"D&D" DIY Disaster!

Inspired by a vertitable host of ambitious do-it-yourself-ers out there I was gonna try and run my first heavily-modded D&D game soon.  As a preamble to this I wanted to address an element of D&D combat that's always left me scratching my simian cranium (or my "simianium" as it were).

Regardless of edition (I've played Mentzer's BEC box sets, AD&D, Second Edition and finally  3 *slash* 3.5), Armor Class has always represented the number an attacker has to beat on a d20 roll in order to land a successful blow and cause damage.  This roll has always been influenced by the attacker's Strength modifier for Melee attacks and Dexterity modifier for Ranged attacks.  AC itself has always been the product of a defender's Dexterity modifier and whatever armor they've managed to seal themselves up in.

Or not seal themselves up in, as the case may be.

Frankly it's always bugged me that: 

(1) Beating the target's Armor Class meant that you hit your target and damaged them all in one handy-dandy roll.    

(2) Brute Strength influences whether or not you successfully tag a Goblin in the cranium with a pick-axe.

(3) You cause damage to your target in the exact same manner regardless of what kind of armor they're wearing.

So, I tried to come up with an alternate idea.  In doing so I ended up venturing deep down the rabbit hole, eventually popping back up very close to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  

My quest began with an earnest question: "If I'm charging at a bullywug with a mace in my hand what innate ability (not counting experience) will effect my ability to smash his stupid froggy face in?"  If I were wielding a particularly heavy weapon, a high Strength would be helpful since it would give me more control over my swing.  But this kinda comes out in the wash with damage.

"Come at me, bro!  My fish-head gauntlets are impregnable!"

What about using Dexterity as the attacking modifier?  Wouldn't that make more sense?  Wouldn't  good manual Dexterity allow you to really measure your opponent?  Overcome your quarry's defensive feints and parries?  Allow you to smoke them right in the nards instead of the shoulder?

As for the intended target, of course Dexterity should still be the defacto modifier.  But isn't it a bit far-fetched to expect that someone in a full suit of field plate is somehow less of a ripe target then someone in a loin cloth?

Before I give you an in-game scenario, let's establish a coupla ground rules:

*  Let's use 3.5's more-varied ability score modifiers, attack bonus structure and AC base of
   10 modified only by Dexterity and Shield use!  In doing so, let's re-christen Armor Class as
    Defense Rating (DR).

*  Let's use the Armor Maximum Dexterity Bonus.

*  Let's use the following damage reduction sytem for armor worn:

• No armor, clothing, buck nekkid (0 damage reduction)  
• Padded armor (0-1 damage reduction)  
• Leather armor (0-2 damage reduction) 
• Studded Leather, Ring mail or Hide (0-3 damage reduction) 
• Chain shirt or Scale mail (0-4 damage reduction) 
• Chain mail, Breast plate (0-5 damage reduction)    
• Splint mail and banded mail (0-6 damage reduction) 
• Half-plate Minus (0-7 damage reduction) 
• Full-plate armor  (0-8 damage reduction)

"I asked for War Duke, not Marma..."

*  Let's also use Weapon vs. AC adjustments.  Something fairly simple, like what Bat in the Attic
    proposed.  Only difference is that I'd make these damage adjustments and not "to hit" adjustments.

For example:

Padded Armor: Bludgeoning Weapons do -2 damage
Leather Armor:  Bludgeoning and Slashing Weapons do -1 damage
Ring Mail Armor: Bludgeoning Weapons do +1 and Slashing Weapons do -1 damage
Scale Mail Armor: +1 Bludgeoning, -1 Slashing, +1 Piercing
Chain Mail Armor: +1 Bludgeoning, -2 Slashing, +2 Piercing
Banded Armor: +1 Bludgeoning, -2 Slashing
Plate Armor:  +1 Bludgeoning, -3 Slashing

So, with all of this firmly in place, let's look at an in-game scenario pitting... 

Jacinda the Irresistible  Fighter Level Three  STR 13 (+1) CON 10 (0) DEX 16 (+3) Hit Points: 10+6+7 = 23  Armor: Leather Weapon: Spear (1d8 Piercing)   Defense Rating (DR): 10 + Dex bonus = 13  Level Attack Bonus: +3

Against... 

Balto the Immovable  Fighter Level Two  STR 16 (+3) CON 14 (+2) DEX 09 (-1) Hit Points: 10 + 5 + 4 (Con bonus) = 19  Armor: Chain plus small shield Weapon: Long Sword (1d8 Slashing) Defense Rating: 10 - Dex penalty + shield bonus of 1 = 10 Level Attack Bonus: +2

Jacinda the Irresistible stumbles upon a bridge guarded by Balto the Immovable.  Balto, in a threadbare Arthurian cliché, demands that Jacinda pay a toll in order to pass.  Jacinda, following standard procedure, tells Balto to go fuck himself and then proceeds to cross the bridge.  One third of the way over, Balto takes up his sword, shouts a challenge and charges at her.

"How many stupid tourists do you think we can sucker 'tolls' out of before the town guard shows up?"

Round One 

Initiative Roll (using d6, modified by Dexterity): Jacinda gets a 1.  With her Dex bonus of three her Initiative total is 4.  Balto rolls a 5 and subtracts 1 for his clumsy ass.  It's a tie and both attacks occur simultaneously!

Jacinta rolls 10 + 3 for her Dex and + 3 for her level for a total of 16.  Balto rolls 15 -1 for his Dex and +2 for his level, giving him a grand total of 14.  Jacinta hits Balto's DR of 10 and Balto lands a blow by exceeding Jacinta's DR of 13.

But how will damage work out?  Jacinta rolls a 3 but it's bumped up to 5 vs. Balto's Chain Mail and another +1 for her STR bonus.  Balto gets an 5 but it's reduced to 4 by Jacinta's leather cuirass and then jacked back up to 7 thanks to his above-average Strength.

Now we have armor checks.  Jacinta rolls a d6 randomly to see if her leather absorbs either (1-2) zero, (3-4) one or (5-6) two points of damage.  She rolls a 1 so she takes all 7 points and is now down to 14 Hit Points.

Balto checks to see if his chainmail thwarts any damage with the following cross-reference on a d6 roll (resuting damage in brackets):  1(0) 2 (1) 3 (2) 4 (3) 5 (4) 6 (5).  He rolls a 3, preventing two points of damage.  He's now at 16.  

Round Two

Initiative Roll (d6): Jacinda gets a 5.  With her Dex bonus of three her Initiative total is 8.  Balto rolls a 1 so who gives a shit.

Jacinta rolls 13 (+ 3 for her Dexterity, +3 for her level) for a grand total of 19!  She then rolls an 8 for damage adding 2 for her weapon vs. armor bonus plus another point for her Strength.  With the damage now sitting at 11, Balto rolls his armor check, rolling 5 and preventing 4 damage.  He's now at 9 Hit Points and having seriously regrets about attacking this crazy chick.

"I gotcher phallic symbol right here, pal!"

He follows this up with a hit roll of 9, adding one for a total of 10.  Unburdened by heavy armor and fleet of foot, Jacinta deftly leaps out of the way of Balto's incoming sweep!

     

Round Three

Initiative Roll (d6): Jacinda gets a 4.  With her Dex bonus of three her Initiative total is 7.  Balto rolls a 5 (-1 for having two left feet) so who gives a shit.

Jacinta rolls a 4 + 3 for her Dexterity and +3 for her level for a grand total of 10!  Balto manages to bat her spear away with his shield!  

Balto swings with a hit roll of 14, adding one for a total of 15.  It's a hit!  He chucks a 3 for damage.  Jacinta's S&M gear reduces this to 2 but Balto's +3 STR bonus vs. leathery attire makes for a respectible 5 points of damage.

Jacinta then rolls randomly to see if her leather absorbs anything.  She rolls a 6, preventing two points.  She's now down to 12 Hit Points! 

Round Five

Initiative Roll (d6): Jacinda gets a 2.  With her Dex bonus of three her Initiative total is 5.  Balto rolls a 6 (-1 for being a clumsy oaf) so he manages to secure a tie.
 

Jacinta rolls 14 + 6 for a total of 20.  Balto rolls 11 + 1 for a total of 12.  Jacinta easily hits Balto's AC of 10 while Balto hacks off Jacinta's top-knot as she ducks just underneath his blade.

While ducking, Jacinta takes the opportunity to jam her spear into Balto's gutteral area (conveniently located between the links of his mail).  She rolls a 4 but it's bumped up to 6 vs. Balto's Chain Mail and another +1 for her STR bonus for a total of 7. 

Balto then does his armor check. He rolls a 5, preventing four points of damage.  He takes the remaining three right in the bread basket, putting him at 6.

"Alright, it's starting to sting a bit now."

Round Five

Initiative Roll (d6): Jacinta gets a 5, and with her Dex bonus, Balto prepares to have his spleen perforated.

Jacinta rolls another 14 + 6 for a grand total of 20.  She rolls a 5 for damage but it's bumped up to 7 vs. Balto's Chain Mail and another +1 for her STR bonus for a total of 8.   

Balto then rolls a 6, preventing five points of damage!  He's forced to suck up the remaining three leaving him with only 3.

Looking for payback, Balto rolls an 18 (+1 to hit) for a total of 19.  It's a solid hit!  He rolls 3 for damage, subtracting one for Jacinta's "Trinity" wear.  This gets ramped up a bit with Balto's STR, giving him a grand total of 5 damage.  

Jacinta rolls randomly to see if her leather absorbs (1-2) zero, (3-4) one or (5-6) two damage.  A d6 roll gives her a roll of 1 so she takes all five points and is now down to 7!   
  

