JeffCon Saturday, More Than A Fortnight Later - Train-ing
Saturday is, of course, the big day. I started out at about 9AM, rousting myself for the new tradition: breakfast at Walker's. Myra sleepily mumbled something about going and enjoying myself (or at least 'go something yourself' when I tried to wake her at 9AM on a weekend). Rian had expressed some interest - but upon being informed that it would involve getting dressed and going out, he changed his mind (or rather, he shrugged - Rian had just finished something like 30+ hours of being up and around). So Walker and I rode out to meet the madding crowd of Dennis, Brian, and whomever else might show up.
That turned out to be (at the start) nobody. Met Brian and Dennis there, and we snagged a table pretty much immediately. I still think Walker's has some of the best interior decoration around, with the warmly varnished wood and the stained glass. We all sat down and I once again made my appeal for sanity as it regards the 49ers. (To wit, why mess around on Mount Olympus and order the chicken when the ambrosia is waiting for you.) Lots of coffee, buttery syrup, and some of the best conversation around a breakfast table. Midway through the meal, Mike Selk joined us, and ordered the waffles despite my protestations. Some people. Anyway, we passed the time in the fine company of friends, and returned back to the apartment around 11.
I knew that the game of Iron Dragon that Dennis had requested should be started immediately. But Noel'n'Rich'n'Kat had not yet arrived - so there was a brief interval. I took the opportunity to start the second batch of spaghetti sauce - with the first batch already finished and easily loaded into the crockpot. I believe that (until I will later stand corrected) Barry, Rich, Noel and Kat more or less arrived in a bundle. And so the Iron Dragon table was formed: Dennis, Brian, Rich, Noel, Kat and Brian Walker. (I want to once more thank everyone at that table for introducing Mr. Walker to choo-choos-and-crayons, which makes it possible to bring it down to St. Louis to play.) Barry, Mike and I were separate, and I began cooking in earnest. After some good games of Carcassonne, Mark and Ananda arrived to join us. The Carcassonne game expanded to four, and I maintained the happy labor of flitting between tables and moving the sauce towards completion. It's very much a Saber Dance feeling, kind of like a magic show. (It's not particularly stunning magic, but it makes me happy.)
I would like as many players in the Iron Dragon game as possible (with the note that Dennis isn't in town right now) to post full reviews of the Iron Dragon game. It was (as many multi-hour multi-player games are) a game of some frustration and many highlights (including the BIZARRE fixation on Eaglehawk - I'll find the picture I took and post it as a comment). It was (as many multi-hour multi-player games are) a game with some extreme cases of downtime. In fact, the downtime was SO extreme in some cases that players not only got in games of Peggle, but (after dinner) we went shopping.
But that skips the dinner - or otherwise known, spaghetti arrabbiata. I gave each of the four batches I had pre-made an extra hit of red pepper. But I goosed up one of the batches with a few more pinches of red pepper and some cumin, and then the last batch got the pepper, the cumin and then some ground habanero pepper. I stowed this last batch when I realized I'd only need three batches to feed everyone - and the common review was that even my regular batch was pretty darn spicy. And while many people reported enjoying the sauce as usual (including Barry's thumbs-up to the spice and encouragement to let the spice mature over a day or two before serving, and Dennis' note that this was perhaps the only spaghetti sauce he had enjoyed in recent memory), I will probably tone it back down a little for JeffCon 2009. And the whole thing was a little late, as I carbonized some of the sauce from the first batch and spent an extra HOUR cleaning the pot. (And now the pot is more or less ruined - next batch is still covering the bottom of the pot.) But serving my spaghetti dinner is always my own highlight of JeffCon - it's when the whole thing comes together, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, the games are fun. Yep, I totally enjoy showing off my toys. But it's the dinner. It really is.
After dinner, the ID game continued, and Noel realized that she could combine a breath of fresh air with a trip to Games Plus to pick up the expansion for Pillars of the Earth. I myself welcomed it after cooking for several hours, and Barry was happy to join us. He recommended an unusual alternate route to GP - but I think it's a route more for approaches from other directions. (It involves passing up 83 and going out to Mount Prospect Road.) We arrived to find GP locked, but a clear amount of gaming in the back. We took the initiative and called the store (which involved both satellites and a distance of ten to fifteen yards), and they let us in. Noel picked up the game (using Dennis' gift certificate, I believe), and we turned around and returned home. Noel had instructed Mark (who graciously covered Noel's slot) with directions that covered two turns, with limited authorization to improvise after that. Upon Noel's return, Mark informed her that it was almost (but not quite) her second turn. The game extended on for what I believe was over ten hours (or approximately one hour and forty minutes per player). Other people came and went, many a cigarette was smoked out on the balcony, and quite a few people played Peggle. (I was just happy to get off my feet. :D ) Mr. Selk left early to return to his house for his own Saturday night get-together, and the chairs and table I had requested were idle - I think I'll do better to set the table up beforehand next time, as an encouragement.
