Spaghetti ConJunction 2A Con Report

Spaghetti Conjunction 2A.
Geek Retreat, Birmingham, UK.
Saturday 10 February 2018.

A late finish at work the night before, not getting in until 02:00, meant a rush in the morning to get the train on time.

Got to the venue in plenty of time, it’s only a few minutes walk from the railway station, and it was good to see it busy. There were lots of familiar faces in attendance with plenty of games on offer. I got my game sign up sheet into the mix as the game sign ups started.
Those attendees that were new to the convention went first then it went on to the random ticket allocation for the rest of the sign ups.

All the games had plenty of sign ups and one game even had to relocate to the downstairs section of the venue due to all the tables getting used.

I ordered some coffee before the game started and the service at Geek Retreat was excellent. It was delivered to my table promptly.

My game of Tales from the Loop, ‘Atomic Butterflies and Feral Buddleia' had three sign ups so we began straight away.
I started with a quick snapshot of summer in Derby back in 1984, dealing with the weather, political situation, technology advances, music (Now That’s What I Call Music had just came out), and what the kids did back then.
Then we got on with the char-gen after I covered the ‘Principles of the Loop’ with the players. We had a Rocker called Ed who wore denim and had an iconic bandanna, Peter who was a bit of a Weirdo with a pet rat, and a young Troublemaker called Neil ‘nicker’ Smith who was armed with a Knife. Their Hideout was an old WWII pillbox bunker with a crack in the roof, a rat run to keep other rodents away, a boom box for rock music, and a discarded punch bag.
The home life scenes consisted of Ed’s single mother who was a suspected shop lifter, Peter’s communist father shouting at Breakfast TV whilst reading the Morning Star, and Neil’s father having an early morning tipple.


My Tales from the Loop game in action

After discovering the strange piles of animal bones, the disturbing lack of any insects or birds, escaping the attentions of the local bullies, butterflies acting bizarre, ethereal woman chasing butterflies, Ms Science Teacher getting a illicit rendezvous, and a burning hole in a chain-link fence, the Kids managed to solve the Mystery before the the whole area was overwhelmed by carnivorous plants.

It was a thankless task though for the Kids as the return to the mundane was a sharp counterpoint to their adventures.

The game ran for over three hours but ours was the first of the morning games to finish.

After that it was the raffle with a real cornucopia of prizes.

I couldn’t stay for the afternoon session as I had to get back for a family event
In all it was a great event and I look forward to Spaghetti Conjunction 2B.

 #TalesfromtheLoop

Dragonmeet 2017 Con Report

Dragonmeet 2017, Novotel Hotel, Hammersmith, London.
Saturday 2nd December 2017

So the taxi I had booked the day before didn’t turn up so I had to run through the dark streets of Derby to get to the Railway Station for my 06:01 train. I breathlessly got there to see my train depart. Had to wait an hour for the next one that ended up being late, if only the earlier one was late I would have caught it.
Got into London at 08:30 but it seemed that only one ticket machine that accepted cash on the Underground had a big queue so I was late getting the Tube.
Got to Hammersmith in short order and found the Novotel without any issues, getting in though was another matter. There was a long queue for two very slow lifts to the hotel lobby.
Quick and efficient service at the GM desk, though I learnt that my game had been pulled and the players put into other games that were running (quite rightly).

So unable to run my game and with no other games running in the morning I just had to twiddle my thumbs in the hotel lobby.

I caught a few great seminars though; Ken Hite and Robin Laws Talk Stuff was very entertaining as always, and Ian Livingston with the early days of Games Workshop and Fighting Fantasy was very insightful.

In the afternoon I ran my Tales from the Loop game ‘Bigtrax and Magic Tricks’. I had five players signed up from the start and it went fantastic. The players chose and generated the following player characters. We had Jed the Young Farmer who was sat on his tractor, young Chip who was a young troubled soul armed with a crowbar, Weirdo Ida with a pet rat called Poppet, a every popular kid called Joanna and her ever present hair spray, and a metal head called Dane wearing a cool leather jacket.

