Running a con at Southwood...
Ok, the garden is sorted, so next on the agenda is the biggie... turnijng 23 Southwood Gardens into a connable location. Below are the challenges that need to be overcome, in order of priority.
1) Numbers - I've always stated there is no point running a con with less than 10 people, and ideally 12, to ensure that there is always enough for decent sides. Need to identify 12 willing volunteers, and a date when all 12 are around!
2) Games / Hardware variation - Need to identify a long weekends worth of suitable games that everyone can realistically run. The old guard are really starting to stretch their welcome now, and its getting fairly noticeable!
3) Sleeping arrangements - There is not as much space floor space at Southwood as there was at Glenrosa. The Games room can probably accomodate 2-3, the Office another 2 (1 up, 1 down), and 1 on my floor + me. That's 7 of 12, so 5 are either going to have to camp or commute.
4) Desk space - I'll need to construct a new games table. I reckon that with the size of Southwoods living room I can do double-sided ala Fishcon, however I still need to get the materials there, and work out somewhere to store it. The first desk was (by my own admission) a work of utter genius, and I'll be taking forward the positive aspects of that into the new design, with stability improvements to account for the more free-standing nature!
5) "Dead Space" - Glenrosa had the sofa area for time outs... with Southwood there will be no such luxury... the living room will be full of hardware. At most there will be 1 sofa...if you're lucky.
6) Food - Takeaways are a rare beast in Burghfield. The kitchen is more capable than Glenrosa though, so that evens out a bit. It may be required to do a food run for dinner though...
Solutions/suggestions welcomed for all issues, though I'd recommend starting at the top and working down...
1) I'm in and I'm free
1) I'm in and I'm free pretty much all the time now apart from end of October when I'll be in Scotland.
2) I shouldn't have to many issues on the spec front as I am similar to you. As for the games might I make a case for TF2? It's well balanced, cheap, easy to pick up and fun. Plus it tells you where your body parts are after you've caught a rocket.
3) Happy to camp, I have a small 3 season tent plus sleeping bag. Transport (or lack of) will make commuting more of an issue for me. That and the percentage chance of me remaining sober tends to nil.
4) Well that's the desk sorted then.
5) You have the decking, maybe stick a small telly in the games room and shunt the foos to one side then stick a console in there? It'll be tight but doable?
6) Unfussed, I can actually cook now but take aways work for me. Junk works for me. Don't you have a couple of foody pubs nearby? Between that a take out and cooking something I'm sure we'll survive.
7) Shall I invite the Evil/Despot combo? They've just had to move back to their parents so may be gagging for an out.
1) Pick a weekend. Its
1) Pick a weekend. Its rather difficult to comit without a date.
2) Whilst my new laptop is new running games may be an issue, I've not tried alot of games but CSS seems to give it problems, not that you'd agree to play that cos you dont like it.
3) Long as I'm not kept awake by Skunty playing gaytar hero I'm happy to camp/s;eep wherever.
4) I have a number of bridge/card table I can steal from my parents, they can't take much weight and people would have to be careful with food and drink but they might work..
5) Hammocks??
6) I'm happy to help out with cooking but you'll know better then I what will work with your kitchen.
1) Assuming it's on a
1) Assuming it's on a weekend I can make I'm in.
2) It would be good to add some new stuff to the old favourites, I'd like to give ut3 a go though that is a little demanding. TF2 does look a lot of fun and I think I have it as part of the orange box so I'd be willing to give that a go, that's an older engine too so probably more applicable. It's going to be tricky to find stuff that's new that everyone can run tho. Maybe we need a survey of what everyone attending is running then make the selection from there.
3) If there's room I have my little camp bed thing I can use but if not I can commute it's only an hour's drive so doable.
4) those tables were indeed awesome. Maybe mk2 needs cupholders.
5) Tricky, since it's autumn winter we are talking about the weather might not be cooperative so the outside may or may not be usable. Maybe we could set something up in the games room for use when people aren't sleeping there.
6) Sure we can sort something out. We could even do a run down to that pub with the good grub we went to before one descent session for a group meal in a "harvester but actual food" like comedy.
1) Numbers In, of course.
1) Numbers
In, of course. How about inviting some of the new Lack-Of South African contingent?
