And then came Saturday.
Saturday was actually pretty relaxing, considering that I kind of had the morning off. I had nothing scheduled until my Historical Gaming panel at 13:00 hrs. This gave me a chance to meet up with Howard Andrew Jones, fantasy novelist extraordinaire. We had coffee and just chatted about writing, business, and life in general. It was great to catch up and pretty awesome to get an advance copy of his new Pathfinder novel, Beyond the Pool of Stars.
I’m a few chapters in to the novel and it is outstanding. Right now, I’m thinking it’s his best Pathfinder novel yet, and that’s saying something.
After chatting with Howard, I was able to get some time in for demos. Over at Sword’s Edge, I’ve written about both Short Order Heroes and Castle Assault. I had to go through both very quickly given time constraints, but I was able to get in some games, get some food, and make it to my panel early.
The Historical Gaming panel was sparsely attended but everyone that was there participated and we had a great chat. It was more of a roundtable than a panel, which suits me fine. I had some topics to discuss, but it was better just to take questions and engage discussion. It was really satisfying to meet some people who enjoyed and were fascinated by historical gaming as much as I.
The panel recharged me even more than monitoring the Quiet Room had on Friday, and while I was a bit late for my shift on the IGDN Booth, I was enthusiastic. Mostly it was answering questions and directing people who mistook us for Games on Demand. There were a few people who came to talk about IGDN, which was cool.
I had plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely dinner at Loughmillers Pub & Eatery, and I had a very satisfying Greek Pita (lots of veg!) and a pint of Uplands Dragonfly IPA along with a few glasses of water. Let me tell you, when you are running panels and games, you drink a lot of water. If you don’t, you’re going to have a bad time.
Saturday night’s Nefertiti Overdrive was fantastic. I was able to game with another backer and fellow Canuck (I didn’t meet many, which was kind of sad) and there was a lot more role-playing than in the other sessions. It was a great way to round-off a really good day.
Afterwards, I was planning on meeting Victor and the Lanzas for some food and drinks, but it ended up being JJ, Victor, Alex and I at Rockbottom. I’ve always been very happy with Rockbottom. It generally isn’t as busy as places like the Ram or Scotty’s, probably because it doesn’t really participate in Gen Con. That being said, the beer and the food are good, so I figure it’s a fair trade. The night was insanely late, but it was one of those times when the conversation and company are so good, sleep seems an unwelcome intrusion. As I had my final Nefertiti Overdrive game Sunday morning at 10:00, I had to get some sleep. Some.
You can find more information on Howard Andrew Jones here.
You can find more information on Beyond the Pool of Stars here.
You can find Loughmiller’s Pub and Eatery here.
You can find Upland Brewing Co.’s Dragonfly IPA here.
You can find Rockbottom here.