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PrezCon 2008

	Author: Bill Macon Article Type: Convention Coverage Publication Date: 3/13/2008 Related Categories: Business and Industry, Convention Coverage

PrezCon, Inc. recently hosted its 15th annual Board Gaming Convention at the Doubletree Hotel in Charlottesville, VA. Since 1994, PrezCon has grown from a small regional convention to become a premier winter event attracting attendees from North America, Europe and Asia. Scheduled during the lull between the winter holidays and upcoming spring breaks, what better way to survive the February gloom period than to roll some dice and push cardboard around a mapboard with old friends? I made a day trip down to Charlottesville to see what all the excitement was about.

Justin Thompson, President/Convention Director and founder of the PrezCon game convention, snagged me at last year’s World Boardgaming Convention and invited me to check out the “other” con. I caught up with Justin to get an inside scoop. This year’s event had over 500 registered participants and the Doubletree Hotel was sold out. PrezCon is Doubletree’s largest event all year and has been its longest continuing event. Needless to say, the hotel staff was very accommodating to the hundreds of wargamers in attendance.

Justin Thompson at PrezCon registration welcoming players.

So what were the top game competitions this year? Settlers of Catan by Mayfair Games was a main event, and was in fact the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Texas Holdem (a late night card tournament game), McGartlin MotorSports by McGartlin Motorsport Design, and Twilight Struggle by GMT Games were also popular events among the more than 85 boardgame tournaments and juniors’ events offered. A special event for 2008 was the inclusion of the 3rd Annual RevCon inside PrezCon, with their separate area and Revolutionary War atmosphere.

Gaming

PrezCon events include old favorites, Euro Games, as well as some of the Classic Wargames. I will not list them all; they are listed on the PrezCon website. I will mention that the grand ballroom, all of the smaller meeting rooms and the hallways on the first level of the hotel all had tables set up and activity going on. As I wandered about checking out the games in progress, I stopped at a couple. Having recently reviewed Matrix Games’ Empires in Arms, I watched a game of GMT Games’ Napoleonic Wars being played. It was nice to see this fast-paced card-driven game in action, and it definitely plays faster. I also stopped to see GMT Games’ Combat Commander, Europe being played. This is very similar to the old Avalon Hill Squad Leader, but is a card-driven series. I am intrigued more and more by these innovative card-driven games that provide additional randomness and unpredictability to gameplay. For those who compete in these convention tournaments, I do not need to promote the gaming aspect. But I mention all this for readers who may be curious to attend a convention as a visitor. Please do so! Watch and learn, and discover something new.

PrezCon gamers and dealers in the grand ballroom.

Dealers and Deals

Conventions are a great place to find a new wargame to add to one’s collection. Avalanche Press, Café Games, Columbia Games, GMT Games, Lock ‘n Load Publishing, Mayfair Games, SherCo Games (Amazing Space Venture), Troll & Toad, Worthington Games and Z-Man Games all had tables set up. Players can usually find a bargain or two plus there is no shipping charge. Most game stores do not have such an extensive selection offered as can be found at a convention, so what better place for a wargamer to shop for his hobby?

I spent some time checking out the new games, as I usually do, but I also took time to sit in on the Game Auction being held. Convention auctions are also a great venue to buy some old games at a decent price, or sell some unwanted games as the case may be rather than throw them out. Some games sold for as little as a dollar, others for tens of dollars, and some for hundreds of dollars. I did not catch the title of the last game auctioned, but it sold for over $600. Wow.

Demos

I enjoy sitting in on the game demos at these conventions. They give me a chance to see something different, perhaps meet a game designer and learn about something new. This convention was provided a few nice opportunities during my one-day visit. First stop was the campy Monsters Menace America by Avalon Hill, a game of “mayhem and mass destruction.” Mark Love provided a walk-through of the updated version, complete with all of the classic Hollywood horror movie monsters to stomp and destroy cities in their path. Next up was PQ-17 Arctic Naval Operations 1941-43, a P500 title for GMT Games. Game designer Chris Janiec was on hand to provide the demo and was there throughout the day playtesting a scenario. Richard Berg, a prolific wargame designer, was also on hand with a couple of new games set up for playtesting; one had a Conquistador setting and the other had a Wild West setting. Unfortunately I noticed these too late in the day and did not get a chance to talk with him about them. These demos were just a few of the many offered during the convention.

One highlight that I had planned to attend was a Gettysburg seminar by Jonathan Lockwood. This featured a boardgame staff simulation using the old 1974 Rand game, Lee vs Meade. This was interesting for two reasons. For one, the staff simulation was designed to introduce the realistic factors of “limited intelligence”, “fog of war” and “friction” for up to 20 active participants divided between Union and Confederate staffs. Each staff uses a large gaming map while a referee controls a master map to resolve simultaneous movements and determine combats. The other reason this was personally interesting was that this particular game was the first real “wargame” I ever played, not counting Risk and Stratego. After 30 years it was vaguely familiar at first, and progressively became more familiar as I realized “Yes, I played this game before!” Too cool! Although we did not have nearly 20 participants in the seminar, the few of us there split into two staffs and played the first four turns of the battle. It was a fun and enlightening exercise. For anyone interested, Jonathan plans to conduct this seminar again at the World Boardgaming Convention in Lancaster, PA in August.

Conclusion

PrezCon is just one of many great regional conventions held throughout the year around the country, and around the world. The ConsimWorld events calendar provides a listing of upcoming game conventions and other events. Check out the calendar and find something local to attend. Not everyone can make it to Origins in Columbus, OH each summer, but certainly there must be something nearby. Get to an event, roll some dice and have some fun!

About the Author

Bill is a former infantry officer with a keen interest in military history. His wargaming passion began in the 1970's with Tactics II, Third Reich and other Avalon Hill classics. Board games eventually gave way to computer games, as kids and critters took over his life. Through no fault of his own, Bill found himself playtesting for Fury Software (Strategic Command 1 & 2) and Schwerpunkt (Russo-German War, Anglo-German War), and managed to survive the experience. In his spare time when he's not playtesting or writing manuals or developing custom scenarios, Bill sneaks away to his day job with the federal government. And he actually still plays a variety of wargames, because he's too lazy to fish.