2) Games / Hardware variation
I agree that we need new game blood, fortunately, there is plenty of it. We'll have to find out what the specs are and set a bare minimum.
3) Sleeping arrangements
Rain, shine, subzero temperatures, I'll camp it.
4) Desk space
I have a garage you can keep it in, we might need to see about constructing them so they go in the back of Diomedes.
5) "Dead Space"
We might just have to live without it. I know that is harsh but needs must.
6) Food
With all the cars, we can easily do a bundle down to a local pub in Burghfield, there is plenty there. Your kitchen is pretty rockin, so I think we'll be better off.
7) Name
Given the proximity and origin of the locals: Chavcon? Or Nukecon?
As far as low spec machines
As far as low spec machines go, I fear it may well be mine!
Athlon Duo (I think 4000+, may be wrong on that)
2 Gig DDR RAM
Sli'd 7900GT
Regards specs: Skunty is
Regards specs: Skunty is well below that... I am very similar.
Evil Matt has just upgraded
Evil Matt has just upgraded from effectively my machine...if he doesn't get rid of it might be possible to run that as a backup...
the reason I upgraded was
the reason I upgraded was that the graphics in that are a bit dodgy
it still might make a spare at a pinch so long as you don't mind vertex and texture corruption
I think I lose the
I think I lose the specification battle, 3GB Ram, Duo 2 @ 2.00GHz, 8400M GS.
I've not run a video test on it but i doubt it will even beat an old desktop machine. Pete your machine should outpace mine in everything.
I wouldn't normally count a
I wouldn't normally count a laptop as a game machine anyway...
1. Numbers Obviously, I'm
1. Numbers
Obviously, I'm in. (Assuming I'm not on holiday the weekend you choose, or something.)
2. Games & hardware
I think my machine is still pretty current despite being close to two years old, so I doubt I'll be the limiting factor on what games we can play - it's a 3.3GHz core2, w/ 2x8800GTXs in SLI. If it helps anyone I have an AGP 7900 (or something) I can bring along for the duration. I need it for my second machine though, so I'll be wanting it back.
3. Sleeping
I'm sure I'll find a corner, so don't worry about me.
5. Dead space
This is probably the biggest problem we'll have. I know I need to take the odd half-hour away from the monitor... That said, unless the weather is apocalyptic, I can always chill out on the decking.
[1] Having checked my
[1] Having checked my calendar there is pretty much no chance of this happening in;
1) September
2) October
3) December
November is not great either. Ideally we would try and utilize a bank holiday, as that tends to work well... There is the added complication that at some point I will be having building work done on the bathrooms (after October, when the final money is available).
Simpson, Rog/Pete are naturally invited...be great to see them again.
[2]So far Skunty's PC sounds like the lowest spec, but we may be able to construct a 7900-based machine from parts. Dwain, with all respect if your laptop cannot run CS:S it's probably not a viable machine for a LAN anymore...
Games-wise TF2 is a great suggestion, and hopefully BF:Heroes will be out soon-ish, which looks all lovely and LAN-able!
[3] So long as people are happy to camp shouldn't be an issue. There isn't the greatest volume of grass (approx 5m square), so if you have tents capable of pitching on hard-standing (decking/patio) all the better.
[4] Cheers for the offer Rob, however I think I can probably construct something that fits in the loft when not in use. In my brain the plan is for a hardwood surface, or MDF re-inforced with hardwood/metal joists, and either the patio-leg trick, or some trestle-based support. Use clips similar to the games table to hold it together horizontally... The main issue is getting the materials from the shop to my house, and thats where I may need vehicular support.
[5] To give you an idea of how I envision the living room set up...
The second sofa will have to be stored in the hallway, as there is no hope of getting it up the stairs. Realistically the games room will be full of bedding/peoples stuff, it wouldn't be feasible to also try and use it as deadspace. the decking is the most obvious location to chill, though you need semi-good weather for that (Byrnies marquee would help there...with perhaps the foos table, which gets it out of the way in the house...)
My gut feeling is that with the reliance on the outside space for sleeping and extra house space winter may not be the best time to do this!
[6] I'm not that worried about food, but thought I better put it up as a notice re-lack-of.takeaways.
Are we going for a delay
Are we going for a delay until the spring then? TBH this would be no bad thing from my POV as there's a small chance I'll have some leave again by then!
