Memorial Day weekend brings me to Olympia, Washington every year for Enfilade! This year was a bit different: my usual convention buddy is in Japan, brewing beer, so my wife came along for some much needed quiet, the child being dropped off at the grandparents'. Therefore, it was a bit more of a date/getaway than the usual gamer marathon, which was nice, because we haven't had many getaways recently.
But gaming is what this blog's about, so...
I actually only played in one game this year (!), a combination of a late start and not finding many of the open games appealing, and also being inexplicably terribly tired all weekend.
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| Mexican-American War with Reg. Fire & Fury |
The one game I did play was Terry's Mexican-American War game with Regimental Fire & Fury, a system that's really growing on me. I took charge of the Mexican cavalry and the game went unexpectedly well for them - thanks in no small part to some terrible dice on the Yankee side. Not everything went so well for the Mexicans, as our center collapsed under an American assault. At the end of the period, with the Americans holding the center but the Mexicans closing in around the sides, we called it a draw.
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| Mexican cavalry prepared to ride down the Yankee invaders. |
I spent the rest of the convention puttering around, planning future games, chatting, and helping out at the Bring & Buy. I did snap a few more pictures, though:
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| Russian Civil War- the Tsarevich is on the armored train, and the Reds must capture him. |
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| Mammoth hunting - I though this one looked very cool |
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| All Quiet on the Martian Front - someone went all out with that tripod on the upper right. |
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| Muskets and Tomahawks |
This year left me with an odd conflict: while the convention itself was really well done, and there was a plethora of good games to be had, most of them left me uninterested in playing. The obvious solution: Next year, I'll have to put on a few games. Leaning toward some big battle ancients, Napoleonics, and possibly World War 2.
I was also a little peeved at not getting an entry into the painting competition. This was mostly because it was difficult to get info about the competition, and at the last minute I was put off by word that entries had to be part of a game as well. That was evidently untrue, as at least one entry was a bust of a Templar knight, but that's the rumor mill for you. I'm also annoyed that I forgot to take some pictures of the entries, as there were some really nice ones. I'll have to try for an entry next year, regardless of the quality of information floating around.
As an aside: since I was with the wife, we did the usual exploring of restaurants. I can recommend Hash on Harrison Ave NW for breakfast, and Hops on the Hill made a pretty good (if very moist) brisket.
