reports:Gen Con SoCal began its 4th on Thursday the 16th with a return to having gaming events throughout the day, as opposed to merely open gaming while the dealers set up. While I had to miss Thursday's events due to work deadlines, those who did attend that day reported that volume was pretty substantial.
This will be the final run for this convention in Anaheim. Beginning with the Star Wars Celebration convention in May, Gen Con will be holding its Southern California events at the Los Angeles Convention Center next to Staples Center sports arena.
The event that I most regretted missing on Thursday was not on the official list. It was the 2nd Annual Brian Young Memorial "Zombies!!!" Game. This event - put on by Pyrogal, Dearcy and her husband, in honor of gaming friend Brian Young ( who died suddenly last year) - was made all the more poignant by the surprise death of Brian Young's father last month.
This year's event had many return players, as well as fresh faces. Unfortunately, there were too many people wanting to play, in fact, and five people had to be turned away once the maximum number of 12 players had been reached. Two six-player sessions were held, with the first ending at 12:30 Friday morning with the sole female player, Stephanie Nasti, victorious. The second game ran into the bitter end, with David Milar reaching the helipad at 1:58:56 am.
The prizes this year were again donated by Twilight Creations Inc., the maker of Zombies!!! They donated 2 of their 3 copies of MMMM Brains, their new game, designed by Reiner Knizia. The 10-20 minute game for 3-to-5 players centers on the players trying to pick up the most brains while trying to get their opponents to drop the ones they've collected. The production run of these games is being shipped from overseas, and should be in game stores and online at twilightcreationsinc.com in three weeks.