The list:
Malifaux
WarMachine (Khador)
Hordes (Trolls)
Warlord by Reaper
Anima Tactics
AE-WWII
Firestorm Armada

That’s mini games anyway. At this late stage in the game, only one games remains – Hordes.

Technically there are still three card games:
Magic
WarHammer Invasion
Warlord the card game

Of the card games, I haven’t played Warlord.

Pretty Impressive. Last week I played three of the games in one day, Anima Tactics, Firestorm Armada & WarMachine. Been months since I last played WarMachine. It went well and wasn’t a drag, thanks totally in part to my opponent. I find the Warmachine experience to be totally based on the opponent.

Anima Tactics and Malifaux still rank as my favorite games. I’m still getting use to Firestorm Armada. AE-WWII is a game played on a rare occasion.

Interesting, I think most gamers pick up a game and stick with that game. They might have one game on the side but they pick a primary game and play it into the ground and then move onto something else. Sometimes they sell all of game A to get into game B.

I’m more of a game collector.  An example…..

I got a major urge for a Sci-Fi game. Headed into GenCon that is wht I was on the hunt for. Something Sci-fi. Aliens, powered armor and heavy blasters! So I picked up a few things at GenCon.

Zynvaded
Urban War – both the skirmish and large battle rules
AE-Bounty

I haven’t played any since I got back. I’ve got models for Zynvaded. AE-Bounty can use any models. And I’m waiting for the Urban war models to come in the mail.

Lately, I’ve developed a dirty little secret. I’ve been eyeballing Warhammer Fantasy. It’s large scale combat. Massive Large Scale combat. And it cost $$$ to get into! There’s a decent sized following at Knightfall Games.

I have no loot for that! So…. That’s what keeps it off my radar. That could change. (that’s what I keep telling myself – anyway)

The last thing is a new card game, PKCards. Interesting concept. Each pack you buy comes with a gold points card. This magic number gives you random number of gold points, after you sign up on the website. With these gold points you can get merchandise. Of course you need a ba-zillion points for that. But you can also get Online Decks so you can play the game online. There isn’t a large following, yet. But I’ve got enough gold points to pick up a bunch of online decks. Oh you can also wager these gold points in matches against other players. Gambling with digital currency.

We’ll see how this goes. I made a Magic Online account forever ago and I rarely play that.

 Left the house around 4:30am for the flight that left at 6:40am. Me, Andrew & Adam rode together. Gustov met us at the airport. The check-in and everything went smoothly, we found our gate, had Wendy’s for breakfast and boarded the plane. Ran into Matt somewhere along the way.

 Smooth trip to Indianapolis, of course I slept most of the plane ride. Got to the hotel and made it to free happy hour. Adam, Gustov and Andrew needed to pick up the badges from Will Call so we headed out to do that. The hotel was connected to the convention center. That made dealing with the heat and humidity a little easier. Along the way we met up with Dave from Cipher Studios (http://cipher-studios.com/). Cipher Studios is the producer of Anima Tactics and the guys I helped prep for the Con. Had some grub with Dave and group of other people, them more sleep in preparation of what was to come.

 August 5th (Thursday) – Off to the Races

 I’d planned for day one to be the shopping day. The first place to hit, the Wyrd booth. Wanted to pick up all the new Malifaux Hotness (http://wyrd-games.net/home). Me and Adam got into position at the door right across the way from Wyrd booth. When the doors opened, it was on!

 This was my first realization that traveling with a big man would be very beneficial. I told Adam which direction to head in and followed in his wake. Arrived at the booth and picked up everything I needed in one swoop. To include extra puppet decks for Aaron and Ralph. I used Adam to get me through crowds on several occasions. There were a lot of people there, but things never seemed to get to bogged down.

