Ultima Thule | 21 Nov 2019 10:59 a.m. PST |
We arrived at the VFRC around 4:30 Thursday afternoon. Traffic coming in was easy but we passed an area of stop and go leaving the Philly area so we were glad to miss rush hour. Check in for both the room and Fall In! was fast and easy. We used the scan and go for the con. Our room at the Radisson was very nice, clean, spacious and had both refrigerator and microwave. Elevators ran very fast and were so good at moving people with no wait that several people I talked to commented on them. A big thank you to the staff who performed flawlessly. A special thanks to Event Coordinator Bill White for all his help. Our game board grew another 4 foot from Historicon to a length of 16 foot with the addition of the railroad and old Spanish walled village. We were the only game in the Merion room which was located right behind registration with easy access to load and unload. It was the perfect room for such a large game that had to stay set up throughout the con. The gaming area was a bit spread out but after a day of exploring we found all the rooms where games were going on and it was never a problem. I know from talking to Bill that after the overcrowding and noise level in the gaming areas at Historicon this year, though no fault of the staff after losing some gaming areas at the last minute, was one area he wanted to correct at Fall In. That was admirably accomplished with a table layout that gave us more room around games than I have ever had before and by not scheduling a game on every table in a room at the same time. This may have given the impression that there were a lot of empty tables at any one time but did give us more room to move around in and less noise. Well done. As for our games, Have Gun Will Travel and Which Way Did They Go, they went very well. The tickets for the 2 Have Gun Will Travel games were all gone from the peg board when we checked. Six of the 8 players showed up for the first game but another player showed up halfway through and said he was one of the preregistered player and had he showed up to the table listed in the program which was wrong. Both Friday games were listed in the program on the wrong table. For the second game we asked the game master on that table to let anyone looking for our game know the correct location. We had all 8 players show up for the evening game and added a young boy who had played at Historicon so we ended up with 9. Both games ran very well and all the players were great to play with. We use a 1950's game board as an entry portal to the miniature board and as a finish to our games. Fate or luck control which outlaw you will pursue and how far you have to travel before you arrive at the town your outlaw is in and where you start back on the board to finish the game. In our last game one of the players first picked the outlaw the closet to the start. Then picked the closest to the finish as his second and last outlaw to apprehend, Yes he won the game but he will forever be remembered for his final gunfight. Well ahead in the game when asked if he would shoot deliberately, where firing and loading do not cause out of ammo or broken weapons, or blaze away, where it brings those things into play, he responded that we did not know him very well and blazed away to glory. On Saturday we tried a new scenario, Which Way Did They Go, that featured a train robbery, stagecoach holdup, bank robbery and an Indian Wagon Train attack. When we checked the tickets early Saturday morning there were still 7 of the 8 tickets left …but 6 players showed up with tickets and we got 2 walk ups which filled the game. The game started poorly for the lawmen but each of the fights slowly turned towards the good guys who were able to win all 4 fights although the 5 Joaquin's and the Sam Bass Gang were able to secure the strong boxes and get halfway to their exit points before finally being gunned down. Below is a link to some pictures we took and anything else I can find on the web. If anyone else took any pictures I could post please let me know and I will let you know where to send them. A final thank you to the awards committee for our PELA award. link |
The big e | 21 Nov 2019 11:04 a.m. PST |
We were working the Toys4Tots table and couldnt play but you could tell all the players lovedyourgame.yourtable was fantastic!!! Awesome detailsall over it!!!! |
Tom Reed | 21 Nov 2019 12:15 p.m. PST |
Wow! Beautiful terrain! What rules were you using? |
Ultima Thule | 21 Nov 2019 1:10 p.m. PST |
We used The Rules With No Name which worked very well for both scenarios. |
historygamer | 21 Nov 2019 2:15 p.m. PST |
As part of the judging team who selected your game for a PELA award, it was well earned. Good job. |
Lascaris | 21 Nov 2019 4:15 p.m. PST |
I saw your game at Historicon and thought it looked fabulous. Well done again! |
Mirosav | 21 Nov 2019 6:50 p.m. PST |
Had a great time playing this game at Historicon. |
clifblkskull | 21 Nov 2019 10:08 p.m. PST |
Wow Doug Did not know you went to FI Had fun I hope Clif |
Oberlindes Sol LIC | 22 Nov 2019 1:56 p.m. PST |
Beautiful amazing like wow. I assume that the mine has a side tunnel that leads under the saloon, like in Paint Your Wagon. |
John Michael Priest | 22 Nov 2019 6:50 p.m. PST |
It was a wonderful setup and from what I heard, being next door, a fun game with lots of interaction. Congratulations on running a terrific game. |
Ultima Thule | 23 Nov 2019 12:37 p.m. PST |
Thank you all! There has been an incredible amount of time and effort put in over a full year to get it to this point. We have had the most fun of any game we have put on with the Have Gun Will Travel scenario since there is a lot of interaction between the players and us when we play the outlaws. We will bring it to Historicon 2020 and then probably retire it for a bit. I have a huge Indian attack on the town, fort and mine planned which should be a blast! |
Virginia Tory | 25 Nov 2019 7:15 p.m. PST |
That was an awesome looking set up! |