Round Six

Initiative Roll (d6): Jacinta gets another 5 making Balto's roll completely moot.

Jacinta rolls 15 + 6 for a total of 21.  She rolls a 2 for damage but it's bumped up to 4 vs. Balto's Chain Mail and another +1 for her STR bonus for a total of 5.   

Balto then rolls a 3, preventing two points of damage but it's not enough!  Jacinta turns her attacker into a Balto-kabob!  She guides his impaled husk over to the edge of the bridge, kicks him off the end of her spear with her boot and he falls twenty feet down onto the road below where his corpse is promptly run over by a team of draft horses.
 

The Running of the Bulls: putting piercing and bludgeoning damage together since the 14'th century.

***

Initially I was very proud of my first foray into the realm of D&D rules hackery.  I'd assigned a more appropriate modifier to the chance to hit.  I'd broken an attack down to connecting with a target first and then breaking through your opponent's armor.

And then I realized that it was all just a bunch of rubbish.  

Yes, that original catch-all known as Armor Class was an abstraction, but it was an abstraction which really simplified combat and kept things moving.  Although my system might be a tad more "realistic" (whatever that's worth in a game where your slay trolls and cast spells), in the end I'd piled on a wad of new modifiers plus an additional die roll!  And don't even get me started on trying to interpret what kind of natural armor and weapons monsters come standard-equipped with!

I'm hoping that some wise sage can look at this madness that I've wrought and either salvage a kernel of logic from it or confirm that I've completely wasted my time.

 Come at me, bro!  My fish-head gauntlets are impregnable!

   


  
 

Games Even A Mom (and Sister!) Will Love: "Puerto Rico"

Yes, I'm fully aware that most of my posts thus far have featured so-called "Ameritrash" titles.  For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Ameritrash games usually involve head-to-head conflict, buckets of theme, guiding and/or developing some sort of faction or avatar and flirting with Lady Luck via the hucking of giant mitt-fulls of dice.  Some Ameritrash games that I've featured on this here bloggie thang include Heroscape, Star Wars Miniatures, Middle Earth Quest, Drakon, Cave Troll and Twilight Imperium.

In contrast to this are the "Eurogames", so named because many of them were designed by Europeans, particularly Germans (who seem to have a much more enlightened view of the hobby then us North Americans).  In Eurogames, if there's any conflict at all, it's usually indirect and players are rarely eliminated.  Instead of coming up with mechanics to realize a theme, Eurogames often innovate new and exciting designs and theme is often just an afterthought.  The role of luck is also downplayed, if not completely eliminated.    

Some Eurogames that I've featured on mien blog include, um...well...10 Days in Europe.  And...that's...it...

Okay, so maybe I am a sucker for theme, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate a good game with clever mechanics.  Witness one of my top five favorite board games of all time: Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico takes place during a time of colonies and plantations during the Age of Sail.  While producing five different types of commodities (corn, indigo, sugar, tobacco, and coffee) players have to develop a more efficient production strategy then their opponents.  You need to maximize your earnings by selling your crops at the right time.  You need to build warehouses to store you goods so things don't spoil.  You need to get yer peeps out in the field or set up in factories.  Most importantly, you need to ship your wares back to the Old Country for precious, precious Victory Points!

This is accomplished with the selection of certain Action Roles (Trader, Settler, Mayor, Builder, Craftsman, Captain and Prospector).   First pick alternates every round and each player selects one of the remaining actions as their turn.  Everyone around the table will get a chance to perform the action, but the person who first picked it often gets a cool secondary perk.  To increase the strategy, no role can be picked more then once.  The winner will often be the player who perfectly times the optimal role.

So, we went up to Moncton to spend Easter weekend with the family.  Cheryl's mom is such an avid board game player that I'm not even allowed through the front door unless I'm packin' at least three games with me.  This time out, I wanted to revisit Puerto Rico, which the three of us had previously played together.

As an added wrinkle, Cheryl's sister Cathy also wanted to give it a whirl.  Cathy's great because she's got tremendous competitive spirit.  Although she, like most people, still equates gaming with "classics" like Crapopoly, she's also more then willing to try my so-called "weird" games.  This often results in an epiphany of sorts, which I really love to see.

"You're hilarious," she said as she sat down at the kitchen table, now littered with Puerto Rico's individual boards, colorful resource tokens, purple buildings and edible-looking colonist discs.  "It's always a brand new game with you!  Are you afraid to play the same game twice because someone else might actually get good at it?"

Say on, sistah.  I have the exact same gripe about my weekly gaming group.

Anyway, it took us a while to get started.  I hadn't played Puerto Rico in years so it's always a challenge introducing unique mechanics to a new player.  If not for Headless Hollow's rules summaries, more then one noob might run the risk of slipping into a coma even before the first turn.

Our first few rounds were played very conservatively.  Unwilling to select any of the more "advanced" roles, we spent the first few turns planting crops, building introductory structures and acquiring new talent to man this stuff.  Then, as I started to pick roles just to illustrate what they did in game, shit started to get reals, fo' sho'.      

After choosing Craftsman my one manned field produced two Indigo (picking the role always gives you  a +1 bonus).   Sheila and Cathy also unwittingly produced Corn after learning that it's the only resource that can be produced without having a matching production facility.  Cathy then selected her trust go-to the Mayor.  She got one Colonist off the Ship and one from supply and the rest of us had to be content with a single dude apiece.

After Sheila thought out loud that she wanted to buy a Small Market, Cheryl urged her to pick the Builder Role.  As a result, she got the thing for free thanks to her Secondary Action.  Still somewhat destitute, Cheryl and I had to pass on building.  Cathy, like the Joker, bought a Ha-Hacienda just because it "sounds like fun".  Regardless of her motivation, it immediately started giving her extra Plantation options.

We soon got to see this in practice when I took the Settler, which allowed me to get a Quarry, thus reducing my building costs.  Cheryl, investing in her future, cleared a Coffee plantation.  She then activated the Captain role, perhaps a bit prematurely.  She loaded one Indigo on an empty ship, getting a +1 Veep for selecting the role.  Cathy loaded Corn on another empty ship, also nabbing a Victory Point.  Sheila followed suit.  I put two Indigo on Cheryl's ship, scoring two Victory Points!

Now armed with the Governor token it was up to Sheila to pick first.  She went with the good old reliable Mayor, scoring two new Colonists!  With no empty building spaces generating additional bodies for the Colonist Ship, Cheryl, Cathy and I only got one dude apiece.  Cheryl selected Craftsman, and knocked out one Indigo.  I got two of the same.  Both Cathy and Sheila produced the more-valuable Sugar and a bit o' Corn.

Cheryl then activated the Builder, getting a -1 price break for the Role and -1 for her Quarry.  Given this discount, she promptly invested in a Coffee Roaster.  Frustrated that we've already come back to the whole "buying buildings crap", Cathy passes.  Fearing a stockpile coming soon, I use my Quarry discount to pick up a Small Warehouse.

Clearly learning quickly by example, Cathy took the Settler role to exploit her Ha-Hacienda.  She ended up making off with two valuable plantations: Tobacco and Coffee.  Sheila also took the Phillip Morris route and selected Tobacco.  I doggedly continued to specialize in Indigo.

I also couldn't resist the two Doubloons (which Cathy originally called "Dublins") sitting on the inexplicably daunting Trader Tile.  I sold an Indigo, giving me four pieces of cheddar in total (including a +1 bonus for picking the role).  Cathy pawned Sugar for two coins.  Thanks to Sheila's Small Market she sold her normally valueless Corn for one bling.  Cheryl, much to her dismay, was stone-cold shut out.  

Cheryl made herself feel better by selecting what is apparently the Puerto Rico equivalent of a giant bowl of Hagen Daaz: Da Mayah.  She got one serf from the supply, one from the Colonist Ship and then armed a spare dude hanging out in San Juan with a hoe (?) and then nudged him out into the field (presumably with a bayonet).

Well-noting my instant windfall for picking the Trader, Cathy picked the Prospector for a slew of cash monies. Man, as a board game guru it's really fun to sit back and watch the epiphanies begin to percolate!  As Sheila pondered her next move. Cathy began muttering in excited but hushed tones about she could now afford to buy a Coffee Roaster.  Another victim hooked!  Heh, heh!      

Sheila decided that she wanted to have a bash at the Captain Phase.  She loaded one Sugar and got a +1 Victory Point perk for being El Kapitan.  Cheryl and I piled on the Indigo for a single point each, filling that ship to the capacity.  Cathy then threw a Sugar on board the other ship.  After we verified that no-one lost anything to spoilage (and Cathy voiced her suspicion that I was "making up the rules as we went"), the Governor token went to Cheryl, allowing her to pick first.

She took the increasingly popular Settler, intending to grow more precious Coffee.  Cathy stole my Indigo Plantation so I ended up with some superfluous Corn.  She then fulfilled her lifetime dream by picking the Builder and hammering together a Coffee Roaster.  Sheila picked up an Indigo Plant.  I paid three Puerto Rico bucks to construct a Sugar Mill.  Cheryl was busted so all she could do is sit there and shake her fist.

Sheila then went all Craftsman, producing two Sugar (one was her bonus) and Corn.  I nabbed one Indigo and a Corn.  Cheryl got one Indigo and a super-expensive Coffee making me super-jealous. Cathy picked up Corn and Sugar (a box of Corn Pops?).

"Ummm, what does this thing do again?" she asked, indicating her Ha-Hacienda.

"Oh, God, for the third time, it's for when you pick your Plantations!" Cheryl fired back, clearly not the fountain of patience.

