Debbie Ohi
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
YAY, a chance to play games during the DAY!! (I am cursed with morning person genes)
Posting gaming comics, event reports & photos in my board gaming blog: http://boardgamegeek.com/blog/463
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(Preemptive apology for any missing or misspelled or inaccurate usernames and real-life names; I also try to include BGG nicknames whenever possible but don't know them all. Corrective feedback encouraged! :-))
I attended my first BGG.con with End User (Iain Bradbury), Nottingham (John Pastor) and jridpath (Jeff Ridpath -- hubby). Our pal FrozenFrog (Scott Murray) had already arrived in Texas a few days earlier for business.
Here's a pic of End User, Nottingham and Jridpath re-bonding with their cellphones after our Toronto to Dallas flight:
FrozenFrog arrived to pick us up in his rented car, sporting a spankin' new Id cap that had been personally signed by John Carmack (co-founder of Id Software).
After checking in at the hotel we had dinner at La Hacienda Ranch, where I had the best steak of my life (the Double Diamond). Yum. Afterward, Scott drove me to Walmart so I could do some shopping for some food to keep in our hotel room fridge: cold cuts, fresh rolls, vegetables, fruit, crackers and cheese. THANK YOU, SCOTT!!
Then it was back to the hotel to check out what was going on in the gaming area. Although I was travelling with friends and a husband, I was determined to play most of my games with new people -- but I was a bit nervous about how difficult this might be for someone who wouldn't know ANYONE at the convention.
My first game at the con, however, came about much more quickly than I expected. I wandered over to watch some people play Pirate Billiards (I think that's what it was called -- it was the game in the open area where you used a long-handled hammer thingy to knock balls from beneath a flexible cloth board, nudging them to the other side of the board or to capture opponents).
Incidentally, I found this area HUGELY helpful in connecting with people and games. Gamers tended to use this area for breaks between games since most of the games were short, fun and required very little instruction. And for most of us, they were the closest we got to getting exercise during the weekend...unless you count the walk to the Games Library, of course. 
Anyway, within a few minutes I saw one of the players (Thommy8 - Tom Rosen) lift up a game called Ghost Stories and ask if anyone was interested in playing. OH! MY CHANCE! Taking a deep breath, I immediately put up my hand.
I ended up having a game with Tom, Lisa (Nightmare) and Brian (StormKnight). I liked the concept of Ghost Stories and found the idea of the impending hauntings and gathering ghosts deliciously creepy. And YAY! MY FIRST GAME AT BGG.CON!!! Many thanks to Tom, Lisa and Brian.
I was sooooo tempted to stay up later but decided to crash at that point. I've never been a night person to begin with (one of the reasons I rarely game with Jeff and his Friday night gaming buddies), and I wanted to last the whole weekend.
The next morning, I grabbed some breakfast from stuff in our hotel fridge. I've always tended to wake around 6 or 7 am, no matter what time I go to bed. This didn't change much through BGG.con, though I desperately tried to sleep in. I'd always wake up hungry, which is why I decided to stock up on healthy munchables in our hotel room.
We showed up about 45 minutes before registration but there were already lines organized by grouped last name. Jeff, John and I decided to play No Thanks! (also known as Geschenkt, which means "given as a gift" in German -- thanks to my German friend Eva for clarifying this), and pulled in Carl and Steve from around us in line. I don't know their usernames, sorry.
Partway through our first game, I heard Derk Solto for the first time. I had been intrigued by all the references I'd read in the forums to Derk and Derk's voice. Some referred to him as intimidating and sort of scary. There were descriptions of his "dulcet" voice as well as not-so-subtle hints that his voice carried well. Plus I couldn't help notice that he has quite a few female fans in the forums.
Anyway, it was immediately clear to me why Derk usually didn't need a microphone for his announcements. I -love- his voice. Even when he's not doing announcements, his voice has a wonderful husky edge. I'd love to hear him sing blues or jazz. Anyway, he didn't strike me as intimidating -- more like a big teddy bear at heart, really.
And if you haven't already guessed, by the end of the convention, I had definitely joined the Derk Solto Swooning Fan Club. Hm...has anyone come up with a fan club logo yet? If not, I'll have to work on that.