 Once my primary mission was complete, I began to wander. Holy Crap! The Exhibition Hall was HUGE! Vendors from all walks of life, tons of games, costumes, props. It was massive. There were major lines at the Privateer Press Booth (http://privateerpress.com/) & Fantasy Flight  Games Booth (http://fantasyflightgames.com/). I found my way into the gamers’ hall area. This is where the tables were setup for demos of games, pickup games and official tournaments. I was wandering around when I came across an artist setting alone. Me and Adam headed over to talk to him. His name was Kekai Kotaki (http://www.kekaiart.com/) He did art for Magic the Gathering cards (http://wizards.com/Company/Brands/Magic.aspx) as well as some work for Guild Wars the video game.  He agreed to do some sketches for me and Adam. So it was off to find some blank card game play mats. I had Kekai draw up a dragon on a blank white play mat. Kekai was a great guy and did a fantastic job. There was a lot more wandering about and planning to see what else I’d get into over the course of the weekend.

 Some the places I stopped by:

Crafty Games (http://www.crafty-games.com/) to See Alex (http://www.crafty-games.com/about) peddle his wears.

Mercs Minis (http://www.mercsminis.com/), wanted to see what the new game was all about and if the new rule book had been released.

 I’d developed a urge to find a new Sci-Fi game. Also looked at various miniature terrain products.

 I demo’d a very interesting game from a pretty small operation, Zynvaded by We Have Issues! Publishing (http://www.wehaveissuespub.com/ZynVaded.html) The game is all about Insects that come to Earth to conquer the human race only to find out….. They are small compared to humans, very small. I loved the demo and the game.

 So this is what I picked up on Day 1:

 August 6th (Friday) – Helping hand

 On Friday, I agreed to help Cipher Run Demos of Anima Tactics in the Fantasy Flight area. There were still massive lines, but nothing like day 1. I showed a lot of people how to play. I’m pretty sure many of them picked up the game. It was fun to interact with the various con-goers and talk to them about what games they play. When my shift was done it was off to the races. Time for some Con entertainment and more wandering.

 Checking in with the Roberts Guild Forums, I’d gotten several requests to Ninja Shop (a term used for people that pick up items at a con for other people – it’s a geek thing ) from the Privateer Press Booth. Because of the lines I’d skipped that booth before. I stopped by the booth found the items for the ninja shop and picked up a rule book for myself.

 I also took the time to have one game mat finished and got two others started. I was a race with Adam to get the coolest mat.

 I had a dragon done by Amy (http://www.alashbaugh.com/blog/)

 While checking out artists I came across off Chris Rahn (http://www.rahnart.com/). After talking with him, I found he was from Oregon, Portland metro. So of course I had to have him finish off my dragon playmat, giving him the biggest real estate to work with, the center.

 I swung back and picked up the Zynvaded game.

 Now for entertainment – First up, The Damsels of Dorkington (http://www.damselsofdorkington.com/) performing Hamlet vs. MacBeth: the Shakespearean SmackDown! This was comical! Good laughs!

 Then we made our way to the late night showing of The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1522262/) This was also funny, and not what I expected. Adam is into the horror and Cthulhu mythos. I hadn’t heard much about it before this movie.

 Wow what a day two!

 August 7th (Saturday) – More helping & Wandering

 Me, Aaron and Ralph had talked about a Sci-Fi Game Urban War. So I tracked down the rulebooks in a discount bin.

 Also hit the Costume contest. It w as painful and wholly disappointing. There were so many great costumes running around the Con, it was sad more of them weren’t in the contest. There were some funny moments. And of course Little John proposing to Maid Marian was a crowd pleaser. Some of the contestants did weird and often painful performances. Lucky for me I had Adam there to  keep occupied, using his series of patented dance moves, the sprinkler, the shopping card, the bus driver – he can’t dance – but bless his heart for trying! LOL!

 By strange circumstance I ended up in the costume parade. I told my friend Adam, we’d better not end up on youtube, guess what? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwvtSW51ZYc at the 2:10 mark.

 Had dinner with the game company crew & made it to bed early AND slept in (7am) is sleeping in for me.

