Phil Thé said: >Feel like writing a quick CANCON report Pete? I do have to admit an >additional reason for my not attending was the derth of boardgaming >available; unless you're an avid ASL'er there's not much happening. >Whatever happened to Nappy's Military Boardgame Tourney? I'm sure they had one, but it must have been tucked away somewhere out of sight. I don't think i saw a boardgame being played all con. The place was crawling with miniatures of every description, and people playing and trading card games. But then, I only go along for action on the second hand games front and to make contact with the PBM folks. Normal Cancon weather, hot and dry. As usual, I had one of those magic CanCon mugs that allows unlimited access to tea and coffee, so every hour or so, I'd retire to the canteen, buy something hideously greasy, fill up the magic cup and peruse my latest purchases. I attended a seminar with one Greg Stafford (which I'd only signed up for because I didn't have the right change when sending in my registration and it was only two bucks, what the h*eck), and despite the fact that he and the audience seemed to be talking a foreign language for at least half the time, I found it hugely interesting. I must admit I was expecting Sandy Petersen, who evidently pulled out of the trip since they printed the fliers several months back. Anyway, I reckon I got my money's worth there for three hours of hobby gossip and insights on running a major gaming company. <g> I went out and bought a second-hand AH Runequest on the strength of it, which I may yet pass on to my daughter, who is clamouring for some role-playing action despite my obvious lack of interest. The following day's seminar was with Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series, who gave very much a set-piece lecture (as opposed to Greg's wildly non-linear style) which was pretty good. The only time he got really animated was when he began talking about orang-utangs. I caught him reading Sum of All Fears during a free moment, which I thought was out of character. Anyway, I'll keep on reading his books, which have the capacity, since lost by Douglas Adams, to damage my ribs with laughter. I caught a look at Steel Panthers, which was amazing, but as it didn't run on a proper computer, I put it aside. I bought a pile of Command magazines to top up my collection, ditto a swag of cheap F&Ms, which I'm still going through. Stalingrad Pocket and Afrika from The Gamers, an unpunched Ney vs Wellington (sans mag) for $4, and CoA's Landships, which I've always admired. (Mainly because I grew up in Brisbane, and would often trundle along to the Museum there to look at Mephisto, the sole surviving A7V, which graces Landship's box art. What a brute!) PBM awards banquet was pretty laid back. I got together with a few other Victory players, we consumed bulk schooners, and there was a constant rattle of machine guns from our corner of the room. Cameron Thomas has taken over as Australian editor of Flagship, and almost talked me into taking up my subscription again. I scored a $50 credit in Lords of Destiny, which sounds pretty interesting, and Peter van Schaik again won a prize, this time in a game he doesn't play (MEPBM). The Jedko auction was notable for an almost complete lack of boardgames (that I didn't already have, anyway) but I picked up Flat Top for $12. Lot of card games attracting frenzied bidding. I caught up with Daniel Duldig and Rory Sharp from Melbourne and we chatted about games and hovered over the second hand stall opposite. I sold a spare Caesar Alesia for $35, but I didn't think that my massive spare pile of old S&Ts, Wargamers and things would fetch a bid there. Anyway, that was Cancon, this year. Paul Keating called an election in the middle, which saw me spending too much time battling away on aus.politics. Next year I hope to have a PBeM playtest under my belt, that tactical game I mentioned previously. ~ m Cheers! u U \| -Peter Mackay |> / \ "Magnus Frater Te Spectat" _\ /_ petemack@ozemail.com.au Peter Mackay wrote: > > Phil Thé said: > >Feel like writing a quick CANCON report Pete? I do have to admit an > >additional reason for my not attending was the derth of boardgaming > >available; unless you're an avid ASL'er there's not much happening. > >Whatever happened to Nappy's Military Boardgame Tourney? > > I'm sure they had one, but it must have been tucked away somewhere out of > sight. They were out in the dogboxes (aka :"transient buildings"). Definitely out of sight. About 15 ASL players, about 15 in the general baordgame comp. The latter group played a lot of Britannia and HotW. I got involved in a pick-up game of Decision Games Napoleon's Last Battles. It collapsed over night so it didn't last :-(. Then again, CANCON is rarely a good place to go and expect to find large wargames being played. There were some Europa groupies set up in the canteen. ------------------------------------------------------------ Geoffrey Phipps g.phipps@oose.com.au Object Oriented Pty. Ltd. (02) 9957-4544 x109 ------------------------------------------------------------