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 Dec 11, 2008
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Convention Reports
BGN editors, columnists and readers report back from game conventions and industry trade fairs, with coverage of games played, celebrities spotted, and displays photographed. In some cases, the reports are completed daily, directly from the conventions themselves, while at other times they're filed after the show is complete to allow more time for introspection – not to mention time for playing the actual games! This section includes coverage of the following events:
- FallCon: 19 (2006) & 20 (2007)
- GAMA Trade Show: 2006 – 2007
- GAMECON-1: 2005
- The Gathering of Friends: 2006 – 2007 – 2008
- Gen Con: 2006
– 2008
- New York Toy Fair: 2006 – 2007 – 2008
- Origins:
2006
- Spiel: 2006 – 2007
- UK Games Expo: 2008
< Back to Special Features
HeadlinesNovember 18, 2008 - Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – Kimaloé and ColorsNovember 9, 2008 - Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – Codename: Ancient and Valdora October 28, 2008 - Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – 24 Hours October 26, 2008 - Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 25, 2008 – Day 4 October 26, 2008 - Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 25, 2008 – Day 3 October 25, 2008 - Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 24, 2008 – Day 2, Part 2 October 24, 2008 - Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 24, 2008 – Day 2 October 24, 2008 - Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 23, 2008 – Day 1 October 3, 2008 - Andrea Ligabue: PLAY 2008 – Friday, Sept. 26 August 21, 2008 - Matt Carlson: Gen Con 2008 Photo Report August 18, 2008 - Ted Cheatham: Gen Con 2008 Coverage June 12, 2008 - Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008 – Confucius & Games for Spiel 08 |
Articles
Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – Kimaloé and Colors
By W. Eric Martin
November 18, 2008
Is anyone still interested in Spiel reports? I’ve been somewhat distracted since returning from Germany, but as no one else has reported on these games, it’s time to translate some of my notes into print, starting with a new game from two-thirds of the crew behind Animalia and Jamaica.
Sébastien Pauchon and Malcolm Braff are the main forces behind GameWorks, a Swiss design company that creates custom games for clients. The two games listed in the opening paragraph were both commissioned by an insurance company, for example. GameWorks’ newest release – with Dominique Ehrhard on board as co-designer – is Kimaloé, which was designed for Terre des Hommes, a Swiss non-governmental organization that focuses on children’s rights. The game will be released on November 20, 2008 to coincide with Universal Children’s Day, and the game will be distributed by Asmodee.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on November 18, 2008 at 01:30 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – Codename: Ancient and Valdora
By W. Eric Martin
November 9, 2008
One of the reasons I attended Spiel 08 was to get a first look at titles coming out in 2009. No, I’m not bored with this year’s releases – I just want to keep track of what’s coming out when so that I can report such things here on BGN. Jackson Pope at Reiver Games, for example, showed off a design from Dirk Liekens, whose just-released Wind River from Argentum Games was getting decent reviews at Spiel.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on November 9, 2008 at 05:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Spiel 2008 – 24 Hours
By W. Eric Martin
October 28, 2008
After spending far too many hours on the final day of the Spiel game convention punching, bagging and stacking (and restacking) my cardboard treasures in order to fit everything in my two suitcases – a challenge that failed, leaving me to tote three games in a plastic bag in addition to my weighty computer bag – I grabbed a few hours of sleep before waking at 6 am to eat, shower and prepare for the long trek to Düsseldorf airport and, eventually, home.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 28, 2008 at 11:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 25, 2008 – Day 4
By W. Eric Martin
October 26, 2008
Spiel 08 is over, so let’s start the final summary report with one bit of news from the closing moments of the show:
• FRED Distribution will release a new version of Richard Borg’s Battle Cry, which has a working title of – wait for it – Richard Borg’s Battle Cry. Borg mentioned that some elements of the game will be updated, but the release will remain the same game and not be a sequel. No helicopters will be included, and marshmallow guns have also been nixed.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 26, 2008 at 05:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 25, 2008 – Day 3
By W. Eric Martin
October 26, 2008
Saturday happenings from the Spiel game convention in Essen, Germany:
• Here are the Fairplay standings as of 18:15 Saturday:
- Dominion
- Machu Picchu
- Nefertiti
- Comuni
- Diamonds Club
- Pandemic
- Im Schutze der Burg
- Age of Empires III
- Chicago Express
- Wind River
- Cavum
- Space Alert
- Snow Tails
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 26, 2008 at 04:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 24, 2008 – Day 2, Part 2
By W. Eric Martin
October 25, 2008
Items from the Spiel game convention in Essen, Germany:
• The Fairplay rating chart, which tracks how gamers are rating new titles, has been fluctuating rapidly as first impressions pour into the voting box. At 15:00 on Friday, Oct. 24, the second full day of Spiel, the chart read:
- Comuni
