Gencon Snapshots 2015

Gen Con – the Best Four Days of Not Even Coming Close to Seeing All the Friends You’d Have Liked to Have Seen – is over. At least for 2015.

For me, it was whirlwind of meetings and signings and demos, with only one game actually played: Will Hindmarch’s wonderful “Who The #@%! Is My D&D Character?!“

I’d feel pretty bad that I don’t get time to play games at GenCon if I wasn’t too busy feeling lucky as hell that I get to make a living making games.

Demo’ing DOUBLE FEATURE was a hoot. The second printing should be hitting stores soon, the first supplement (EVERYONE’S A CRITIC) is in production, and a slew of foreign translations appear to be in the works. A few demos of CASH ‘n GUNS and its new supplement, MORE CASH ‘n MORE GUNS, was also a blast. No pun intended. Possibly.

I had a crazy number* of new releases for Gen Con this year, including but not limited to:

Double Feature
Munchkin Oz
Smash Up Munchkin
Munchkin Gloom
Munchkin Hipster
More Cash ‘n More Guns
Unspeakable Words Deluxe Edition (delayed, as it turns out)
Kobolds Ate My Baby: More Things to Kill and Eat (delayed)

Things I somehow did not manage to bring home from GenCon:

Things I somehow did manage to bring home from GenCon, against all odds:

More Cash ‘n More Guns
The Grizzled (poignantly illustrated by the late Tignous – one of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attack)
Code Names (possibly the single hottest games at the show)
City of Zombies (for Daughter, Age 6).

Anyway, I’m exhausted, and have been so for most of the month of July. I’ve got comic strips and games to catch up on, so instead of a blow-by-blow breakdown of Gen Con 2015, here’s some snapshots of my take on the Best Four Days in Gaming:

The Diana Jones Award party. I brought cheese curds from Wisconsin that were just hours old. (Lindsay Peters inspired me to supply the party with Curds that Did Not Suck),

CLIUZ0kW8AA-axo.jpg-large — John Nephew and Greg Stolze. I believe that’s Nicole Lindroos feeding me the curd. This may have to become an annual tradition.

Will Hindmarch’s “Who The #@%! Is My D&D Character?!” panel was inspired, and needs to be a regular thing.

The partners in crime: Angela Webber, Lauren Roy, Jim Zub, Will Hindmarch, and Sam Sykes.

11826033_10205265961990357_8498578866287688131_n — DOUBLE FEATURE from Renegade Games is out! I am so very proud of this game!

CLQGGCyWgAEkDb7 — Demoing DOUBLE FEATURE! Many, many games were sold! A few folks even got to playlets the first expansion, EVERYONE’S A CRITIC!

MUNCHKIN OZ looks gorgeous. The Steve Jackson Games team always brings out the best in my silly scribblings.

I tried to look gloomy for Munchkin Gloom.

I can’t even begin it describe how nifty Smash Up Munchkin looks!

Randy Milholland agreed to take over Dork Tower from me…expect a dark turn in the storyline.

Last year I drew a Munchkin proposal card for a gentleman... — Last year I drew a Munchkin proposal card for a gentleman…

...he stopped by this year to let me know that it worked! — …he stopped by this year to let me know that it worked!

Autographed a "Your Dice DO Hate You" T-shirt for this reader's daughter - it was banned from her school because of the word "kill." — Autographed a “Your Dice DO Hate You” T-shirt for this reader’s daughter – it was banned from her school because of the word “kill.”

CLSKU-GXAAAK94S — Lots and lots of cards signed. This was my con postcard for 2015: free to anyone who stopped by. I’ll try and do a new one every year.

CLRiN86UcAA14eD — Many, many, many bits of paper were signed and scribbled on. They often are.

CLRwt0jUYAAvFzw — Teaching my pal and fellow Geek Dad Jonathan Liu CASH ‘n GUNS. This game is such ridiculous fun.

CLdPNLnVAAE3Hrw — NO MERCY, Business Manager Alex!

CLRkw2nXAAAQdlZ — My Gen Con 2015, in a nutshell…

Homeward bound. Exhausted cartoonist is exhausted!

– John

* See my “Pulling back a bit on work” blog here.