MichaelSomething
Legend
Since no one else brought this up, I guess I will! Am I only Enworlder who went to this? Guess I'll cross post my blog entry about the event for starters.
My blog post said:Today, I am a true Geek. Add “Geek 1” to my level entry. If there was ever any doubt (then again, isn’t having your own RPG-themed blog proof enough that you’re a geek?) cast them aside; for I have attended the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC). Every year during the first week of August, people far and near converge towards Lancaster to play board games.
The 2009 WBC is first one I decided to attend. I only went for one day of the week plus long even so I could sample the boardgaming goodness. I wanted to see what the WBC was like; to experience the event and get a general feeling of what it is like. I was “testing the waters” if you will. I also wanted to blog about it
The first thing you’ll notice is the scope of the event. There was over a thousand people playing in over 140 tournaments over eight days. About five events (on average) were being started every hour for twelve hours a day. The WBC requires a convention center to hold it all in. It takes a while to figure out where everything is. The organizers deserve credit for making it all happen.
The first anyone needs to do is sign in. It’s a quick, if annoying, process. The entry fee was more expensive then I thought it would be. An event this size has to has its costs though. There is a discount if you pre-register and I think it’s cheaper per day if you buy a multi-day pass. I also got a high quality physical copy of the schedule/program as well as a snazzy badge holder. It has a built in pocket and everything! They also took my picture in the odd event that I placed in one of the gaming tournaments. And of course, there were forms to fill out. There’s always forms to fill out.
After that I decided to try my luck in a few of the gaming tournaments. I enter the Dominion and Stone Age events. The Dominion evemt was packed with over a hundred people entering it. The game is only one year old and it’s already massively popular. It’s very easy to learn yet crunchy enough to satisfy the hardcore. The game is also very quick. My group completed its game even though someone has to go to his room to get a copy, discovered that he brought the wrong box, and had to go back to his room to get the correct copy; during an hour long round. I enjoy playing it even though I’m not very good at it and got last place in my group. I did no better in the Stone Age tournament. I didn’t win but I got to relax and enjoy the game and the people who played it. After both tournaments, we fill out more forms so the WBC could compile useful boardgaming statistics.
When I wasn’t being fodder in the tournaments, I was simply hanging out. I walked around and checked things out like the vendors and demos. I chatted with my board gaming comrades who also came to the event and a few random strangers I bumped into. I decided to go off premises to get food since the whole area screams “shop around here and eat in our restaurants.” If I had the time, I could have checked out all the things Lancaster has to offer. Instead, I decided to spend a lot of time in the open board gaming section.
The section reserved for open gaming was a small theater. There were about 50 tables set up for people to just hang out and play. What was really cool was that there was a library of board games you could borrow; which ensured there was always a game to play. There were plenty of games you could just hop in on. The first chance I had was a game of Agricola with some children. I decided to join a group of Agricola players closer to my own demographic type instead. Highlights of that game includes some strategy discussion, people complaining about their bad board positions, a person getting a successful Mansion played (that’s hard to do), the last place person having the Wet Nurse (IMO the most broken card there is), everyone calling my farm “perfect” and me winning the game. Needless to say, I enjoyed it.
The next tournament I wanted to enter was a night time Agricola heat. Instead I decided to skip that to play a game of Battlestar Galactica (BSG). That game was about as fun as getting assaulted by Cyclons every thirty-three minutes for days on end. I could never imagine that a game of Battestar Galactica couldn’t be fun. One guy bailed out on us before the first turn and we had two newbies, one of whom couldn’t even read the cards/board because he got the wrong glasses. A good game of BSG requires that everyone knows the rules because of all the subtle backstabbing required. It normally takes two to three hours to complete but we were so slow we only got a quarter of the way done in two and a half hours. We all just voted to crash the stupid ship into the sun. After that game, it was late at night so I had to end my time at the WBC.
I learned a lot at the WBC. First, get some good directions from an actual person at a visitor’s center because online directions are wrong. If the WBC is being held at the same place next year, it’ll be next to the giant amusement part called Dutch Wonderland (in case you want to go yourself). Second, pace yourself. You can literally spend 15 hours everyday for a weed doing nothing but playing boardgames. Unless you’re abnormally active, you’ll wear yourself out quickly. Prioritize the most important events and do other stuff if you got the energy to do so. Third, consider leaving the building once and a while. The WBC is fun and all but there’s more then life then playing board games (a strange thought, I know). At the very least, go out for food instead of eating the convention stuff. Forth, go for the gold. If you’re going to the WBC, why not try to win a championship for your favorite game? It is called the World Boardgaming Championship after all. And last but not least, have fun!
I definitely had fun there. The WBC was great and there was so much stuff to do. I never even went to the seminars available! I will be going there again next year, and for more then one day. I plan on being a champion next year. One of my friends told my I gots what it takes. I can hang with the best of them. I got the talent and I got the skills. I’m gonna be a contender baby!