I can get hold of a 4m Bell
I can get hold of a 4m Bell Tent, will happly sleep 5+ people each on there own double airbed. With single airbeds you could happly sleep 8 people.
http://soulpad.co.uk/sanctuary/components/com_virtuemart/sho...
Ø 400cm x 250/60cm = it need a slightly larger space to pitch in, its so much better for camping then dome style tents it doesn't cook you at sunup.
On the matter of the laptop at somepoint I have to buy a decent games machine but my laptop seems to have sorted itself out and will happily run CSS.
I would like one in November
I would like one in November or early in the new year. I'd rather not delay.
The only realistic date in
The only realistic date in November is the 15th-16th. That gives me a single weekend before (8/9th) to get the table bought and constructed.
Ignore my gliding dates when
Ignore my gliding dates when picking a weekend, I can move them.
I'm in. Chrissy will be
I'm in. Chrissy will be organising to go to her mum's...
I'm very happy with UT3 and TF2, since I already have both. Yay for LANs.
www.aserash.com
I should be able to upgrade
I should be able to upgrade before Novemeber and any dates in Novemeber are fine by me... I can book fridays/mondays off easily enough as long as tehre is plenty of warning.
I can't believe I haven't
I can't believe I haven't replied to this yet.
Um, In. Can make the 15/16th... its one of those mythical free weekend things you only see a long way off ;)
Don't mind camping. I don't have a tent though. I'm happy to collapse in a tent or indoors, whatever works.
Gazebo is available (not quite a marquee mate!) and should be easy enough to set up on the decking - there's plenty of things to tie down to (fence, etc)
Dead space does look to be a little tight... what you need, I think, is a set of bunk sofas.
Am happy to provide a car's worth of transport, as long as there's not much back-and-forth into reading once the con starts, as it breaks up the con. Plus, more chances for the car to break :P
So, it's the 15/16 November
So, it's the 15/16 November and we have:
Pete
Nibbles
EMW
Byrn
Rob
Aggro
Aserash (JD)
Skunty
No reasonable PC (can we cobble one together?)
Dwain
Obviously missing types:
Fish
Evil Pete and Rog
Any more?
I should be able to make it.
I should be able to make it. I have to fly up to Edinburgh Sunday evening, will book the latest flight. The only problem will be if I get abandoned in Geneva instead.
Anyway assume yes for now.
Separately, I could probably run a Fishcon at the Mill on either of the first 2 weekends in January as well.
I'm not overly certain that
I'm not overly certain that I can do all the prep work needed in time.
The main bit of work to be done is construction of a desk capable of holding 10+ machines. Thats approximately 7x1m of wood + legs. Fairly tricky on a motorbike. The old table was strapped to the roof of Nibbler's mums estate car to get it from DIY to Glenrosa.
Once the material is there then it has to be put together. I'm not sure I'll be able to get away with the "patio legs" trick again if the table is to be double-sided... as most people know there was a decent amount of wobble in that desk.
If anyone has any ideas of ways to accelerate the build process (and/or make it cheaper... I had a look at hardwood costs, which is one thing that would be needed for a more stable build. Lets just say its not cheap...) I'd love to hear them...
Whilst I am still in I'll
Whilst I am still in I'll probably need to turn up late on the Friday and leave on the Sunday as can't take more leave at that time.
With some planning I may be able to talk my Dad into providing assistance for table xport.
How expensive are simple
How expensive are simple tressel tables? Can we borrow or steal some from somewhere?
I think Fish is well placed to offer some advice. I'll prod him tonight at Icar.
About £60 each, and you'd
About £60 each, and you'd need 3-4 of them.
hmmmmm. There must be a
hmmmmm. There must be a better way. Fish does this sort of stuff as his bread and butter, so I'd imagine he'd have some helpful things to suggest.
I think your hardboard and legs solution was a good one. I think we could take that idea and improve on it. I'm sure peeps would chip in for the costs. They were wobbly apart but once we'd Gaffered together then they were pretty strong. four legs on each table, three tables then that would be 12 legs over a single table. I reckon that's pretty strong.
The problem here is with overengineering - which we have to do. The disaster of one collapsing must be avoided.
I'll think about tables. In
I'll think about tables.