- Diamonds Club
- Machu Picchu
- Dominion
- Fauna
- Im Schutze der Burg
- Lungarno
- Borneo
- Flussfieber
- Pandemic
- Nefertiti
- Le Havre
- Powerboats
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 25, 2008 at 03:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 24, 2008 – Day 2
By W. Eric Martin
October 24, 2008
Time to continue the quick hits from the Spiel convention:
• The Kingsburg expansion, the title of which is still in the works, should be released in early 2009, and it consists of five expansions that can be used singly or in combination, such as 24 governor tiles – with players choosing one of three to keep throughout the game, with a special power associated with each – and tokens to be used during the winter battles. Instead of having a random number of troops assigned to you, each player will have a set of six tiles numbered 0-4 (with two 1s). You choose one of these tiles for each round, and the remaining tile at the end of the game gives VPs equal to the number on it. Kingsburg has been extremely well-received and will even appear in a Russian-language edition before the end of 2008.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 24, 2008 at 07:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Convention Report: Essen 2008: October 23, 2008 – Day 1
By W. Eric Martin
October 24, 2008
Rather than cover everything I’ve seen, heard or played in depth at Spiel, then die due to falling asleep in the middle of a busy German roadway while walking to the Messe, I’m sticking to a few quick notes from day 1 in Essen:
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 24, 2008 at 03:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Spiel 2008
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Andrea Ligabue: PLAY 2008 – Friday, Sept. 26
Hi gamers, here is my report from PLAY 2008, although I was busy most of the time as the organizer and coordinator of the event, so unfortunately I didn’t have too much time for playing, anyway enough to be able to talk with the designers/publishers about Magnifico, Leader 1, Ventura, Age of Conan and MotoGrandPrix.
PLAY 2008 was the evolution of ModCon, the gamers convention. More than 10,000 people attended this first edition, with the usual crowd of gamers sitting side-by-side with a lot of families, kids and other visitors. PLAY has its accent on gaming: everything from the editors’ booths to the associations area was devoted to grabbing people and sitting them down for an opportunity to play, both for hardcore gamers and new ones. Board games, role-playing games, live-action games, wargames, card games, abstract games and video games – they were all present, along with events, demos, free games and tournaments. In the coming years, we think PLAY will be the ideal plaza for Italian publishers to show their new realeases.
Posted by Andrea Liga Ligabue on October 3, 2008 at 03:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports
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Matt Carlson: Gen Con 2008 Photo Report
Four years ago, I was hired as a public high school science teacher here in Indiana. My very first week on the job, I took Friday off. Why? Because Gen Con was happening and it was only an hour away. I’ve returned to Gen Con (taking the first Friday back at school off of course) every year, and this year I’m one of three folks reporting on the convention for Boardgame News. I’ll write more details in my postings over at GamingWithChildren.com later this week, but to tide you over here is a photo diary of my weekend in Indianapolis.
Posted by Matt J. Carlson on August 21, 2008 at 02:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Gen Con 2008
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Ted Cheatham: Gen Con 2008 Coverage
Ted Cheatham was one of four Boardgame News correspondents at Gen Con 2008 this past weekend, interviewing designers and publishers and trying out new games. Ted has presented his coverage in two formats: (1) a 22-minute video file (MWV format) that incorporates interviews with still images from the convention, including shots of Moto Grand Prix, Constantinopolis, Battlestar Galactica and Fire & Ice: The Adventure Game (a prototype from Fantasy Flight), and (2) a 37-minute audio file (MP3 format) with longer interviews from a couple of people who got caught off in the video presentation.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on August 18, 2008 at 12:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Gen Con 2008
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Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008 – Confucius & Games for Spiel 08
By W. Eric Martin
June 12, 2008
As noted in earlier reports, Alan Paull and Surprised Stare Games debuted his latest game, Confucius, at the Expo. The game was well-received, but an unexpected shortage in blue junks led to Paull and other SSGers scrambling to find the right components from any supplier possible. In the end, says Charlie Paull, they put together 22 copies for sale and those were gone before lunch on the first day: a strong sign of the game’s potential, but a situation that must be heartbreaking for a publisher since direct sales at a con are essential for covering costs and getting the word out.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008
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Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008 – Awards, Tinners’ Trail, and Treefrog
By W. Eric Martin
June 4, 2008
By the standards of Spiel, the UK Games Expo is a tiny event featuring only a few dozen publishers and vendors. That said, one aspect of Spiel was recreated numerous times by the participants: just-in-time delivery of new games.