I finally indulged in some Mayorial goodness, scoring two new recruits.

"When do I get a chance to move this friggin' little (reference deleted since I believe that it exceeds the blog's adult content warning)?!?" Cathy demanded, indicating a seemingly shiftless dude in San Juan.

"Now!!!" both Cheryl and I shouted back in unison.

Cathy's kicked off the start of a new round by singing a rousing rendition of "I Don't Have a Freakin' Clue" to the tune of "Camptown Races".

"For someone who doesn't have a freakin' clue, you seem to be doing quite well!" I scoffed back.

Despite the fact that's actually incredibly advantageous to go first, Cathy was understandably overwhelmed by the crush of strategic options.  That crippling board game malady called Analysis Paralysis began to set in.

"I know what you mean!" Sheila concurred.  "When I have to go first I'm all like..." (indicates deer in headlights expression).                                        

"Like, for example, why would I want to build a Fortress or a City Hall?!?" Cathy inquired.

The game then broke down into a discussion about the Victory Points awarded for having larger buildings.  I quickly explained that the City Hall gives you Veeps for every Violet Building you have at the end of the game.  The Customs House gives you one bonus Victory Point for every four points you already own.  With this knowledge achievement unlocked, Cathy seemed content that she didn't have to worry about these things just yet.    

After concluding that she wanted to get some drones toiling away in her newly christened Coffee Roaster, we encouraged her to pick the Mayor.  It's a timely selection since the sum of every empty building spaces had added more bodies to the Colonist Ship.  In the end she got one from the Ship, one from the Supply and a bonus dude when it comes around to her again.  Sheila also snagged two thanks to the surplus and me and Cheryl get hosed with just one apiece.

Sheila picked the Captain which absolutely killed me since I have only one individual good at the time. She loaded two Sugar and got a bonus Victory Point for a total of three.  I wheeled my one, sad Indigo on board and Cheryl did the same.  Cathy added to the Sugar stockpile and Sheila finished up with a Corn delivery.  Cathy also contributed with a cobbage-related offering.

I then selected Craftsman, giving me two Indigo and two one Sugar (with my +1 bonus).  Cheryl scored two Coffee and one Indigo.  Cathy got two Coffee a Sugar and a Corn.  Sheila got one each of Corn, Sugar and Indigo.  Cheryl then wisely picked the Trader, selling her expensive Coffee for a whopping five Doubloons!  This filled the Trading House, screwing the rest of us royally for the turn.

Sheila Mayored it up, getting one dude from the Ship and one from supply.  Since our buildings were mostly filled up, the ship just had the minimum for dudes on it, giving the rest of us just one recruit apiece.  Now with some goods to move, I picked the Captain ("Yaaarrrr.") and piled on two Indigo for three Veeps.  Cheryl added to the same ship for one VP.  Cathy filled up the Sugar ship.  Sheila crammed one more unit onto the Indigo ship.  I snuck a single Corn on the last ship and Cathy stogged that ship to capacity.

Then, for goods storage, both Cathy and Cheryl lost one Coffee apiece.  Sheila lost Corn.  Thanks to my recently minted Small Warehouse I got to keep everything!  BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!  *A-hem*.  Sorry.

With seven Doubloons burning a hole in her coin purse, Cheryl picked the Builder and slapped up a Large Market.  Cathy passed.  Sheila wanted a Tobacco Plant but can't afford it.  I picked up a Construction Hut for one dinero, mainly just because I've got a Quarry fetish.  

Cathy then went with the Traito...er, Trader.  She then sold a Coffee for five whopping semolians. Sheila clocked three Doubloons for her Sugar and Small Market.  Cheryl kept muttering "I can't do shit because Cathy took my space, bee-yotch!".  Thanks to my own H.M.A. (Hot Market Action) I got two coins for selling my Indigo.

I'm tempted by the ultra-rich Prospector and scored an entire ass-load of Doubloonage in the process. Cheryl went with the Settler, got a random face-down Tobacco and then hesitantly picked yet another Coffee plantation.  Cathy finally remembered to exploit her Ha-Hacienda, pulling a random Corn tile and wrangling an Indigo plantation.  Sheila also uses her own version to wrangle more Indigo fields.

Having already picked up on the concept that the advanced Buildings were a possible key to victory, Cathy opted for the Builder role.  An amusing minor breakdown occurred when Cathy's eyes suddenly became as wide as saucers as I attempted to explain how the University (each new building comes pre-loaded with a dude) and the Factory (gives bonus Doubloons for producing a variety if goods) work.

"Soooooo, anyway," she said, ignoring my confusing tutorial and glancing over to my board.  "What do you have over here, smarty pants?"          

She noticed my Warehouse and I encouraged her to buy one since she'd just gotten burned with a loos of goods.  Sheila passed on the purchasing.  Cheryl constructed a Tobacconist.  Impressed by my own sales pitch, I dropped mucho del coinage down on the Factory.  

Despite her disorientation, Cathy kept clapping her hands together excitedly, trying to prompt us to get the lead out by asking "Okay, who's turn is it?" every ten seconds.

"Wait, we're buying!"  Cheryl shot back.  "Jeepers, it's not all about you!"  

Sheila picked Craftsman and made Corn, Sugar, three Indigo (+1 extra for role) and then stopped herself from cursing a blue streak when she realized that she still has no way to produce Coffee.   Cheryl scored two Coffee and one Indigo.  Cathy made out like a bandito,  cranking out two Coffee, one Sugar and one Corn.  I bashed out two Indigo, one Sugar and one Corn all the while speaking with a shamefully poor Juan Valdez accent.  

Cheryl became the Governor and led with the Mayor, scoring two peeps.  The rest of us only got one ("Boooooo!!!"). With six building spaces unoccupado, I knew that we'd have bonus plebe dispensation with the next Mayor phase.

Cheryl attempted to wage a subtle propaganda campaign on Cathy, trying to influence her into picking the Trader.  "You'd be helping yourself.  You like money.  Money's good," Cheryl said, loudly whispering her Wormtonguery across the table through cupped hands.

Resentful of the attempted chicanery, Cathy briefly flirted with the idea of screwing Cheryl over but then settled on the Builder to procure an Indigo plant.  Producing a slew of different goods now, Sheila wisely bought her own Factory.  Being totally broke at the time, I was forced to pass.  Cheryl bought a Smurftastic Indigo plant.

Sheila jumped at the Captain role.  She got three Victory Points, two for her Indigo and one for the role bonus.  I popped two goods on the same ship.  Cheryl loaded three Coffee on the five-space ship.  Cathy loaded two onto the same vessel, filling it up.  In the second round, Sheila put her Sugar onto the final boat and I snuck one on there as well.  Cheryl added one to the Indigo ship.  Cathy smuggled one more unit onto the Sugar ship.  We all waved goodbye as the Coffee boat set sail, presumably for Seattle.

I then opted for the Craftsman, pulling up two Indigo, two Sugar (+1 bonus) and a Corn.  As if this wasn't sweet enough, my manned Factory also gave me two free Doubloons for this!  Cheryl got one Indigo, one Tobacco and two Dark Roasts.  Cathy collected two Corn, a Sugar and two Coffee.  Sheila then picked up one Corn and one Sugar but got shortchanged on the Indigo since the supply was now exhausted!

Looking to redeploy her serfs, Cathy took the Mayor and got one dude from the Ship and one from the Supply.   After Cheryl, Sheila and I each hired one guy apiece, both Cathy and Sheila each got a bonus body thanks to the oversupply.  Six were then restocked on the Colonist Ship.  With more buildings being produced every round it wasn't hard to see that the clock was ticking! 

Sheila took the Trader, which also came pre-loaded with two Doubloons.  Although she only had Corn to sell, she still got two more Doubloons out of it thanks to her Awesoma Market Power.  Since this filled up the market, no-one else could take advantage of it.  Solid play!

Then I was all over the Captain, loading three goods aboard one of the larger Ships.  Cheryl stowed two aboard the same ship and so did Cathy.  Sheila contributed one to the effort.  Cathy was the only one who could load a follow-up item in the second round.  In the end, I questioned decision to take the role, since I ended up watching my Corn rot on the docks.  Sheila and Cheryl also get burned in a similar manner.  Cathy, on the other hand, was pickled pink that her new warehouse proved to be super-practical as well as aesthetically pleasing.  

Cheryl went for the Craftsman, growing one Indigo, two Tobacco and three Coffee (her +1 bonus). Cathy got a Sugar, two Coffee, two Indigo and two Corn.  Sheila produced a Corn, two Sugar and two Indigo (with her Factory giving her two free Doubloons).  After harvesting one Corn, two Indigo and one Sugar, I also reveled in receiving two bonus coins from my own Factory.

Looking for a make work project, Sheila picked the Builder and cobbled together a pre-fab Tobacco Plant.  Everyone else passed.  I then took the Settler, motivated more by the accumulated money then the actual Plantations.  Concerned about the expense of java production, Cheryl got some Sugar to go with her Coffee.  Cathy kept bumping up her Indigo and Tobaccy potential.  Sheila followed the trend and snagged an Indigo field.

Cheryl went with the Trader, selling one Coffee for a record seven Doubloons (five plus one for the role plus one for her Large Market)!  Cathy pawned her Sugar for two coinz.  Sheila got +1 for her own Market and earned two Doubloons for selling Indigo.  I salvaged a single coin for selling Corn thanks to my own Small Market.      

Cathy then up and picked the Captain, loading four Corn and collecting five big Victory Points!  Sheila packed three Sugar onto another boat.  Cheryl squeaked in a bit of Coffee.  I loaded some cargo onto Cathy's S.S. Cornball.  Despite her points windfall, Cathy confessed that she was expecting someone to have to courtesy to load some Indigo for her but it didn't happen.  She's forced to discard one after squirreling her two Coffee away.

