This weekend was the #1 priority on my convention list: Historicon. I knew going down that the new venue at the Valley Forge Convention Center was going to be a challenge, not so much for the sprawling facility, but the fact that my wife, our little girl, and my mother-in-law were coming to do some 'shopping in the great King of Prussia area.
Before the pics, let's get the ratings out of the way.
Site: B- , if only for the unfamiliarity of the site, and the fact that I ended up in the BattleTech room about ten times by accident. No major problems with noise, the thirty miles of walking beat down my legs more than the tile flooring in the hall, and the bathrooms were moderately clean (I magically eliminated the urine smell in one by holding the handle down for a mere four seconds. If it ain't flushing, try it again people!)
Registration: A++++ ten seconds to pick up my pre-reg. Can't recommend online prereg enough.
Dealers Hall: B+ Spacious compared to the Tennis Barn at the Host. I could sense the unease with the added costs the dealers had to absorb for the new format, but it generally had a professional atmosphere rather than the professional flea market aura from other cons. The only dealer I regularly deal with that had problems was Brigade Games. I felt a bit claustrophobic in there, especially since I deal with minis in the tubs, and not blister packs.
Flea Market (aka Wally's Basement): C+ actually was pretty spacious as well, except around 10am of the Saturday session. Lots of old boardgames, lots of various scale armor, and mostly GW crap after that. I snagged Rifts up for a couple of bucks (oh nostalgia).
Food: B+ Some may lament the lack of variety of food vs The Host, but per the HMGS meeting Saturday morning, the VFCC was working with HMGS to provide a menu similar to the one we're accustomed to (including a Saturday night pig.) When HMGS signs the contract for next year, that will be twelve months of working on a better variety. I became addicted to the Smoothie stand ($3 for a smoothie or a beer? The smoothie was cold and kind healthy, plus I played better with smoothie in hand.) $2 for a can of soda was a bit much, though. In addition to that there were two pages of local restaurants that offered 10-20% off your bill by presenting your badge, and if you couldn't stand the 5-10 minute drive, each restaurant in the complex offerred a 10% discount.
Lodging: F- : I did hear some nice things about the Scanticon, but alas, we stayed at the Radisson, which was simply one problem after another. My wife couldn't check in on time, our room was switched, we were promised an additional discount which was not documented. No one could give directions to the pool (simply, go past the elevators and follow the signs to the fitness center...wtf?), we had NO air conditioning, and my wife was hit with a barrage of unprofessional attitude by the cleaning staff, the Cafe Soleil staff, and the lady in the gift shop, all within the last hour before checkout. Needless to say, a quick conversation with the hotel manager, and we were comped the room (go Michelle!). Next year if we go down with two future gamers, we'll try the Scanticon.
HMGS Membership Meeting: B This is the first time I attended a board meeting, but since I couldn't sleep in the sauna of room 1203, I was up for the 8am meeting anyway. Standard meeting fare, with the newly elected board members trying to get their feet wet and trying to do the right thing at the same time. We did not achieve a quorum to approve THREE meetings worth of minutes, but that makes sense. HMGS has 1300 members, just under 300 voted in the election, and they can't get 40 members to show up for a quorum. Two things that caught my attention: HMGS is no longer communicating with the BCC through lawyers, which means there's still no resolution, but at least both sides are being cordial to one another. Second: The theme for Cold Wars 2011 will be South American Revolutions... can this be accomplished with gnomes?
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