{"id":1484,"date":"2018-10-08T22:13:17","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T22:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/?p=1484"},"modified":"2018-10-08T23:16:46","modified_gmt":"2018-10-08T23:16:46","slug":"grand-con-2018-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Con 2018 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Unboxing the Blog<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f60efd9ea30\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-69f60efd9ea30\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/#Quick_Game_Reviews\" >Quick Game Reviews<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/#My_Grand_Con_Overview\" >My Grand Con Overview<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/#Next_Time_with_Noller\" >Next Time with Noller<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We recently attended our local gaming convention here in Michigan called Grand Con.\u00a0 This has become somewhat of a tradition for us as a gaming group.\u00a0 Every year, we come together to mass to game, converse, and just plain have fun.<\/p>\n<p>In this review, I will be giving a brief review breakdown of every game I was able to play at the convention.\u00a0 I&#8217;ll also be writing some of my own thoughts about Grand Con as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>David Noller is back again with his &#8220;Next Time&#8221; segment.\u00a0 Find out what was his favorite moment of the Con.<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy!<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Quick_Game_Reviews\"><\/span>Quick Game Reviews<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">We played each of the games below at this year&#8217;s Grand Con. Click the image for a more in-depth review.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1484 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-medium'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/western-legends-cover\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Western-Legends-Cover-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1497\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Western-Legends-Cover-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Western-Legends-Cover-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Western-Legends-Cover.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1497'>\n\t\t\t\tSandbox, competitive, old west\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/51kh975iq-l\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"226\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/51KH975iQ-L-226x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/51KH975iQ-L-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/51KH975iQ-L.jpg 377w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1485'>\n\t\t\t\tSet bonuses, timing, ice cream\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/villainous\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/villainous-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1492\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/villainous-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/villainous-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/villainous.jpg 466w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1492'>\n\t\t\t\tDisney, asynchronous, variable powers\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/muse-box-front\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"235\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/muse-box-front-235x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/muse-box-front-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/muse-box-front.jpg 510w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 235px) 100vw, 235px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1494'>\n\t\t\t\tParty game, Artful, Clues\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/networks-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"210\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/networks-1-210x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/networks-1-210x300.jpg 210w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/networks-1.jpg 718w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 210px) 100vw, 210px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1488'>\n\t\t\t\tFunding, staffing, funny\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/too-many-cinderellas\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/too-many-cinderellas-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/too-many-cinderellas-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/too-many-cinderellas-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/too-many-cinderellas.jpg 425w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1546'>\n\t\t\t\tFunny, cute, surprising\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/cat-lady-en\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Cat-Lady-EN-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1490\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Cat-Lady-EN-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Cat-Lady-EN-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Cat-Lady-EN-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Cat-Lady-EN.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1490'>\n\t\t\t\tCute, cats, drafting\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/eight-min\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/eight-min-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1486\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/eight-min-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/eight-min-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/eight-min-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/eight-min.jpg 910w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1486'>\n\t\t\t\tFast, majority, set collection\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/nut-so-fast-box\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"262\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nut-so-fast-box-262x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nut-so-fast-box-262x300.png 262w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/nut-so-fast-box.png 598w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1493'>\n\t\t\t\tReaction speed, fun, party Game\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024-300x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/before-there-were-stars-56588_9a2a1_1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1496'>\n\t\t\t\tStorytelling, myth, creativity\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/grackles-3d-box-right\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"277\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Grackles-3D-Box-Right-277x300.png\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1491\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Grackles-3D-Box-Right-277x300.png 