Another Man's View
[As I've said before - and will probably say again - it's difficult to have a neutral perspective about an event like a games convention. Especially when you are slogging your guts out trying to run it. So, thanks to John McLintock for his DiceConWest 2004 report.]
John McLintock's DiceConWest 2004
Having missed the previous two events, I was really looking forward to DiceCon this year, although I have to admit to feeling a bit of trepidation since I had volunteered to GM Up Front, and had absolutely no idea if there would be anyone there other than myself interested in this game. So the first good news of the day was that there was indeed at least one player there when I arrived.
Wings of War
The day started quietly for me with some quick games whose names escape me, but which were enjoyable. The first big game I played was Wings of War. Like Ellis, I can report that this is a little cracker, with beautifully simple mechanics and lots of atmosphere. One thing I particularly liked was the way that the different card decks for each plane reflected its performance. So my Sopwith Camel had its famous tight right turns, but only regular turns to the left; and different speeds were handled by different lengths of moves represented on the cards.
Our Dawn Patrol got off to a good start when we managed to split Jerry. Our victim took some solid bursts but survived long enough for his wingman to return. Then my wingman crashed and burned in a single deadly burst. I didn't last long after that. I foresee Static selling lots of copies of this little beauty!
Chinatown
Chinatown was next. Expecting a game of gang warfare between Oriental Tongs, I was at first slightly disappointed to see a game that bore no relationship whatsoever to these expectations. [ES: somebody, somewhere's got to have a go at writing the definitive article on game titles.] The game itself soon overcame this.
Chinatown is another game of resource management and trading, in this case featuring landlords trying to gain control of sufficient sections of city blocks to maximise their income. Apart from the wide open trading, this game's main strength is its strict time limit, which really focuses your attention on your objective, which is simply to have the most money at the end of the game.
By about halfway through I had a solid income leaving me confident of victory, but in the end another player, who was a very astute trader, pulled off a crucial deal and won by a very narrow margin. It was the sort of defeat that left you crying out for a chance to wreak a terrible revenge, but there was too much else going on that day.
Up Front
It was at this point that I finally got a chance to play some Up Front myself, against Mike Smith (of whom more later). I took the Germans against his Russians in the basic Patrol scenario. Mike proved to be a good player, although one cursed by ill-luck in that game: his MG junked early on, leaving my lads free to storm forward and win a quick positional victory.
I shared some of that luck in the replay, when my own MG did the same, leaving Mike in a strong position. However, Up Front being the game it is, I was just getting ready to reorganise my squad to get up close and personal when we decided to bring the game to a close to start the tournament. I don't know whether I would've won the game from that position, but it was undoubtedly possible, and I certainly would have had fun trying!
Two experienced players and two complete beginners faced-off in a two-round knockout tournament- Germans versus Russians, in the familiar Patrol scenario under the basic rules. The final saw Dave Evans' Germans victorious over the aforementioned Mike Smith, with the help of some fortunate fire attacks and some vicious sniping. A good record for his first two games! Prizes were donated by Static [ES: and Days of Wonder & Esdevium.] with Dave winning a prerelease copy of the instant classic Memoir '44, a tactical game of Western front combat playable in 30-60 minutes!
Highlights
Other highlights of the day included winning my first game of Galloping Pigs; having a nice chat with Alan Poulter, webmaster at WebGrognards; and seeing a lovely, luminously painted Battletech army. All in all then, a good day's gaming, and one I hope to repeat regularly. I'd just like to call a big vote of thanks to Ellis and Gordon for all their hard work, and again to Kenny from Static for his generous prize support.
John McLintock
4 October 2004