Classic Con Report - Gen Con 2014

High light: The Diana Jones Awards allowed me to meet many of the Twitter buddies I've made and also awarded Hillfolk, which contains some of my work. I'm 1/64 of a Diana Jones Award winner because Robin Laws says so.

Low light: This was the first year I had copies of my work to trade, which meant I was able to arrange trades with other pros for their stuff. Of the trades I arranged, only two went off without a hitch.

Best experience: My Thursday night game of The Strange with my room crew and a few other friends. Another Nightstick for the win!

Worst experience: Getting up super early on Thursday, getting my tickets from Will Call, running several events in a row and then being told an event was running 45 minutes late when I got there, when I could have gotten dinner or something before my final game that evening.

Best bargain (had to buy it, no freebies): AEG Big board game night. $32 to play any and all of AEG's offering, then a swag box at the end full of games that are easily more than double the price of the ticket. (That's why I have two sets of Doomtown.)

Best Freebie: FFG passed out a little minigame to play to those folks waiting in the massive line for their booth.

Most welcome surprise: Sunday was an excellent day instead of a harried mix of packing, last minute deals and a long drive home. Instead it was excellent networking, a lovely steak dinner, a great game that made new friends and a PPV in the hotel room.

Most unwelcome surprise: I lost my travelling hat somewhere in Indy, which had been with me from Europe to Whitewater. Vaya con Dios, camo boonie hat.

Best game: Legendary Encounters: Alien is a perfect fit for Legendary's advancing horde mechanic. It was tense, required teamwork and felt like an accomplishment when we won.

Most interesting game concept: Cluster Fight turns "who would win in a fight" into an Apples to Apples style judgment game, with the twist of cards that modify the fighters played each round. Sure, Batman could beat Homer Simpson in a fight, but what if Batman was legally blind and Homer had superspeed?

Sleeper game:  All the games I played at AEG Big Board Game Night were fun, but I was blown away by Seventh Hero. It's a bluff/press your luck game that has some wonderfully tense reveals.

Coolest booth: FFG continues its reign as the heart of Gen Con. Announcing Star Wars Imperial Assault, Star Wars Armada, and X-Com the Board Game and then running demos at the show cements their title once again.

Strangest moment: The amusing Dudebro D&D going on in the same room where we were playing some games we bought. They spent two hours on one scene, zero combat, 60% digressions about naming their ship something filthy.

Played: 
Curse the Darkness
Daedalus Fate
Our Last Best Hope
The Strange
Firefly RPG
Valley of the Kings
Seventh Hero
Star Wars Imperial Assault
Doomtown Reloaded
Shadowrun Crossfire
The Battle at Kemble's Cascade
Cluster Fight
Legendary Encounters: Alien

Purchased:
Shadowrun Crossfire
Doomtown Reloaded
13 True Ways
Infamy
Secrets of the Empire
Naishou Provice
Sentinels of the Multiverse mini-expansions
Fortune and Glory mini-expansions
Firefly Blue Sun expansion
Numenera Character Options
Numenera Cypher Chest
Force and Destiny beta
The Strange Deluxe Edition

Swag:
Sentinels of the Multiverse promos
Doomtown Reloaded
Strange cypher deck
Firefly RPG
Echoes of War Thrillin' Heroics
Age of Rebellion
13th Age Bestiary
13th Age demo
Shadowrun Crossfire demo 
Crossfire promos
Romance of the nine empires
Valley of the Kings
D&D 5th Player's Handbook
D&D 5th Hoard of the Dragon Queen

Things to pick up after the con:
Incredible Expeditions
Star Wars Imperial Assault
Star Wars Armada

Memorable Quote:
"Fear the mighty Dickass the Dragon, dude!"
"Did you get Spockblocked?"
"Do you like Wendy's?"

Gen Con 2014 - Schedule

Next week marks Gen Con in Indianapolis. I'll be there for my final con of the summer and it seems like I've saved the best for last. After the exciting new experience of San Diego Comic Con, Gen Con feels like a comfortable pair of shoes. I'm running a few games at Gen Con as well as other appearances. The games are all technically sold out, but there's always a chance that a spot will open up that fills with generic tickets. If you encounter me, feel free to say hi and introduce yourself. My full schedule is after the jump.

A Strange Encounter at Half-Price Books

Every few months or so, I get a link to an out of print RPG book on Amazon with a ridiculous price. The third-party seller usually wants something like  a couple grand or so. This is usually caused by the pricing algorithm getting bad info and ballooning the price up in a vacuum.

Half-Price Books has gotten a bit smarter with their pricing of OOP RPG stuff. Gone are the days where you could find a pristine copy of Keep on the Borderlands for a couple bucks. Hard-to-find stuff is now usually at least cover and, if you've got a knowledgeable member of the staff who pays attention to eBay, more.

I was in a Half-Price today and came across some 7th Sea books in their collectors case. Most of them were cover or more. They had a copy of a very rare 7th Sea book: Swordsman Guild. The price reflected the rarity - $200.

The Swordsman Guild tied for the most expensive book they had in the store. The other $200 book? A copy of Mein Kampf from the 1930's in the original German, complete with Nazi Germany symbol stamped on the front.

Firefly RPG - Thrillin' Heroics

The Firefly RPG Corebook is making its way out into the wild. Pre-orders are starting to hit mailboxes around the world. We'll also have a ton of copies at Gen Con next week, so if you're able, stop by the Margaret Weis Productions booth and I'll be glad to sign both books for you.

Both books? A Gen Con surprise awaits you after the jump.