277w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Grackles-3D-Box-Right-768x832.png 768w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Grackles-3D-Box-Right.png 923w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 277px) 100vw, 277px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1491'>\n\t\t\t\tAbstract, bland, uneventful\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/d49a03d66a1d07ea83fa32180fabfac1\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/d49a03d66a1d07ea83fa32180fabfac1-206x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-1498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/d49a03d66a1d07ea83fa32180fabfac1-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/d49a03d66a1d07ea83fa32180fabfac1.jpg 686w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-1498'>\n\t\t\t\tGreat potential, bland, uninspired\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_Grand_Con_Overview\"><\/span>My Grand Con Overview<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><big>by Kyle Delgado<\/big><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I want to share my thoughts about evolution.\u00a0 Evolution of my Grand Con experience.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I have attended Grand Con for the past 4 years and I noticed a dramatic change in my approach to it.\u00a0 Some changes have been positive, while others have been \u00a0disappointing.\u00a0 Some have been changes in myself, and others have been changes in the convention itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">One aspect of change that was obvious upon arrival was the feeling of scale.\u00a0 This year&#8217;s convention was in the Devos Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.\u00a0 The convention hall is many times bigger than the hotel conference room where Grand Con used to be held.\u00a0 This change of venue wasn&#8217;t new this year, but it differed from last year\u2019s convention as the vendor attendance was diminished.\u00a0 This was a detraction in my mind as I like the attention to new and upcoming titles that was emphasized in last year\u2019s Grand Con.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The focus of this convention was about the players rather than the games.\u00a0 Small changes were implemented to emphasize this: table markers for players wanted, table markers for teachers wanted, and a much larger playable gaming collection.\u00a0 As board gamers are more of a timid bunch, I find these changes to be problematic.\u00a0 It relies on players to interact.\u00a0 I would love to see this implemented farther.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">The changes I saw in myself were the most alarming.\u00a0 My first convention was like a kid on Christmas day. Everything was exciting and new.\u00a0 I had tons of research done on upcoming games that I was interested in checking out or even buying.\u00a0 I was ready to take the convention by the horns and I did.\u00a0 I walked in and grabbed everything I intended to grab, and played some new games that I hadn\u2019t \u00a0even researched.\u00a0 It was a blast.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This year was different.\u00a0 I came into this convention with little research done other than looking into a few of the publishers that would be in attendance.\u00a0 I had a couple games on my list that I would grab if they were available.\u00a0 I walked into the convention hall and started my frenzy and was done in an hour or two.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Played one new title: Rocky Road a la Mode.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I had made two purchases: Western Legends and an expansion for Sagrada.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">This wasn&#8217;t normal for my convention fervor.\u00a0 I&#8217;m the one with games stacked to the sky early and never letting up.\u00a0 My tastes have never been this discerning.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I walked away from the convention with little more than what I bought in the first day.\u00a0 I purchased a few last minute games that were on sale and I took a chance on buying.\u00a0 I also walked away with a feeling of fulfillment with my haul, even if it was a \u00a0 scant haul.\u00a0 Obviously, scant is subjective in this instance, but you should understand that this was light for me.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Finally, I felt some changes in my expectations with my Grand Con experience.\u00a0 Past years were filled with the possibilities of gamers paradise: games with industry celebrity, game releases, and evenings filled with friends old and new.\u00a0 I found my gaming experience to be much different than expected and has become a new focus for me for Grand Con.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">Grand Con is about the games but more than that.\u00a0 It&#8217;s about the people that you share the experience with that really matters.\u00a0 The group of friends who joined me on my annual board gaming pilgrimage was larger than ever.\u00a0 I enjoyed every game I played with them and couldn&#8217;t find enough time to hang out with them at the table or even outside the convention halls.\u00a0 Every person that I shared this experience with is the Grand Con I fell in love with so many years ago.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">I would like to close by setting up my mindset going into future conventions I will attend.\u00a0 I want to put more emphasis on the people.\u00a0 I want to include them in my games and in my convention story.\u00a0 Chatting up people outside of the our group and being apart of their convention story as well.\u00a0 Learn more about people that make up the convention: Retailers, merchants, gamers, and designers.\u00a0 This is what these conventions are all about.\u00a0 The people of this great hobby.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Next_Time_with_Noller\"><\/span>Next Time with Noller<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"> <big>by David Noller<\/big><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best moment of GrandCon 2018: three unassuming, totally nerdy, super-nice teenagers joined the fight and saved the world. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FAZA is hard. Designed by Benjamin Farahmand, FAZA is a sci-fi game of us against them. Tap abilities and roll dice to attack the FAZA drones. Use FAZA rebels as meat shields. Take down the FAZA motherships to win.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s not that easy. If any player takes four injuries, you lose. If the FAZA transform all your tiles, you lose. If you run out of drones to place or lose your last rebel from the field, you lose. