ConQuest Friday

Got back last night from ConQuest in Bellevue. This is a four day multi-genre convention owned by Avalon conventions out of California. This is my second year working with the staff there as historical miniatures coordinator. Last year, the miniatures room was constantly filled and a huge success. This year I had a lot of difficulty recruiting games and gamers from my NHMGS brethren. Regardless, the show must go on, and we still managed to host some great games and have some fun.

I knew Friday night was going to be thin, so I brought my Thunderboats! stuff and hoped I could drum up some interest in a hydroplane racing game. When I arrived at about noon, both Gil Fussells were waiting in the miniatures room, fiddling with Wings of War. The room was already set to go, so life was good. Battletech players arrived shortly thereafter, and I put together my tables for Thunderboats! A wide variety of players dropped in and out of the Somerset room to watch and play. We ran five mini-races or heats, each of three laps. These each take about an hour. The racing was very good. I've run or played this game about a half-dozen times, so my ideas about the best strategies are still forming, and it was interesting to see everyone else's take on the game.

As I stated, there were lots of different guys playing, but Gil Fussell found ways to new ways to crash in each game. I think he raced in all five games, and manged to finish only once-winning the last race.

In the early evening, Randy O'Boyle ran an interesting Ironclads between mostly ironclad vessels defending a fortified dockyard. It was fun to watch as the more numerous Confederates crashed into one another. He used some ships I've never used such as Roanoake and Columbia, so it was fun to see them perform. Randy certainly knows the game well and doesn't let the history stand in the way of a good time.

I've got a couple of pictures of Thunderboats here, as well as the self-satisfied Mr. Fussell upon completing a couple of laps, leading the racers without the intervention of some apocalyptic act of God. I have one quick picture of the Battletech game. These guys were fantastic, loved the game and sustained interest in their scenarios for at least twenty hours over the weekend. I also have one quick picture of the Ironclads game with the ram Stonewall attempting to breach the log boom protecting the dock area. Reminded me a bit of Trent's Reach, but not quite.