RogerBW's Blog

Back to one of my favourite conventions, though only for an abbreviated visit this time.

This year I planned ahead and stopped at a couple of Westmorland locations: Tebay, very busy and with a remarkably expensive sandwich (bearing in mind that's half a slice of bread top and bottom, though it was very good)…

and Cairn Lodge, which seemed altogether less crowded (possibly because it's a little way off the motorway, and bracketed by more conventional service stations).

I got in quite late, though things were still going on at the venue. I've been in Clocktower games like that…

Breakfast was extremely good, but alas could only be had at 8.15 or 9.00 (and took about half an hour to arrive in full). What I really want from a hotel for this event is a breakfast buffet that's open by about 8am, so that I can stuff myself and still reach the venue comfortably before 9am, but I don't think there are any hotels large enough to support one.

On site, and the first game of the day was Rallyman: DIRT, much appreciated.

On to a demo game of Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive Edition (Tempest, Wraith, and an improvised bot-Legacy against the Baron in Megalopolis).

Then a A Touch of Evil: The Supernatural Game, in my usual cooperative mode: this was Anne Marie and Victor Danforth against the Spectral Horseman. It almost worked… I particularly enjoyed the moment when Anne Marie pulled a "we're here to save you" event in a location that was about to be overrun by Barghests. "Yes, you'll all be fine! Got to go now. Send your children to school, if they live."

I got to introduce Lemminge to a new group of people (and, as usual, ended up letting them know how to find a second-hand copy – this is a game that really deserves still to be in print).

On to Turing Machine which I think I'm getting slightly better at teaching but there's a key point in the rules that I'm still not explaining right first time.

And some more Sentinels: this time, First Appearance Tachyon, First Appearance Captain Cosmic, Haka, and Nightmist, against the Fae Court on Mars. This time we were a lot more careful about preserving the minions that promoted token placement, and got Dagda sufficiently amused in about five rounds.

Finally for me, another game of Rallyman: Dirt, pushing hard through some terrible dice rolling.

I'd planned to play on Sunday morning and then set off home at noon, but I felt an urge for an early start given my commitment to Zatucon on Monday, so I left after a bit of chatting. Next year TTS will be in Edinburgh on a different date, so there shouldn't be a clash. This is still a lovely convention full of good people, my second favourite UK show after Airecon.

And it doesn't hurt that the roadside scenery in this part of Scotland is gorgeous.