And again, please correct me on any detail I screwed up, and supply any detail I omitted. Any memory you have of Jeffcon, please put it here to share and I'll add it. I forget a lot - especially this late. *sigh*
Next entry coming...well, at least after people respond to this one. :)
That turned out to be (at the start) nobody. Met Brian and Dennis there, and we snagged a table pretty much immediately. I still think Walker's has some of the best interior decoration around, with the warmly varnished wood and the stained glass. We all sat down and I once again made my appeal for sanity as it regards the 49ers. (To wit, why mess around on Mount Olympus and order the chicken when the ambrosia is waiting for you.) Lots of coffee, buttery syrup, and some of the best conversation around a breakfast table. Midway through the meal, Mike Selk joined us, and ordered the waffles despite my protestations. Some people. Anyway, we passed the time in the fine company of friends, and returned back to the apartment around 11.
I knew that the game of Iron Dragon that Dennis had requested should be started immediately. But Noel'n'Rich'n'Kat had not yet arrived - so there was a brief interval. I took the opportunity to start the second batch of spaghetti sauce - with the first batch already finished and easily loaded into the crockpot. I believe that (until I will later stand corrected) Barry, Rich, Noel and Kat more or less arrived in a bundle. And so the Iron Dragon table was formed: Dennis, Brian, Rich, Noel, Kat and Brian Walker. (I want to once more thank everyone at that table for introducing Mr. Walker to choo-choos-and-crayons, which makes it possible to bring it down to St. Louis to play.) Barry, Mike and I were separate, and I began cooking in earnest. After some good games of Carcassonne, Mark and Ananda arrived to join us. The Carcassonne game expanded to four, and I maintained the happy labor of flitting between tables and moving the sauce towards completion. It's very much a Saber Dance feeling, kind of like a magic show. (It's not particularly stunning magic, but it makes me happy.)
I would like as many players in the Iron Dragon game as possible (with the note that Dennis isn't in town right now) to post full reviews of the Iron Dragon game. It was (as many multi-hour multi-player games are) a game of some frustration and many highlights (including the BIZARRE fixation on Eaglehawk - I'll find the picture I took and post it as a comment). It was (as many multi-hour multi-player games are) a game with some extreme cases of downtime. In fact, the downtime was SO extreme in some cases that players not only got in games of Peggle, but (after dinner) we went shopping.
But that skips the dinner - or otherwise known, spaghetti arrabbiata. I gave each of the four batches I had pre-made an extra hit of red pepper. But I goosed up one of the batches with a few more pinches of red pepper and some cumin, and then the last batch got the pepper, the cumin and then some ground habanero pepper. I stowed this last batch when I realized I'd only need three batches to feed everyone - and the common review was that even my regular batch was pretty darn spicy. And while many people reported enjoying the sauce as usual (including Barry's thumbs-up to the spice and encouragement to let the spice mature over a day or two before serving, and Dennis' note that this was perhaps the only spaghetti sauce he had enjoyed in recent memory), I will probably tone it back down a little for JeffCon 2009. And the whole thing was a little late, as I carbonized some of the sauce from the first batch and spent an extra HOUR cleaning the pot. (And now the pot is more or less ruined - next batch is still covering the bottom of the pot.) But serving my spaghetti dinner is always my own highlight of JeffCon - it's when the whole thing comes together, as far as I'm concerned. Yeah, the games are fun. Yep, I totally enjoy showing off my toys. But it's the dinner. It really is.
After dinner, the ID game continued, and Noel realized that she could combine a breath of fresh air with a trip to Games Plus to pick up the expansion for Pillars of the Earth. I myself welcomed it after cooking for several hours, and Barry was happy to join us. He recommended an unusual alternate route to GP - but I think it's a route more for approaches from other directions. (It involves passing up 83 and going out to Mount Prospect Road.) We arrived to find GP locked, but a clear amount of gaming in the back. We took the initiative and called the store (which involved both satellites and a distance of ten to fifteen yards), and they let us in. Noel picked up the game (using Dennis' gift certificate, I believe), and we turned around and returned home. Noel had instructed Mark (who graciously covered Noel's slot) with directions that covered two turns, with limited authorization to improvise after that. Upon Noel's return, Mark informed her that it was almost (but not quite) her second turn. The game extended on for what I believe was over ten hours (or approximately one hour and forty minutes per player). Other people came and went, many a cigarette was smoked out on the balcony, and quite a few people played Peggle. (I was just happy to get off my feet. :D ) Mr. Selk left early to return to his house for his own Saturday night get-together, and the chairs and table I had requested were idle - I think I'll do better to set the table up beforehand next time, as an encouragement.
And again, please correct me on any detail I screwed up, and supply any detail I omitted. Any memory you have of Jeffcon, please put it here to share and I'll add it. I forget a lot - especially this late. *sigh*
Next entry coming...well, at least after people respond to this one. :)