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| Baycon 2004 |
Baycon 2004
Our first trip to Baycon in 2004 was definitely an experience. Sharon, Sami, and Colin drove to Kennford just outside of Exeter, where we stayed in the delightful Gisson's Arms. The tournament itself was held in the Exeter Court Hotel, literally two minutes walk away. Over a hundred gamers from around the country converge to play games with like minded people. There was an impressive games library also made available by the organisers, so that anyone could join in.
The interesting twist at Baycon is that every game played is counted towards a "Victor Ludorum" tournament, the competition to find the UK National Board Games Champion. There seem to be many rumours as to how to do well these include.
- Play a good spread of games, try to avoid playing the same game more than once
- Play against as many different people as possible
- You need to win at least one long game
- Don't sleep, just play games
We had a great time at Baycon this year, and heartily recommend it to any gamers out there. See you next year - and in 2005 Sami may remember to eat as well.
New Games Played
Here's what we thought of the new games we played at the tournament. Sami, Sharon (had to be red really)Tongiaki
The main thing was that it was fun, may not have great depth, or stand up to repeated replays, but would consider buying for fun factor. Most enjoyable new game of the convention
Interesting gameplay makes this game exciting to play, although the game itself may not be that good. Enjoyable
Magna Grecia
I'd been wanting to try this, so was glad to get a game in. Was messed up having to play first on the first turn, without really having a clue what I was doing, and not knowing the tile distribution, and to be honest didn't really understand what was good or bad until at least a third of the way through the game. However I did find the last third enjoyable, and it certainly made more sense. Would like to play again before buying it, but it is one I would consider buying.
Chinatown
Did enjoy, but would probably have enjoyed more if I was more awake. Would be wary of playing with certain people, but it was fine in the crowd I was in. Bit too chaotic for me in my sleepy state. Would certainly like to try again (shame that I don't know anyone with a copy!)
Yo Ma Ki! (? name)
Very fun quick filler - definitely good while in a silly drunk mood, and the fact I was good at it helped too!
Zum Kuk Kuk
Enjoyed playing this simple filler. And you can see there is no luck in it at all *cough*
Kuhhandel
Would consider buying - another excellent filler. Nice mix of bluffing and auction, and certainly quite different.
King Lui
Another Neat Filler
Starlines
Fairly simple, light card placement game. Nice flavour, reasonable filler
Eiertanz
Still can't see why you would want to win eggs. Think rules need changing or checking. But it was very good fun to play once, and would be great for parties. It's also a great way to annoy the other tables around playing serious games.
SPIVs
Play this once and enjoy the experience. Not sure if it would be worth playing more than once though.
Wyatt Earp
Quite enjoyed this rummy-like game, but wasn't wowed by it.
Cartagena
Glad I've tried it, but it suffered from the usual Colivini problem - I generally don't enjoy his games that much. I would play again though, as it was certainly interesting.
More Backpacks and Blisters
Interesting game and idea. Not sure I'd go out of my way to play it again, but certainly wouldn't run a mile either.
I might walk a mile. Seriously wasn't that bad, but not that good either.
Ticket to Ride
This was the most disappointing of the new games I'd tried. I'd heard great things about it, and it has been compared to Transamerica, Union Pacific and Santa Fe Rails - all games which are favourites of mine, and that I would like to own so I could play more often. However, I found that it just didn't do anything for me. At the end of the game the 10 point bonus for the longest track pretty much decided the winner, with the other players all being fairly close in score. With hindsight I wish I'd possibly tried to complete a fourth ticket, as it might have at least given me something to aim for in the last quarter of the game, rather than just building random tracks for a few more points.
We are always looking for people to play board games with a little closer to home - we live near Shefford in Bedfordshire. Email Us
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