GameStorm 13 - FridayHow Did Things Go So Wrong?

I have already mentioned that GameStorm didn't quite go as I planned it, but how bad was it really?

The convention was a blast, but boy did I mess up my plans. It all started Friday when I totally lost track of my schedule and missed absolutely everything that I had planned to do. It began with getting stuck in a game and missing the first our of another game. Then I had to fill the time until the next thing and ended up overlapping that. By the time the day was over, I had played a bunch of games and visited the dealer's room but had missed out on everything I had on my schedule.

The games I got in on Friday where totally of the schedule.

Risk: 2210 - Started the day with a goo ol' standby. This game went very bad for me and two of the other players. The player with the most chance of challenging the leader was still outgunned thanks to the leading player having attained a nearly unchallenged hold of the Moon from the very beginning of the game. A final turn in which the leading player played an Armageddon card giving everybody carte blanch to unleash any and all nuclear cards they had been holding on to.

Battlestar Galactica - I love this board game! The game changes so much depending on which characters are in play. If you were a fan of the intrigue in the show or intrigue in general, the constant paranoia of not knowing who is and isn't a cylon is a real nail biter. The game adds a second chance to end up a cylon or cylon sympathizer half way through the game. So, even if you had been playing as a human all along, you might suddenly find out you were a cylon and have you agenda change. This game has so much replay value and the expansions only extend that.

Ad Astra - This was a new one for me and I gotta say, I enjoyed it. The game is a resource grab, exploitation, management sort of game with elements of trade, bluffing and calculated risk thrown in. Using various resources you move from world to world, exploring systems blindly, trying to find worlds to colonize and set up factories. Sounds simple enough right?

The trick in Ad Astra is that each turn your get three moves, played secretly by laying down cards on a move tracker. You can set them down in any order and each player places one until all cards for that round are placed. Once all cards are in place, they are played in order. All cards effect or may be accessed by all players depending on resources and desire. Some cards allow the player who played them a bonus move or greater advantage.

Because of this card placement you have to try to way your moves against what other might be doing so you don't open an opportunity to another player before you can take it but at the same time not wanting to waste a movement and trying to take advantage of the plays of others.

So what did I miss?

Catacombs - Didn't even see this game set up.

Battle for Peleliu - This game looked cool, but I got to the table after the action had already started and didn't want to horn my way in.

RPG GMing 101 - Missed it!

The Next Generation of GM's - Was interested in this, but missed it too.

RPG Gaming For Kids - Arrrrrgggh!! Of all the panels I wanted to catch this one the most.

Late-Night Twilight: Star Wars Edition - I had a chance to play in this one, but I bowed out. Despite an amazing reskinning with all new world tiles, empire cards and planet cards, it was just the same old Twilight Imperium. I love the game, but even pretty Star Wars pictures wasn't enough to rope me into a 5+ hour convention game of TI.

Spirit of the Century - "The Final Frontier" - I thought I was scheduled for a different Spirit of the Century game. My buddy even reminded me of this one, but I was convinced I wasn't in it.

Invasion from Outer Space / Last Night on Earth: Zombie Overrun - Eeehhhh..it sounded cool when I signed up, but I passed on this one.

Anime in Gaming - Was curious about this one, but by 9PM I was in another game. I ended up with a chance to play a game I'd not played before called Ad Astra.