Wattsalpoag’s Kris Gould, the only American publisher on hand, said that he first laid eyes on Fruit Fair after arriving at the Expo. The Ragnar Brothers had to airship 150 copies of Monastery to have them for sale while the remaining copies were stuck on a lorry somewhere. Surprised Stare received a nasty surprise when the supplier of the blue ships in Confucius couldn’t come up with them in time; Alan Paull scrambled to find as many ships as possible, but the 22 copies he and his crew did assemble were sold out by lunchtime on the first day of the show. (JKLM wasn’t so lucky as Huang Di and Athene, both expected to debut, will now appear in July.)
Posted by W. Eric Martin on June 4, 2008 at 03:30 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008
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Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008 – First Thoughts
By W. Eric Martin
May 31, 2008
As part of my 40th birthday celebration (thanks, Linda!) I’m attending the UK Games Expo 2008, which is taking place in Birmingham on the same weekend as a Magic the Gathering Grand Prix tournament. While Magic fans might be busy elsewhere, the Clarendon Suites have plenty of boardgamers, card gamers, miniatures gamers, and non-Magic CCGers on hand. A troop of stormtroopers are also on hand, as are a few droids, who zip back and forth in the halls as quickly as the person riding the trike inside can manage without flattening any children,
The Games Expo is only two days long, and since a few dozen gamers adjourn to a hotel for games in the evening, I’ll keep this first posting short, with more details to come in future days. First, two new games making their debut at the show:
Posted by W. Eric Martin on May 31, 2008 at 02:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: UK Games Expo 2008
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Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008: Covert Action, Metropolys & Big Points
By W. Eric Martin
April 19, 2008
One great thing about conventions is that you will often play games that you would never play in other circumstances. Someone will ask you to play a game with their group, and you’ve enjoyed playing with the person in the past, or you don’t own the game, or you own the game but have never unwrapped it, or you have just the right amount of time before dinner (assuming you eat at conventions), or you’re trying to avoid someone else who has asked to play something, or you’re competing in a contest to play with as many different people as possible. Whatever the reason, you decide to play this game at this time.
One awful thing about conventions is that you will often play games that you would never play in other circumstances for all the same reasons listed above. If nothing else, you get a column out of the experience.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 19, 2008 at 02:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008
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Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008: Change Horses & Other Reports
By W. Eric Martin
April 17, 2008
Naturally I’m not the only one writing about games discovered and played at the Gathering. In addition to columns by a number of fine folks on BGN, you can read additional reports from:
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 17, 2008 at 10:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008
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Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008: Ghost Stories & Hanging Gardens
By W. Eric Martin
April 14, 2008
The tables at the Gathering are awash in prototypes from morning until midnight, with designers looking for feedback and publishers trying to decide what to publish next or how to tweak a game that’s already in the line-up. Mum’s the word on these designs unless the designer or publisher says otherwise, and thankfully I’ve been cleared to talk about one of three prototypes that impressed me. Now I can share the goodness with you, followed by talk of a title that should be hitting the U.S. any day now.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 14, 2008 at 02:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008
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Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008: Stone Age, Ticket to Ride Card Game & X
By W. Eric Martin
April 12, 2008
So, the Gathering. That’s what I’m supposed to be writing about, right? Well, Ted Alspach thinks so anyway.
My plan before attending this largely industry-related event was to play as many prototypes as possible so that I can write about these games in depth as they appear. While I largely stuck to this plan – despite what Scott Tepper might say – this leaves me with little to say now, especially since my three favorite games of the show were all prototypes!
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 12, 2008 at 01:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008
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Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008: Pre-Gathering Gaming
By W. Eric Martin
April 4, 2008
Alan Moon’s Gathering of Friends, a small convention that attracts dozens of game designers and publishers, takes place early each April in Columbus, Ohio – so what am I doing in Dayton? Did Mapquest give me bum directions? Is Ohio too big for its own good?!
In fact, I’m in Dayton to speak at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop, an annual event meant to educate humor writers, perfect their craft and find markets for their work. I do little humor writing in the traditional sense (essays, personal columns), but the conference organizers invited my wife Linda and me to speak on generating ideas and writing query letters, and that topic is easy-peasy for pros like us. Since the timing meshed with the Gathering, we agreed to do the talk.