With the Builder role, Cheryl got a deal on the Guild Hall, which would eventually give her Victory Points for occupied buildings.  Cathy passed.  Sheila bought a Large Warehouse for six bones.  I paid nine coins for a blockbuster Custom House, giving me a Victory Point for every four Veeps I already own.  Boo-ya!

Unable to resist the sparkle of gold, Cathy picked the Trader and scored five Doubloons for the sale of her Coffee.  Sheila closed the market with a sale, shutting out me and Cheryl.  She then followed this up with a Mayor-fueled job fair.  It was very well timed since she got one from the supply and two dudes from the Ship.  I was also lucky enough to get a 100% bonus in the drone department.  Seven replacement Colonists then went down on the Ship.  We the supply running dangerously low, we all began to suspect that End was Very Fucking Nigh.

Cheryl picked first, selecting the Captain.  This action was a tad early for her since she could only export a single Coffee (with a bonus point for taking the role).  Cathy mirrored this same action.  On the other hand, I was delighted to flood a fresh ship with four Indigo on board.  Sheila had absolutely nothing to move.  Cathy threw a last-minute Indigo onto my ship.

"That may not have been strategically wise," Cheryl observed after the fact.

Knowing that the game was almost over, Cathy looked to procure some eleventh-hour Victory Points with the Builder.  She optioned the Fortress, giving her a bonus Veep for every three Colonists.  Sheila didn't have a lot of Benjamins so she built a Construction Hut just for the halibut.  Since that was the only thing left on the board that I could afford, I was forced to pass.  Looking at her Production Buildings, Cheryl put together a Guild House.    

Keen on occupying her deserted buildings, Sheila took the Mayor and got two from the Ship and one from supply.  Cheryl and Cathy both get one Colonist and I was lucky enough to get a spare out of the deal.

With not enough Colonists to replenish the Ship, the game was over!

Here was the final score:

                         IN GAME VP'S       VP'S FROM BUILDINGS         BONUS VP'S             TOTAL 

  
ME                         20                                     14                                         5                        39
 
CHERYL                14                                      16                                         8                        38

CATHY                  20                                      12                                         5                        37

SHEILA                  16                                      15                                         0                        31


Wow, talk about yer close games!  As a side note, I recalculated the scores several times just to make sure I didn't fuck something up.

Post Game Comments

Me:  "That Custom House did not pay off for me as well as I thought it would.  Yeah, there's a lot of strategy, it's crazy."

Sheila:  "Well, having one (Doubloon) from all things (produced) really didn't help me at all either."  In defense of the Factory, Sheila might have purchased it a bit too late.  She also missed a couple of opportunities to take advantage of it.  Personally I loved the little cash windfall that my Factory provided on every other turn.  

Cathy:  "Next time, if I get to play this again in five years ('OooooOooo, was that directed at moi?') , I would build the Harbor.  Every time that a ship was cashed you get a point.  Because...look at how many times we cleared that slate."         

Cheryl: "Harbor with the Captain together, with a Victory Point with every delivery, would be pretty sweet.  You kinda have to pick your theme: what are you gonna do, right?  Are you going to get into production or the Trader or get into storing stuff and selling?  But I like the fact that you're always doing something, you don't have to sit around for eight hours waiting for your turn to come around."      

***

So, for it's variable strategies, inter-player dynamics and lack of luck and down time, I'm proud to give Puerto Rico a well-deserved Six Pips outta Six!    

    

"Twilight Imperium": Phoenix, Pariah, Conqueror, King

Last Wednesday night we finally had a chance to finish up our first complete game of Twilight Imperium.  I'm happy to report that we suceeded in this noble goal.

Sort of.   

The great thing about running an epic game like this over the course of several weeks is that you don't have to do a rule book crash course every time you sit down to play.  You can just pick up from where you left off and jump right back in! 

For those of you who've been following along at home, last time we left off on a bit of a cliffhanger.  Dean was trying to consolidate his corner of the galaxy with a predatory eye on Twilight Imperium's answer to Coruscant.  Despite Chad's military might, he was having a rough time stamping out pockets of uncooperative rebels.  The lion's share of my navy got nuked after I drunkenly marched them off into uncharted space.  Then, in a major twist, Andrew barricaded himself alone inside the galactic equivalent of Fort Knox by sealing the vault door with a supernova.   

Should you require a slightly less esoteric recap, you can find Part One by enclickifying this link and Part Two roit 'ere. 

 Players & Their Races

Me...Naalu Collective (Blue)
Andrew...Embers of Muaat (Orange)
Dean...Mentak Coalition (Purple)
Chad...L1Z1X Mindnet (Yellow)

ROUND FOUR

Strategy Card Selection

Me...Production & Warfare

Dean...Leadership & Bureaucracy

Chad...Assembly & Diplomacy

Andrew...Technology & Trade

With half of my fleet reduced to atoms, I decided that a defensive posture might be prudent.  Via a Movement Action I backed my Flagship, Merc and Fighters away from Andrew's beefy-looking fleet.   

Clearly incensed, Dean punished Andrew for daring to employ "stradgedy" by playing "Local Unrest" and killing most of his troops on Sem-Lor.    

On Chad's turn he played the exact same card, annihilating the rest of Andrew's garrison.  As you might be able to tell, Andrew was now drawing more aggro then Courtney Love at a Foo Fighters concert. 

Andrew dwoned his sorrows by staging a vicious assault on peaceful Garbozia.  After missing with an orbital bombardment, he set one Mech Unit and three Ground Forces to the task of subjugation.  They scored one hit but my settlers managed to strike back.  In the second round, Andrew's Mechs quickly mopped things up by scoring two solid hits after my defenders whiffed.

I played the Production Strategy Card and started slappin' shit together quicker then a Taiwanese assembly line worker.  By the time I ran out of shekels I'd constructed a Carrier, four Fighters, and four Ground Forces.  Dean quickly joined the riveting party and knocked out a Dreadnought, a Cruiser and a Mech.

He followed this up by playing Bureaucracy, which gave him a free Command Counter.  Unfortunately he wasn't able to claim any of the newly-revealed Objectives.  The rest of us balked at the idea of paying a Strategy Allocation Token at the risk of drawing a giant steaming pile of nothingburgers.

Next up, Chad played Diplomacy, forcing all of us to place Command Counters in Nebula V, instantly wiping it off the invasion radar.  Andrew was the only one to pay the Command Counter / Influence price to invoke the card's secondary ability and lay claim to a nearby planet.     

Andrew then pulled a Tactical Action and moved his ships out of the Supernova system, 'cuz apparently he can do that and I can't.  Fucking horseshit.  Andrew then proceeded to probe the bejesus out of a nearby Domain Counter but chose not to encounter it.

Risking blow back, I sent my last Cruiser into a hex of empty space between Dean's territory and my own.  When the Domain Counter turned up a free derelict Cruiser, Andrew took the opportunity to sow the seeds of discord.  

"Dude, that could have been yours!" he said, trying to bait Dean into attacking me.  "You need to get that shit back!"     

Cowed by the still-pitiable state of my fleet, Dean mercifully stayed his hand against me, choosing instead to spend a Movement Action to redistribute his Flagship and two Fighters.   

Chad's combat fleet (consisting of a Dreadnought, two Carriers and two Fighters) ventured into the Thibah system.  During the initial landing, his Mech unit missed and Andrew, gleefully representing the defenders, scored two big hits!  During the second round of combat they exchanged one hit apiece, but for Chad, it wasn't enough to eliminate the opposition.  Once again, the rag-tag remains of his landing force had to retreat back to the drop ship to lick their wounds.

Sensing blood, Andrew continued to put pressure on me by moving his Flagship and Dreadnought into empty space, just one hex away from my home world.

Fearing that Dean's fleet manoeuvres were a prelude for attack, I put my two Cruisers at the vanguard on "High Alert".  

Thankfully my paranoia was unfounded.  Dean played the Leadership Strategy Card, claiming three Command Counters.  Unable to resist the promise of additional CC's, all three of us paid through the nose to acquire two apiece. 

Andrew keen insights began to tell him that some of us might possibly be gunning for him.  As a result, he took a Production Action and hastily assembled a SnapTite® Dreadnought and a Destroyer.

Tapped out like a Texan oil well, I was forced to Pass.

Dean crossed into the last unexplored region of empty space with a Cruiser where he discovered an entrance to Wormhole "B".  Since the planet on the other side (Maluce?) had no Resources it ended up going unclaimed.

Chad played the Assembly Strategy Card and snapped up one Political and two Action Cards.  He then forced me to play one of my Political Cards.  Since he'd already encroached on my space and attacked me without warning, I had absolutely no problem jumping on the "Kick Andrew In The Cubes" bandwagon.  I merrily played "Forbidden Research", preventing him from gaining any Technology this round.  Needless to say, there are a few "poopidy-doo's" and "fiddle-dee-dees".

Andrew responded with the most vicious and heinous revenge: Trade.  And by vicious and heinous I mean generous and kind since I immediately snagged three Trade Goods out of the deal.  Piling on, Chad dropped "Ruinous Tariffs" on Andrew and confiscated half of his Trade Goods!  Andrew completed his turn by producing a loaded revolver, spinning the barrel and singing random lyrics from "The Man Comes Around".

Oh, and he also hired a Merc.

Dean took a Transfer Action and then moved a Dreadnought into the Arcturas sector.  Clearly he was massing for some sort of large-scale fleet operation and you didn't have to be Inspector friggin' Poirot to see that he had designs on Mecatol Rex.

