Back to one of my favourite conventions, now in a new and much
larger venue.
It was something of a forced move: the Dewars Centre in Perth
couldn't commit to being open a year in advance, so the Tabletop
Scotland crew looked at the other five Scottish venues that were at
least as large as the space they were already using, and ended up at
the Royal Highland Centre right next to Edinburgh airport largely
because that was the only one that could give them an option on
bookings for the same weekends in 2025 and 2026.
This is surprisingly tricky to reach (there's public transport to the
airport, but then it's a 15 minute walk) so I cheated and stayed in
the one hotel that's right next to it, the Holiday Inn, which has
double glazing good enough to keep the sound of the planes out.
It's eight hours on the road from High Wycombe to Edinburgh, though
the journey is made easier by stops at Tebay and the Moffat Toffee
Shop. We got in the night before and got into the mood with some
Witching
Hour ("the
candle is this game's seahorse", which will make sense if you've
played Sea Salt & Paper) and
Haggis.
The weather was like this pretty much all weekend. There is a runway
out there in the fog, really.
Food trucks!
OK, so the place is basically a cattle shed: tarmac on the ground,
minimal heating (it was cool enough for me).
For the first day of the actual show, we started with
Sea Salt &
Paper
where I managed a win from behind.
On to
Railroad Ink Challenge: Lush Green
Edition
which did a great job of inducing decision paralysis.
Two- and four-player
Illimat, yet
another on my list of "games I should play more often".
Courtisans,
which is becoming an "always bring along" game because it's both
simple to teach and enjoyable to play for one's first game.
Project L,
which would be better if it still fit in its original box rather than
the overblown kickstarter edition box but never mind.
Lemminge
to demonstrate that just because it's a game for children that doesn't
make it unworthy of being played…
To finish off the evening, Imperium:
Horizons
(Atlanteans vs Greeks)
and then Sentinels of the Multiverse: Definitive
Edition
with Matriarch on Insula Primalis, opposed by Harpy, Tempest, Wraith
and Legend. ("But isn't Harpy the Matriarch after she reforms?" "Yeah,
it's comics, man.)
Next morning, Sea Salt &
Paper
to start again, followed bu
Damask
and then Coldwater
Crown.
The bar was open.
More Imperium:
Horizons
(Minoans vs Mauryans)
With DJCT from the forums,
Earth
with quite diverse scoring.
Then on to
Gladius (really
not at its best with two, must try it again with a larger group).
and Realm of
Sand.
We picked up some passing players and I introduced them to Nokosu
Dice (which,
strangely, I won) and to end the night
Courtisans (I
think this was the one in which we managed a three-way 0-0-0 draw.)
The airport remained foggy.
Sunday started with
Tinderblox
Sunset
and some comprehensive losses by me.
Followed by Sea Salt &
Paper
and much the same.
The Imperium:
Horizons
came out a little more evenly, though. (Egyptians vs Minoans, each of
us playing a faction we hadn't tried before but the other player had.)
Back with DJCT from the forums,
Courtisans
and Sea Salt &
Paper,
then onto Imperium:
Horizons
(Japanese, Mauryans and Celts) which seemed a fitting note on which to
finish the show. (We looked around the traders and chatted a bit, then
left shortly before things closed down completely.)
The event ended up being nearly twice the size of the one last year in
Perth, but it still felt small and friendly: gaming first, like all
the most enjoyable shows.