BGG.Con

Whew! In what has become an annual tradition for me, I once again ventured north to Dallas and the 2008 BGG.Con, which is the BoardGameGeek Convention. It's a gathering of people who share a common interest in playing boardgames, and who share that hobby at the website boardgamegeek.com.

I am definitely a geek, boardgame-wise or otherwise. And although I absolutely enjoy playing games, an equally big draw for me is the chance to visit with friends from around the country, and often meet in person new friends who I had previously only known online.

Sadly, the full weekend started a little later for me because I opted to see Metallica on Thursday night. I don't regret that decision at all, but it did reduce the amount of time I was able to spend playing games with friends. A fair trade, but lamentable nonetheless. So, out of the two days I did spend there, here are some highlights:

Tigris & Euphrates -
This game was among the first "Euro" games I ever played, and I immediately fell in love with it. It's hard to describe exactly why. Through the simple action of drawing and placing tiles, players build competing kingdoms in the fertile valley of the title. You can grow your empire, develop an income stream, or attack your neighbors. In the span of about an hour, this game offers a full narrative of civilizations rising and falling and re-emerging. It's wonderful!

Anyway, I don't get to play it as often as I would like. Fortunately, a friend I met through BGG shares my enthusiasm for the game and makes sure he gets to play it every year at the convention. Last year, he even organized a tournament (in which I played some of my worst games ever), that he ended up winning. To show my appreciation for his effort last year, as well as to reward him for the win, I created a special trophy for him. It was a complete shock for him, but he was simultaneously thrilled and embarrassed, which is always great.

This year we only played one game, not a tournament, and I finished in second place by ONE POINT! Fantastic but frustrating.

Poker -
As I've mentioned from time to time on the blog, I enjoy playing Texas Hold 'Em when I get the chance. I'm not a great player. The last time I played at my local monthly tourney, I finished third (out of 50). Certainly respectable (I should have won, but the beer started to catch up with me!). Well, I thought I'd give it a shot at the con this year. No buy in, just a friendly tournament with 147 players.

I thought I'd probably be out in the first 30 minutes or so, then I could go back and play some boardgames. Well, nearly four hours later, I came out the winner. I WON! The WHOLE thing! I was stunned! I made some bad plays and some good ones. I was lucky several times, and I was unlucky several others. It's just one of those weird things, I guess. It felt really good, beyond the obvious winning. I was proud of myself just to hold my own with people who play poker much more often and more seriously than I do. I was thrilled when I made it to the final table.

Quick aside: During one break I was talking with a friend from L.A. who is a serious poker player. A friend of his (also in the tourney) came up and they started swapping stories. One of them said that they recently played in a tourney and sat next to Chris Hellmouth. I had no idea who that was, and I said so. Both of them looked at me as if I had just sprouted another head. Apparently, it was inconceivable that I didn't know who that was (I still don't, actually. Some poker champion, I gather). They literally didn't believe me when I said I didn't know who he was. I guess to me, the game of poker is more interesting than the lore of poker. Which is interesting, because when I was younger it was just the opposite in my love of chess. Okay, maybe not so quick an aside. Are you surprised?

So, for my troubles (and no buy-in), I was awarded a gorgeous mahogany box filled with hundreds of custom poker chips made for BGG.Con. It's incredibly nice. I also received a set of plastic playing cards for making the final table. Plastic playing cards may sound cheap, but they're quite the opposite. They glide across the table and last forever. So, when do we get to play poker next, guys?

Werewolf -
One of the unique things about the BGG website is the forums. Like other websites, these are just places for people to post messages and interact with other visitors to the site. They have topics for each specific game, general game interests, and then just general discussion topics. One enterprising person came up with the notion to simulate a game of Werewolf in these forums, and a whole addiction was born.

The Werewolf games played in these forums have morphed and mutated into wild adventures. They are often themed on popular movies, and they offer many nuances that aren't possible in a face to face game. For example, keeping track of who voted for whom, having permanent records of everything said, and allowing partner wolves to chat privately to discuss their plans. It is tremendous fun.

So, having all of these "Online Werewolf" players together at night at the convention is equally fun. Everybody taunts each other, tells tales from the games, drinks a lot and has a great time. Oh, and we play some werewolf as well. This year I was able to moderate a game as well, using my iPod speakers to play mood music during the night phases. We had a great time meeting new faces and re-connecting with old friends we hadn't seen since last year. Always a highlight.

The drive back to Houston was sad, as it seemed like I had just come up the other way. Now I have to wait a whole year before I see all these great people again. Exhausting but worth it, every time.