KublaCon recap

A couple weeks ago I went to KublaCon, and before I went I posted a To-Do list. Here's how that went, followed by a recap of the convention:

- Blind test Homesteaders

I did not get a blind test of Homesteaders in.

- Blind test Terra Prime

I did find someone to blind test Terra Prime, and I got a couple of good comments on a couple of things that could be clearer in the rulebook.

- Play and discuss Hammer and Spike with Rick Holzgrafe

I did play Hammer and Spike with Rick, as well as with JC Lawrence. Game went pretty well- except that I made the same mistake I did last time and left myself broke one turn and so needed to take a loan... in the end I lost by about 5 or 6 points if I recall, so the loan by itself didn't cost me the game - I made several other mistakes which contributed...

- Play Winds of Fate with someone

I did not play Winds of Fate at all. Nor did I even discuss it with anyone :(

- Play Corner Lot with JC Lawrence

I did play Corner Lot, and liked it more than I thought I would

- Play Ohana Proa if possible

I did not play Ohana Proa :(

- Play Kaivai and/or Logistico - some games I've been wanting to try for a long time.

I did not see, let alone play, either Kaivai nor Logistico. One of these days I'll get around to it - maybe at BGG.con this year.

I guess you could say that overall I failed pretty badly at my To-Do list, however I had a great time at the convention anyway. I played a lot of games, hung out with some cool and interesting people, and I even learned something about the area...

The first day of the co, Andrew (from L.A.), Alex (from San Diego) and I went walking in search of a place to eat. Alex plays frisbee, and I mentioned that it would be cool if there were a park around in which we could throw a disc (I happened to have one with me). He said he didn't think there was, and I hadn't seen one either. Fast forward to the end of the convention, at the airport they needed someone to volunteer to bump to the next morning's flight, and in exchange for my volunteering they gave me $600 in flight vouchers, as well as a night in a hotel and dinner at the hotel as well. It turns out the hotel they put me up in was about 1/2 a mile down the road from the convention hotel, and right next to it was a nice, green soccer field! Good to know... maybe next year I'll try to organize a small outing to throw a disc around! Also, that hotel, while not as nice and fancy as the Hyatt Regency, had free WiFi in the rooms!

Unfortunately I had dropped the ball on the game design contest - I forgot to enter anything. And sadly, this would have been my last year to do so, as by this time next year I'll be a published designer and no longer eligible for the contest. I went to the presentation anyway, as JC's game Corner Lot was in the contest, and in general I wanted to see what was there. I saw 2 games that looked kinda interesting, and I asked the designers to send me a copy to be considered by Tasty Minstrel Games. Both of them simply handed me the copy they'd just gotten back from the contest, and I brought them home with me! It was fun to get new prototypes to try out, but these 2 games were not finished to the point where I'd vouch for them. I gave some comments to the designers, and told them if they end up improving the games that we'd look at them again.

I wanted to write a full report of my goings on at KublaCon, and I started to do so, but got sidetracked... it's now been a month, so I'd better at least post this, I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to finish my report!