Fan Expo 2010...the "kind" version

Okay...originally this post started out as a long, angry, descriptive rant about how the Fan Expo this past weekend was a complete shit-show (to use a term I learned from my sister). It's not that I've had a change of heart, but writing it all down was therapeutic enough (and my friends have gotten a earful of my many, many complaints). Even though things ended up working out okay for me and Myles, I know there were hundreds of people who were not as lucky or crafty as us - we had to SNEAK BACK IN to the con, even though we had deluxe passes!!!! I think my anger was also fueled by what seemed like complete indifference from Hobbystar. Finally, they have issued an apology and are promising better things for next year. We'll see about that...

Anyway, like I said, we were actually pretty lucky, and I was able to see the one panel for which I had to buy the deluxe pass: the Felicia Day Q&A!! We snuck our way back into the con and made it to the Q&A JUST as they were about to start, so we didn't miss anything. PHEW!!! As a special surprise, Felicia Day was accompanied by Amy Okuda (aka Tinkerballa). Some kind person - who was wise enough NOT to leave the con to get some lunch - posted this video of the Q&A. Felicia Day is so cute! And Amy was surprisingly charming, too...I'm sure she's highly misunderstood and misjudged since she plays such a bitch on The Guild.



We did go back to the con on Sunday, since Laura Klein had both of our sketchbooks (she drew me a Mysterio in her new, short & chubby style, and a Booster Gold for Myles).

Sunday wasn't too bad because we were able to show up late, waltz right in, and get some awesome free sketches at the DC Comics booth. I asked Brian Azzarello if he could doodle in my sketchbook, which was a bit intimidating because he doesn't ever look very happy to be there...but, he drew up a Batman that looks how I imagine Azzarello feels.

We were actually at the DC Comics booth because we were browsing at Yanick Paquette's table and he asked us if it was crowded because he needed to figure out how much time it would take him to get to DC for his signing time. We asked if he'd be sketching and he said he would do quick, free, head sketches. So, we booked it to DC and waited for him to show up. Now, if either Myles or I had our way, Paquette would have drawn up some Ultimate X-Men for us, but since there were DC guys watching over his shoulder, he had to draw us DC characters. I decided to go with Harley Quinn. Yanick is super cool and fun to talk to and, though I will miss his Marvel stuff, I think I'll keep an eye on his DC work...he says he is only exclusive to Grant Morrison , and right now he's going to build a relationship with DC. Who am I to argue??


There were two more super cool dudes at the DC signing booth when we were there: Chris Sprouse and Jeff Lemire!! I have to send a HUGE thank you to Jason for letting me hop in line for a Sprouse sketch. I forgot that Sprouse is a bit of a perfectionist and takes his time with sketches, so I probably shouldn't have asked him so many questions! But, he's a really interesting person and was telling stories about his earliest childhood memories of living in India. Very cool, indeed. I kept a mini-theme going with Batman villains, and asked for a Penguin. Jeff Lemire is also lots of fun to talk to, and I ended up asking about his process...I'm not sure why, though - it's not like I aspire to work in the comic book industry some day. But, he's the nicest guy and I was curious to know how different it is to write a mainstream comic, than it is to write/draw his own original work (according to Jeff, it's a lot harder writing the mainstream comic). Since he's writing Superboy, I asked for his version of him...I don't know about you, but I would love to see his take on a mainstream title!


Another plus side of going on Sunday? Jarett Cale aka Jeremy aka "teh_pwnerer", from Pure Pwnage! He was nice enough to doodle in my sketchbook, even though he suspected that I only wanted to see how badly he sucked at drawing. It's just a guy standing there!! Myles kindly took my photo with Jarett and I'm only just realizing that I never offered to return the favour...oh, well. He was surprised that I even wanted to meet Jarett, so I think that meant he didn't want a photo with him? *fingers crossed*

The only other sketch that I got was by a guy I met in artist alley, but I have no idea what his name is! [NOTE: Hooray for anonymous comments! His name is Ryan van der Draaij, and you can find his stuff here.] He had a huge display of these fantastic sketch cards with all kinds of superheroes, and villains, and Star Wars characters. His sign said that he also took requests so, of course, I asked for a Mysterio! The crazy thing was, he only charges three dollars!! I think it's worth more, so I gave him a bit extra. I really like his style and feel bad that I never took note of his name. I did say that I would see him next year, though...not that I've committed to going after this year's fiasco.

Like I said before, we'll see about that...

Ima get my coffee AND my game on!!!

Okay, my friend just sent me a link to this place which will be opening soon in the annex (Bloor and Bathurst). I noticed the sign for Snakes and Lattes when I was in the area for the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, but I didn't see the bit about it being a BOARD GAME CAFE!!!! The web site needs a bit of work - I guess right now they are sticking with Facebook as their preferred method of marketing to the masses - but, they've piqued my curiosity so I'm sure we will check it out some time. If you look through some of the renovation photos, you can see stacks and stacks of board games! Hmm...I hope they won't mind if I just go ahead and post it here...who doesn't love free publicity??!?! I also came across a craigslist posting looking for people who know modern board games whose job it would be to serve customers AND advise them on game rules. Oh, if only I didn't have to worry about paying those bills and that pesky rent every month, I think my resume would be a pretty good match - all those years helping out at my parents' donut shop would FINALLY pay off! Also, I'm pretty much the designated rules-reader when my friends and I try out new games. Perhaps I could work there part-time?