Ahem, but I digress.
I didn't mind the long registration line-ups. For me, it was yet another opportunity at the convention to get to know people.
Upon registering, we each got a bag of goodies that included a card game called Fraud Squad, a Twilight Games plastic cup, and a BGG.con 2008 GeoCaching coin:
The first time I walked into one of the bigger gaming rooms, my jaw fell open (sort of like a Looney Tunes cartoon character). Holy cow. I'd never seen so many gamers in one place before. One reason I regret not bringing my DSLR is because I wasn't able to capture the scene with a wide angle lens. I saw a number of BGG.con attendees with SLRs and DSLRs wandering about, though, so I'm looking forward to seeing their photos.
One of my BGG.con highlights was just wandering around all the gaming rooms, watching people play games. From time to time I'd want to check out a game more thoroughly, and would ask the people at the table if it was ok if I sat and watched. Everyone said yes.
I loved the atmosphere at BGG.con. Everywhere you looked, people were learning games, playing games, talking about games. There were a HUGE range of games to play, from simple party games to the more complex boardgames and wargames.
After reading the advice on the forums, I had decided to play games with as many new people as I could rather than stick with the same group. As a result, I found myself becoming more and more familiar with the faces at the convention. I went from wandering around, not knowing a single person (other than those I travelled with), to being able to say hi to a growing number of gamers with whom I had gamed or shared a meal.
And it was SO GREAT to finally be able to connect faces with user ids. Like Skelebone, for instance:
And Solamar:
Jeff and I enjoyed having dinner and playing games with Solamar/Sterling and his wife Marcia during the weekend. And I got meet Mr. Winkles in person as well!
One of my goals for BGG.con was to meet Aldie and Derk in person. After meeting these two, it's easy to see why attending BGG.con was such a wonderful experience.
As far as I can tell as a newbie (you veterans are free to add your own opinion), Aldie and Derk are the heart of BGG.con, fostering the laid-back and welcoming atmosphere, the humor, the joy and playfulness.
And there are also the many other key volunteers who always seemed to be running around helping to manage parts of the convention and making sure everything was going smoothly. Is there a list online anywhere of everyone who was involved in helping make the convention possible?
I know these names were announced at the convention, but I wasn't able to write all of them down. If you volunteered in any way (or if you know of someone who was a volunteer), please do post below and I'll compile a list at the end of my report.
Anyway, I must finish unpacking and do some work, but I'll be posting more of my Newbie Con Report soon!
To be continued...
(You can see the full set of my BGG.con 2008 photos on Flickr.)
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Jim Cote
United States
Maine
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
What game is this?
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Quinn Munnerlyn
United States
Carrollton
Texas
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
I saw you several times during the con, maybe next time we'll get in a game together.
Great photos, makes me wish it was last Thursday again.
Oh and here's a pic I got of Debbie, Sterling and his wife (I think) playing Galaxy Trucker. I can't identify the fellow on the left.
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Bryan Maxwell
United States
Burtchville
Michigan
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
ekted wrote:
Khronos?
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Kevin Ellingson
United States
Sacramento
California
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Lothartvni wrote: I saw you several times during the con, maybe next time we'll get in a game together. Great photos, makes me wish it was last Thursday again. Oh and here's a pic I got of Debbie, Sterling and his wife (I think) playing Galaxy Trucker. I can't identify the fellow on the left.
That is indeed Sterling's wife on the right. I met her while waiting in the registration line on Thursday, but darn if I can remember her name.
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Dave Wilson
United States
Pleasanton
California
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Inkygirl wrote: We ... pulled in Carl and Steve from around us in line. I don't know their usernames, sorry.
Carl, the guy on the far right in the Kiss shirt, is batman
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Chapel
United States
Round Rock
Texas
Only for the love of the game...
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Hey Debbie!
I did see your sunshiny smile throughout the Con. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to stop you to say hello. It's seems I always had my face down in a game. That's the trick at the CON trying to time it to play games with everyone. But next time for sure. I'm glad you had a great first experience.
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Jon Theys
United States
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
MWChapel wrote: I'm glad you had a great first experience.