The player generation at the start of the game really helped to gel the group together as we had a father and son duo, two players from the Fantasy Tw*ts (https://tabletoptwats.podbean.com), and one experienced player.

Each of their opening scenes were short but very character based, giving glimpses into the Kids home life and backgrounds. They were keen to get straight into the mystery.
Dane had arguing parents and an absent older sister so left to get away, Joanna’s aunt had an episode, throwing cutlery at the smoke alarm (including the flyer for the County Fair) so she took that along for the ‘boys’, Ida’s parents wanted a ‘talk’ with her but she slammed her bedroom door and snuck out the window, Chip’s step dad was drunk on the sofa so he just left, and Jed tended his sick father before joining the others at the hideout.



The players from my Tales from the Loop game.

They all were excited about the Bigtrak and the Magic Show taking place the following day. They were chatting and planning to attend when they were interrupted by an American style car horn. A huge American lorry was stuck on the county road and the driver, Milo, was wanting help getting to Elvaston Castle to set up the stage and auditorium for the Doug Henning Magic Show. The kids all helped and the mystery unfolded.

Involving a robot called A-F1L-08, and mad scientist, dodgy roadies, weird spheres, a Bigtrak, incompetent armed guards, and a suspicious TV magician. It all comes to a crescendo with fireworks and ice cream!

Of course at the end of the game after such an adventure, the return to the mundane lives is a sober reminder of how those moments are so precious.

After that it was drinks in the hotel bar, chatting with the players about roleplaying games before speeding across London to catch the last train home to Derby.

#Dragonmeet
#TalesfromtheLoop
#tabletoptwats

Mug & Game Game Day

Mug & Game Game Day, Ruby’s Fund, Congleton, Cheshire.
Saturday 11th November 2017.

So I made the trip from Derby to Congleton for Mug & Game’s first Games Day. In the past when I have travelled to Congleton the train goes directly there along the Crewe route. However it has altered so now I had to change trains at Stoke-on-Trent that added an extra half hour to the journey. I got to the venue by 11:30.



Ruby’s Fund is an Sensory Centre for families with children who have disabilities and special needs. More information here http://www.rubysfund.co.uk
It is a converted industrial building that has been very well developed and decorated. The downstairs area has a Café and a large play area that caterers to all children’s needs and upstairs has a large conference room with space for over twelve tables. The upstairs room also has two smaller committee rooms for private games, a small kitchenette, it’s own toilets, and bench seats around the edge of the room. A great space for a Games Meet!

Straight away I was welcomed in and informed that my game sign-up sheet for my Tales from the Loop game had gone up and had two people signed up already. Marvellous!

I got involved into a game of Cthulhu Wars, a Risk-like game but instead of human empires you play the different factions of the Great Ones from the Cthulhu Mythos. The game pieces are stunningly crafted creatures of the Mythos though several of them were very large. The player game mats, cards, tokens, and pieces are all very beautiful made but the game map that makes the game board is very poor looking with each area not very well defined nor of equal size for all the game pieces. Other than that it was a very good game with seven players in all at the table all developing their own factions domains. It is a game I would like to play again.

In the afternoon I ran my Tales from the Loop game, Bigtrax and Magic Tricks. I had two players signed up already and they managed to convince another of their number to join in too. Tales is a game that works well with smaller game group so having three players is great. The players were enthusiastic and got on with the char-gen with gusto. I had made up eight cards each with the archetypes from the rule book and the players pulled ideas and options from them. We ended up with a farm hick called Sven who carries a crowbar, young Bobby who’s a jock that nobody can call chicken, and Dexter a computer geek who is the smartest kid in school. They had a great hideout in the form of an old WWII bunker full of old furniture, broke down computers from school, and powered by electricity ‘borrowed’ from the Facility.

The scenario was the same one I used at Spaghetti Conjunction though I have now expanded it to make it a little longer by adding a few more NPCs and having the set up occur the night before the day of the show.

