Game con? more like Lame con...

I attended the PhoenixConGames game convention in Phoenix this weekend. It's a smaller convention than KublaCon, BGG.con, and even the Strategicon conventions in L.A... but it's close to home and therefore pretty cheap. I went last year and it wasn't spectacular, so I didn't expect much this year. I wasn't disappointed (i.e. it wasn't much). Compared to the bigger cons I've been to, this one was pretty miserable.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a board gamer, I don't role play or play miniatures games at all. PhxConGames seems to be geared more toward rpgs and minis, so it's probably not for me in the first place. I also noticed some Anime playing in one room, and they had an electronic gaming room as well. this year I didn't partake in any electronic gaming, but last year at this con is when I first played Guitar Hero.

There were some sort of cool events, like an Anime party - a wanna-be rave with like 6 people who probably knew each other already in a room with flashing lights and loud music; and a Pirate party - a couple hotel rooms which were opened up for people to hang out in. One had some alcohol. None of the people in any of the rooms impressed or interested me in any way.

I spent most of the time at the convention playing games or hanging out with John, Eric, Bo, Cap'n Morgan, and Ron Blessing - people I see every week (some of them several times a week) anyway. For the most part, everything I did at the con I could have done at my house, with the same people, without paying extra for a con or gas money. However I did meet about 4 people from Phoenix, 2 of Bo's friends and then 2 gamers that were just there to play games. I also got to see some friends of mine up there, Chris and Becky (and their 6 month old daughter). I did play a lot of games as well, including...

Homesteaders, Railroad Tycoon, Arkadia, Vikings, Wizard's Tower, Ca$h & Gun$, On the Underground, Fermat, Alladin's Dragons, In the Shadow of the Emperor, To Court The King, Iliad, Blockade Runner, Treasure Fleet, and No Thanks.

All in all it wasn't horrible, and I got back home in time for Father's day dinner with my parents, a little pickup frisbee, and then some Guitar Hero with Nate, Karen and Ryan. So it was an OK weekend.