Then Linda fell sick, so I’m here on my own. We’ve spoken together previously in Sante Fe, Tucson, Austin, Washington DC, and other locations, and I’m used to playing off Linda and making her the fall guy for my silly remarks. This time, I had to do both sides of the talk, but the crowd of 50-60 aspiring and burgeoning writers seemed to like it. I’m still alive, in any case.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on April 4, 2008 at 05:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: The Gathering of Friends 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 18 (Part Three)
By W. Eric Martin
March 19, 2008
The Toy Fair 2008 coverage finally comes to an end with a few oddball designs from newcomers, a few designs that aren’t as oddball as they claim to be, Ravensburger, Winning Moves, and assorted other items.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on March 19, 2008 at 02:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 18 (Part Two)
By W. Eric Martin
March 14, 2008
Okay, with multiple writing projects out of the way, I’m clearing the dust off my 2008 Toy Fair notes and wrapping up the games seen there in this article and one more to appear early next week.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on March 14, 2008 at 12:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 18 (News Scoop!)
By W. Eric Martin
February 19, 2008
I’ll continue with the general Toy Fair coverage in a later post or two, but I wanted to call out two announcements of note involving Z-Man Games and ElfinWerks.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on February 19, 2008 at 02:30 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 18 (Part One)
By W. Eric Martin
February 18, 2008
The rain has cleared from the skies and streets, creating a nice cool environment for a walk to the Javits Center and a second day at NY Toy Fair. Unfortunately, I’m running late, so I have to take a cab instead, a cab that carries a television screen implanted in the back of the front seat, featuring something called “Taxi TV” – the purpose of which seems to be to keep riders occupied during slow traffic so as not to grow murderous. Mission accomplished!
Posted by W. Eric Martin on February 18, 2008 at 10:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 17 (Part Three)
By W. Eric Martin
February 18, 2008
It’s midnight in Manhattan, and a cool breeze is blowing through the open window in my friend’s apartment. The temperature might be near freezing outside, but funky radiators and the collected heat that comes from living on the top floor keeps her apartment warm no matter what the weather. The sound of traffic on Broadway, half a block away, rises and falls like a pulse. While New York is pictured as an always bustling and noisy metropolis, I haven’t heard a car horn in hours. Life carries on quietly in thousands of nearby apartments.
And I’m awake, writing (as always) about games – the good and the bad, the promising and the compromised. Most important of all, at least for this report, I’m showing off the new Risk from Hasbro, but not yet.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on February 18, 2008 at 08:30 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 17 (Part Two)
By W. Eric Martin
February 17, 2008
Playroom filled the morning post, but plenty of other game companies are on hand at Toy Fair, both known and unknown. I’ll start with one of the known, then dance through a few others…
Posted by W. Eric Martin on February 17, 2008 at 11:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008 – February 17 (Part One)
By W. Eric Martin
February 17, 2008
You know you’re in Manhattan when you can’t walk two blocks without passing a Starbucks. While walking from Grand Central Station to the Jacob Javits Center for Toy Fair 2008, I saw four (or perhaps five) of the green-and-white logo beckoning with the promise of sweet drinks and free wi-fi. I resisted the siren call for now, pleased just to be able to walk the city streets, unlike in my hometown of Concord, NH, where more than 70” of snow has fallen this winter, and ice and slush cover every sidewalk.
Enough weather talk, let’s get to the games…
Posted by W. Eric Martin on February 17, 2008 at 08:30 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: New York Toy Fair 2008
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Convention Report: FallCon 20
By Brent Lloyd
December 12, 2007
FallCon 20, an annual boardgame and miniatures convention, was held September 21-23, 2007 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and attendance this year was the largest to date, passing the 260 mark. That fact doesn’t come as a surprise thanks to the growing interest in our quaint hobby. We have seen an increase in families and couples attending, and more balanced (but not yet balanced) gender parity. This is our fourth straight year of increases, and we expect the trend to continue, as more folks become familiar with FallCon.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on December 12, 2007 at 04:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: FallCon
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Convention Report: Essen 2007: Spiel Wrap-Up
By W. Eric Martin
November 10, 2007
I surveyed a few publishers that attended Spiel ‘07 to get their reactions to the show and to see whether they had any news to report. Let’s start with the company and game that everyone is talking about:
Uwe Rosenberg’s Agricola placed second on the Fairplay magazine list of top 10 rated games as voted on by Spiel ‘07 attendees, but the large amounts of German text on the 300+ cards had lots of people asking: When’s the English edition appearing?