..without any embarrassing head explosions!
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Jorge Montero
United States
St Louis
Missouri
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
ekted wrote:
That's me in the yellow shirt, writing down the piraty clues to where the treasure is.
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Scott Ferrier
United States
Salem
Massachusetts
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Lothartvni wrote: I saw you several times during the con, maybe next time we'll get in a game together. Great photos, makes me wish it was last Thursday again. Oh and here's a pic I got of Debbie, Sterling and his wife (I think) playing Galaxy Trucker. I can't identify the fellow on the left.
The fellow on the left is Fsnam/Scott  they where trying to play Galaxy Trucker but only could find the Big Expansion Box in the library but it so happened I had a copy in my backpack as I was looking to get a game in so everyone was happy. Except when chunks of their ships started flying off....
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Quinn Munnerlyn
United States
Carrollton
Texas
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Thanks! And I've recently found that Sterling's wife is named Marcia. That's two mysteries solved.
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Debbie Ohi
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
YAY, a chance to play games during the DAY!! (I am cursed with morning person genes)
Posting gaming comics, event reports & photos in my board gaming blog: http://boardgamegeek.com/blog/463
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Quinn: I was going to answer your questions, but it looks like they've already been answered above. :-) And hey, thanks for posting that pic of that Galaxy Truckers game!
Dave: Thanks for Carl's username. He did tell me, but I forgot to write it down. I enjoyed hanging out with you during the convention, by the way.
MWChapel: When I mentioned to people that I was hoping to chat with you, they did warn me that you tended to spend most of your time in games. :-) No worries -- Next year we'll have to make sure we actually play a game together.
AnakinOU: Heh. Yes, I tried very hard not to let my head explode though it was a challenge!
Jorge: Thanks for identifying yourself in that photo! Looked like you guys were having fun.
Scott: 'Twas fun playing Galaxy Trucker with you! I was so amused (and happy) that you just happened to have a copy in your backpack when we needed one. 
Debbie
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A Derk appears from the mists...
United States
Portland
Oregon
BGG for the videogame world!!
BGG for the videogame world!!
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Gosh, I'm all blushy!
It was great to meet you too, Debbie. Your genuine excitement for life comes off you in waves, making the very air around you better for your presence. I look forward to your inevitable return next year, and I'm glad we got talk a bit...
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Chapel
United States
Round Rock
Texas
Only for the love of the game...
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Inkygirl wrote:
MWChapel: When I mentioned to people that I was hoping to chat with you, they did warn me that you tended to spend most of your time in games. :-) No worries -- Next year we'll have to make sure we actually play a game together.
Heh. Yeah sorry, I find the best way to socialize with me at BGG.CON is to play a game with me. Reason for the Season I guess. But I usually try to say goodbye to everyone and say hello at the same time on the last day. I didn't find you (or holmes for that matter) sunday morning!
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Sterling Babcock
United States
Colorado
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
klellingson wrote: That is indeed Sterling's wife on the right. I met her while waiting in the registration line on Thursday, but darn if I can remember her name. Marcia, with Winkles behind her.
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John Mellby
United States
Plano
Texas
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Re: My first BGG.con - Part 2 (to be cont'd)
Sterling's wife is Marcia.
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Steven Sheasby
United States
Plano
Texas
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Debbie,
I had the pleasure of sitting on the ground (and almost being stuck there!) playing No Thanks!/Geschenkt while waiting for the registration line to open.
It was nice meeting you and hope to you see you and your husband at next year's con.
Steven
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Debbie Ohi
Canada
Toronto
Ontario
YAY, a chance to play games during the DAY!! (I am cursed with morning person genes)
Posting gaming comics, event reports & photos in my board gaming blog: http://boardgamegeek.com/blog/463
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Derk: Aw, now it's my turn to be all blushy....
MWChapel: Next year, I'm going to smarten up and make sure I play a game with you so we have a chance to talk.
Steven: It was great meeting you in line! It was fun playing that game with you; hope we do more of that at next year's BGG.con.
Debbie
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Steve Duff
Canada
Ottawa
Ontario
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Inkygirl wrote:
Hey, that's my red sleeve in the top right. I'm famous!
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