The Kids started with scenes from their home life and the use of walkie talkies (with one connected to a can and string set up) and the excitement of going to see Bigtrak in real life. Then from the hideout they see a huge American style lorry stuck up a side street. It’s a huge Silverliner truck and the crew are there to set up for the Magic Show at Elvaston Castle. The Kids help out and see a robot, A-F1L-08, a suspicious scientist, a strange sphere, a electrical supply shed with a secret room, a weird auditorium set up, and a crazy TV magician.
Hijinks ensues with some interesting character moments and the Kids save Bigtrak from mad scientists and spies. They get the ice cream too!

It was interesting to play with players who hadn’t been around in the 1980’s so the whole nostalgia element of the game wasn’t really present except from me running the game. The players were great though, they were from the same group from West Cheshire, called Cheshire Cats.



Players of my Tales from the Loop game.

So in all I had a very good day and will no doubt try to attend the next Mug & Game Games Day if I can get time off work. It helps a worthy cause too.
I’ll let you all know when the next one is scheduled.

#CthulhuWars
#TalesfromtheLoop
#Mug&Game

Spaghetti ConJunction 1B Con Report

Spaghetti Conjunction 1B
Saturday 21st October 2017.
Geek Retreat, Priory Queensway, Birmingham.
https://spaghetticonjunction.wordpress.com


So a bit of a rush to get to Birmingham yet I managed to arrive in plenty of time. A good friendly welcome and some very familiar faces to be greeted by.

A smaller attendance for the second event this year compared to the first one but a very keen crowd nonetheless. Both my games ran with five players each. A good staggered game sign up system ensured all players had a good crack at the game sign-up sheets.

I ran my Supernatural/Grimm/Sleepy Hollow mash up Cortex+ game in the morning with the players picking Sam and Dean Winchester, Ichabod Crane, Abbie Mills, and Nick Burkhardt. From the get go, with the initial news report and the characters establishing whom had the legitimate claim to FBI leadership, the game was full on alpha dog showdown. All the players captured their character moments very well with aplomb with witty commentary and put downs.
There was lots of ‘propage’ with the NPC cards, maps, location guides, and the handouts that helped keep the players informed (and over-indulged with options) and illustrate the setting. Clues sorted and research conducted to the point they worked out the machinations of the baddies and broke the code of the puzzle quite easily. Some combat and creative solutions ensued to the final showdown with a satisfactory conclusion.
The game overran a little but with the table service for food and refreshments it didn’t impact the pace at all running through into the lunchtime.

I had a nice chat with the players afterwards as we went into the afternoon slot. First there was the prize draw then the game sign-up in reverse order.

I ran Tales from the Loop to the five players (two from this morning’s game) and it was the first time I had managed to actually run it.
I issued out ‘X’ cards to the players as I described that the were going to be playing kids in an alternate 1980’s UK setting solving weird technological mysteries whilst dealing with a mundane (and almost tragic) home life. I was concerned that we may inadvertently stumble onto sensitive topics during play but in hindsight it wasn’t necessary.
I had the ‘Principals of the Loop’ set in a display sign which really help to start the game in the right frame of mind and we started the char-gen. The players came up with some cracking characters; we had a set of twins with sibling rivalry, brother and sister, who were sharp minded yet missing their deceased father, an ever-growing tinkerer of machines whose clumsy attempts to connect with others was always thwarted, a well-liked, ghetto-blaster carrying kid who wished to be left alone, and a music lover whose parents were going through a divorce. Their hideout was an old allotment shed with mains power, a fridge, jars of screws, nuts and bolts, and a home brew beer kit.

The game was set in 1984, in Derby, with the Facility having it’s own particle accelerator. Not in a crude giant circle, but in an electro-magnetic curved helix loop under the River Derwent.
The kids were excited to go to the local county fair to see an actual, full sized Bigtrax tank on display at Elvaston Castle.
Of course we played out the opening scenes at each of the Kids’ homes to catch a glimpse of their home life before the adventure began.
I had followed the advice of some of the actual plays I had seen online and made the mystery fairly simple in nature. But in hindsight it was a little too short and over a little quicker then I had hoped (I’ll have to expand it out when I next run the game). They had done some great things; dealing with jumped-up bullies given authority, thwarted a plan by the TV magician Doug Henry to steal the Bigtrax tank under the very noses of the Special Guard Service, rescued the said tank from spies, caused a little mayhem, and got given ice cream at the end of it all. Some great role playing moments throughout.

