It is Sunday morning on the last day of Prezcon. The weekend's bring 8:00 AM tournament games, so I am taking time between my 8:00 and 10:00 game to sit by the pool again.
The weekend brings lots more people to the convention. The crowds in the tournament room and open game room noticeably increased on Friday morning. This includes a lot of families, so that women are better represented (see my previous post for my reflections upon this earlier in the week) and lots of kids. During my Friday morning Lords of Waterdeep game, a mother received a call from her kids' school system inquiring about their absence. She responded to the call indicating that her son and daughter were absent due to attendance at a family event (Prezcon) After she finished the phone call, I and the other players started calling her "Cool Mom". If a parent is going to pull their kid from school for a day or two, Prezcon is a great event to do it. Board games involve the application of math skills, decision making, and analysis. It also provides young people a chance to interact with adults who are not their parents in a safe environment.
Since Friday, I have played a dozen games. I haven't done well from a competitive standpoint, but I have had lot of fun. This included one finals, one semifinals, several tournament heats, and open gaming.
I finished fifth in the finals of History of the World. I experienced a little bit of bad luck early in the game, but played well until the last two turns when I lost focus on what I was doing and made some boneheaded mistakes. It's a long game (five hours for a six player game), and I can get tired. There was also a little bit of arguing among two other players in the middle of the game about how to correct a mistake one of the players made. It required the intervention of the gamemaster to adjudicate the situation, which upset him a bit. It was an argument between two players who are lawyers in "real life", so what can I say?
I missed advancing to the Castles of Burgundy finals by one point: 213 to 212. The game was a lot of fun, and with all of our scores above 200 points, we all knew what we were doing. I learned more about the game and the planning elements that actually do exist. While I have approached the game as a series of tactical decisions based on what currently appears on the evolving game board, better players have looked at the layout of their own board, accounted for how many tile pieces exist in the entire game, and designed a plan from the start. They also pay more attention to what other players are doing and employ blocking others as a secondary strategy to their own plan. It is fascinating. I also learned that missing the finals had a good element to it. The woman who beat me by a point later relayed to me that the final game took four hours (Burgundy is normally just over two hours) as people carefully considered what they did. The finals also immediately followed the semis, so people in the finals played a high concentration game for over seven hours.
I have also played a game of Conquest of Paradise, two games of 7 Wonders, and Liar's Dice. My best finish in each game has been second place (I have one more heat of 7 Wonders later this morning). These are both neat games. Conquest of Paradise plays in one to two hours and almost always has a dramatic finish. 7 Wonders plays in 30 to 40 minutes, is a pretty game, and involves lots of interesting decisions. It is one of my favorites. Liar's Dice is a hoot, plays quickly, and just involves basic math and bluffing. I introduced a couple of people to the game, lost my tournament game, and won a pick up game.
In open gaming, I played with Matt J and Mike M, and Twiggy. I learned Glory to Rome (wasn't excited about it) and Madeira (very enjoyable game that reminds me Caverna). The open gaming room was packed throughout the weekend. Tara G and I also discussed her idea of having an advance Meetup type of communication before the convention for people to schedule games in the Open Gaming room. We both like Prezcon tournaments because it guarantees play of certain games because those games are scheduled. Open gaming is a bit hit or miss. I can bring my favorites down to the Open Gaming room, but it is like a board gaming bar. One wades in, looks for opportunities to play, and instead of hooking up, finds people to board game with. As I remarked earlier in the week, it can be awkward. There are also missed opportunities with multiple people wanting to play the same game (such as my Prezcon friend Paul's and my desire to play Lewis & Clark), but not being able to coordinate a time during the convention. Communication via Facebook, or on the Prezcon website, or other method might help that effort along.
As is the case every year, I declare Prezcon a success. I am happy that it is going strong in its 25th year. It is a much bigger event than the first one I attended in 1994.
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