Well I’m back from GenCon SoCal. The show went pretty well for us so it’s likely we’ll be back next year. My flights down and back were at 8 am, which meant getting up at 5 in morning both days. Fun. This did at least get me on an early rise schedule, which meant I actually had time for breakfast each day before the exhibit hall opened. Unprecedented.

Thursday and Friday were pretty light days. I think most folks were working or in school. It could be that the four-day con is just not a good idea (at least for exhibitors) in the winter. Friday night I tried to play a miniatures game, as by this point I had already spent several nights hanging out in the bar and bullshitting with my industry friends. As soon as the exhibit hall closed I went and got a ticket for a DBA War of the Roses game that was supposed to start at 7. Perfect, I thought. Naturally enough, the frickin’ GM flaked on the whole con but didn’t tell GenCon beforehand. Hence no game for me. I did go to the auction for a while and picked up a copy of the old Avalon Hill Afrika Korps game while there.

Saturday was nice and busy. We got in some advanced copies of our Black Company book and those sold madly. That night I did at least get to play something: Jeff Tidball’s Cthulhu 500 card game. With none other than Jeff himself, as well as other industry reprobates. The game was fun and the Cthulhu puns amusing. Paul from Z-Man was in the lead for most of the game but had to leave before we finished. Hal thought we should remove his car but I argued that we should keep it in play. Sure enough, Paul’s car won. I thought that the car with no driver winning the game was appropriately Lovecraftian.

I had done a good job estimating our product needs, so breakdown at the end of the show was a breeze. The trip home seemed to take forever, but finally Shuttle Express dropped me off. Nik had gotten a Xmas tree while I was away and Kate was awaiting my return so it could be decorated. Our house is now fully tricked out and the 40 odd eggs in the fridge tell me that holiday baking is in the offing. But before there can be holiday cheer I must heed the call of my Dark Masters. Blood and Chaos call and I must once again delve into the Warhammer World. The next couple of weeks are going to be hard, but will hopefully lead to a very merry Xmas.