Back Again

The family and I are back safe from Gen Con.  It was fun as always.  As usual, Dad was the spendthrift of the family, spending too much on books and games.  Surprisingly, two of my best game purchases I made not at the convention but at one of the two Half Price Books in Indy that we visited.  I picked up Friedrich, a game on the Seven Years War, and its companion game Maria, on the War of the Austrian Succession.  These games will be keepers in my collection.  Both games are in mint condition, and I am fascinated by the period and the game mechanics used by the game designer.  Friedrich I got for ten bucks off the Amazon price and Maria for a stunning seventy-five off the Amazon price.

Some of the games I purchase I do so intending to resell them on eBay, my bride being in charge of the monthly eBay sales we have been doing since 2002.  The star in this category this year was one of the American Heritage Command Series games put out by Milton Bradley in the early sixties.  For $16.00 I purchased a copy of Hit the Beach, a game on the island hopping campaigns in the Pacific during World War II.   These were very much games rather than historical simulations, although usually some rudimentary strategy lessons were taught.  Most veteran war gaming grognards of today started their love affair with war games as a boy with one of these mass market games.   These are fairly rare in good condition and I think it will probably do well once put up on e-bay.

My bride participated in the craft section of Gen Con, crocheting a colorful Dragon’s Egg.

My daughter, the baby of our family, had fun as a bard in True Dungeon:

Our baby will be a senior in college this year!  Where do the years go?

Our son, who will be completing law school this year, and then joining me in the law mines, kept me company at the auction when he was not browsing the immense Exhibit Hall.

Some of the auctioneers have been doing this at Gen Con for decades and the auction has a nice annual reunion feel to it, as the grognards assemble with some new recruits.

A good time was had by all.  My only complaint is that each year, although I park in the same location, the walk seems longer.  I wonder what could be causing that?  Of course the gamers also seem a bit younger each year and I am equally mystified why this would be the case!  This was the 30th GenCon for me and my bride, and it was a good anniversary.