The Wargamer

Deal or No Deal?

One of the best things about the convention dealer halls?  They put the “deal” in “dealer.”  You can buy $1 commons of the new D&D Minis figures, and most dealers will give you 6 for $5.  Or you can amble your way over to the booth selling Mage Knight boosters at $1 or $2 for a box of 5 and load up, which is what we did.  My son also stocked up on a few MechWarrior boosters, as he’s particularly fond of the “giant robots” (and yes, I had to physically remove him from the Catalyst sim-net multiple times).  I’ve also always wanted to sink a few bucks into a scoop of dice from Chessex; this year I did.  It’s not like I need more dice.  It’s just that I like dice.  So I added about 60 or so to my collection this year.

Bayonet Jr and I also discovered a perfect game for him.  Rio Grande and Decision Games team up each year on a booth, where Decision handles the retail end, and the Rio Grande guys demo their games at a dozen tables behind them.  This year, one of those games was The Kids of Carcassonne.  A perfect blend of kid-friendly graphics and Carcassonne-style tile-laying, this game gives the little guys some basic strategy to learn, and a fun story of chasing farm animals around town to interest them.  Two playings and $30 later, I walked out with what has become the new family hit in the Bayonet household.

Finally, on Thursday, we took a trip through the miniatures hallway.  After a rather sparse showing last year, the minis crowd was present in full effect this year.  An elaborate WWI trench system had a German defense facing off against a huge British offensive, and the preparatory artillery barrage was being simulated with cotton balls thrown by the participants from about 4 feet away from the table.  There were at least 6 tables I saw that had elaborate WWII battles waiting to go.  The coolest?  The giant sea slug laying siege to a fantasy fortress.  The silliest?  The heavily-armed cows of Battle Cattle.

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