For a few years now we at Booze & Board Games have been talking about holding a full gaming weekend. An event where all we do is play games for two or three days and drink copious amounts of alcohol. The initial idea was to rent a cabin somewhere in Maine, on a lake or in the hills and call it Cabin Con. This year was looking good to actually fulfill our dream; however my darling wife had other plans. She decided that we needed to build a garage and that all of my limited resources would be allocated to said project with no “ifs”, “ands” or, “buts”, coming from me. *Sigh* She does feed me, so unless I wanted to starve to death or be resigned to foraging for berries in the woods like a wild animal I had to comply with her wishes.
So with a sad heart, I went off to inform my friends that Cabin Con was a bust, yet again.
Mike, however, being a rather “glass is half full” kind of guy, perked up on hearing the news and said “Well let’s have a Garage Con instead. We can pare it down some make it a one day event and mark it as an open game day where people can come and check us out.” Mike will never know how much he brightened my day with that little bit of positive thinking, and I quickly agreed. So we set it up and here is how it went.
Saturday August 30th 2014
Mike decided to help me with set up tasks and showed up a little early, we got the coolers for beer, water, etc. all out as well as my massive homemade table top up on the saw horses. Just in time as people began to arrive as we finished. We had a pretty good showing with a couple of new folks, Jeremy and Eric, driving all the way from the mid coast area to attend.
Mike, however, being a rather “glass is half full” kind of guy, perked up on hearing the news and said “Well let’s have a Garage Con instead. We can pare it down some make it a one day event and mark it as an open game day where people can come and check us out.” Mike will never know how much he brightened my day with that little bit of positive thinking, and I quickly agreed. So we set it up and here is how it went.
Saturday August 30th 2014
Mike decided to help me with set up tasks and showed up a little early, we got the coolers for beer, water, etc. all out as well as my massive homemade table top up on the saw horses. Just in time as people began to arrive as we finished. We had a pretty good showing with a couple of new folks, Jeremy and Eric, driving all the way from the mid coast area to attend.
After Tuna and Anthony stumbled in we were ready to start playing a game. I had a bunch of titles on a side table for people to choose from but everyone wanted to play X-Wing so that’s what we did. It took a while to get all set up and explain the rules to people who had never played or who had but had simply forgotten them (me).
We had two teams of three, Tuna, Anthony and Al, played the Evil Empire, which was very appropriate, and Mike, Eric, and Jeremy as the Rebel Alliance.
We had two teams of three, Tuna, Anthony and Al, played the Evil Empire, which was very appropriate, and Mike, Eric, and Jeremy as the Rebel Alliance.
Things started out slow for both sides as each team jockeyed for position. I thought for sure that I and my evil cohorts would simply sweep the board as the rebel team had two beginners on it. I was sadly mistaken, as both Jeremy and Eric, quickly grasped the concepts of maneuver and position which are key elements in X-Wing. They had us on the ropes early in the match and it was only through some rather clever plays by Tuna and Anthony that we kept the Alliance at bay. I got knocked out early on due to over confidence and relegated myself to bartending (again).
As the match became one of cat and mouse, with the Rebels slowly whittling away at the Empire’s forces, Tuna and Anthony played as if their lives depended on the outcome. Pulling off some very smart plays to avoid utter destruction, too late though and the Alliance team took the game after three hours.
A long game to be sure but one that had everyone engaged the entire time even the spectators.
As the match became one of cat and mouse, with the Rebels slowly whittling away at the Empire’s forces, Tuna and Anthony played as if their lives depended on the outcome. Pulling off some very smart plays to avoid utter destruction, too late though and the Alliance team took the game after three hours.
A long game to be sure but one that had everyone engaged the entire time even the spectators.
Meanwhile Valerie and our long lost Guild mate Lindsay had shown up and with drinks in hand everyone began to laugh and joke as they tried to decide what to play next. I left them to it and ran off to start cooking the burgers and dogs.
A couple of games of magic were played while I was cooking and much geek talk flowed, our new friends from the mid coast fit right in and we felt very comfortable being ourselves (evil and all) around them.
A couple of games of magic were played while I was cooking and much geek talk flowed, our new friends from the mid coast fit right in and we felt very comfortable being ourselves (evil and all) around them.
After our midafternoon lunch, everyone decided that a big game of Zombicide Prison Outbreak would be fun, and as the game can seat a lot of people it was a good fit. Jeremy and Eric had to leave before we got all set up though I could see they didn’t want to. However they were replaced by another person Scott who drove up from OOB to play a few games and mix it up with other geeks so we had seven for this game.
We picked a tough scenario and I thought we were going to wipe a few times early on, due to all of us being a bit knackered. Drinks had been flowing all day so cognitive and deduction skills were being lowered by the minute. Yet somehow we managed to pull it together with lots of laughing and joking throughout, and defeated the hordes of undead handily.
By this time it was getting late, the sun had set some hours past and everyone was winding down. That’s what happens when you have a good group of people, no matter how long the game is everyone still has fun and time just slips by. I decided to top off our day with a wee glass from our Guild bottle of Bushmill’s 10 year old. A sip of great whiskey to end a great day. Everyone agreed that we should hold Garage Con again next year, maybe making some changes so more games get some table time. Me? Well I was simple done in by the end, but it was a good tired, and as I said goodbye to old friends and new I felt confident that next year would be better.
Even if we don’t do it again, I have some very fond memories of a day well spent with friends and that is enough for me.
Cheers
AL
Even if we don’t do it again, I have some very fond memories of a day well spent with friends and that is enough for me.
Cheers
AL