 August 8th (Sunday) – The Last Day

 Time for Bargain hunting and last minute stuff. Picked up T-Shirts, stopped by the various peeps I’d met to say hello, thanks and good bye. I also picked up souvenirs for myself and Cyn.

 This is also when I realized I was coming down with a Crud!

 I spent the night in the hotel lobby, having a Capt Morgan and Coke and then playing Zombie Dice and who’s the Banana with Alex and a few of his friends. Nice leisurely way to end a jam packed weekend.

 August 9th (Monday) – Return trip

 Traveling Sick! Sucks! That’s about it.

 Final thoughts:

 I would go again and I’d say it was worth the expense (this trip was expensive). (thanks baby for letting me go!) It was a lot of fun, who you go with has a lot to do with it. I’m sure I will go again, having done it the first time. The big thing is planning! Waaay a head of time. Knowing what you want to get into and making sure you hit those things. Adam played several horror RPGs, one system hasn’t been released yet. If you skipped something because something else came up, at least you had a chance.

 There’s a lot of stuff going on. The convention is actually in the main convention hall AND most of the surrounding hotels. There’s board games, RPGs, Minis, workshops, and shows. Well planned, you can pack in all kinds of stuff. 

 I would have liked to have played in a Shadowrun game and the WH Invasion league. But those things kinda slipped by. I didn’t make it to the True Dungeon, had lunch with Matt instead.

 I also understand how the system works now. So I’d know to get signed up for events as soon as they are posted. Get my tickets a head of time and pick them up at will call.

I’m going to be helping out at the Cipher Studios and Fantasy Flight Booths. I’ll be doing demos of Anima Tactics, Friday and Saturday. Thursday, I’m getting my shop on! I’ll hit up the Malifaux booth first, new rule book, new figs, misc con swag! After the Malifaux booth….. I’ll probably check out the Privateer Press booth. There should be at least one faction book out, Skorne. I’d like to hope the Troll book is there as well. But not holding my breath. After that, no real path. Just seeing all the new hotness.

I’m particularly searching for a Sci-Fi fix. We’ll have to see what the show holds.

What have I been up to leading up to this…… NOTHING! Ok nothing on the work front. I’ve been gaming my @$$ off! I’ve managed to play every game I currently own, but WarMachine and/or Hordes. I was waiting for the release of the new Hordes Rule book, Primal MKII before even trying to get in a game. The book released by just a few days ago. Preparing for GenCon I didn’t even TRY to find a game. I’ll seek one out when I get back.

I pretty much gave up trying to make marginal strides towards my goals for start of the fall term. I figure when GenCon is behind me I have to get serious! We’ll have to see how that plays out. The true fear of fall term hasn’t set in yet, but its setting right at the edge of my mind.

I already have 60+ students spread out over my 3 classes this term. And there’s more than a month left until the term starts. Fall is always the heaviest term, but not always by a great margin. So I’ll have to be prepared for the term.

A goal of having the first 4 weeks planned out for all three classes is still realistic. (I think). I’d love to have more done, but 4 weeks is a bare minimum.

I got my schedule for fall Term, Monday night, Wednesday night & Thursday night.

I’ve done 0 Cert study – NONE since those first few days of break. Like in the past, a degree calls to me more than a cert. There’s little career value in doing the certs, other than being able to share the experience. And apparently that isn’t enough motivation. I don’t see the motivation striking me out of the blue if it hasn’t hit yet.

I’ve pretty much made up my mind to start my EdD in Community College Leadership in the summer of 2011. Even if I don’t have any specific plans to use the degree or pursue a career as Dean, Campus President, or president, the degree will be there if I need it. I’m going to join the Seattle program of Argosy University. That’s the campus Cyn transitioned too and she’s enjoying it so far.

GenCon is closing in fast, totally looking forward to that. The ultimate Geek Experience!

Course Development is moving along. I should be way further along than I am, but I’ve stopped beating myself up over it and I’m just doing it bit by bit. It’ll be done before it needs to be done. But I see a hella Term starting in Fall. I’ve already got 60+ students signed up for my classes. I’m teaching Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights.