In the mean time consider these @ £35
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40071180
You're a star, Fish. Those
You're a star, Fish. Those aren't so bad. Assume cash chip-in-age from the general cogniscente. Given all the past cons we're not exactly a fly-by-night lot. ;)
Nibbles, have you emailled Pete and Rog? Would be great to have them along again. :)
Cheers Fish. Most bought
Cheers Fish.
Most bought tables seem quite narrow (65-70cm). Realistically I think you need about 85-90cm width to allow people to sit both sides, and still get enough depth for monitor/keyboard (even with monitors side by side and alternate directions). The old tables were about 75-80cm deep, and no hope of double-siding them.
//added. One thing I've just thought of. I do have the dining room table and garden table (hardwood). The dining room table is fairly narrow, but a reasonable length. the garden table is wider, but slated. I don't know comparative heights. Also, getting the garden table in would be a 'mare, as you have the sharp corner between the kitchen back door and the living room door.
Does the garden table
Does the garden table collapse? We can source a kitchen table from Jago HQ.
Nope, the garden table is
Nope, the garden table is screwed together...its probably more solid than the dining room one. Thats probably my fault for holding out for chunky stuff. There was a collapsible one in the running, but it didn't feel very nice (very wobbly, and the associated chairs were not great).
Ok, could go with normal
Ok, could go with normal trestles and sheet material.
http://www.mptools.co.uk/products.asp?recnumber=2335
There is Arnold Laver in Reading near J11 of M4 for sheet material. I can order from them. The sheet material will be 1.22m wide x 2.44m long (4' x 8') or bigger, don't know if they do cutting. I'd add two battens down the length on the edges to add rigidity and avoid the possibility of the top sliding off the trestles.
Would you screw/gaffer the
Would you screw/gaffer the board down to the tressles, Fish?
It could be loose on top,
It could be loose on top, the battens avoid slippage.
I've fired off a mail to
I've fired off a mail to Evil and the Despot so will see what comes back. The most likely issue with 'em that I can guess is transport down as I am not longer driving and I believe Rog is lacking a car as well.
Will keep you posted though...
Nibbles, nice. Fish: are
Nibbles, nice. Fish: are they the sort of people to deliver or will we have to pick it up?
I think so, but it could be
I think so, but it could be expensive.
Also does Pete have space to store these?
As of right now I'm not
As of right now I'm not confident that I can get everything sorted in time for November. I reckon trestles is the way to go, however getting the material together and sorted just isn't going to happen, as I don't have enough spare time between now and then.
Add onto that me trying to sort out a new bathroom at the same time (does anyone know anything about planning permission and reducing window sizes?), and Fish being able to host in January, I reckon November is probably a no-go...
Bum bum bum. How about a
Bum bum bum. How about a simpler games day?
Seem fair Mr G, best to have
Seem fair Mr G, best to have more time and make a good job it methinks. A fishcon in Jan would more than make up for the disappointment currently felt...
Thats pretty much the
Thats pretty much the case... I'd far rather one went well, especially if people are travelling in. Unfortunately, I won't be offering the same recompense as Yell for lingering dissapointment (which was the wording on the accompanying letter).
A Games day / weekend, however, is entirely doable...mainly as I already have everything set up for that. It would also be an excuse for me to go and spend some cash at Eclectic! Games currently in the house are;
Mine;
Carcassonne (+2 expansions) (2-6 player)
Settlers of Catan (2-4 player)
Agricola (in German) (2-5 player)
Pandemic (2-4(5) player)
Doom (+ expansion) (2-6 player in Deathmatch / CTF)
Race for the Galaxy (2-4 player)
Starcraft (2-6 player)
NO FUCKING ZOMBIES!!! (2-6 player)
Necromunda (2 player)
Simple card games (Fluxx, Top Trumps)
Rob's;
Car Wars (2-4 player?)
Grass
Nuclear War (?)
Aggro's;
Descent (+ all expansions) (2-4 player)
Simpson's
Blood Bowl (2 player)
Games I'm tempted to source;
Ticket To Ride:Europe / Switzerland
Tomb
Settlers 5/6 player expansion
RftG: Gathering Storm (expands Race for the Galaxy to 5-player)
Agricola (in english)
I've got Talisman (thanks to
I've got Talisman (thanks to Dwain!).
