2012 Turnie Awards for Gencon

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It’s time to hand out the Turnies!  What are the Turnies? It’s my little version of the Emmys or the Oscars, but the Turnies are related to games.  The Turnies that I am giving out now are for Gencon 2012.  I give out the Turnies based on the EYOC system. EYOC stands for “Experience Your Own Con (Convention).”  Basically, how this system works is that I will only be giving out awards for stuff I actually experienced at Gencon.  Therefore, I will not be giving out awards for RPGs, LARPs. Films, Anime, and other stuff I did not participate in. Instead, I will give out awards to the stuff that I experienced, which I think deserve an award.

The word Turnie is a made up word based on the fact that games are played in turns. I am hoping to portray a positive and fun message with these Turnie Awards. So, I won’t be doing any negative awards.  We all know that there were a few things that went wrong with Gencon.  This has been chatted about on the Gencon Forums, which I am known to post comments.  Plus, I have been known to email the appropriate people if I feel something is not right.  But, overall, I had a great Con, so let’s celebrate with the Turnies

My Photos of Gencon 2012 are located on my website at 

http://sites.google.com/site/isawtman    

Some of the my Turnie Award choices are shown in the photos.

 

Best Improvement:  Will Call Line.  Last year the Will Call Line was a disaster.  People were waiting in line for hours, just to get their Gencon Badge. Meanwhile, these same people were not playing games or spending money at Gencon.  This year the Will Call Line was fast and easy. Good Job Gencon!!!!!

Magic Card that won a Draft for me: Tricks of the Trade.  A card that gives a creature +2/+0 and makes it unblockable.  Again, it makes it unblockable.  And people were passing me that card like it was a stick. The Deck that I won the draft with had 3 of them. Whatever creature I have is coming through, and there’s nothing you can do!

Best New Feature: The Game Testing Room.  Now there is a great place at Gencon to check out some new concepts in gaming.  The Game Testing Room had all sorts of different games from board games to live action role playing games.  It’s a place where you can make comments to help make the games better.  That Rocks

Favorite Artist: Dan Scott.  Dan Scott makes artwork for Magic Cards and other games.  I had often used the Magic Card “Ponder” in the many drafts that I play in.  He had the artwork for “Ponder” for sale at his booth, so I snapped it up.  Check out his website at http://www.danscottart.com/

Best Celebrity: Nichelle Nichols: When I was going to Gencon, I thought the only celebrity that would be there was Will Wheaton.  I’ve already met him and took a photo with him.  So, I wasn’t planning on seeing any Celebrities.  But when I got to Gencon I found out Nichelle Nichol’s (Uhura on Star Trek) would be attending. Wow.  I got to meet Nichelle, get an autograph and a photo. Besides being on the original Star Trek series, she helped recruit the first female astronauts for NASA.  She truly is an inspiration.

Best Game Room Layout Decision: The addition of Hall C to the convention floor space.  Two years ago Hall C was used as part the Exhibit Hall but last year it was empty.  This year they decided to put miniatures in Hall C so the Hall was open.  This was great because I could cut through Hall C to go to the Card Games in Hall H.  Last year I had to do a 500-yard U to get to Hall H. This year it was great just cutting through Hall C.  I’m sure everyone who stayed at the Marriot Hotel complex appreciated the short cut.

Best Interaction with a Local: On Friday morning I had to go to the CVS Pharmacy for some batteries.  After that I was walking down the street going the Convention Hall.  I was walking in front of a local woman dressed in business attire, who obviously was headed to her job in one of the tall buildings in downtown Indy.  Another Woman with pink hair passed us going in the other direction.  This woman was obviously from Gencon, and was strung out from playing games all night.  After the lady with the Pink hair passed us, I asked the local woman if she liked the pink hair.  The local woman laughed and said no.

Best Contest: Ribbon Quest from Mayfair Games. You play Games at the Mayfair Gaming Room and Mayfair Booth in the Exhibit Hall.  For each game you play you receive a ribbon.  Once you have received all the ribbons needed, you become a “Knight of Catan.”  Then you receive a certificate for 50% off a Mayfair Game.  That’s a rocking deal.  One of my roommates turned in the ribbons and gave me his 50% of coupon.  So, I actually bought two Mayfair Games and saved about $35 total.

Best Swag: Aluminun Water Bottle with Carabineer from Mayfair Games.  Once I become a “Knight of Catan,” I went the extra distance and played more games and collected three more advanced ribbons. Then I became a “Defender of Catan.”  This year was the first year I became a Defender. They give out some nicer prizes for achieving Defender status. I picked an aluminum water bottle.

Best New Non-Game item: The Balloon Dragon.  Out in the Hallway there was a guy that made a large dragon sculpture out of balloons. It was cool to see it’s progress throughout the weekend. And after the Dragon was completed, everyone was taking photos with it.

Second Best Improvement: Mayfair Games Raffle. Last year the raffle was a complete disaster. They said the raffle would start at 2 pm on Sunday and it didn’t start until 2:40 pm.  People were pissed because they had cars waiting for them or had to get to a flight at the airport. Mayfair games made a big deal that we were waiting for the Settlers of Catan Championship to end, but then they didn’t bring the winner up to the stage so everyone could see who won.  This year was better. First, the booth workers were saying to people that the Raffle would start “Sometime after 2pm.”  The crowd didn’t assemble in earnest until around 2:15 and the Raffle started at 2:30.  They held Settlers of Catan Championship earlier in the day and brought the Champion up to the stage and introduced him to the crowd.  They even had a Marriage Proposal at the Raffle.

Best New Social Game: Snake Oil from Out of the Box Games.  Every turn you use combine two word cards that creates a product to sell to an oddball customer. Al from Out of the Box games calls it Apples to Apples on steroids. Each turn a different player judges the products. If the Oddball Customer is a Pro Wrestler, then you have to use your word cards to create a product a Pro Wrestler would like. It’s a fun party game.

Best Scout News:  There was a photo shoot at Gencon for the Merit Badge book of the new Game Design Merit Badge. I met some people who are involved with developing the Merit Badge and they are really excited about it. Sounds like something that I could be a Merit Badge Counselor for.

Best Large Version Game: The Street-sized Word on the Street.  In the Exhibit Hall on Friday and Saturday they had a large version of Word on the Street set up in the Training Grounds.  It was a chance to play one of my favorite games on a large scale.  I convinced another Gencon Attendee, Paul, to play. Paul was winning and I got some help from some people passing by. Paul prevailed, but it was fun anyway.

Best Board Game: LaStrada, Mayfair Games.  Kind of like Carcassone but this game is played on a board with a grid map of an Italian Landscape.  You must make villages and roads to sell your goods as an Italian Trader. I enjoyed learning this game.

Best Gaming Room: Rio Grande Games.  Rio Grande Games room only had one new game this year called “Roll to the South Pole.”  It was okay, but I really enjoyed playing old favorites like Carcasonne and Dominion. Plus, they had some food available during the evening, which kept me gaming all night.

My Gencon Stats: My 7th Gencon

Games I purchased at Gencon.  LaStrada, Patriach, Carcassone, Carcassone – Hunters and Gatherers. Carcassone Travel version, Snake Oil, Word on the Street Junior and 8 Family Fluxxs for my Co-workers. Also, I bought a few items at the Auction store

I played in 8 Magic the Gathering Drafts. An all time low for me at Gencon

Update from Last year.  My niece and nephew really liked playing Stomple and Pirate VS Pirate.

My Gencon photos are located at http://picasaweb.google.com/isawtman/Gencon2012#