It’s been one week since Gen Con and I think I am finally back to normal. Why? Well it’s a few days of nonstop action, little-to-no sleep (between 0 and 3 hours a night for three straight nights) and 60,000 people. It’s hard to recover, especially if you end up with Con Crud. Hee hee hee….
Let’s talk about what I did this year.
-My flight was delayed 4 times and I strolled into my hotel room at 3:30AM on Friday.
I hope I didn’t bug my roommates too much, while I was shuffling in and meeting some of them for the first time in the complete darkness. The one roommate that I know very well was Flip Florey, everyone’s favorite clown/podcaster from Flip the Table. Flip (and the others) were great roommates and I’m glad I got to spend a few hours each day with Flip. We got in a restaurant game of Heartthrob and a late night game of McDonalds, which were both welcome downtime to the insanity.
-I won the Iron Design contest this year and was called a "quality designer" by Bruno Cathala.
Jason and Rob from Building the Game invited me to battle again Josh Mills in this year’s Iron Design contest. I witnessed last year and it was hilarious. I should have known better after watching Andy Lenox and Ben Pinchback embarrass themselves last year, but I went for it anyway. Josh Mills showed up in a white tuxedo and I thought I was done. The first question asked me to design “Watching Paint Dry” on the spot and I thought I was done. I chilled out by round two and managed to eek out the win, due to my intense feelings about Candyland (positive, not negative), an extremely flawed Rock, Paper, Scissors, Bruno match, and pure luck when throwing a big stuffed d4. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to watch again next year.
-I played a bunch of prototypes.
I had a great group on both Friday and Saturday playing the upcoming Wallet Games. Lots of discussion and so many great ideas. The Unpub area is why I go to Gen Con and I spent far too little time there. Hung out with a lot of good friends while I was there, and met some awesome new people too.
-I bought a bunch of games.
I didn't buy nearly as many games as most people, but it was far too many to haul around all day. (Lesson learned, stay at a closer hotel OR drag around a little wheelie cart). I picked up Survive: Space Attack, Imperial Assault: Twin Shadows, Rhino Hero, Adventure Time Love Letter, Munchkin Smash Up, and maybe a few more.
-I ate a bunch of food.
I didn’t eat as much as normal, but I had a few things to note. A square doughnut, which is a local thing. Tachos, which were tater tot nachos and Jay Treat’s great decision of all time. Fried Pork Tenderloin, which was also a local thing and pretty good. A 5:30AM King David Dog, which is the best and biggest hot dog I ever ate at 5:30AM in an airport. My biggest regret though was missing out on Steak N Shake. There just wasn’t time and just thinking about it makes me sad.
I always say that I’ll do better next year, but it’s always a struggle. Next year I need to ditch US Airways, come for all 4 days, and get someone to shop for me while I hang in the Unpub area. And Steak N Shake. Lots of it.