If you're wanting to source games then may I recommend the Fish->Leisure Games route. They are often much cheaper than EG. Agricola was £10 cheaper at LG than EG. As Fish still comes up for my weekly Icar game (and I pretty much drive past his en route to the gliding school), there are plenty of conduits for getting the delivery.
I haven't played Talisman
I haven't played Talisman for years. Last time I played it was at the games club back in the Midlands (yes, that long ago), and we never finished, as the place shut at midnight!
I can certainly put a shopping list together for Mr.Fish, if he's happy to do that :-)
You can give me a list, I
You can give me a list, I get 10% off. I was lucky with Agricola, Mike had a case of copies with a minor dent in the top and knocked £10 off.
Rock on! Well I am certainly
Rock on! Well I am certainly up for some table top gaming. Might even remember to take BB with me in that scenario.
Cheers Fish! If you could
Cheers Fish!
If you could get me
Also, could you ask about Race for the Galaxy : The Gathering Storm? Rio Grande Games have said September/October release, but nothing in any shops yet for order/pre-order...
I'm not overly fussed about Agricola, as I already have a copy, so might wait for the price to fall a bit. If you give me your bank account number, sort code, PIN, mothers maiden name, place of birth and 2 copies of your passport I can wire you the money!
Is there a board game con on
Is there a board game con on the 15/16? I'm not sure this thread is entirely conclusive
If we have the numbers then
If we have the numbers then yes.
Sign up here!
In.
In.
Not sure atm. would love to
Not sure atm. would love to but moving my flying weekend might be difficult.
I'm in! Will need to commute
I'm in! Will need to commute most likely or just do one day.
I'm In
I'm In
Ah good, I booked plane
Ah good, I booked plane tickets a while back to keep that weekend moderately free. I arrive back in Luton at 18:15 on Friday and fly out either Sunday night or Monday morning.
So I'm in.
Since the last board game con I have also got
Last Night on Earth + Expansions
Galaxy Trucker
Age of Empires III
Hannibal
Also want to try and get Battlestar Galactica, if it becomes available in time and if I can make it to Leisure Games to collect.
Fish
I actually have a game that
I actually have a game that I completely forgot about
I have the penny arcade card game, I've never played it so no idea what it's like
I think Fish should get some
I think Fish should get some sort of prize for most hardcore gaming journey.
So far we have
So far we have 5;
Me
Byrnie
Matt
Simpson
Fish
Any more?
Battlestar Galactica is out
Battlestar Galactica is out today, so fingers crossed Fish can get hold of his copy before coming across to Reading.
I, for my part, tried to get hold of a game called Dominion, however Eclectica have sold out, and its currently out of stock everywhere :-(
So ... What is the plan for
So ... What is the plan for this weekend?
When are we turning up etc.
Ahh...glad you asked, as I
Ahh...glad you asked, as I have been utterly disorganised.
A lot depends on Fish, as he's the one travelling the distance, and everyone else lives within the immedaite blast radius of Burghfield AWE (my new locality measurement tool). The house will be occupied from Friday evening onwards however...
My plan was to go straight
My plan was to go straight from the airport to my house to pick up the car and then to the Burghfield AWE zone of imminent death.
In a move of unparalleled organisation I have my games and bags pre-packed. With absolutely no hinderence I could arrive as early as 8pm but I'm much more likely to arrive around 9pm.
I have put in a request for
I have put in a request for someone to go to Leisure Games to get BSG for me. I have a backup minion if the first one fails. Shall I also see if I can get Dominion too. I've heard good things about it but yet to play.
Sounds good, so we can start
Sounds good, so we can start this evening. Don't forget some bedding, as my place is light on spare stuff...
We should have Gill as well on Friday evening. She has survived games of Settlers, Ticket To Ride, Tomb, Race for the Galaxy, Agricola (in German no less) and Fluxx. More depressingly she tends to be at me at Ticket To Ride and Race for the Galaxy :-(
Does anyone have plans that
Does anyone have plans that involve heading back into Reading in the evenings? I need to be looking after me cat this weekend so can't do a disappearing act for the duration.
Cheers to all for turning up
Cheers to all for turning up this weekend. Thanks especially to Fish for bringing one metric shitload of games, and sourcing Dominion for me :-) (that reminds me, must pay him for it!)
