On Board Games 17, the Big Event, should be posted some time before February 1st. When it is, I'll edit this post, and then post a notice at the end of the thread, so if you are subscribed to this thread you will be notified. However I wanted to try and build up some discussion about the topic we discussed in our round table.

This episode's round table is about three different kinds of game events ChiTag, BoardGameGeek.con, and the GAMA Tradeshow. Unlike the more localized events (on the scale of the Niagara Board Gaming Weekend - see episode 1) these events have a national, or even international, draw. We talk about how each of these events also fill a different niche in game hobby ecology.

What large events do you attend in a year, and what do you get out of them that you can't get from your home play group?

What small events do you attend?

Are there any major gaming events you have not attended that you would like to attend?

If you do attend some of these large events, do you have any ideas for making them more accessible, interesting, or useful to more people?

Also, if you'd like to get any reviews or audio feedback to us for inclusion in this episode, please send it in by Saturday.
onboardgames.net at gmail.com

The episode is posted!

In this episode the guys discuss different types of gaming events. We offer a plethora of Stoplight game reviews. And friends of the podcast, Caradoc and Ben chime in as well. Warning! This episode may contain RA!

PrezCon announcement

Round Table
Event Round Table
Erik, Scott, and Donald discuss industry only shows, trade to consumer shows, and fan oriented shows.

* BGG Con
* Chitag
* GAMA

Australian Big Event segment by Caradoc

Reviews

* Smugglers review by Scott
* Zeus on the Loose review by Donald
* 1960: The Making of the President review by Erik
* Rage review by Blott
* Good Question review by Donald
* Felix, the Cat in the Sack review by Scott


Outro

* Big Thanks to Erik, Scott, Blott, and Caradoc,
* Email us at onboardgames.net@gmail.com, send us your voice via MP3s, or join us on our forums. We don't make any money on this, so we live for feedback!
* On Board Games is Covered under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

The web site should be updated this weekend.
Deadline for submissions into the next episode Sunday February 10th.

***Edit to add player.

Available on http://onboardgames.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=302566

Oh yeah, I forgot to add that to my post above - I was running late for work.

Just to follow up the episode - The Australian Games expo is more of an open gaming event too, there are a few tournements played though - Settlers, Carcassonne, and last year Diplomacy (this year it will be Blokus).

Still, for me the open gaming is by far and away the best thing about the expo. I don't really enjoy competitive play too much, it tends (for me) to take the fun out of the game and make it far more serious.

On one hand this can be a good thing - when it goes well it makes for an exciting and intelligent experience, everyone concentrates, everyone tries to play well etc. Although I also think that many times it can bring out the orst in some people - ultra-competitiveness, metagaming (something which is fine in some games, but I despise in tournements), and so forth.

What I enjoy about open gaming is the relaxed atmosphere of the game and the social experience of the event. I enjoy learning a lot of new games, rather than playing the one game again and again. I enjoy meeting a bunch of new people, or playing several games with the same bunch of people. I enjoy the freedom it offers and the lack of a timeline.

I'd be interested to hear from others about what they prefer - open gaming or tournement gaming, and why, I think it could be an interesting discussion - I know many people who certainly prefer one over the other for whatever reasons!

Cheers,

Giles.

Also - Great show Donald, Erik and Scott!! Great to hear Blott again!!

Cheers and well done!

Giles.

I'll be talking to the guys at Prezcon about this very thing.

For most games I prefer open play, but there are a few games where I enjoy competitive play. Silent Death and Diplomacy would be a couple of them. Sure I know the first round or two might be weak, but odds are the skill level will increase and I'll be finding top tier players to test my skill against in the end.

Giles, are we going to be hearing from you on the podcast again?

I'd love to contribute again Donald - would you prefer me to do some reviews or segments like the last one on the theme of the roundtable?

Thanks for asking!!

Cheers,

Giles.

We always welcome reviews, however getting listener (special correspondent?) round table related segments would probably be the most interesting to us as hosts. Heck, you could even respond to previous round tables if you liked. This goes for the rest of our listeners out there as well. Getting listener feedback is as good as getting paid, doubly so if it is an idea for improvement or something like a recorded segment that can be included on air.

I'm trying to dig up an un-aired round table, but it appears there was a period when we were not all following the same naming conventions and whatnot, so I'm having trouble getting three voice tracks all on the same discussion. When I do, I'll pre post it either here or in our episode list.

Cool - what's the coming roundtable discuss?

Cheers,

Giles.