Thanks to my timely card play, Andrew's Technology Strategy Card was a bust.  He looked on helplessly as Dean went shopping for Stasis Chambers and Chad used his alien technology to pick up the highly-coveted Advanced Fighters.  This last purchase was particularly noteworthy since all of Chad's ships instantly went from being sub-light T.I.E. fighters to hyperdrive-equipped X-Wings capable of deadly hit and run missions!     

With that everyone passed and went on to the next round!   

  

ROUND FIVE

Strategy Card Selection

Chad...Leadership & Diplomacy

Andrew...Production & Assembly

Me...Technology & Warfare

Dean...Bureaucracy & Trade

I played the Warfare Strategy Card to put my fleet, now ensconced around my home system, on "High Alert".  Why?  I dunno...

Chad played the Leadership Strategy Card to acquire three precious Command Counters and then paid the Secondary Action's two-for-one cost to snag an additional deuce.  All three of us got in on that hawt auxiliary action by dropping two Production Points apiece.

Andrew played the Assembly Strategy Card and forced Chad to reveal a Political Card.  He put some sort of DEADLY SPACE-SADDAM EVIL LETHAL GAS ATTACK (D.S.S.E.L.G.A.) up for a vote, which he intended to play on Dean's ships in the nebula.  Although we really didn't harbor any ill-will towards Dean, we were all pretty curious to see what would happen when Dean's ships got sprayed with a D.S.S.E.L.G.A.  So naturally it got passed with flying colors just so we could all gawk like yokels at  the resulting slow-motion train wreck. 

We weren't disappointed: the D.S.S.E.L.G.A. wiped out Dean's Carrier, two Fighters and his Spy.

 "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!?!"

Just as Dean started bellyachin' about this tragic loss I took the opportunity to remind him that it could have been worse.  Like a one-way ticket on "Dave's Exploding Solar Caravan of Doom", for example.   

Undeterred, Dean forged ahead with his planned invasion of Mecatol Rex.  With Chad rolling dice for the defenders, both combatants missed with their initial Fighter attacks.  Dean's capitol ships fared much better, scoring three smacks in total thus wiping out the native air support.  He then plopped two Mech Units and two Ground Forces on the planet's surface.  Chad scored one hit for the Mecatol Rex Ground Forces but Dean was quick to retaliate with three successful attacks.  With that, he was able to claim the great hub of the galaxy!

Even though Andrew was essentially being curb-stomped into a foetal position by everyone around him, I was still concerned that he would blindly lash out at me like a rabid, starving wolverine caught in a bear trap and backed into a corner.  As such, I played "Armistice" on Tar'Mann to prevent him from exploiting the now-defenseless planet.

As if he didn't already have more cool gadgets then friggin' Batman, Chad played the "Alien Tech" Action Card and walked away with some Anti-Mass Deflectors.

Sensing that he was on the verge of being Order 66'ed, Andrew claimed the planet Ashroth in the sideboard galaxy, scoring four free Trade Goods in the process.

Dean endeavoured to recoup his losses with a Production Action.  He used a valuable new racial tech card to double the value of his Trade Goods and then used the profits to build three new PDS units for Vehor and Usis.  He also went after planet Bereg, landing four Ground Forces there.  Andrew telegraphed rolling for the natives, but Dean's aim was true and he successfully captured the planet!

Chad used the now-fashionable Transfer Action to shuffle his ships between Mirage and the Sakulag/Lazar system.

Since all the "cool" kids seemed to be doing it, Andrew exercised the same option to put two Carriers, two Cruisers and three Fighters into Sem-Lore.  Despite being assailed from all directions, it still looked as if he might strike out like some sort of Space Cobra.  But at who?  Say what you want about the dude, but he's certainly no fan of turtling.  

Dean played the Bureaucracy Strategy Card, picking up a bonus Command Counter.  He also flopped an Objective Card which doles out a Veep if you control eleven planets outside your home system.  Yeah, even after five turns into the game we were all still light years away from that particular bench mark.

I played the Technology Strategy Card and brought out "Emerging Economy" which would allow me to launch ships into systems adjacent to my Space Docks.  Andrew, making up for the prior turn's setback, purchased "Stasis Capsules".  Dean becomes the second proud kid on the block to collect his very own War Sun.

Plans still percolating in his noggin, Chad forced himself to abstain from buying any new Tech.  He did, however, play the Diplomacy Strategy Card to bring the planet Nercalor (?) under his sphere of influence.    

Still dreading the very-real possibility of becoming Ned Beatty in an intergalactic re-creation of Deliverance, Andrew used the Production Strategy Card to cobble together some big defensive fatties: a Destroyer, a War Sun and a Dreadnought.  I assembled a Cruiser and a Mech while Dean requisitioned a Dreadnought and a PDS unit.  

Dean played the Action Card "Advanced Re-Enforcements", shoring up his hold on Mecatol Rex with two bonus Ground Forces.

Now completely bereft of fundage, I was forced to pass.

Anticipating a potential dust-up with either Andrew or Dean, Chad dispatched two Dreadnoughts, one Cruiser and one Destroyer towards Capha.

Andrew got his newly-minted enforcers out on point by moving his War Sun, Destroyer and Dreadnought from Muat to Garbozia.

Dean initiated the Trade Strategy Card and also hired his own pet Merc.  Whereas my opponents only scored two or three Trade Goods, I picked up four thanks to my recently acquired "Micro Technology" card.

Then, from out of nowhere, Chad sent a single long-distance Fighter on a perilous journey through two hexes of empty space to blockade his only Space Dock!  Whatta twist!  Needless to say, Andrew was suitably unimpressed.

After everyone passed and the round ended we tallied up the new Veeps! 

I finally scored a Victory Point for successfully invading a planet and Chad earned points for cock-blocking Andrew's production on Muat! 

ROUND SIX

Strategy Card Selection

Andrew...Leadership & Warfare

Me...Production & Assembly

Dean...Technology & Diplomacy

Chad...Bureaucracy & Trade

With my fleet somewhat revitalized, I finally felt confident enough to send three fully-loaded Carriers and a Cruiser out to oppose Andrew's renewed incursion.

As if softening Mecatol Rex up for a future landing, Andrew dropped a "Plague" Action card on Dean's garrison there, killing four Ground Forces!

Dean used the Diplomacy Strategy card and paid Influence to sway the planet Oucen'n into his empire.  Andrew also scrounged up three Influence to tempt Industrex into his corner.

Chad procured three Goods from the Trade Strategy Card and hired his own galactic gopher.

I then totally ("Totally!") spazzed out on the Production Strategy Card, exploiting the Matriarch's capability to increase my Fleet Supply to eight (!).  This allowed me to push out three Dreadnoughts (!), two Ground Troops and a Space Dock.       

"Oh, I see what's happening here!" Dean shouted after I placed my Space Dock two hexes away from his turf.  "You're comin' after me!"  

"Are you fucking nuts?" I replied.  "I've got Andrew breathing down my neck and absolutely no ships in that area to attack you with!  I'm only placing it there 'cuz my 'Emerging Economy' card lets me place units adjacent to Space Docks and since I never got a chance to expand everything's adjacent to me right now!"

Fortunately this masterwork of Orwellian double-speak seem to confuse Dean slightly more then it confused me.  Unfortunately, it still didn't prevent Dean from building some insurance in the form of a War Sun.  Meanwhile, Chad quietly nudged his Flagship and two Fighter squadrons out into space while Andrew supervised two Mechs coming off of his assembly line.

Andrew played the Leadership Strategy Card to rake in three well-needed Command Counters.  Dean nearly broke the bank paying for three, while Chad and I translated two Production Points into one apiece.

Via a Tactical Action, Dean bolstered his defense by moving his War Sun, Carrier and Two Cruisers out to the front line.

Chad diverted his fleet to Tibah to have yet another bash as subjugating that hornet's nest of a planet.  After scoring two quick hits, Chad finally experienced the thrill of a cleanly successful ground campaign!

Next up I used the Assembly Strategy Card to take a Political Card, two Action cards and the Speaker Token.  I then obliged Dean to play "Colonial Redistribution" which would have forced Chad to destroy all of his Ground Forces on a single planet.  Naturally this resulted in Chad pulling some quick-draw veto action!

Meanwhile, in the sideboard galaxy, Andrew took a peek at the Domain Counter on Sauder and then promptly replaced it, all the while maintaining an impeccable poker-face.   

Dean played the Technology Strategy Card, picking up the fancy-sounding Magen Defense Grid for free.  I finally broke into the red Tech tree by constructing Hylar Assault Lasers.  Both Chad and Andrew invested in XRD Transporters.

Chad picked up two mid-round Victory Points by playing Bureaucracy and claiming the "five Tech advances of the same color" objective.  Jerk.

Then, as much as it pained me to do so, I had to pass.

Settling into his new home, Andrew constructed a Space Dock in Ashtroh.

Dean passed.

Unexpectedly, Chad lashed out at Dean in the Centauri sector with four Dreadnoughts!  In response, Dean played "Rule By Terror" which inflicted two casualties on Chad's attacking force courtesy of his War Sun!  As a result, Chad was forced to tuck his tail behind his legs and slink back to the homestead.

With last-ditch battles breaking out, Andrew fortified himself by playing the "High Alert" token from the Warfare Strategy Card.  His main armada, on point close to Mecatol Rex, was instantly made battle-ready!

Clearly chasing the Victory Point dragon, Chad's task force (consisting of a Cruiser, Dreadnought, Merc and Carrier) attacked Andrew's fleet in Sem-Lor (with two Carriers, two Cruisers and three Fighters). What followed was perhaps the most humorously inept single round of combat in the history of Twilight Imperium.  Or modern Italian military history for that matter.