That might be it for an update…..

So it’s back to the routine. Watching what I eat, taking my meds and working out (ok, kinda working out -= but that’s never been my strong suit )

Course development is coming along, I’m putting together the course content. I like where the course is going so far.

I need to post some gaming updates…. I’ll add it to the list.

I managed to spread my games between Anima Tactics, Malifaux and even got in a game of Firestorm Armada.

One Anima Tactics game was against Dave of Cipher Studios, the company that produces Anima Tactics. )http://cipher-studios.com/) This was my second trip to the office. My first trip was to pick up the Anima Tactics rule book when it was released.

I know Dave and the crew are very busy and I appreciate the chance to hang out with them. I’m very interested in the business side of the gaming industry, from game store operations all the way to creative process and international business involved. Dave has given me so much insight in what it takes to launch a game line and keep things flowing to my awaiting hands.

The game of Anima Tactics was good times, Church (Dave) vs. Azur Alliance (Me). I’ve been running the same 300 pt squad for some time. It’s a pretty effective squad, even in Scenario play. In the end, Dave’s dice went cold and mine remained fairly steady. I was outnumbered most of the game, but the Arbiter Orders of the Alliance helped me keep it together. (Yes, I know – I slipped into game speak).

It was fun. I’ve volunteered to head back to Cipher closer to GenCon to help them pack up. I’ll be helping them man the booth and run events at GenCon. I’ve been a free agent for Cipher since the early days of the game. A free agent is a volunteer program, we runs local events and promotes the game. We get free ish in response. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to do much official Free Agent work. It took a long time for the rule book to come out and that kinda damaged the AT community. Gamers are fickle that way.

I may work to revitalize the game, but it’d be hard. Right now the new hotness is Malifaux. I may have to just build up the small crew of players and just play when and where I can.

Good thing I got gaming in, cause I shifted to pop-pop mode. My Granddaughters are here for a visit, 12 and 7 ( 3 quarters – can’t forget the 3 quarters). It’s be fun. BBQs, Aquarium. Tonight is the drive though. We’ve got a few more things planned before we take them home on Friday.

And I’ve been working on my course development. I’ve almost got the lab environment configured and documented. Next up, will be starting to put together actual content.

I haven’t done any Cert Study, but have been taking my BP and sneaking in some exercise.

Basically, I started back to IT cert study and course development.

What have I been doing? Gaming overload.
I managed to get in games of Firestorm Armada, Anima Tactics and Malifaux.

Today is boardgames and Sunday will be playtesting.

So lets start with gaming. I put together a list of the games I own and looking to play over the first week of break. 

Current Game list

• Malifaux – Resurrectionist & Outcasts (Vics)
• AE-WWII – Germans & Russians
• Anima Tactics – Azur Alliance, Samael & Empire
• WarMachine – Khador
• Hordes – Trolls
• Firestorm Armada – Soyrlians & Terran
• Warlord Miniatures- Reptus & DarkSpawn
•  Card Games:
• Warhammer Invasion LCG- All Factions
• Warlord Card Game – Several decks
• Magic

Oh yeah I’ve got this too:

• Confrontation (plastics/pre-painted) – Wolfen & Griffin

 I haven’t stopped reading, Still working on two different books at the moment, ShadowRun 4th edition rule book – cover to cover

and Forces of Warmachine – Cryx

 Blood Pressure (BP)

 My BP got pretty high towards the end of May. So I went to the Dr. and got some meds. I also made a dramatic shift in my diet. I realized I HAD to make a change to my diet. Being lazy wasn’t a good enough excuse to continue to do damage to my system. I just started eating salads and increased my veggie intake. Hasn’t killed me yet!

 I’m also working out. Not doing the full P90X experience as outlined. But I’m using the DVDs to make sure I’m physically active. I believe it’s helped bring my BP down.

 I can’t say I’m totally into this change in lifestyle. But its what I have to do.