Gen Con Day 1
The first day of any Gen Con is always a crazy whirl. I probably say this ever year, but this time around it felt like an especially slamming tidal wave of chatting, selling, and general sensory overload. And yes, my voice is already ravaged.
Trade at the Pelgrane stand has been brisk. Trail of Cthulhu has proven itself to be an evergreen title. The Esoterrorists, original pioneer of the GUMSHOE line, continues to surprise us by picking up a steady stream of new buyers. The new game for the show, Skulduggery, has been enthusiastically received as a pitch but has been lagging behind other titles when it comes time to the forking over of cash. I’m hoping that since it’s a new thing the folks nodding their heads as we describe its betray-o-rific fun will return to pick it up during their final buying frenzies.
Graham Walmsley products have also been moving steadily. He’s produced a special run in chapbook-format of his notoriously bleak, Purist style Trail of Cthulhu scenarios, usually available from Pelgrane only in PDF. Each one is uniquely spattered with a disturbing, hardened liquid. (Okay, it’s nail polish.) Also passing into many hands has been his drawing room mystery digest-format game, A Taste For Murder. You have to love the premise: halfway through the game, the players decide whose portrayal has been the most obnoxious. That player’s character is then murdered; for the second half she plays the detective who arrives on the scene to identify the killer.
Outside the Pelgrane bailiwick, I’ve been blown away by the positive response to Hamlet’s Hit Points. Signings can be scary for any author, facing the fear of a lonely sit at a desolate table. Instead I was able to inscribe a steady stream of copies and chat with their new owners. This book was by no means a sure thing, and I feel extraordinarily blessed to see it find a receptive audience.
With meetings, interviews and booth duty I’ve had no chance to trawl for the new hotness. Thankfully Gregor Hutton swung by to show me Remember Tomorrow, his new digest format near-future game. Players struggle to achieve conflicting personal goals in a Gibsonesque world of mirror shades and AK-47s.
Gregor also pressed into my hands Hell 4 Leather, Joe Prince’s contribution to the menu-sized game craze pioneered by Jared Sorensen. This glossy, handsomely graphic triple-folded sheet contains an entire game of biker gang mayhem, powered by a tarot card resolution system.
Both Remember Tomorrow and Hell 4 Leather can be located at the Design Matters booth.