In fact, the only ships that managed to hit were Chad's Dreadnought and Andrew's Carrier (which performed a successful "last gasp attack" after being felled by Chad's "Experimental Weaponry"). Andrew's wise original impulse to get the fuck outta Dodge was hampered by his compete and total lack of Strategy Allocation tokens.

The second round proved to be considerably more lethal, with Chad scoring four hits to Andrew's two.   In the third round, Chad's Merc earned his keep by delivering the final blow.

Although I'm tempted to indulge Andrew after he plaintively asks me "Sooooo, we're losing.  We may as well fight, right?" ultimately I deny him the satisfaction of a time-consuming scrap by using my racial ability to retreat from the Urta and Bereg system.  Secretly, I'm hoping for another full round so we can all get our collective mitts on Chad's throat.

Chad then played an Action card, allowing him to take control of the Wormhole Hex with a single Cruiser.  This one action alone reduced his Victory Point requirement to only nine points putting him even closer to victory!

In response, Andrew played a card called "Flank Speed" increasing the range of his ships by one.   Chad nullified this with a card that required the sacrifice of his Spy to cancel an Action Card.  Then, out of nowhere, Andrew pulled a second "Flank Speed" card out of his anus and then calmly proceeded to follow through on his original plan!

He sent his War Sun and Dreadnought into the contested Wormhole Hex and obliterated Chad's Cruiser, thus denying him the one Victory Point reprieve and extending the game!

Or not.

With this last action, the round came to an end.  I claimed two more Victory Points for building five Yellow Tech advances.  Dean followed suit for his five Red Techs.  Chad claimed a single Victory Point for destroying three ships in a space battle.

But with that we'd run out of time.  Again.  It was already very late, it was a school night and it would likely take another hour or two to complete another full round.

So, with that, we decided to pack it in and call it a game.  Given Chad's runaway lead, we concluded that he'd probably claim his tenth Victory Point before any one of us could possibly catch up to him.

FINAL VICTORY POINT TALLY

CHAD...NINE POINTS

DAVE & DEAN...TIED WITH FIVE POINTS

ANDREW...THREE POINTS

So, with that, Chad was unanimously declared the winner of our first complete game of Twilight Imperium.*
     

* WITH A HUGE FUCKING ASTERISK

Davecon 2012

For a city its size, my home base of Halifax has seen precious few conventions, especially those which cater to tabletop gaming.  In fact, it wasn't until two years ago, when Hal-Con successfully rose from the ashes like a phoenix reborn, that we finally had an annual event to get excited about.

It wasn't always that way.  Back in the late-90's / mid-2000's there was Fleet-Con, so named because it was held at the Fleet Club Atlantic, a popular watering hole for our Canadian Armed Forces.  As Cons went it was always a pretty minimalist affair, though.

Typically you'd pay about five or ten bucks at the door.  Inside there'd be screenings of genre films. Talented model makers would proudly display their amazing handiwork.  LARPers, the 501'st Legion stormtroopers and klingons with obvious thyroid problems would all be in attendance.  There'd usually be some sort of Halo tournament and a spot of organized table-top gaming, often tragically centered around the inexplicable appeal of dreck like Munchkin.  *Eeeeesssh!*

Infinitely more important to us: all of the regional vendors would set up a table and sell their wares tax-in.  There was also a shit-ton of available gaming space.  So, honestly, Fleet-Con as just a thinly-veiled excuse to get a deal on board games and then play the crap out of them until we got kicked out.

For reasons still unknown to me, the original organizer of Fleet-Con packed it around 2003.  So, for many dark and depressing years, there were no all-day gaming events to look forward to.  In order to remedy the situation, I ran an event called Davecon back in 2007.  Why Davecon?  Three reasons:

(1)  I'd intended the whole thing to be a bit of a joke.
(2)  Anyone who knows me knows that I love board games and there'd be absolutely no confusion
       as to what would happen at a convention bearing my name.
(3)  I have a galloping-out-of-control ego.

There were only eight attendees that first year (me, Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey, Andrew, Sabina and Angela) and we managed to finish only three games (Betrayal at House on the Hill, Cave Troll and Bang!).  Nevertheless, much fun was had by all and a part of me seriously thought about doing it every year.  But you know how it is: you get busy, you get lazy and the next thing you know two years have got behind you (my apologies to Pink Floyd).

In 2009 Fleet-Con was resurrected for a one-shot charity event.  Although it turned out to be a mere  shadow of its former self, we were reminded of just fun it was to go to an all-day gaming event. Henceforth, I pledged to do what I could to give myself and my peeps one guaranteed day a year when they could forget all of their troubles and spend an entire day spazzed out on board-gamey bliss.

On March 13'th, 2010 the first annual Davecon was held in my teensy apartment.  This time we had ten people show up: me (I figgered I should), Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey (occasionally dual-referenced as "Claudrey" or "Audria"), Andrew, Sabina, Angela and new participants Chad and Mark.  I also put an emphasis on playing a bunch of shorter games simultaneously.  This strategy worked out nicely and we managed to cram in ten complete games that day: No Thanks!, Ingenious, Citadels, Blokus (and its Duo counterpart),  Ticket to Ride, Warhammer Invasion, Red November, Zombies!!! and a game which was destined to become a Davecon tradition: Ultimate Werewolf!

I also gave out ballots to people who played games and bonus ballots for winners.  In the end, Sabina proved to be the winner, scoring a free copy of the classic Bruno Faidutti card game Citadels!  This would come to be something of a tradition within itself!

The following year we had a turn-out of twelve peoples: me, Cheryl, Dean, Claudia, Audrey, Andrew, Sabina, Angela, Mark and fresh meat Mike, Dawn and Joe.  We blew away our previous record of "Most Games Played In One Day" with Blokus, Kingsburg, Survive: Escape from Atlantis!, Drakon and Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit plus three matches each of Apples to Apples and Roadzters, and two games apiece of Shadow Hunters, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Ultimate Werewolf.  

Once again Sabina's name was drawn for the grand prize: a $20.00 gift certificate.  We had so many ballots that year that we also decided to crown our first Davecon MVP right on the spot.  Having submitted the most total ballots for the day, Dawn was declared the first-time winner in this impromptu new category!  

Since this was clearly the most successful Davecon to date, a follow-up was certainly in order.  By the end of February we'd locked down the date of April 14'th but we still hadn't addressed one major problem: where to hold the event.  The chaos of the previous year made it painfully obvious that we'd hit the maximum capacity of our humble little apartment so finding a new home for Davecon was imperative.  

Mercifully a convenient solution soon appeared in the form of Quantum Frontier: an awesome comic/game/toy store in the North End of Halifax.  The entire upstairs floor (cleverly dubbed "The Danger Room"), a fantastic space dedicated to gaming, is available to rent for private functions!  As soon as I had a chance to peep it out, I knew that we'd found the perfect place.  Sabina was kind enough to make all of the arrangements and soon the only thing left to do was wait for the big day to arrive!    

I bombed into the store at around 11:30 am on Saturday to set up for the event.  I posted an orientation sign up at the back of the store leading guests upstairs and a welcome sign at the top of the steps.  I then set up my "registration table" where attendees could sign in and take a name badge.  Then I ran back downstairs with my video camera and did some establishing shots of the store as I waited for my peeps to arrive.

Lindsay (sp?) at Quantum Frontier was super-nice: friendly, helpful and accommodating even as I ran around the place like a whirling dervish.  After Andrew, Audrey, Claudia and Dean arrived, Patrick, store owner, popped by to introduce himself.

"So, is this, like...a tournament?" he asked, clearly amused by our enthusiasm.  "Will there be a winner?"

After explaining our ballot-to-play-and-win system Patrick said "Okay!  Hold on a sec.  I'm gonna give you guys a prize!"  

He took me downstairs and handed over a free copy of the board game Ninja Versus Ninja!  After thanking him profusely I quickly turned to greet more arriving guests.  By the time everyone was accounted for, we had twelve attendees in total.  Sadly, Cheryl couldn't make it, having come down with a particularly nasty case of what appeared to be The Andromeda Strain only a few days prior.  

By 12:30 everyone had arrived so I was quick to get my game-on.  Inspired by Wil Wheaton's inaugural episode of TableTop, Andrew S. had prepared Small World for our amusement value.  Intrigued by the colorful board and the bizarre fusion of fantasy races and special powers, it didn't take very long before we were joined by Davecon first-timers Matt and Andrew B.

I'd played Small World twice before and eked out a win in the first game so I was really looking forward to trying it again.  It's actually quite simple: players first select a traditional fantasy race that's been paired up with some wacky random special ability.  Your goal is to compete with your fellow players over a continent rife with variable terrain and resources.  Eventually you'll put your first race into decline and select a new one to play.  Picking a savvy combination of race and power, exploiting the map's terrain, sabatoging your opponents and timing the decline of your previous race will all aid players in their quest for victory! 

Despite some frustrating luck with the die, I managed to conquer the north-east corner of the board with my Forest Dwarves and hold onto it for most of the game.  The two mountainous and two wooded regions turned out to be the gift that keeps on giving, scoring six to nine points for me on every round!  

Andrew tried to dig in with Bivouacked Ghouls but Matt saw the danger inherent in this and ousted him with his Spirit Tritons.  Andrew B. cut a bloody swath through the southern regions with his Heroic Orcs, cutting down natives like cordwood.  After three turns I put my Dwarves into decline and snapped up the Wealthy Sorcerers.  Andrew followed suit not long after with a pack of Stout Halflings.
  

