Here is the first report from Kubla Con this past weekend, in the SF Bay Area, California.
This will be just the pretty pictures. Later I'll report on games played and such.
One of the coolest things about a game convention is the impressive terrain and games you'll see: some people really put a lot of effort into it, which is great for the hobby since it tend to inspires others to have a go at pushing their own hobby or at least collecting and playing more.
So here are some of the fun things I saw.
Click for larger:
For scale, those are two 28mm minis on the overlook deck. This was a stunning Civil War scene.
Another epic battle about to commence:
This will be just the pretty pictures. Later I'll report on games played and such.
One of the coolest things about a game convention is the impressive terrain and games you'll see: some people really put a lot of effort into it, which is great for the hobby since it tend to inspires others to have a go at pushing their own hobby or at least collecting and playing more.
So here are some of the fun things I saw.
Click for larger:
I'd have been happy to dive into that water.
Isa so donna wanna count all dem minis.
Terrain is nothing to speak of, but impressive nonetheless.
There were many games of both WWI & WWII areal combat. Always thought this looks cool.
Full terrain version from Fantasy Flight for their board game Shadows Over Camelot
Skrapwelder's completed multi-player game for Empire of the Dead which we'd play tested last week.
Everything is all painted now. He must have squeezed in 3 weeks of work in one on this.
Apparently the tradition of red double decker buses goes back further than I knew.
Skrapwelder got better pictures, when he gets them to me I'll be giving them effects treatment & post them.
Dr.Mini-pusher I presume?
A couple Ancients armies face off. I always love seeing nice ancient armies. I really do want to make one.
Someday I will. I have a ton of British Celts in the bitz closet.
I wonder what rule set will come to take the crown from the fallen WAB,
or if it will become like Blood Bowl and continue on even stronger.
A couple shots from the Flames of War tournament.
A lot of nice tables, but I didn't want to push too far through while the tournament games were in play.
This is another game that always tempted me, but it is daunting: what period to build & what theater?
With my luck I'd build something I really enjoy like British in North Africa, early war, and find everyone is playing Late War Normandy. Don't really want 2 or 3 armies just to start in. Love to look though.
I did see that there was a Warmachine & Hordes tournament on both Sat & Sunday, but I took no pictures.
Why? Because they were playing directly on the hotel white tablecloths and a lot of the armies were partially painted or not painted at all. Very disappointing. For a game that has been around longer than Flames of War that group really could commit more to aesthetics. If I had signed up for a tournament and saw games set up on white tablecloths with minimal terrain I think I'd have dropped out and done something else. I guess it is fine for some, but it would be a big drain on the potential enjoyment for me. Compare that to the picture above, that makes me want to play that game.
A bit blurry, but on Saturday night, some ran a maze with an Alien theme for the kids:
You can just make out the Brood-Dude. Sorry for the blur, was best I could get with the crowd.
There will be more to come:
* The Zombiesmith booth with new Quar & 'War of Ashes' previews & Quar gaming.
* Blood Bowl
* Dust Warfare games & review
Almost forgot, Kubla Con got invaded by young Mongol Warriors!
Nice to know there will be another generation of gamers!
Great shots ( those not blurry at least ;) ).
ReplyDeleteEmpire of the Dead looks fantastic though! To play on that would be a real treat! Could easily double for Infinity too.. even as low tech worlds go.
Star wars is interesting, but its all pre-painted models to speak of from the looks of it, so just a collection on the field.
But that civil war table... daaammmmn.. would love to know how they did the water effects.. they look so realistic.. and agreed.. would love to dive into them!
Can't wait to see the rest of your review.
You are right about some of the terrain on these tables. Epic stuff and one fine day, in the distant future I will begin to build my own city for my figures.
ReplyDeleteGreat pics Ferret, I loved the ACW especially!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great con! And the Empire of the dead game was a blast. I picked the rules up along with a bunch of Quar.
ReplyDeleteI am also in the 4th pic of the civilwar game standing next to the man in the lab coat, and also in the 4th empire of the dead pic, but he pith helmat is blocking me :D
ReplyDeleteSome truly inspiring games on show, but that water; wow! What a wonder that was.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, looks like a fun event. The Star Wars game looked cool.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's super cool. I love the castle!
ReplyDeleteHuh. That's a little bit off with the Warmachine thing. They're playing at a convention, which makes it really a showcase for the game, so should put the effort in. It's not much effort to basecoat, wash and flock a Warmachine army.
ReplyDeleteHave to say, at my FLGS (Maelstrom in the UK), almost all the Warmachine tournaments have a requirement for painted-and-based models these days. Only special exceptions, like when it's a casual tournament allowing use of proxies of unreleased models from a new book, for instance, don't require painting.
Rest of the con looks ace though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. Lee! Yeah, I did get some blurry shots. Rather poor lighting in many places, and crowds jostling.
ReplyDeleteAnne: I'll look forward to seeing your city!
Thanks Fran, yeah the civil war table was my favorite too.
Commissar: In 2 shots? Wow, I'm gamer-paparazzi and I didn't even know it :)
Michael: yeah, he obviously took some good time to make that water.
Styx: I thought so too.might just be prepainted minis, but when they're all lined out in blocks like that, it does look pretty cool.
SL: I wouldn't mind owning that castle! I think almost always board games are better games than minis games: they can be more clearly defined and have other things going on that an 'in the moment' battle simulation can't, but I still prefer minis games because of the hobby: nice terrain & forces on the table. If all board games looked like this though, that could change ;)
Fiendil: I did see some very nice warmachine armies. A troll army in particular with some nice cav (I love the trolls on zubr and these looked great) but I saw a lot of stuff that wouldn't meet a 3 color minimum too, but worst was the white tablecloths. I have to think that would say to players "terrain costs money, we don't care what the game looks like, only that we play" which is a valid opinion (and might be fine for a local store small tournament- though honestly those would tend to look better than this did), but not one that will encourage people to paint their armies-after all, why should they care what their army looks like if the tournament doesn't care what the games look like? and it is not going to inspire anyone or draw them in and make them want to play, which the Flames of War, going on in the same space, definitely made me want to play.
Kublacon was great this weekend, I attended Sat & Sun. Got a fun game of Necromunda in on Sat. And ran a car combat mini's game on Sunday (Axles & Alloys). I look forward to your other posts.
ReplyDeleteSome mouth watering stuff there mate! I find that seeing table like those can be either (a) thoroughly depressing because it shows my own lack of talent and ability (not very applicable to you of course), or (b) inspires me to give something new a go. Happily, these days it is more the latter than the former!
ReplyDeleteJust WOW...
ReplyDeleteMost of those scenarios are simply amazing!
There's at least a hand full of those games that I've never tried and would love to ust by the awesome looks of set up!
Nice pics!