Gen Con 2019: The Haul

One of the big reasons people go to Gen Con is to buy games – lots of them. And this year, I definitely bought some games! Not as many as some folks, but I did bring home a couple new additions to my game collection. Of course, I found some not-quite-game-related goodies too! My Gen Con 2019 haul is a little smaller than it’s been in previous years, but here’s just about all of it!

Want to hear more about what I got? Read on!

The games

I picked up three games at Gen Con, and supplemental books for a fourth! (I also found a bunch of games I want to get, but didn’t have the chance to hunt down in the dealer’s hall.)

Battlestar Galactica – Starship Battles

This is one Ross and I stumbled on almost by chance – we were wandering around the dealer’s hall on Thursday, while I was dressed as President Roslin, and came around a corner to find a big booth wall advertising the game. You know we’re both huge BSG nerds, and of course we had to check the game out. It looked like fun, so we decided to buy it. And buy a bunch of the additional ships, too. (They’re not all pictured, since Ross took them out of their boxes and has them on display in our living room for the moment. The attention to detail on those ships is amazing.) Gameplay focuses on space combat between the Colonial Fleet and the Cylons, and gives you the opportunity to face off in head-to-head combat or complete different types of missions. I’m excited to play this one with Ross, and plan on writing up a full review when we play! Learn more about Battlestar Galactica – Starship Battles here.

The Trapper Keeper Game

Nostalgia had a big part in me buying this game. I heard about it from a press release email before Gen Con, and was more than a little curious about the fact that someone made a game based around a Trapper Keeper. The goal of the game is to get the most points and be the coolest kid in school! This is accomplished by collecting homework, field trip permission slips, notes from friends and more as you play. I love the attention to detail with this game, especially with the little replica Trapper Keeper folders! Check out The Trapper Keeper Game here.

Fuzzy Mage Fight

Cute creatures fighting each other with magic? Sign me up! This cute game caught my eye in the Gen Con coupon book, and I definitely can’t resist cute things. I ended up buying not only the base set, but the three expansions as well (Allies, Mage Hunters, and Silver Fox). The goal of the game is to have 8 magic cards in your hand – the first to reach that goal wins. However, the same magic cards you need to win are also the ones you need to use to help keep the other players from winning – so you need to plan things carefully in order to win! I’m definitely looking forward to playing this game, and seeing all the cute little critters in action! You can learn more about Fuzzy Mage Fight here.

Aldis: City of the Blue Rose

I’d been planning on picking up the Aldis book at Gen Con for a while now. Considering that my Blue Rose character, Liana, is from Aldis, having this book on hand will definitely help me develop her character a little more. Plus, since most of my Blue Rose group’s adventures are currently centered in or around Aldis, this will be a good reference book during games. Plus, I can’t say no to Blue Rose books.  (Well, unless it’s a book directed towards storytellers. Buying those will likely end up spoiling the plot of some games J decides to run for our group, heh.) Learn more about the Aldis: The City of the Blue Rose book here.

The gaming accessories

Of course, Gen Con’s exhibit hall doesn’t just focus on games. There’s also all sorts of gaming accessories available – play mats for collectible card games, carrying cases, and a ridiculous amount of dice! I picked up some pretty rose, gold, and gray dice from Metallic Dice Games, as well as one of their fancy dice rolling trays. (They’re included in the haul picture above.) I also bought a new playmat for Magic, for the times I don’t want to play using my Doge mat.

This mat came from GamerMats, and I love the artwork on it!  Deciding on a mat was a tough decision, but I’m a sucker for corgis. How could I say no to a battle corgi with a faerie buddy?

The not-quite-gaming stuff

My Gen Con 2019 haul wasn’t only games! For a gaming convention, Gen Con sure has a heck of a lot of non-gaming stuff there as well. You can find anime goodies, crafting goodies (perfect for this Crafty Nerd!), books, artwork and more. I think that’s one of the many reasons I love Gen Con – while the main focus is gaming, you can find all sorts of other goodies there.

First off, I bought a quilt kit from Quiltoni, which I simply couldn’t say no to. (Plus, I think this’ll give me the chance to use the Sailor Moon fabric that’s been sitting around for a while, waiting to be turned into a quilt!)

I also splurged and bought a Toothless kigurumi, because how could I not? Long-time followers of the blog know I love Toothless. It’s got wings, it’s got a tail, and best of all, IT HAS POCKETS.

Because you can’t go to Gen Con without someplace to stash all your goodies, I ended up picking up a Gen Con backpack to replace my old Bag of Holding. The Bag Of Holding was a Gen Con staple of mine for many years, but it’s lacking a few key features that I like to have in a backpack – like water bottle holders, for one thing. The Gen Con backpack is really nice, and has lots of storage pockets in the front to help me keep organized. Plus, it’s a perfect canvas for pins! (Of which I bought three at Gen Con.)

I also picked up one of the limited edition D20 teabag holders from Dryad Tea, as well as one of their incredibly adorable tea spoons!

And last, but certainly not least, I picked up the Blue Rose novel, Shadowtide. I’m looking forward to reading that when I have the chance!

Future haul: games I want to get

Due to poor Ross being sick during Gen Con, I didn’t get to explore the dealer’s hall as thoroughly as I typically do, and ended up missing out on buying some games I wanted. However, there’s nothing wrong with having a post-Gen Con 2019 haul, right? Here are some of the games I heard about at Gen Con and want to get at some point soon!

Eleminis

I played this game with some friends at the game library, and really enjoyed it. The goal is simple: be the first one to collect all five elements! However, you’re not the only one working to get all the elements – and there are some cards that make it hard to win, both for you and for your opponents. (Like the Trash element. Nobody wants the Trash element.) One of my friends described this game as “cute, but vicious”, and they were so right. Learn more about Eleminis here.

Sparkle Kitty and Sparkle Kitty Nights

I’ve been curious about Sparkle Kitty since I heard about it at a previous Gen Con. With the release of Sparkle Kitty Nights this year, now I’m even more curious. Breaking princesses and knights out of Sparkle Kitty’s tower, with silly magic spells? Heck yes, sign me up. More info about Sparkle Kitty here, and more info on Sparkle Kitty Nights is here.

Funkoverse

I’ll admit to being intensely curious about the Funkoverse game. I don’t know a heck of a lot about it, except the fact that it combines multiple different TV and movie universes in one game. I really wish I’d had the opportunity to demo this at Gen Con. You can even play as The Golden Girls, how awesome is that? Learn more about Funkoverse here.

Well, that’s my Gen Con 2019 Haul! I bought lots of cool stuff, found more games I want to get, and am totally ready to start reviewing some of the games I bought this year!