At InvictaCon2018

Saturday. Gray autumn day, tasting like rain. 4 PM. No one in sight, in the surroundings of Gondomar multipurpose hall (near Porto, Portugal), as to match the uninviting weather. No! There’s someone. A man heading for the entrance. He seems to be seeking the same as we. We followed him. Then, we just followed the voices heard in the distance. And, suddenly, we struck gold. More accurately, we arrived at the Golden Room. A big crowded room, warm, full of cheerful people, of all ages, sitting around tables. Playing!

Over the tables, some known games. And also games looking brand new, just arrived from Spiel2018, held in Essen, Germany, waiting to be opened for the first time. A corner holding tournament games. In other area, wargame miniatures are used to recreate combats. In another one, masters lead role playing games. And there are also creators, play testing their games. We just have to walk in, look around, pick up a free chair or request a game at the welcome desk. With the certainty that someone will always be around, readily available to help trough the rules. And add to the fun.

Welcome to InvictaCon2018, the 12th Porto National Meeting of Board Games and RPGs, of its full name. Three days of games, from 9 to 11 November, organised by the Boardgamers Group of Porto, with a staff of 21 volunteers for the occasion. With around 340 games available on location and an estimate of about 1000 participants, half of whom newcomers to the event, just like me. Board games are alive and kicking!

I challenged Ricardo Biscaia, one of the organisers, to choose no more than three games, among all the games in display. The choices were: Azul, by being, once again, the most requested; a game that uses, as theme, Portuguese tiles or stained glass. Brass: Birmingham, the InvictaCon cover photo, an economic strategy game whose action takes place in England, during the industrial revolution, illustrating the type of games that the Group prefers. Teotihuacan-City of God, one of the novelties brought from Essen, because of the wide consensus achieved, and where we manage a force of workers, developing the mythical town and building the Sun Pyramid.

I took the challenge one step further, asking Ricardo to choose his game "of the moment" and also one of the "classics", a game that stood the test of time and to which he returns time and again. These are the choices: Through the Ages: the New Story of Civilizaton, with its perfect combination of strategy, tactics, luck and "fortune management”, a game that will stay on top; and Settlers of Catan.

A couple of hours well spent but that, unfortunately, were not enough to try out a few games. Next time! Thanks to Ricardo Biscaia, for his availability and all the useful information, and to David Pereira, one of our guides at the event. 

For those looking for partners or games, at the “Invicta” City, the Port Boardgamers group gathers in Centro Comercial Cristal Park, every Thursday and on the last Saturday of every month.

And, just to wrap-up, some images of games, of course! You can find information on these and many, many, many more, at https://boardgamegeek.com/.

Cerebria

Scythe

Tzolk'in

Presidium

Pathfinder, a Role Playing Game

WW II miniature wargame