bud's van, arrived noon Friday just in time to sign-in having pre-registered online.

Pre-registration is a good idea at a gaming convention because you can book yourself in to participate in the gaming demonstration and tournaments of the games you most want to play.

Most games, whether being demo'ed, or played as a tournament had participation limits, so for the most popular games getting in early was a near must.

The Brandon event held afternoon, and evening sessions Friday, went all day Saturday and until late afternoon Sunday, so there were a number of slots you could choose to game in. Each lasted about three hours, great for a game such as Tides of Iron, one I tried out Friday, but a bit long for some games which might explain why games like Hive, or Canadian checkers were not offered.

Of course it is up to volunteers what games are offered at event such as PrairieCon.

And in that respect Brandon offered up a lot of game choices for participants.

Numbers posted after this year's event showed there were 246 different games, 256 registered players and 1083 slot registrations.

Our little gaming cabal did its part, demo'ing four games.

We offered up a dual offering of Dreadball and Tutatis as two recent additions to the world of fantasy football gaming.

Dreadball in particular was well-received, which is not a huge surprise as it has become one of our group's favoured games.

Blackwater Gulch is a quick to learn and play miniatures game set in the old west which I have reviewed previously.

It was a great choice for a gaming convention environment since it is easy to pick up and games are not long, drawn-out affairs.

And finally we offered up MERCS.

This was gratifying to demo as two players from Regina took part. As it turns out there are about half-a-dozen players in Regina getting into the game, and the contact we made at PrairieCon has us working toward some form of combined effort that will see the four players here, and their group, getting together on a somewhat regular basis to play.

As a gamer that is great news indeed, and came about thanks to PrairieCon.

Next year I am leaning toward something simpler to demo/play. Hive with a promised new bug emerging this fall, comes to mind, and the pending release of Santorini, a Canadian-designed abstract that holds much promise.

In my case I also tried out a trio of games, the aforementioned Tides of Iron, basically because another bud had mentioned he was going to buy the game, although I found out after Brandon he didn't get it.

The game is, at its heart a World War II tank battles game. It plays all right, but would be better without a board.

I also played Go. As I told the gal running the session I knew just enough about the abstract strategy classic to know nothing, and she quickly proved me right.

I will say I am still a long way from completely grasping, all right from even reasonably grasping, Go, but I do have a better sense of its elegance and why it is widely considered the best abstract game ever.

And then there was Star Wars X-Wing. It was a last minute decision to participate, and while not a monster Stars Wars fan, a miniatures game based on battling spacefighters was worth a try.

My initial reaction was a bit lukewarm, but learning new ships were on their way to grow the game, and the itch to buy something new, a big part of attending a convention is access to vendors with new games, I came home with the game.

I also picked up a nice version of Gobblet, wooden pieces in a wooden case, at the games auction.

The auction is another highlight of PrairieCon. Gamers can sell games they no longer play, and buy older games they may be seeking.

Overall the weekend was great, and PrairieCon 2014 is on a 'must-attend' list. Check it out at www.prairiecon.com

But before that, a road trip to JimCon (www.jimcon.ca) in Winnipeg in November. Yes that could be fun indeed.

If anyone is interested in board games feel free to contact [email protected]