Yet the most poignant part was the final scenes at home when we were all snapped back into the mundane after the adventure. Those scenes that came so naturally yet were in complete contrast to what happened before with such melancholy and pathos. I was physically moved emotionally by them, as was everybody else at the table. I have never felt like that after a game.
With that ending we stayed at the table a chatted and reminisced about our past and games for over an hour and a half.  

With that my time at Spaghetti Conjunction 1B was over and a fast train home.



My Supernatural/Grimm/Sleepy Hollow game in action.



My Tales from the Loop game in action.


#Supernatural
#Grimm
#SleepyHollow
#Cortex+
#TalesfromtheLoop

Blowing 5 Years of Dust Off My Blog.

I have decided to start using my blog again, blowing the five years of dust off. It is surprising how very little has changed and yet what is different too. My game focus has shifted to some new games and I am still attending conventions whenever I can, though I am no longer organising conventions at the moment.

I'll start by posting up my past RPG Con reports from over the last year, especially those that detailing game reports of Tales from the Loop games that I have been running.
I'll also be posting up my lists of upcoming RPG Conventions on a monthly basis, details of my game preparation, GM advice, and my (hopefully helpful) insight into running games.

My aim is to be informative as well as entertaining though those lofty ideals may disappoint. :)

Buying tickets for Con-Quest Midlands 2013

There are several ways to get tickets for you to attend Con-Quest 2013.

1. Press this PayPal link below and buy a ticket on-line.
Remember to fill in you name and contact details. You will collect your ticket from the convention desk on the door on the day so avoiding any long queues at the box office. The Early-Bird special rate is currently £6.00 if you buy before Wednesday 01st May 2013.
The PayPal button includes the Group Booking Discount as a single transaction only.

Con-Quest Tickets

1 x Con-Quest Ticket £6.00 GBP2 x Con-Quest Tickets £12.00 GBP3 x Con-Quest Tickets £18.00 GBP4 x Con-Quest Tickets £24.00 GBP5 x Con-Quest Tickets £30.00 GBP6 to 10 x Con-Quest Tickets (Group Booking) £36.00 GBP11 to 16 x Con-Quest Tickets (Group Booking £45.00 GBP17 to 24 x Con-Quest Tickets (Group Booking £60.00 GBP

2. Send a cheque or postal order to:
Con-Quest Midlands
Derby Theatre
15 Theatre Walk
DE1 2NF

Please make them out to “Con-Quest Midlands”

3. If you are in Derby you can buy tickets over the counter at the Derby LIVE box office either at the Assembly Rooms box office located at the Market Place or at the Derby Theatre box office in the Westfield Centre.
Opening hours are 10:00 until 20:00 Monday to Saturday.
Tickets go live on Monday 318th March 2013.

4. You can ring the Derby LIVE box office 01332 255800 and buy tickets over the phone. Both credit and debit cards are accepted for payment. Credit cards incur a £2 booking fee [debit cards don’t incur a fee] and postage will incur a charge of £1. When collecting tickets from the box office the card used for payment must be seen.
Opening hours are 10:00 until 20:00 Monday to Saturday.
Tickets go live on Monday 318th March 2013.

Group Booking Discount

For those in organised gaming groups or social groups you can get a Group Booking Discount. Please include the names of everyone on the ticket so that they can get in at the door. Individual members can collect their own tickets from the convention desk on the door on the day so avoiding any long queues at the box office.

For Group Bookings of between 6 to 10 tickets the total price is £36.00.
For Group Bookings of between 11 to 16 tickets the total price is £45.00.
For Group Bookings of between 17 to 24 tickets the total price is £60.00.

These discounts are only available if paying via PayPal or by cheque and as a single transaction.
We can not offer any discount on tickets already purchased or include them in as part of the group ticket. They are not available from the Assembly Rooms Box Office.

Con-Quest 2013 promo video

Feel free to share!
This year's cheesy promo video for Con-Quest 2013 on Saturday May the Fourth 'be with you' 2013.