2006-11-13: JiffyCon November
by Emily
We had JiffyCon November this weekend. I've posted some photos at the Fairgame Photo Gallery. Judd and Jeff came out from NY. Benn came back again from NH. Tom, Nathan, Dev, Jonathan and Eben represented for the Boston StoryGamer-type crowd, while Shreyas trained it up all the way from NJ (via Boston no less). We had a good local turn out too: great to have you back Kat and Evan, and welcome Rachel & Steve. Julia came into her own playtesting her slavery game. (yes!)
Nathan got to run carry in honor Veterans day, many mechs were blown up (by Judd!) in Mechaton, and a creepy supernatural cult got it's ass handed to it by a 65-year old knitting grannie played by Kat in the game of Inspectres that Evan ran. My group for Best Friends decided to have their characters be a group of freshman congresswoman—which rocked my world as a gm.
We gamed, ate, and gamed some more. It was nice to get to have a long chat with you over dinner, Shreyas. And Jeff, I'm glad that it was us that got to introduce you to EPYC. Meg made the comment in the evening that it is great to have met all these folks that we know on line, and to have them be a) such cool folks that b) we have a lot to talk about with. Many times meeting in person can kill off your hopes of either a) or b). We are such lucky folk to get to do this together. At least, I feel crazily lucky to get to hang with y'all.
2006-11-13 20:59:38 Emily
I'm dying to hear about the Dictionary of Mu game that Judd ran for Benn, Vincent and Joshua.
2006-11-14 02:52:53 Meguey
There was a moment when I glanced around, and three of the four tables had a baby nursing at the table. That's gotta be a gaming con first!
Best Friends:
This was fun, and we (Nathan, me, Steve, Dev - and Julia for a tiny bit) agreed we'd all like to play BF again with less of a 'smart, together' group concept. Playing new congresswomen colored us as too slick to get into the really petty goodness I think is at the heart of BF. Barristas and pirates were mentioned. Emily did a good job as GM, giving spin as needed and poking us in interesting directions. We kind of handed her a lot to do, with being congresswomen *and* pulling off a shady deal. My favorite scenes: Dev's Repulican asking Nathan's Green-Rainbow to come with her - it was a clear case of 'you're still my friend even though we're politically opposite'; the president admitting the VP was out of controll; exposing the Platinum Club on the senate floor.
carry. a game about war:
Rocked. I loved the first part where Nathan, Jeff, Eben, Shreyas and I all talked about how we were connected to the military - who we knew, which of our uncles fought where, etc. - before playing. It really gave a very personal edge to the game. One thing I love about carry is the pre-gen characters Nathan brings. They are rich and full, and he's obviously thought a lot about them. I also love that you can choose how much responsibility you want to start with. Jeff was our leader, Sgt. Ram.; Shreyas was LCpl. Saint; Eben was the new kid, Pvt. Jewel, and I was Pvt. Chameleon. The process of getting burdens via group effort was cool, too, especially when what the next person wrote was just what I'd been thinking. My favorite scenes: Ram and the other sergent posturing in the fire-fight; Ram and the general; me confronting my ex-best friend with the knowledge that I havn't yet sold him out. I'd happily play carry again tomorrow.
2006-11-14 10:41:49 shreyas
I'm so glad that I actually got off my butt and came to JiffyCon! It was great fun to get to hang out with the MA crew in a less hectic atmosphere than GenCon. Y'all really know how to throw a party. And it's amazing being reminded that, like, we're not just writerly voices and wellsprings of text on the Interwebs, we're real people.
2006-11-14 14:56:54 Mo
Looking at the pictures, I am teh jealous!
2006-11-14 16:50:43 Emily
Hope we get to see you at GenCon this year, Mo.
2006-11-16 01:28:04 Judd
Just to make Nathan happy, our game was not awesome.
2006-11-16 15:35:29 Emily
: (
2006-11-18 14:42:38 xenopulse
I second Mo. It looks like you guys had tons of fun.
And yeah, I noticed all the little children. We're taking our toddler over to the Ennead next week, so we'll see if he behaves similarly well around other gamers. :)
- Christian
2006-11-19 16:13:54 NinJ
Even though our Mu game was sub-awesome, it was still fun. I love taking a bad character and getting him shut down hard.
2006-11-21 19:56:14 Emily
Yay, Christian! You're visiting the Ennead. Hope your kiddun has fun with Sydney & Maddox. And all you adults as well. :)