Welcome to the Grid!

Enter the Grid! Well, this is neither Tron nor Matrix, even being somewhat related to an inside-the-machine kind of world. This is about an event, in our world, one where we are already heavily connected by machines, extending our reach, overcoming barriers, redesigning frontiers.

“Welcome to the Grid!”. These could have been Paul Grogan’s words to the attendees of Virtual Gridcon, his very own boardgame convention, held from 26 to 28 June. This year's edition had to go online, from Devon to the world, due to this virus that is haunting us all.

Before entering my convention account, let me just mention a side event of great significance. Paul promoted a charity raffle to support the Chrysalis Youth Empowerment Network, a UK based charitable organisation operating in Uganda, contributing to the development of young social entrepreneurs from remote rural and disadvantaged slum districts, now facing an even greater challenge (learn more about the Butterfly Project at https://cyen.org.uk/). Over 100 games were donated, by designers and publishers, and more than 500 supporters joined the cause, raising 10.000£ in the process! And, as a plus, there was a live stream, connecting Devon to Uganda, for a tutorial and playthrough of Under the Falling Skies with two of the teenagers in the Chrysalis Project. Have a look! 

Now back to my Gridcon.

To be fair, I did not very well what to expect. You see, I am not a big fan of playing boardgames online, be it using one of the many platforms now readily available, such as TableTopSimulator, Tabletopia or BoardGameArena, or even relying only on Skype or Facebook. It is true that voice over applications, cameras, and chat rooms, enable you to get closer to people, but it just is not the same. The full view of a board on the table and the display of cards and tokens, is replaced by a small screen (yes, I might need a bigger one!); the touch and the actions are replaced by mouse pointers and a number of controls; and there is no one sitting next to you! On the other hand, it is the only way to play with people from across the world. And, of course, I would not be writing these lines, would it have been just another regular physical convention!

For this first online convention, I mostly chose games yet to be, in quite different stages of development.

Numbers Station, photo by Robert (Twitter)

I started on Friday late afternoon, joining Robert, the designer of Numbers Station, for a tutorial and two player game. Rooted on Intelligence and Espionage affairs, the game derives its name from shortwave radio stations broadcasting numbers, only of meaning to knowledgeable ears on the other end. In Numbers Station we are on the intel business. Managing assets, electoral meddling, jamming signals, deploying spies. Sounds familiar? Looking forward seeing the latest developments of this one!

Void Zone, photo by Robert Elliott (BoardGameGeek)

Saturday was the main day: four games and a half on the menu, to fit from 10 am to around 8 pm!

First, a 3-way game of Void Zone, an abstract game of territorial combat and player elimination, designed by another Robert, Elliott. I do love abstract strategy games, there is always such a familiar feeling! In this one, the available area is constantly shrinking, in combination with a need for accurate energy management and movement selection, pushing for fast and decisive action. Void Zone rose to the occasion.

Coal Baron, photo by Dong Hyuk Song (BoardGameGeek)

From outer space back to earth, to the deep coal mines of Germany, such is the setting of Coal Baron. This is a game from 2013, by Michael Kiesling and Wolfgang Kramer, the only non-demo game I played during the weekend. Manage well your miners, how deep you want to go down each time in the shaft, the demand for different resources and the required transportation to your clients. Paul and David proved much more efficient on this one, fighting neck and neck to the end, while I went for lower value combinations! A new and fun learning experience.

Swatch, photo by Scott James (BoardGameGeek)

After a short lunch break, it was time to swap the dark mine galleries for the vibrant scheme of colours: let us move into Swatch, from Scott James and Minerva Tabletop Games. We were 3 at the table, gathering basic colours, mixing them up, and vying to complete scheme colours before the competition. Fast to learn, fast to play, with subtleties enough, and a clean and appealing look. Seems ready to hit the market!

Intrepid, photo by Timofey Bokarev (BoardGameGeek)

Then, back to space again. Well, close ... did not make it on time to the launch pod, as I was still mixing colours... So, I was left behind, observing the others joining the International Space Station, and trying their best to survive. Intrepid, by Jeff Beck and Uproarious Games, is a game where you, as an astronaut onboard the ISS, have to cooperate with astronauts from other nations, each one with their own abilities, to keep the support systems running, generate enough resources, and avoid the destruction of the ISS by a series of impending disasters. This is a more complex game, with great potential, and dealing with one of my favourite themes: space exploration. Would love to give it a try! With over 270.000$ raised on Kickstarter, Intrepid is due in early 2021.

Eternal Palace, photo by Alley Cat Games (BoardGameGeek)

The day came to a close with a demo of Eternal Palace, into the far east, a game by Steven Aramini, to be published by Alley Cat Games, and demoed on the occasion by David Digby. Paint your way to up to the emperor, by visiting different places around the Palace, obtaining and using fish, as well as a range of materials, rebuild monuments, collect favours. Lots of different ways to score. In all, a nice couple of hours, resulting on a tight finish over the last round! 

To end the list of games, Sunday was time to meet again double D, for a demo of his own Project S. Double D, for David Digby, a welcoming partner throughout all the weekend. S for the codename of the project under development, or double S, as in Still Secret. No spoilers. Suffice to say that this is another one I am really looking into seeing it again, further down the road!

There was also an opportunity to watch the Live Q&A with the designer Dávid Turczi, providing lots lots of insights into his work and to the market of boardgames, how hard it is to rely on this for a living, some cherished projects less well known as the main Mind Clash Games titles or solo modes, and also how to correctly pronounce his name (I think!). Still regret having passed, months ago, on the opportunity to get a copy of Days of Ire, from the man himself, on a FB chat, but, hey, I had to stick to my priorities.

And I finally ordered Anachrony, by Dávid Turczi, Richard Amann and Viktor Peter, published by Mindclash Games, thanks to a special discount during Gridcon. More from time rifts, paradoxes, and anomalies, soon on this blog!

A full and enjoyable weekend, thanks to all the dedication and hard work of Paul Grogan, and a few close collaborators, and of course to the fellow adventurers and to the creators of all these worlds. 

Thx, Paul!