On a slightly related note, this weekend, the Fan Expo will host the Great Canadian Board Game Blitz!!! Since I am a very casual player, I will not be participating in this event, but I think it will be pretty fun to spectate, once in a while (when I'm NOT waiting in line to meet Felicia Day, or trying to win sketch duel art...c'moooooooonnnnn, McNiven *fingers crossed*). Sounds like a pretty grueling competition and one will surely have to be well-versed in a variety of board games in order to do well. Maybe I will even be able to pick up some new gaming strategies? My Dominion strats could use a lot of work...

Intergalactic Teamsters!

This past weekend, I met up with some friends to play a few games. My boyfriend had never tried Galaxy Trucker, and I had only played it one other time, so we gave it a whirl. Result: jolly good times!

Galaxy Trucker is unlike any other board game I've played...maybe it has something to do with it being Czech? Well, I'm fairly certain it's the only Czech game I've played. Although, I did come THIS close (*pinches index finger and thumb really close together*) to playing Dungeon Lords by the same designer, but the instructions alone would have taken a few hours to read and decipher, so we went with something slightly less complex. I hear it's a great game, and I'm sure I'll try it out someday.

Anyway, all the reviews I've read about Galaxy Trucker give high praise to the instructions (??), mostly because they are pretty frickin' funny. If you're the type of player who likes to know the 'background' story, then by all means, give the instructions a thorough read - you'll have a pretty good laugh. For me and my friends, we just want to dive right in, and only refer to the instructions to refresh our memory. The story, as I see it, is that we are basically intergalactic teamsters! We have to build our ships with all the right bits and bobs, and try to deliver it as undamaged as possible to some insignificant destination where the surviving ship pieces will be recycled and reused. How very responsible and green!! Or, maybe just cheap. Along the way, you can pick up and sell space crap to make a little money on the side, which is how you win the game - COLD HARD CASH!!!! Strange, then, that the currency is measured in cents...pennies, even! It's a little deflating to win a round and collect all of 12 cents. Whatever...it is what it is, and if I can win a game with only 29 cents, then so be it.

Building the ship is pretty fun, and a little stressful. You have to keep a lot of different things in mind: Does everything connect properly? Do I have enough pods for my astronauts and aliens? Are there enough thrusters and blasters and do my shields protect me from all sides? And, most importantly, do I have enough batteries to power all of these things? When you're fighting for pieces, you inevitably forget or sacrifice one ore more elements of ship-building. Oh, well. Maybe you'll get lucky and your ship will survive the "events" you have to endure en route to your destination.

I, personally, like the part where you load up your ship with all the awesome little pieces! They are so cute!!! We call the batteries Advil - they look just like Liqui-Gels!

Lookit how cute they are!!!

The game lasts three rounds and the ships get bigger and bigger each subsequent round, which means they are more susceptible to getting all busted up! Halfway through the third round of the game we played, two ships lost all their astronauts, which meant that there was no one left to fly the ship, so the round ended for those players. We decided to play out the rest of the events with the the last two ships just to see how beat up they got by the end of it.

It's pretty fun to see if you can avoid the meteors, or survive pirate attacks. But, it's a little stressful when you lose a big chunk of your ship, especially when it's a piece that holds precious cargo, or batteries, or astronauts. It's all in good fun, though. In fact, it's not even a game that I'm concerned about winning. It's entertaining just to see how well everyone does! I'm not even sure how to strategize in order to win (i.e. make the most money)...but I won, anyway. And I don't even care!!!

But, I won. Just so's you know...

Low octane gaming

I like games. This much is true. The problem is, I'm not very good at them. So I'm starting this blog to provide a non-gamer's perspective on gaming. You're not going to find strategy guides, walkthroughs, or cheats here. Just one lame chick's opinions on the lame games she plays.

Currently, I am horribly addicted to hidden object games (HOGs) which I mostly play at home on my PC, but I've put a few on my laptop, just in case I need a fix on-the-go. To date, the best ones I've played (and there are many) are Puppet Show: Mystery of Joyville, and its sequel, Puppet Show: Souls of the Innocent. What makes one HOG better than another? Lots of things! But, for me, it's all about the mini-games and puzzles. Let's face it, finding hidden objects is pretty much the same across the board, but a really good HOG will have challenging puzzles and mini-games, decent graphics and, if you're lucky, a remotely interesting story. Puppet Show has 'em all!

So creeeppyyy...but very pretty.

The hidden object pictures are very pretty, and just challenging enough without being too frustrating.

There are many mini-games that you need to complete in order to advance the story. If you hate these kinds of puzzles, no worries - if you wait a few minutes, you can skip it and get back to finding hidden objects.

The best thing about HOGs? No physical skill required! If you can click a mouse, you can play a HOG. If you're anything like me, though, you will click and click and click....and click.