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only by defeating all three motherships\u2014the Carrier, the Destroyer, and the Fazaformer\u2014does the team win. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every time you hit a mothership, however, you draw a FAZA card which describes how something happens on a scale from \u201cthat\u2019s not good\u201d to \u201cthat\u2019s [expletive deleted] terrible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On this day, however, the dice aligned. The gamer gods looked favorably upon our table and upon the three intrepid young people eager for a fight. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I sat down at 10:00 a.m. just hoping to have a group. The morning before, I had a spot reserved but no players. Yes, I judged myself by the fact that no one signed up. [See my previous post about my odd combination of confidence and insecurity] <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But on Saturday, after I set up the game and wandered over to a nearby vendor, I turned around to see that three teenagers had sat down at my table. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Books have covers for a reason, and I judged. \u201cOh, great,\u201d I probably thought, \u201ckids.\u201d FAZA is a tough game. They clearly weren\u2019t up for this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I needed a personal reset. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teacher mode. Extra patient. Extra gentle. Guide on the side. Winning isn\u2019t everything. Calmness. Zen. Ommmmmm. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I provided an overview, outlined rules generally, and suggested we just begin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I guided this three-player team through their first couple rounds, and then I sat back. I let them play and only answered questions after the first two rounds. I thought of jumping in a few times to suggest what I judged was clearly a \u201cwrong play.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full disclosure: I am certain that at some point I figured that the sooner they lost, the sooner I could join my friends and play \u201cWestern Legends.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, the unthinkable happened.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They took chances. They took risks. They worked together. They decided quickly. They never backtracked. No complaining. No whining. When the game fought back, they pressed on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Noah was quick to try to take an action. Nina would shut him down: \u201cNoah. Stop. Just wait.\u201d \u00a0They were clearly friends. You can\u2019t do that to a stranger. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nina would wonder aloud, and her brother Gavin would talk through options. Gavin was obviously the leader of the crew. He even looked a little like a rock star. Gavin would look at me for approval of his moves, but I just shrugged each time, as if to say, \u201cTry it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eventually, Gavin stopped looking toward me for approval. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They were bold. They were fearless. My confidence in them grew. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nina, Gavin, and Noah were down to the last mothership. They had made it this far, and they looked to have it in control. All that could stop them were those damn FAZA cards, drawn after an attack on a mothership. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nina attacked the last mothership, the Fazaformer, and drew a FAZA card: \u201cMaintenance Robot\u201d \u2014 instead of taking damage, the mothership heals one point. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With a rebel still on the board, she attacked again, and drew another FAZA card: \u201cRetreat\u201d \u2014 the mothership took damage but then ran away. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The team attacked again, after chasing the ship down, flying in rebels, and defeating the drones present. They drew another FAZA card: \u201cActivate Right.\u201d The mothership runs away again. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By now, the team knew that those FAZA cards could teleport a mothership, heal the mothership, damage the player instead of the mothership. They attacked one more time&#8230; <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;and drew a FAZA card: \u201cAbduction\u201d \u2014 \u201cThe player that just attacked a mothership is abducted. Place your pawn along with three drones on the Fazaformed tile with the lowest number.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No damage to the player. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No healing ability for the FAZA mothership. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holy cow. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They won. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I judged these books by their covers. It turns out that these young people wrote an entirely different story than the one I thought I would read. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am not their parent, their teacher or their coach. They don\u2019t go to the school where I teach, and I had never met them before. Still, I am proud of Gavin, Nina, and Noah. They were good players, and they were good people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well played, team. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well played.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary &nbsp; We recently attended our local gaming convention here in Michigan called Grand Con.\u00a0 This has become somewhat of a tradition for us as a gaming group.\u00a0&#8230; <a class=\"list-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/08\/grand-con-2018-review\/\">Continue reading <i class=\"fa fa-angle-double-right\"><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[217,215,216,155,219,218,195,212,182,204,210,213,214,211,209],"class_list":["post-1484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-before-there-were-stars","tag-cat-lady","tag-eight-minute-empire","tag-faza","tag-flip-city","tag-grackles","tag-grand-con-2018","tag-muse","tag-next-time-with-noller","tag-nut-so-fast","tag-rock-road-a-la-mode","tag-the-networks","tag-too-many-cinderellas","tag-villainous","tag-western-legends","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1551,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1484\/revisions\/1551"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/traversecityboardgamers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}