My Sorcerers were like a house on fire.  They stabbed right into the heartland from the north, replacing several of Matt and Andrew's single active tokens with re-enforcements from the supply.  Andrew B. and Matt played a great first game but may have taken their first races into decline a bit too late.  They also kept kicking game runner Andrew in the cubes, giving me a chance to fester unmolested.

Matt switched to Seafaring Wizards but had some trouble exploiting their abilities.  Andrew B. bounced back very nicely with his Berserk Elves, but his sketchy luck with the die seemed to work against him.  Andrew went for numbers with his final race,  selecting the multitudinous Ratmen.   

My final race was perhaps my weakest pick of the game: Alchemist Humans.  By this time, Andrew knew that I was the front-runner and cut deep into my Sorcerer turf with this Ratmen.  I responded by sending my Humans down from the North, claiming a couple of farmland regions with some bonus Alchemical points to boot!       

The final scores were me: 94, Matt, 83, Andrew B. 75 and Andrew S. 67.

I positively love this game!  It's like a quicker, simpler fantasy-themed rejiggering of the Avalon Hill classic History of the World.  

While all of this was going on, Mark proved victorious in a life or death struggle (not really) against Dean and Mike in the Magic-meets-Dominion-meets-Yahtzee dice-building game Quarriors!

Rollin' bones seemed to be the order of the day as the dexterity game Tumblin' Dice also proved to be a major hit.  In Game One, Audrey schooled her sister Claudia as well as fellow competitors Dawn and Sabina.  The final scores were Audrey 104 (!), Dawn 98, Claudia 59, Sabina 28.

Next the gals tackled the card-matchin' party game Apples To Apples with Audrey continuing her winning ways.   Over the course of the day, three more games were played, with Andrew B., Sabina and Angela all scoring big wins over various contendahs.

In Game Two of Tumblin' Dice, Claudia had her revenge with the best score of the day: 117!  Who says hate doesn't make you powerful?  Audrey was second with 78, Sabina came in third with 61, Dawn placed fourth with 60 and Angela was the last winner with 47 points.

In Game Three Dean proved triumphant in a squeaker match with 70 points.  Dawn and Mark shared a score of 63 and Mike had a tally of one less!  

Dean then proceeded to host a game of the dice-a-licious Kingsburg with Dawn, Claudia, Audrey and Mike.  Despite never having played the game before, Dawn managed to beat her more experienced rivals.

Being a sucker for a board games based on vehicular slaughter I was powerless to resist Andrew's siren call to try out Road Kill Rally.  After scoring a low roll to determine initial set-up I was surprised to find myself second to start, with Matt in first, Andrew S. in third and Andrew B. in the fourth and final spot.  I'd soon find out that, unlike other racing games, having the pole position in Road Kill Rally is akin to having a giant target painted on your rear windshield.  

Matt, being the first to start, was also the first to drive through the flaming barrier on the very next tile, resulting in a wipe out.  I barely managed to navigate past this with Andrew² hot on my heels.  Behind the wheel of a car armed with Machine Guns, Ram Plates and Targeting Computers, I felt reasonably confident that I'd be able to maintain my lead.  

I missed running over my first pedestrian but managed to plow through three suicidal cultists at the cost of nearly wiping out.  After passing by Satan's Summer Home, we were all fortified somewhat by a tile which gave us some desperately needed Rally Cards.  My lead was still intact as I vanished into the next tile filled with obscuring smoke, but it wasn't meant to last.  Even though my car's Ram Plates would have allowed me to smash through the subsequent rock slide and score a few more kills, I was going w-a-a-a-a-a-y too fast to navigate the accompanying red turn. 

To make matters worse, Andrew B. kept trying to blow the real spoiler off my car which I managed to avoid by playing a "You Missed!" card.  Meanwhile Matt and Andrew S. seemed quite content with the idea of ramming each other off the road.  Although I kept leading the pack I also had no available target in my forward sights.  As a result I didn't score any Victory Points for damaging my opponents nor did I get an opportunity to pilfer any Rally Cards from them.  

Although he'd been attacked several times in the early goings of the game, Andrew S. continued to play a highly disciplined game, picking up two adult casualties and a few damage tokens to boot.  Wisely he let the rest of us blaze a trail for him, putting the pedal to the metal only when appropriate.    

As the pack grew tighter, Matt effectively turned Andrew B. into a briquette with his Flame Thrower, forcing a wipe out.  Andrew quickly bounced back by getting up to speed and scoring several octogenarian hood ornaments.  Sensing his intent to nail me from behind (!) I tried to drop a few well-placed mines into his path but my attack rolls were horrendous.

Andrew B's subsequent assault inflicted my first wipe out at the worst possible time, merely two tiles away from the finish line.  By the time I got back up to speed, both Matt and Andrew S. had blown past me to take first and second place respectively.  Despite his well-timed attack, Andrew B. placed fourth.

But even more important then where you finish in the race itself, there's all of those points earned for kills and opponent damage to tally up!  When everything was said and done, Matt won with 150 points, Andrew B. had accumulated a healthy 130 points, Andrew S. surprised with 110 and I totally washed out with 70.

Some post-game advice: abandon any assumptions that Road Kill Rally is your typical racing game.   Even if initial placement puts you at the head of the pack, don't be afraid to drop back, especially early in the game.  Lead cars are a frequent target and really have little to no hope of dealing with crazy track tiles as they're being placed.   

I feel as if we barely scratched the surface with this one.  I love the speed/movement mechanic, the color-coded turn difficulty and the use of hand management to represent damage and wipe outs.  I also dig how almost every tile creates a new and potentially deadly driving challenge.  Component-wise the tiles are a very high quality cardboard, the art design is appropriately garish and the plastic figures are darkly amusing.  All of these things help to evoke shades of Death Race 2000 meets Mad Max.        

During our engagement with Road Kill Rally, Angela came away lording her manual dexterity over opponents Sabina and Mark in a wild game of Donkey Kong Jenga.  Just prior to collapse, the tower resembled something designed my M.C. Escher.

The trio then segued into a tense contest of Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game.  Sabina (as Sheriff Anderson and his son Billy) and Angela (playing Johnny and Sally) managed to whack their fifteenth zombie prior to sundown without a single casualty in the "Die, Zombies, Die!!!" scenario.

Another rash of Tumblin' Dice broke out immediately after.  In Game Four Dawn nabbed first place with a score of 79 but Mark was nipping at her heels with 76.  Mike placed third with 52,  Audrey had a respectable 48 points and Sabina earned the dubious honor of posting the lowest score of the day with an inexplicably sad six points.  The hell....!?  

In Game Five Matt (53) bested rivals Sabina (46), Andrew B. (32) and Angela (11).  

Game Six saw the same roster flip scores, with Andrew B. (51) just barely edging out Angela (50), leaving Sabina (39) third and Matt bringing up the rear (37).  

Audrey triumphed in Game Seven with a score of 85, besting Sabina and Mike (both with 54) as well as Claudia's 50 and Dawn's 46.

Naturally I had to jump in and show these noobs in Game Eight how not to do it by scoring a mediocre tally of 33.  Surprisingly my score didn't hold up to Mark's 83, Sabina's 77, Dawn's 67 or Claudia's 60.   Man, it's pretty sad when the person who comes in fourth nearly doubles your score! 

Next, Andrew B. managed to steal a win away from Matt (42), Angela (37), Sabina (30) and Andrew S. (27) with a score of 45 in Game Nine.  

Finally, in the Tenth Game, Matt got the duke with a score of 65, leaving behind Andrew B. (46), Angela and Andrew S. (with 44 points apiece) and Sabina with 23.     

Then Dean expertly led us through a traditional run of Ultimate Werewolf.  Even before there was a single casualty, Matt he Construction Worker discovered a horrible truth about one of his fellow villagers.  Unfortunately, Mike the Slightly-Too-Chatty Minstrel immediately drew the ire of his fellow bumpkins just by opening his mouth.  As a result, Matt's warnings about a certain piqued old lady who's eyebrows meet in the middle fell on deaf ears.

Ironically, every word Mike uttered seem to escort him closer and closer to the gallows pole.  But when it came time to a vote, Mike pulled out a bravura performance of "Freebird" and managed to dodge the impending noose.      

Overnight, Matt used his unearthly gift of second sight and was pleasantly relieved to confirm Mike's innocence.  That same night, however, the werewolves conspired to nosh on Andrew B., the town's stalwart trapper.

Armed with the hard scientific evidence that I was being "too quiet", Sabina as Bria (a former adventurer until she tragically took an Internet meme to the knee) turned the harsh spotlight of accusation upon me.  This was immediately seconded without hesitation or thought by Andrew S. Jerkstore.

I failed to sway the court of public opinion with my dazzling defense of "You're wrong!  Case closed!"  It wasn't long before Yim the Swedish Yuggler was a-hangin' in the air like a limp windsock.  After I revealed my identity card, thus proving my innocence, I assuaged my premature demise by calling all of the conspirators a bunch of dumb-asses before taking a seat in the spirit gallery.

Spent after a long hard day of rank murder, the villagers promptly fell asleep.  During the night our intrepid Seer looked into Bria/Sabina's heart and came away somewhat surprised.  During the night, the werewolves enjoyed a penguin-flavored nosh, chowing down on Trenlow the Strong (Smelling), cleaner of horse-stalls (a.k.a. Andrew S.)

After her quick accusations resulted in the demise of two innocent villagers, Sabina/Bria (henceforth known as "Sabria") fell under scrutiny.  Whipped up into the sort of frenzy only seen in old Frankenstein movies, the villagers wasted little time on logic or reason, even as Matt kept underscoring the town's old crone (a.k.a. Dawn).  Soon, Sabina found herself swinging like a sixty-year-old Floridian with a Cialis prescription.

