Miscon, Missoula’s Game Convention
There is a science fiction/fantasy convention every year held in Missoula Montana called Miscon. While it isn’t a particularly large or grand convention, it certainly is a fun one. Last year at MisCon the Spiel Knights introduced themselves to the world, bringing boardgames and puzzles for all.
Of course we had a game store backing us at the time. Sadly the store has closed leaving the spiel knights board game group out on their own. A small dedicated group of us have been able to continue playing great games since that time. Although the acquisition rate for new games has gone down dramatically, we still have a TON that we haven’t even been able to try out yet.
This year, the Spiel Knights will not have the backing of a game store. We are getting two merchant booths at the front of the convention. We will have a couple of different games, game tokens, trinkets, and other miscellaneous odds and ends. Please stop the Spiel Knight Merchant Booth by and say hey!
Or if you see anybody wearing a Spiel Knights shirt, they are always willing to play games. If you need another person in your game, a Spiel Knight would gladly jump in.
Last year we ran a Miscon poker tournament, this year we’re talking about doing one again with a buy-in and jackpot. We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
Guests of Honor include cartoonist (and illustrater of the Munchkin Series of games) John Kovalic as well as science fiction author Michael Stackpole.
There is not much more to say, other than here is a dorky little video from 2008 about it.
‘Come to Miscon‘
Filed under Events, Miscon : Comments (4) : May 9th, 2009
Monopoly Killer: Perfect German Board Game Redefines Genre
Are you ready to settle the island of Catan?
Check out this article recently published in Wired magazine all about the game. It kind of gets me inspired to get to work on creating my own board games again. Since the WGM store closed down, I honestly haven’t been as excited about board games. It is nice to be pumped up again.
Filed under eurogames, games : Comments (0) : Apr 5th, 2009
Playing Board Games in Missoula
I just wanted to update you on the Spiel Knights board game group. We’re currently meeting on thursday nights at the Break Espresso. It’s a nice little coffee shop in downtown Missoula.
Usually we play one or two games and there are a handful of folks who show up. You are certainly welcome to stop by, introduce yourself, and join in a game. We’ll always go over the rules of the games so don’t worry if something looks a little foreign.
I can’t wait to play another board game.
Filed under games : Comments (0) : Mar 23rd, 2009
An Introduction to Eurogames…
Roll a dice. Move your thimble. Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. This is the image that most Americans conjure when the topic of boardgames is brought to the table.
Risk and Monopoly, are the staples of the American board game industry. On top of having sold millions of copies, they have a number of other elements in common.
Both are dependent on dice. One good roll can bring you great fortunes, while a bad one can cripple you for the rest of the game. These games tend to have a large amount of chance or luck built in that seriously alters the flow of the game. Coming back from these near death predicaments is not impossible, but struggling to survive up to your next turn is not the most enjoyable experience. Most board games in this category involve luck, conflict, and drama.
There is a school of boardgames that relies heavily on strategy without being a war-game like Risk or Axis and Allies. They are more abstract than buying up random properties, and considerably less abstract then the movements in chess. Simple economic themes tend to be somewhat more prevalent. Also in this camp, it’s important to note that there are no player eliminations.
These games are still struggling to find a uniform name across the hobby. Some call them German games because Germany produces the largest amount of boardgames per capita, the majority fitting this description. Others call them Euro Games, because their popularity and production is not restricted to merely Germany. Expanding further, some call them designer games and others strategy games.
Tags: Agricola, board games, boardgames, boardgaming, designer games, euro games, eurogames, risk, Settlers of Catan, strategy games, Ticket to Ride
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Dec 11th, 2008