We got through a lot of games, many of them new plays...
Friday
Ticket To Ride:Europe - Winners Matt and Gill
Citadels - Winner Matt
UFS:Penny Arcade - Winner....NO-ONE WINS!!!
Saturday
Race for the Galaxy (drafting variant) - Winner Fish
Galaxy Truckers - Winner Fish
Last Night on Earth - Winner Fish/Pete (zombies)
Dominion (first game) - Winner Pete
Dominion (big money) - Winner Fish
Battlestar Galactica - Winner Pete (Cylons)
Sunday
Bomberman Blast - I think everyone got some wins...
Race for the Galaxy - Winner Pete
Galaxy Truckers - Winner Fish
Age of Empires - Winner Fish
Dominion (hand inflation) - Winner Pete
Battlestar Galactica - Winner Byrnie (cylons)
I think that is the full list...
Apologies for failing to
Apologies for failing to turn up! I sorted out plenty of things over the weekend though so the right call for me I think.
Pleased everything went well!
It was a great weekend with
It was a great weekend with some fun games.
Dominion was a blast and a game that changes it's character radically with a slightly different set of cards quick, fun, and easy to understand, an excellent filler game. The fact that you have no idea what your deck contains as you play (which is part of the game you only ever know what is in your hand at the time and then some feeling for what you have bought you are not allowed to look through your deck) makes it a game where you have no real idea whether you are in the lead or loosing or not.
Galaxy Truckers was a laugh making spaceships in a mad rush then watching them fall to bits as they smashed to bits by asteroids or space pirates.
BSG was a fairly stressful game and pretty hard on the humans fun but hard work. Last Night on Earth was similar in a lot of ways it felt like an uphill struggle but in both cases it is very close on both sides fairly finely balanced.
Age of Empires was an interesting game I was basically playing a trading empire and it didn't really work unless you got a particular building. It was a fairly fun game though.
Ticket to ride and race for the galaxy are both good fun games. Including stations made ticket to ride a lot better, it was also interesting to see someone taking new tickets as Gill farmed the ticket deck quite heavilly a tactic that paid off. Trying out the drafting option in RFTG was interesting if a bit time consuming in the end it didn't seem to make a huge difference to the way the game played. On the second run through with normal setup we had the first military win I've seen in the game which was interesting but highly dependant on the cards you get.
UFS Penny Arcade turned out the be a bit of disaster of a game, though playing it has definitely shown we don't want to use UFS for our Christmas card game project.
Cheers to Pete for hosting and cooking and to Fish for bringing all the games to play and everyone else for making it such a fun, albeit tiring, weekend :)
I'm sure underneath the 2
I'm sure underneath the 2 sides of A3 small print, ambiguously worded rules there is a decent game cunningly hidden in UFS, it's just very well hidden. It's a rare moment when Fantasy Flight rulebooks look good in comparison!
:-)
(pictures are good though)
BSG is indeed a very hard game. My personal opinion is that you have to be harsher on the general population, as in both games ultimately it as food/morale/fuel that were the crunch factors. That said, both games were within a couple of turns of the final jump occuring, and humans winning...
TTR:Europe...yeah...Stations...my bad. Previously I'd only played the Switzerland version, and it's a lot less cluttered. Of course, not impulse playing a station in turn 3 on a city you don't actually need is not the most ingenious move in the world :-(
Galaxy Trucker was awesome...like Carcasonne, only everyone grabbing for the same bits, and at the end you get to blow your creation to shit. Next time we play I shall ensure that I bolt the rear end of my ship on correctly, and maybe use engines that don't need batteries to use.
Dominion is a very good game, and also easily expandable (already one expansion card type has been announced). The hand inflation version we played is apparently a real git to score well on (on BGG.com they reckon scores over 5 are pretty good). Interestingly general opinion is the Chapel card is the most powerful (trash upto 4 cards from your hand), though it is utterly countered by the Thief. There is certainly a lot of different ways for it to be played...
Yeah to be honest I did buy
Yeah to be honest I did buy the PA game to look at the pictures and read the flavor text :D
Although it was smashing to
Although it was smashing to have a laugh with Baron over the weekend, I would have loved to attend.
Thanks to everyone for a
Thanks to everyone for a great weekend. It was worth the journey.