The surprisingly resilient Seer then learned the truth behind Gretchen the Barmaid's ample...smile.  The mornings tentative light soon revealed that Lance (aka Mark) had been mauled to death, leaving the town's privies nastier then Snooki's navel.  The villagers finally started to listen to Matt's strident warnings and strung Dawn up, who proved to be the first justifiably lupine homicide!

But the following night, Matt made the mistake of peeking into Audrey's hovel mid-transformation. The Seer quickly paid for his new-found wisdom by ending up as a human chew-toy.

Desperate, Claudia nominated the virtually mute Angela, a move that was hastily seconded by Audrey. With a defense even more lame then my own, it didn't take long before the town's exotic flamenco dancer (?) was strung up and beaten like a Mussolini-shaped piñata.

And with the death of yet another lycanthropy-free innocent, the wolves achieved parity.  Audrey was declared the winner, her second victory in Ultimate Werewolf!        

It was getting late but we managed to sneak in a few more games before running low on time.  First Matt and Sabina scored three ballots apiece in two games of the buzzer-happy, verboten-word party game Taboo.  Andrew lured Dean, Audrey and Claudia into a game of Stone Age and then proceeded to annihilate them without mercy.  Being completely enamored with the wacky world of Kaiju films, I was an easy mark for Matt's demo of the Richard Garfield dice-fest King of Tokyo.

In King of Tokyo players assume the role of a giant monster trope and attempt to earn Victory Points by beating up on each other and occupying poor, beleaguered Tokyo (not for political reasons one can assume).  While alone in the city, monsters can dish out the hurt all across the board but can't heal until they surrender their prize to an opponent's beastie.

Every turn, players roll eight customized die and then mix and match the results like a poker hand.  They also have the option to use two additional re-rolls.  The numbered faces (marked one to three) score victory points when matched in multiples, the heart symbols heal your patron monster while outside the city, the claws can be used to attack the current occupant of Tokyo and energy bolts can be exchanged for cool cards that improve your chances and/or hinder your rivals.

Matt's giant ape (appropriately named "The King") was the first to score some Veeps by wading into Tokyo but he had to clear out after Mike's Kraken came a-knockin'.  He held onto the prize as long as he could but eventually had to surrender the title after getting knocked down to a single Life Point!      

Andrew B. didn't stay in the city for very long, choosing instead to pursue a few interesting strategies via the power-up cards ("OooOooo, an 'Extra Head!'").  It kept his monster (Meka Dragon?) relatively intact but it didn't net him a ton of Victory Points.  Meanwhile, I patiently waited for my chance to pounce by rolling modest doubles and triples and generally staying clear of the city core.

I tentatively moved into the city after my monster Giga Zaur finally managed to evict current occupant Andrew.  My trepidations were instantly justified after I got the shit hammered out of me in short order.  I could only hold on to Tokyo for a turn or so before slinking away to lick my wounds.  After healing somewhat, I used my energy reserves to purchase a card which allowed me to change a single die roll to whatever result I wanted.  Unfortunately I was forced to play it on Mike instead of myself in a vain effort to delay his rampaging ways.

Revitalized, Mike returned to his old stomping grounds and tossed the competition out on its ear.  Not long after he turned his creature dial to twenty Victory Points and the Kraken was crowned the new King of Tokyo!  The final scores: Mike 20 points, Matt 18, me 16 and Andrew B. had 12.

As a fusion between a Halo "King of the Hill" death match and the dice-chucking mechanics of Mmm...Brains! or  Zombie Dice I thought this was a deliriously fun little game which made a very strong case for purchase.  I can't help but think about how much more awesome it would be to re-skin this with Toho monsters.  Wouldn't it be so much better to be using Godzilla, Rhodan, King Ghidorah, Gigan or even that pansy Mothra instead of the copyright-friendly generic wannabes included in the game?  Sadly the Toho license always seems to go to virtually unplayable crap like Godzilla: Kaiju World Wars.

While Andrew was finishing up Stone Age, I led Mike, Dawn and Mark in a match of Shadows over Camelot.  In this thematically rich co-op game, players take the role of King Arthur and the noble  Knights of Camelot.  Collectively they attempt to complete quests for legendary items of renown such as the Holy Grail, Lancelot's Armor and Excalibur.  If successful, they can claim and use these helpful artifacts in game and also score victory points in the form of White Swords which are displayed on the Round Table.

At the start of every round, each player's Knight takes one of three unpalatable actions which advances the Forces of Evil.  This often comes in the form of a Black Card draw, which frequently complicates a quest or hampers the efforts of the heroes in some way.  Soon, the Knights will find themselves scrambling around the realm, trying to put out a slew of fires that come in the form of Saxon and Pict invasions, challenges by the diabolic Black Knight and catapults laying siege to Camelot.

If a quest is failed, Black Swords are placed to symbolize the defeat of the Knights.  The game ends when the twelfth sword token is placed on the Round Table.  Successful players will need to know who should quest solo, when to collaborate on a callenging task and how to share valuable resources.  

Before we got started Andrew S. goaded me into including the Traitor rule.  When you invoke this option, each player is dealt a Loyalty Card.  Seven of these dedicate the recipient to Arthur's cause but one card will command the player to sow the seeds of discord amongst the Fellowship. Naturally, these roles are kept secret until the Traitor is exposed or the game ends.  If a Traitor stands unrevealed at the conclusion of the game, two of the swords on the Round Table are flipped to their black side!     

Since I had three new players to the game, I probably shouldn't have played with this rule since the game is challenging enough without it.  I'd played Shadows over Camelot only three or four times before and never with a traitor in our midst.  But I have to admit that I was curious about this unknown X-factor so I let Andrew twist my rubber arm.

As Arthur, Mike kicked off the game.  For awhile he mostly stayed in Camelot, drawing a surplus of White Cards which we used to complete quests and tilt the odds more in our favor.  Mark as Sir Tristan used his ability to depart Camelot as a free action and went right after the Black Knight.  Dawn as Sir Percival ventured forth to try and prevent the Holy Grail from slipping into oblivion.  Alarmed by Excalibur quickly fading away from us, I raced to the quest and started playing Fight cards as soon as I could.

Mark won his quest against the Black Knight and finished off the work I'd started in recovering Excalibur.  I tried to aid Dawn in the Grail Quest but the two of us could do little to stop the oncoming deluge of "Despair" cards.  Dawn did manage to stem the tide of invading Saxons but seemed horrified when she found out that the invasion would soon begin anew!

Despite our setbacks, things were still running fairly smoothly as we approached the endgame.  Then, the thought of an unrevealed Traitor began to nag at me.  Mike in particular was doing some odd things, like using Arthur's power to pass along some m'eh cards all the while just kinda hangin' around in Camelot.  Even more suspicious: he began to play every single Black Card face down.  Granted this gave him a free bonus White Card in return, but it also kept Quest opposition completely unknown; a common tactic used by the Traitor.

So, naturally, I accused Mike of being a rat.  Aaaaaaand, of course, he wasn't.  Double dumb-ass on me.  Because of the false accusation, one of our White Swords was turned to black, swaying the match towards the Forces of Darkness.  Naturally, since I'd pointed an accusatory finger at Mike, suspicions were immediately leveled at me (and deservedly so).  My genuine display of contrition seemed to excuse me from any further inquisitions.  

But things were looking dire.  Unfortunately a revitalized Black Knight and the surging Picts quickly put us right back behind the 8-Ball.  With all but a few slots still vacant on the Round Table, we were trailing the Forces of Darkness by one Sword.  Undaunted, Mike gave us a fighting chance by jumping into the field, winning Lancelot's armor and then using its ability to banish the worst of the Black Cards to the bottom of the deck.  This gave us a glimmer of renewed hope.  Could we still pull off a win?!?

Our only hope now would be to try and slay the Dragon, which would have allowed us to flip a Black Sword to White in the final tally.  Unfortunately, with the Excalibur Quest done and the Grail Quest lost, each matching Black Card drawn was now being translated into a Siege Engine!  I managed to destroy one, freeing up a vacant spot, before a Black Card ordered us to place two of them on the board, bringing the total to twelve.  The game was over and we'd been defeated!

Although I take full responsibility for virtually assuring our loss, a tie wouldn't have won us the game and an unrevealed traitor would certainly have lost it.  Having said that, I probably should have discussed my intentions with my follow Knights before blurting out an accusation.  I promise, guys, we'll try this again real soon, only this time we'll play it without the paranoia-inducing Traitor rule (at least at first)!

Our day ended around 8 pm with the draw for our two prizes.  After Claudia expertly explored every nook and cranny of the Dark Lord of the Sith for errant ballots, Andrew B. pulled his own name to score the $55.00 Grand Prize!  He then drew Matt's name which allowed him to take home Ninjas vs. Ninjas!  This couldn't have worked out better since he'd been drooling over the game ever since it came up as a possible prize!

All told, Davecon 2012 proved to be a rousing success.  The venue was perfect, the new-to-me games totally rawked and the prizes this year were better then ever!

Although I now have a full year to ponder tweaks and improvements for next year's event, I'm left a bit cold knowing that we may not have another full-day gaming even until Hal-Con rolls around in October.

Honestly, I really started Davecon in the hopes that everyone in my circle might end up creating their very own customized eponymous event.  Just think of the possibilities: twelve attendees this year could translate into one mini-con a month!

Who knows, maybe one of these days I can attend back-to-back Andrew-Cons!
   
Photos by Michael Chiasson and Angela Wiwczor.