First, the hotel: The current home of Game Storm is the Red Lion Jantzen Beach, aka The Other Hotel to people who recall Orycon's old home across the way. Unlike its late lamented twin which a definite main floor with most of the meeting rooms, the current hotel puts the ones in the wings a level below the lobby. That plus the much more linear layout makes for a fair amount of walking and stair-climbing for able-bodied members and probably a lot of frustration for disabled ones. (There are elevators, but some distance from the lobby, and the lowest level isn't contiguous throughout the hotel.)
Other than that, though, a comfortable and welcoming hotel worthy of the Red Lion name.
PFS #10-01: Oathbreakers Die - I was going to sign up for this in a play-by-post convention because it seemed like a good one to bring my investigator character to, but then I saw there were already two investigators signed up for it. Anyway, it did turn out to be a good one for her, as it does, in fact, feature a murder early on.
Roll Player - Yes, someone has built an entire game around rolling up a new character. I'd played this before in two-player form, and was figuring it would be better with more than two-- and it is. One of the people I played against this time had prior experience with it, and one did not. Guess who wiped the floor with his opponents? Yup, the newbie.
Fun, would play again, but I can't see my way to spending $60 for it.
PFS #10-08: What Prestige Is Worth - Forever to be known as The One Where You Literally Go To Hell. If visiting Hell doesn't sound like a bad enough idea, how about visiting Hell with a party of seven character where three are part-angel? And all three belong to the religious order of one of the biggest do-gooder gods in the PFS setting? And they will most assuredly not be able to engage in random evil-smiting, because Hell is the realm of
lawful evil. It's basically the Lawyer Dimension. The scenario made excellent use of this aspect (says the person who brought a wizard instead).
KeyForge - aka Richard Garfield's apology for
Magic: the Gathering. You buy one deck, and you play with exactly that deck. No boosters, no card trading, no expiring after two years. I love this idea. I did fairly well with mine (2 wins, 1 tie in the tournament) and will be looking for more opportunities to play.
The biggest problem with KeyForge at the moment is that even the $40 deluxe starter set doesn't include a physical copy of the rules. They're available online, but the lack of something that can be easily flipped through at the table has led to a lot of secondhand learning of the game wrong.
March of the Ants plus upcoming expansion - A quick resource-management/exploration game that would have been more fun with a better teacher. Particularly one who emphasized the duration of the game and the actual end goal. It's been said that game designers tend to be terrible at teaching their own games.
Solo Una Noche - Then again, some game designers do okay. This one showed up in a luchador mask and cape to go with the theme of the game. Quick and simple, with an advantage for players willing to be unselfconscious in a crowded room.
Designer: Normally, the player with the best announcer voice goes first, but we can just--
Me: I'M READY TO RUMBLLLLLLE
Designer: --okay, you've got it.
The SO and I played this in melee format with another couple, who spent most of the game attacking each other.
Game Storm escape room - You are trapped in a lab which has been ransacked, with unstable experiments about to go critical! Can you uncover the hidden clues in time to keep the whole place from blowing up?
Terrific work here by whoever put this together. There was a wide variety of physical and intellectual puzzles that kept our entire team of five busy. Highly recommended if Game Storm runs it again. Or if they come up with a new one.
Channel A Manga Edition (print-and-play) - I ran this. It went fine. The 100-lb cardstock from FedEx Office works beautifully. Really want to get the new Alpha Genesis edition when it becomes available (currently scheduled for May or so).
Dice Throne: Season One - An arena battle where up to six characters with their own set of dice, cards, and powers fight it out. It was fun for the round-plus-a-turn that I survived. Unfortunately, I managed to look dangerous enough that other players decided I needed to die first. Would love to play again against less suspicious opponents.
Elevenses - Even simpler and quicker than advertised thanks to playing it with only two people and being about a round behind my opponent in working out the best strategy. Eh.
PFS #10-11: The Hao Jin Hierophant - The Pathfinders get to do anthropology! And also some fighting of evil horrors. Can't go in to detail about what I liked here without spoilers.
PFS #10-13: Fragments of Antiquity - The Pathfinders get to do library science! And also some fighting of evil horrors. The scenario author is a right bastard but it was fun anyway.
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Marlene, in an unguarded moment, showing off her furry belly. She's a shorthair, but she has a very thick coat.
Marlene, in an unguarded moment, showing off her furry belly. She's a shorthair, but she has a very thick coat.
