Friday Night Shots – Con Anticipation

Look at it out there! It’s dark and it’s only 5:00.

But the bar is cozy, and it’s certainly airy with nobody but you in it.

I hope you’re looking forward to a really nice weekend.

I know I am!

Have a seat and I’ll get you a drink.

Let me turn down the jukebox. I know we both love INXS, but we have to be able to talk, right?

Tonight’s going to be a short post because I’m actually busy in regards to the subject of this post.

That’s right. As you are reading this, I am enjoying myself at the second day of Bottoscon in New Westminster up here in beautiful British Columbia.

But as I am writing this, it’s two days before the con starts and I’m getting antsy.

Not because I’m nervous.

But because I want to get gaming!

Tonight’s topic is con anticipation.

As soon as the previous con is over, I’m already anticipating the next con.

And when that is 3 months away (like Dragonflight was to here), that’s a long time to anticipate!

Bottoscon is the biggest wargaming convention in the Pacific Northwest (I’m saying that so Rob doesn’t yell at me). My friends and I also play some non-wargames to pass the time as well.

For some reason I didn’t recap last year’s Bottoscon (maybe an attempt to not bore you?) but it was a great weekend.

This year’s sounds like it will be even better, for a couple of reasons.

First, it’s four days rather than three (so I’ll be there Thursday as well).

Secondly, I will hopefully get to meet a wonderful game designer who is also a friend of this blog (though he may not read this until after the convention’s over, unless he’s checking his phone!). That will be very cool.

Thirdly, I’m signed up to play two new to me wargames and one game I haven’t played since 2012.

Dominant Species is on the agenda for Thursday at 1:00 pm. As you read this, I will already have played it and I’m sure I will have enjoyed it.

Friday morning, I’m signed up for a game that I own, but we’re not playing my copy of it.

Caesar: Rome vs Gaul is a 2-player wargame about, well, Caesar’s legions against the Gauls!

Michal and I have played it asynchronously a couple of times, but I’m looking forward to seeing it on the table finally.

But that’s Friday morning, so again I have already played it by the time you read this!

Saturday morning, however, will be new to both of us.

I own the entire Last Hundred Yards series of tactical wargames by GMT, but I haven’t been able to actually play it. Not even on VASSAL!

Saturday morning, that will change, as I’m signed up for a session of it. It sounds like it will be two games of it with 4 players in total.

It will be a lot of fun.

I was signed up for Star Wars: Rebellion, a game I’ve been dying to play for ages, but when this game popped up at the exact same time, I had to take it.

I’ll get Star Wars played at some point.

Those are the only three games I’m signed up for, but I’m sure the weekend will be full of surprises.

Last year, completely out of the blue, I was able to play my first game of Commands & Colors: Medieval when I ended up talking to a guy about the game system and he invited me to play it with him.

I have about 10 friends attending this con, so I’m sure we’ll be playing a bunch of other things, including some new to me games that I will really enjoy.

Already I’m anticipating playing Obsession and Caylus, both games in the BGG Top 100 that I haven’t played yet.

And many others!

Last year, I got another game of Eldritch Horror in, a convention staple for my group. Will that happen this year?

Maybe!

I’d love to get a game of Versailles 1919 in, given my newfound love for negotiation games.

But we’ll see!

That’s the beauty of cons.

Sure, people bring games available for play.

But the sky’s the limit on what actually gets played!

That’s the kind of anticipation that I really enjoy about conventions.

Everybody brings more than they usually do to a game day.

The choices are juicy.

Sometimes they surprise you.

I will definitely be writing a retrospective this year, so you’ll know what I ended up playing.

What do you anticipate playing in the near future? Anything you’re really looking forward to?

How about conventions? How are you when conventions are approaching that you are going to.

Are you chill, or chomping at the bit?

Let me know in the comments.

This post brought to you by Jack Daniels whiskey, the number 2421, and the letter “c” (for convention!)