The answer: Dunno. Lookout’s Hanno Girke has said that Z-Man Games has the option to do an English edition, and Zev Shlasinger is still deciding whether he wants to do it. Given Agricola’s list price, the English edition would likely have to be at least $60 due to the awful dollar/Euro exchange rate. (The exchange rate hit $1.45 = €1 on November 5.) Girke said that a French version of Agricola is possible, although not definite, and other companies have expressed interest in Dutch, Portugese, Czech and Polish versions, although these are all just possibilities for now.
What could make these other editions happen, though, is the strength of Agricola in both Fairplay standings and in sales. Lookout Games sold through the 900 copies it brought to Essen, and Hanno has said that the company needs to sell at least 60% of the print run in order to make licensing feasible. (Licensing cuts into sales of the German edition.) Lookout is now talking to German wholesale retailers in order to get distribution and reach that level.
Speaking of Z-Man, Zev says, “I have several things in the works but no news as of yet… Essen was great, although saleswise 2006 was better. I need to focus on one or two games only for next year AND make them available only through me.”
Posted by W. Eric Martin on November 10, 2007 at 09:00 AM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Essen 2007
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Convention Report: Essen 2007: Links to Other Spiel ‘07 Reports
By W. Eric Martin
Updated: October 29, 2007
Scott, Dale and I have reported on our Spiel ‘07 happenings, and so have plenty of others around the gaming community. Check out the following reports for more on the show:
- Trond Meistad has a multi-day Spiel report on Brettspill.no.
- Mike Siggins has posted his standard thorough yet concise report on Spiel ‘07 on Funagain.com.
- Bruno Faidutti has published a juicy Spiel report on his website that includes this awesome paragraph:
Games can be ugly in many ways. Many are ugly in a minimalistic way, as if the publisher simply published the prototype, like Moai or Im Jahre der Drachen. Some, like Kingsburg, or Battue, have simply bad graphics, reminding of the worse RPGs, like Kingsburg or Battue. Others are graphically overloaded, like Cuba or El Capitan, who look luxurious but not elegant. Even Tzaar, Kris Burm’s last opus, doesn’t have the classy look of its predecessors. Some games have really nice looking boxes, like Container or Gipsy King, but the components inside look much blander. And I list here only games which, from all I’ve heard, are really good! There are probably other ones which are both ugly and bad. - Frank Schulte-Kulkmann has once again turned out a fantastic Spiel report on Kulkmann’s G@mebox.
- Game designer Angelo Porazzi has published a photo essay of Spiel on his website.
- Richard van Vugt has included a video report of Spiel ‘07 on the front page of Gamepack.nl. (Quicktime required)
- Andreas Resch has posted a Flash gallery of nearly 400 images on his personal website; make some coffee before you start the slideshow because it’s a long one!
- Fairplay Magazine has posted the top 10 rated games as voted upon by Spiel ‘07 attendees. You can also view the complete Spiel ‘07 game list alphabetically if you want to see how the more obscure titles (i.e. those with few votes) rated.
- William Bussick has posted a summary of his Essen experience on BoardGameGeek.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 24, 2007 at 09:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Essen 2007
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Convention Report: Essen 2007: October 20, 2007 (Day 3)
By W. Eric Martin
October 23, 2007
Editor’s note: My final report was delayed due to illness. Hope you enjoy it.
My final day at Spiel started later than the 9am press time as I had to pack and check out of the hotel. Luckily I still got to hit a few booths before the hordes crashed in and raised the volume by 40-something decibels.
Designer Harald Enoksson was in a sparsely decorated booth that featured little more than 100 copies of his first two games: Seigo and StreetSmart. Seigo’s subtitle is Conquer the Japanese Language, and Enoksson describes the game as Civilization-like in how your holdings develop. As you collect the right Hiragana characters, you’ll acquire new skills, such as a cannon to take down enemy forces. The Venn diagram intersection of Civilization fans who want to tackle a four-hour game about learning Japanese must be tiny, but my friend Brian is one of those people and had asked for a copy. If he ever gets it played, I’ll ask him for a report!
Enoksson’s other game is StreetSmart, which creates city life in a highly abstracted form, with consumers spending money in neighborhoods or slums (which creates new buildings of the same type and color, which may or may not be the active player’s), gangsters who convert neighborhoods to slums, policemen who revitalize an area, smokers who burn down shops, and much more. The movement system was lifted from RoboRally, as Enoksson admitted, although he’s tweaked it for his game to move characters 1-3 spaces in the cardinal directions. Lots of variety is possible as the game includes numerous expansions which introduce garbagemen, electricity access, and more.
Posted by W. Eric Martin on October 23, 2007 at 05:00 PM in Special Features > Convention Reports > Convention Report: Essen 2007
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