Ted Con II
Day 1 February 17,
2006
It was another year for Ted Con and the name is
official. When we first got together, we
had about 6 people. And, since many
drove over 3 hours and represented 3 states, John Palagyi aptly named it Ted
Con and it stuck. This was the second
rendition of 
the
gaming and culinary event now know as Ted Con.
This event was slightly smaller than the last one as several people were
unable to make it. And we give special
thanks to John for making up the first set of official name badges, Jane for
the excellent dining and everyone for making the drive and having a great time.
In attendance: Charlie Davis, John Palagyi, Rob Wood and Ted
John was first to arrive and in moving in his supplies, a few games caught his eye and with kids in tow, we jumped right in.
Hurry Up
It is very fast dexterity race game where you try to move marbles up a steep slope with holes in it. I proved to be the master at this activity.
Tilt n’ Tumble
In all the silliness, out came this swinging disc placement game. The object, keep loading and tilting until someone makes it fall over. I was that person.
Dinner Day 1
It was then time for the first official function of the day,
the evening welcoming dinner. Jane had
prepared and superb julienne of fresh vegetables to compliment a very delicate
beef Wellington. The puff pastry was
nicely accented with a floral array and it was complemented with a Sterling
Vintner’s Cabernet from the central coast of
With after dinner drinks of Grand Marnier and a nice light Auchentoshan Lowland ingle malt scotch (supplied by Rob) it was the official gaming start.
The End of the
Triumphant
The English version is due out soon by ZMan games. And, since Charlie was not in until Saturday,
this was the perfect 3 player game.
There are not a lot of games that are designed just for 3 but this is
one. It has a very nice balance with
three players trying to win the hearts of Romans. One player starts with heavy legions, one
with lots of money and the other with a balance of both. The game swings nicely as one player vaults
to the lead and is pounded down by the other two...one of which arises to the
lead in the result and gets beat up by the other two. If there is a down side at all, it is that
the game does feel a little like a war game.
Conflict is a necessity. On the
positive side, it plays quickly and cleanly and is perfect for 3. John is now
the dictator of
Volle Hutte
Looking for something a little light, this one was requested. This game was one of my hits from Gulf Games II. That is how old the game it. I still love it. You set up a bar/restaurant, bark in the customers and try to steal them from other players. It plays fast, great player interaction and a little take that. Definite keeper. I proved the best restaurant manager this time....more coming.
Dragonriders
Rob saw this one on the trade pile and had to give it a go. Again, a lot of good ideas that just don’t quite gel for me. So, it ended up in Rob’s stack to take back to his house. However, before I let him take it, I proved what a great Dragon rider I was.
Fast Food Franchise
Call it Monopoly heavy. It has gotten a buzz recently on the net. John had never played. It is basically a roll and move game. The nice elements for me are the choices of corporations from expensive one or two store fronts to the cheap, everywhere places. I started with Chicago Deep Dish pizza, John went the way of Chicken Surprise, and Rob worked on the Godiva look alike, Dark and Gooey Chocolate. We quit after John ran out of cash while the pizza change was permeating the east coast and Rob’s Chocolate factory would have cost you $100+ to take a taste. Very difficult to call a winner, but we were along for the ride.
Grave Robber’s from
Outer Space
This is one of Rob’s favorites and he owns all of the games in the series. This one has a lot of funny cards and situations that can occur as you create a b movie. I am sorry that I forgot the title of the film we tried to make. There is enough humor and enough of a game to keep this one coming out about once a year. We laughed a lot. Rob was the best director pulling out the best talent and monsters as the credits rolled.
Das Storrishe Muli
Try to run your mules out and be the last one back in the barn in this quick, light hearted race game. This one is always fun for a quick late night closer. Apparently, Rob has been out training with the mules in his spare time as he managed to best us all.
That is day 1....of Ted Con II