The convention circuit has officially opened with President’s Day weekend and I got a chance to kick-off the promotion circuit in Los Angeles with a local convention that I love supporting, Strategicon.

http://www.strategicon.net/

It was a real honor to help out Paul, Eric, Patric, Vic and all the guys over at Strategicon, but I really was only there Friday night for a couple hours. But that was still long enough for me to run a couple tables of High School Drama, run a mini HSD Button Men Smackdown, test a silly new prototype and get in on some Ticket to Ride. All in all, it was a pretty action-packed Friday night. (more…)

http://www.strategicon.net

The convention circuit is kicking up again and it’s time to hit the road again! And to be perfectly honest, I actually miss the excitement of entertaining at conventions and hanging out with all the friends I’ve made over the past year. It’s a little bit like a travelling circus, but it’s as close to family as we’ve got.

If you’re in the LA area, please come out and visit me Friday night. Come sit in on my Play with the Creator event Friday night at 7pm. I’ve got a new set of buttons to pass around, so come check them out!!

GUNG HEI FAAT CHOI!

Before I get into the recap for Stratigecon, I’d just like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

For everybody who’s celebrating, I hope you had a great time with your friends and family and I wish you all the best of luck in this New Year! For those who are curious, both Shifting Skies Games and HSD! were born in the Year of the Dog,  a very auspicious year for Tigers like myself. Let us hope that this new year will be just as fortunate (if not more so) than the previous!

For most people reading, this weekend was spent remembering the institution of the American Presidency, sleeping in and playing lots and lots of games. There are many gaming conventions that occur during this weekend. Just on the West Coast we have OrcCon in Los Angeles, DunDraCon in San Francisco and ConQuest NW in Seattle. While I wish I could somehow have been to all of them, I did get to spend the weekend in LA enjoying the new Stratigecon with my old friends from the area.  Special shout out to Darrin,  Mike and Todd and to all the really cool people I got to meet. I really hope to spend more time with you all the next time I’m in the area! (more…)

http://www.strategicon.net/

Los Angeles has a huge gaming population and it’s major local conventions — Orc Con, Gamex and Gateway — are all held under the Strategicon umbrella. Strategicon has been going on for many years, but the glamour of the former days has been waning as of late and there has been lots of talk about the organizers selling the rights to new management. In fact, a friend of mine actually made an offer to take over the cons. I can’t speak about all the financial details, but it’s true that Strategicon is now under new management. One only has to look as far as their guest list to feel the reviatalization. Yes, it’s true: legendary game publisher Reiner Knizia will be the special guest of honor for Orc Con in February. (more…)