The closing day for G&G XVI got off to a late start due to the group photo. Now, organizing this particular assortment of lads is not precisely the same as herding cats, but it is on that spectrum for sure, and then we experimented with different ways we could Photoshop in the immense Tiamat model that had caused such a stir on Thursday. I will post that one when and if it becomes available, but am very happy with this interim picture for now.
It also nicely showcases the excellent sweatshirt design that my work pal Ashley did for me in exchange for an assortment of ciders - very much in keeping with the secondary theme of the event. Cheers, Ashley!
Earl, our Guinnester of Archival Imaging, has a new remote rig for his camera that does lots of fancy things to account for differences in lighting or focal depth as well as allowing him to trigger the shutter from his phone instead of having to rush back into place. This divine tool also allowed him to capture a nearly complete loss of composure from two participants at one point in the proceedings:
Truly, moments like this are at least as big an incentive for getting together as the games themselves, at least to me.
Conversely, frustration really set in after we wrapped up the last of the alternate shots and I went to set up the scheduled game of Aliens: Another Glorious Day In The Corps. Last year's scenario required us to go through the entire deck of Motion Tracker cards (which spawn more enemy models) and we didn't come close to finishing, so I found one with a clearer escape objective for this year.
When I went to set up the map I appeared to be short one of the boards I was needing. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when I discovered that two of the maps needed were printed on opposite sides of the same board. So infuriating, and we were already late to start! An expressive letter to the manufacturer shall be coming, rest assured.
The game itself has other flaws, to be sure, but once we found an eight-player scenario with maps that worked, we still managed to have a good time. Our squad of Colonial Marines (and Ripley) gamely made our way through sub-level 3, scrounging weapons as we went, dodging 'blips' and shooting bugs when we could see them, and got geared up enough by end of game to actually take down the Queen herself! Victory cost us Vasquez and Wierzbowski though, and we didn't even bother playing through the destruction of the eggs and escape, which would have taken a toll for certain.
We made other changes as well - some of the Hazard cards drawn present not only an additional challenge to overcome (in case fighting vicious xenomorphs and their enormous queen isn't difficult enough), but saddle the character who drew the card with a severe impediment. The various traumas sometimes endanger the entire mission, and not just for a turn but until the end of the game, and they certainly suck all the joy out of the game for that player. Too much, we thought, so we discarded them at every turn.
Our Queen Hunt ran late enough that at one point we thought we had lost our opportunity to play the final scheduled game, but a quick final turn in AGDITC (and truncated scenario) meant we had just enough time to fit in a game of Formula Dé!
I had brought along a set of '60s-styled cars that I had recently painted to change things up a little bit. The original plan had been to race these cigar or torpedo cars on two linked boards combined into one megatrack (Holland's Zandvoort), but with limited time, we elected to play Circuit Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium instead.
Unbeknownst to me, it turns out that this is a legendarily bedevilling track, renowned for wrecking cars, and our race was no exception. Earl's racer didn't even emerge from the very first corner, not 20 spaces from the starting line.
A crowded field caused a lot of bodywork checks to be made, and a roll of four or less on a d20 is a fail. With racers on either side, Earl failed his third check and his car's body simply shredded, leaving him on the side of the road.
Similar fates befell three other racers on the first lap alone. With half the field gone, Jeff made a valiant effort to take the lead but failed to end his turn in a two-stop corner, crashing his car midway through lap two.
Even though I was a ways behind the leader, I felt I had a good chance of making the podium...until Island Mike pulled up right beside me and I failed my third body damage check, eliminating my car.
And so it was that in a field where half the competitors did not even complete the first lap and saw six of the eight racers DNF, Scott handily won our final race! Thankfully he elected not to try to spray his competitors with a shaken-up bottle of San Pellegrino, F1 podium style.
[UPDATE: Yeah, turns out I did that rule wrong; a roll of 1-4 is an engine fail at top speed in 5th or 6th gear - only a 1 damages the bodywork! The next race should be considerably less lethal...]
After the trophy pictures were taken, it was nearly midnight - too late to game but too early to end the event, so I called everyone back to the table. I dealt everyone two Uno cards numbered 1-8, one face up, one face down (btw, my Star Trek Uno deck has become an indispensible part of G&G now - we use it instead of dice to resolve initiative in a lot of games where 8-10 roll-offs would take too long).
I told everyone that we were going to go around the table in turn and each person would flip their face down card and give a toast or some sort of statement of appreciation or respect to the corresponding participant.
Like many groups consisting exclusively of males, it is not necessarily the most effusive assortment of individuals imaginable. It is possible I overstepped my Guinessterial authority, but man, am I glad I did it.
As we went around the table, there were sincere expressions of gratitude and admiration for all the other G&Gentlemen. I won't share who said what, but there were thanks for the host, appreciation for those who work on massive scenery or modelling projects, for the out of towners who grant the event such significance, and a plethora of praises for a panoply of personal characteristics too proliferous to expound upon here. Furthermore, you could see a moistening of the eye here or hear a thickening of the voice there, so there was absolutely no question about the sincerity of the exchanges.
But most touching, to me at least, were the plaudits proferred upon the event itself.
We heard a story of how one of us has a friend who is a big gamer. They are pretty well-off and well-travelled, and they had asked about coming to G&G because they have nothing like it in their life. Our colleague gently explained how the event is at max capacity and membership is effectively fixed.
For whatever reason, a similar event is not something this other individual can arrange themselves, and as the person relating the story emphatically stated, "you can't buy this."
More succinctly, we also heard this testimonial: "This is the coolest thing I do - cheers." Truly, exquisite in its brevity!
In both cases, the pronoun "this" is difficult - perhaps impossible - to quantify, but I will attempt it nonetheless.
When we started this ridiculous event back in 2006, a dedicated time for playing tabletop games and drinking beer, it was a good idea, as evidenced by the people willing to come a significant distance in order to do so. By creating a cheap, iron-on t-shirt to commemorate the event, and then having someone step forward to say they would host the following year, it effectively transformed G&G into a tradition.
16 years later, the significance of Gaming & Guinness has only increased, at least to us. Now, every G&G builds upon the legacy and memories of its predecessors. The inside jokes and references proliferate and the lexicon expands to incorporate new game rules and even terminology.
And even when I talk to other people in my life about what we do and especially about how long we have done it for, they are often astonished. Even when they don't say it, you can see it in their eyes, the tilt of their heads.
But what is so surprising about dedicating your most valuable resource - time - to the enjoyment of your friends and a shared interest? I know my friends are worth it, and I bet yours are too.
I say this a lot, but if anyone is looking to organize their own version of Gaming & Guinness, whether it is Cider & Scrapbooking, or Needlepoint & Negronis or Philately & Palomas or even Tennis & Tang for the teetotallers, please let me know if I can be of any help. The sooner you start, the sooner you can begin building to that critical mass we passed without me even being aware of it some years ago, wherein a one-off throwaway event becomes an indispensible part of your year and lifestyle.
And to my nerdy brethren: G&Gentlemen, I thank you for what felt like the best G&G ever (and please note: we have never had a bad one!) - here's to the next one, and all the ones that follow!
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