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So, if you’re not familiar with GenCon, you need to know that it’s a gigantic four-day gaming festival.  (I attended two years ago. Days 1, 2, 3, 4)  Whatever type of gaming you’re interested in, there’s something somewhere at this convention for you.  And it’s not just gaming either.  There’s anime, there’s dancing, a whole host of “Spousal Activities” for those that might not be all about the gaming, and while the dealer’s room is open from 10am to 6pm, there’s activities happening at the convention center and surrounding hotels well into the following mornings.  Instead of breaking everything down into separate posts, I thought I’d do a quick recap of all the games I had a chance to see/play each day during the Con.

Thursday morning was an early one, as I had to get in to get my badge.  And I saw the long lines wending around the badge, customer service and event registration kiosks.  I picked up my swag bag while I waited for the dealer’s room to open and was sadly disappointed by the bag’s contents.  There was a six pack of cards for Magic: the Gathering and then some coupons and advertisments.

When I was able to get into the main hall, instead of heading straight for any specific booths, I wandered around trying to figure out where everyone was located. I’ve always found it easier to get the lay of the hall before trying to head to specific booths straight-away.  It helps later when you’re running to make another event.  Once I felt comfortable with where things were, I started to pay attention to the games I wanted to check out.  It’s nice if you can get in early (before the masses) so you can make time for games you really want to see.

The first game I sat down with was the Warhammer Invasion card game by Fantasy Flight Games.  I’m a huge fan of the Warhammer Fantasy RPG (about which there was an announcement at this GenCon) and while there’s several Warhammer board games, I thought this card game looked interesting.  And it was.  It’s a turn-based strategy card game where the players battle one against each other (either 1 on 1 or 1 against many) trying to defeat two parts of their opponents play field (Kingdom, Quest, Battlefield).  It’s reminiscent of another of their card games, the Call of Cthulhu living card game (monthly expansions) which has a similar play style.  Except you battle against opponents instead of the quests in Call of Cthulhu.  I really enjoyed the game, not just for the Warhammer Fantasy setting, but because of the simple resource requirements, and the multiplayer battle options.

Some of the big news at the Fantasy Flight booth was that of the Warhammer Fantasy RPG 3rd edition, a pretty well kept secret.  I didn’t make it to their seminar, but I was able to stop by the display they had in the booth. And I will say that it’s looking an awful lot like a board game, which most of us know is what FFG does well.  The Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition will come as a box set, retailing for $99.95, and containing everything a group of adventurers will need to play – four different rule-books, 36 custom dice, over 300 cards, counters, “character keeper” boxes, and much more.  Typically, that’s not out of the range of most RPG games, but it’s an untraditional method of sale, especially, when it means limiting the number of players (4) that can play with the set.  For more players to be included, more sets or addon sets will need to be purchased.  I’m reserving the right to judge the way the game will play until I can actually get my hands on it.  For all I know the rules will be an awesome update from previous versions.

As the day progressed, I spent some time at the Wizards of the Coast booth.  I was able to play through the demo level for the Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers Xbox Live Arcade game, that’s been out for a few weeks now.  Now, I’m not a huge M:tG fan, but I have played a few times in my life.  And I have to admit that I really like how the game plays.  You can see RenoChan’s full review of the game here.

Later, I had a chance to see a few rounds of Magic the Gathering played with the new Planechase cards.  This is a pretty interesting addition to the game that allows for play between two or more players.  Each card introduces a plane into play that effects the game for all players.  Each new deck will come with 10 new plane cards a six sided die and rules for multi-player games.  Planechase is due to release September 4th.

In the afternoon, I had a chance to sit down with Andy Collins, Bruce Cordell and Shelly Mazzanoble to talk about D&D 4E.  We chatted about the changes from 3.5 to 4.0.  I got some pretty honest responses from Bruce and Andy about making D&D easier on the GameMasters, and hopefully more accessible to new players – of any generation.   Shelly (who penned “Confessions of a Part-Time Sorceress” a novel geared to help women understand role-playing and D&D specifically) also talked about her experience with the new rule set, and being able to bring new players to the table, and experiencing GM-ing for the first time ever with the 4th edition rules.

Saturday, Wizards of the Coast announced the new 4th edition Campaign Setting: , where players can return to the D&D’s post-apocalyptic setting not seen for almost two decades.  The Dark Sun campaign is headed for players late next year.  There was also talk of a return to the Ravenloft setting, but in board game fashion – also slated for late next year.

Before heading out for my own gaming experiences at GenCon, I was able to find a demo of Livingstone, a new board game from Playroom Entertainment.  The game focuses on Dr. Livingstone in Southern Africa, where you collect resources to build tents across the plain, make sure to send tribute money back to the Queen of England, and hopefully are able to build up a better camp than your rivals on the board.  It’s a pretty quick game, although, I imagine a table of four players could slow it down a bit (versus two).  I’m a pretty big fan of city building type games like Allahambra, Settlers of Catan and Carcassone, and I think Livingstone has a similar feel with less focus on resource hoarding.  I’m definitely looking forward to getting some more time with it.