Vul-Con 2012 Report
Vul-Con went off last weekend and this my report on the event itself and the games I played. Since Livingdice.com sponsored the event I am utterly biased in favor of the convention, but that bias is not really need because my crony Werlen and I had a great time and look forward to next year’s event. Vul-Con took up a large ballroom, actually more of a large hangar masquerading as a ballroom in the Phoenix Convention Center. Apologies for the picture quality, we were using our phones because I forgot my camera.
The vendor area had a nice cross-section of vendors from the usual local comic book stores to Eagle/Gryphon Games and a couple of new startups using Kickstarter. I would like to mention in particular “Serpent Stones” from Dangermoose Entertainment which is a clever two-player card game with some interesting strategy. I procured a review copy of this game and I will get that review up soon. Crash Games had “Rise” prototypes on display. “Rise” is an abstract strategy game that comes out in few months. Yet another Kickstarter success story just waiting for the product to arrive from the printer. “Legend of the Lost Dutchman” is a light strategy game that pits players against each other in the Superstition Mountains seeking lost gold. The last title from Crash Games is “Lords, Ladies and Lizards.” At first glance it looks like it combines dungeon crawling with city building. Game looked fun, but the miniatures were especially good. Here is a shot of the prototypes sculpted by Alex Garret.
Dave Haught (no direct website, just solve the captcha to get his email) had a booth with some amazing miniatures for Wings of War/Glory. He had many plane models as well, but the dirigibles and balloons were simply stunning.
Mechanical Warhorse Gaming Aids and Terrain is a new entry in to the terrain market and produces a great line of laser-cut plastic accessories. I especially enjoyed the Elemental Fulcrum pictured below. I will probably pick one up for my flying wizards in RPG games.
We quickly moved on to actual gaming with a quick trip to the Arena.
I lost my sword in the first round and it was downhill from there. I quickly went from gladiator to carved Christmas turkey. Ugg! This was one of the two large-scale miniatures games on offer at Vul-Con. Check out the Circus Maximus!
Yes, it is as long as you think it is! Sadly, we did not get to play due to scheduling issues. Next year.
The Tabletop Gaming Society ran a couple of really fun games that lean more towards the hardcore miniature realm that I rarely visit. Still, I had a great time playing “Dead Heat” a zombie racing game. The terrain for this quick game helped the overall theme greatly. A really fun, light strategy game involving racing zombies down the course while trying to stay out of their reach. We played this one several times and loved it. I highly suggest you pick it up for a great mini-game in an RPG or a time killer while waiting for the slow guy to arrive.
After that we played a “Charge of the LIght Brigade” simulation based on the free rules from Staines Wargames. The game required units to race down the valley of death, without dying. Players throw cards down to help themselves, hurt others or hurt everyone. A great little game made better by some top-notch miniatures. This would even be fun with some pre-painted plastic miniatures. I may use it in an RPG in the future.
I had to get back to attend my regular Dragon Age game, but we did have time to get in a complete game of “Dragon Rampage” from Eagle Games. Players roll dice and divide the dice to various actions on the board(represented by the numbered pictures below). Winners in each group accumulate points by running away, stealing or damaging a nasty dragon in a dungeon. Total playtime was only 40 minutes and a good time was had by all.
Well, that is it for my trip to Vul-Con 2012. I will be back next year!
Trask, The Last Tyromancer
