Traditionally, the bulk of gaming con season has ended around the first of September, typically with the party and parade of passioned freaks at Dragon*Con down in Atlanta. Over the past few years, however, a few local cons have started springing up just before or after the string of big shows, extending the seasons for a lucky few. Thankfully, Durhamites are now one of those lucky few as we now have The Escapist Expo in mid-September – a smallish, PAX-like affair with video games, board games and more than a few costumed geeks. This was the Expo’s inaugural year, and it was a rousing success; we gathered together with over 2,000 of our favorite local geeks and nerds at the Durham Convention Center in a celebration of gaming. For me and Monkey238, the gaming and camaraderie was definitely the highlight, but we also had another awesome perk: The con is held two blocks from Dice Hate Me HQ. Now that’s my kind of con.

As is our nature, the open gaming area in the Exhibit Hall was our home away from home. Game Salute brought a ton of games for the game library, and the Unpub Blue Noodle was present and in effect!

Part of the massive game library. My, what a lovely looking game there in the center of the table!

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The next entry in Marc Specter’s continuing column chronicling his journey to organizing a new gaming convention in Michigan:

In my last entry I mentioned how across my gaming career, it was only recently that I got involved locally with gamers who did not first begin as friends.  Gaming with strangers, albeit gamer strangers, is another matter.  Despite being in sales for the past 12 years, my desire and ability to interact with complete strangers is limited, and walking into a room full of strangers who have known each other forever is a bit out of my comfort zone.

That is again perhaps why I founded 3rd Wednesday Gaming (3WG).  Now, let’s be Wayne and Garth for a moment and take our wayback machine back even a few years further.  3WG actually began its life as Man Game Night.  A group of buddies were invited at intervals that fit my schedule to meet at B&N and hang and game.  We had a good but limited run.  Life got busy, and after enough aborted attempts at Man Game Night, it petered off.

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For the past couple of years, Dice Hate Me has covered the Kickstarter beat very closely. That means we’ve seen more than our fair share of prototypes, and been privy to the behind-the-scenes stories of many remarkable projects. Other than our own projects, none have been more familiar to us in details and development than the recently-launched Mars Needs Mechanics.

We first met designer Benjamin Rosset at the 2011 World Boardgaming Championships in Lancaster, PA. While there, I had a chance to try out one of his more ambitious designs, the simultaneous turn selection/time management survival game, Stranded. Our friend Shawn, however, also got the chance to play Ben’s unassuming but unique economics game, The Market – and he loved it. Shawn wasn’t the only one, as another playtester at the convention offered Ben 20 bucks if he would make another prototype and send it to him. Ben, of course, jumped at the chance. It still stands on record as his first game design sale.

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From time to time in this great hobby, I come across a company that seems to be firing on all cylinders, cranking out hit after hit and yet I find it difficult to join the loving throng. AEG is, unfortunately, one of those companies. Don’t get me wrong, I love AEG and the people behind the scenes, but time after time I’ve given the big games a shot and time after time I just don’t seem to be part of their key demographic. For instance, Thunderstone was promised by many to be the game that brought me back around to appreciate deckbuilders; in the end – when every game lasted more than two hours or more – it couldn’t deliver. Nightfall held a similar promise, and although I could appreciate the unique chaining system and the high player interaction, it wasn’t enough to convert me. Infinite City, Tomb? No and no. And, so, I continued to admire the passion, love for the hobby and attention to quality that seemed to thrive at AEG without feeling quite that same admiration for many of their premiere titles.

Then I was sent Smash Up. And now I feel like I want to take AEG by the hand and frolic in a patch of sun-drenched daisies.

The premise of Smash Up is dead simple: Take two really geeky factions with unique abilities like, say, Ninjas and Pirates, shuffle them together and then duke it out with one to three other conjoined factions over several faction-themed bases which are worth points. The first team to reach 15 points is the winner. See? Dead simple.

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Wow. It’s been awhile since we talked to all of you, dear listeners! But there’s good reason – we’ve been on the road. A lot. A LOT. It seems as though we’ve barely been at home for the past month, and yet it also seems like we’ve taken our home with us since so many of you have made our convention season wonderful with games and camaraderie. So sit back, have a lemonade, and let’s reminisce. We promise not to be gone so long for a good, long bit.

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Dice Hate Me and Go Forth and Game have joined forces to bring you some of the best gaming interviews on the web! That’s right, from time to time here on Dice Hate Me, Tom Gurganus will contribute one of his comprehensive conversations. In Part 1 of this special column, Tom shares one of his common questions that he likes to ask of each person interviewed. If you like this and would like to read Part 2, please check it out here on Go Forth and Game. Enjoy this special edition and be sure to let us know if there are other designers, artists or gaming insiders that you would like to know more about!

I’ve been doing interviews for Go Forth And Game for a couple of years now. One of the ideas I had with the interviews was spawned by a podcast, I don’t remember which one. They were talking about good players and good games. I thought that was these were interesting subjects and decided to add them as questions for my guests. With the idea of compiling their thoughts on the subjects and forming a discussion around these. This is the first of those discussions.

So what makes a great game? Let’s find out what everyone said first.

Cody and John of the late, lamented Game On podcast

John: A game that makes you think without making you OVERthink. In other words, a game that rewards optimal strategy, but doesn’t overly punish those who don’t play with optimal strategy. And, any game that you talk about weeks later is definitely a good one!

Cody: A game that produces great experiences and memories and keeps you coming back to the table.

The D6 Generation folks

Russ: For me a game has to execute in all areas to be great: Rules presentation, Mechanics, Graphic Design, Component quality, and theme.
Rules: Should be easy and FUN to read. If you just dropped $60-$100 on a game, you want the rule book to look cool and get you and your friends excited.
Mechanics: Easy to learn, hard to master. Even ‘heavy’ games can be ‘easy to learn’ just look at the difference between a game like Rune Wars and a game like Android. Both by the same company, both do well in Rules presentation, Graphic Design components should be more than just bling. They should help you understand, follow, and execute game play.
Component Quality: Components should be good quality that will last under repeated play.
Theme: Theme should be carried through all of the above, even mechanics.

Example? Day’s of Wonder’s Small World is a great game. It nails all of the above flawlessly.

Nicole: A great game is playable by ANYONE. That means someone who is a hard-core gamer that looks for every angle to win and a person who is just in it for fun. If a game is too hard or complex, then a lot of people can’t or won’t play which makes it difficult to break out in a group. If a game is just way to simplistic, the same thing happens in the reverse. It needs to appeal and be playable to a wide audience in order for it to be great. It also needs to have clear, concise rules and a theme that is consistent throughout all elements of the game like board, cards, tokens etc..

Craig: What Russ calls Rules Transparency – the rules help move the game and theme along, not getting in the way of the fun. They have to be intuitive, but with a depth to present tactical choices and multiple avenues to victory. Elegant: simple, but deep.

Raef: Great graphic design, nice thick playing pieces, and replayability mixed with fun.

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Hello, dear readers! The biggest gaming show in North America just wound down and I have returned a bit ragged but still raving about the experience. GenCon 2012 was a massive celebration of geekdom and gaming, and the sheer spectacle of it all never disappointed. The best part about GenCon for me was the chance to meet up with a lot of old friends and make some new ones meeting fans, supporters and colleagues over the four eventful days. There’s never enough time to do and see everything on your list at these things, but I left feeling satisfied that I had done and seen more than enough to fill me with great memories for years to come.

And now… pictures!

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