Concrete Cow 22

It's two years since I was last at Concrete Cow.  All a bit nerve wracking.  Conventions where you sign up on the day used to be my normal, but that's all changed in the last two years.  I'm used to knowing in advance what I'm going to be playing.  I decided the best way to mitigate that was to offer games in all three slots.  If they filled, then I'd know what I was playing.  If they didn't, it was back to surprises.

Arrival was a bit hairy.  I had to get up early enough not just to get ready, but also to take a covid test and wait 15 minutes to confirm I didn't have the 'rona before I left the house.  Accordingly I ended up leaving somewhat later than planned.  Then when I drove to my usual car park I discovered it was now hosting a covid testing site.  Fortunately there was still just enough car park left for me to find a space and jog back to the Old Bath House.  Then the door I normally go in by was closed, so I had to remember where the other door is.  But finally I was inside, and able to get my sign up sheet on the table with time to spare.

Game 1: Liminal

My Liminal scenario Bad Blood is set minutes away from the Old Bath House, so I decided this one had to be run at Concrete Cow.  I got five players signed up, and off we went.

I was mildly concerned about timings.  Bad Blood normally takes about four hours to run, and this was only a three and a half hour slot.  However, somehow things do seem to run faster offline than online, and despite occasional off topic conversations as a bunch of people who'd not had much physical company in the last two years took the opportunity to catch up, it all seemed to work.  It turns out Bad Blood is actually one of my more flexible scenarios, timing-wise.

Part of the reduced run time may just be handouts.  Normally I'd include a few Google Maps links and Streetview images to let people immerse themselves in the setting, but with the actual setting being right outside the window, I didn't bother, and just included the one handout that's plot-relevant.

With the gradual return of in-person conventions and limited time slots, timing is definitely something I need to be aware of, so it's good to know I got it right this time.

Game 2: Kult

The second slot was a four hour slot, so I decided this was the time to pitch a game of Kult.  Called to Account is pretty reliably four hours long.  My hope was that things running faster offline would counteract the additional time at the start spent choosing and reading characters, which normally happens prior to the game when I'm running Kult online.  I'm glad to say it did.

I had a great group of players for this one.  Kult really shines when people lean into their characters, particularly the disadvantages, and having players keen to spot the roll triggers and attempt to Keep It Together without being asked is always fun.  There was great interaction between the characters, and a final outcome that was a first for this scenario.

It was a bit worrying pitching Kult, as it's certainly not for everyone, and I was wondering what I would do if I didn't get the full four players I wanted.  As it turned out, not a problem.  Plenty of horror fans keen to play!

I used my new character sheets for this game, built in LibreOffice so they're fully customisable in that or Word.  The goal is to have all the information you're going to constantly need in play - attributes, conditions, stability - on one sheet, so you only have to refer to the rest for details of the advantages and disadvantages.  It also meant that once they were in document pouches with a copy of the moves sheet, the bits that need to be kept secret from other players were all hidden.  I handed out the sheets in the pouches, and asked people to pick based on the front sheets and not open them up until they'd chosen.  A practical way of transferring my normal online approach to the tabletop.

It was gradually getting darker throughout the game.  I didn't notice at the time, but I feel it added to the atmosphere as the scenario gradually ramps up the tension and horror over time.  It was quite a shock when we got to the end and someone turned the lights on!

Game 3: Matrons of Mystery

The evening slot is technically three and a half hours, but I figured numbers would be a lot lower and also people wouldn't mind a shorter game, so this was the best slot for Matrons of Mystery that can easily run under three hours offline, and is also doable with only two players if necessary.

In the end I had three players, pretty much my ideal number, and we dived into Dicing with Death.  Mavid, Enid and Margaret performed a thorough investigation of the murder of Scott Sallow, despite allergy attacks, enforced spa treatments and a very thorough education on genre emulation in game development.  They finally managed to catch the killer just in time to stop them staging the death of another suspect to frame them for their horrible crime!

This ended up being the only evening game that ran, so I'm very glad to have been able to offer some fun in this slot.

Reflections

While I've done two other in-person conventions since the pandemic, this is the first time I've run games other than Matrons of Mystery.  It's good to know I've still got the knack.

I did wonder if I'd made the right choice pitching games in all three slots.  There were a number of other games listed on the website that I would really like to have played.  But with covid preventing some people showing up, the other games that interested me didn't run.  My games all ran, and I'm very happy with how they went, so ultimately I made the right choice.

This is probably the smallest Concrete Cow I've attended.  Part of that is that numbers are down across the board thanks to covid, but also the fact it didn't go virtual over lockdown might mean it's dropped off a lot of people's radar.  I think the autumn event is going to need much stronger advertising if we're going to get the numbers back.  Concrete Cow is pretty special to me as my first (and for a while only) convention and I really want it to succeed.

All the same, with the current situation I had no complaints about a small event.  Combined with the organisers requesting that everyone have proof of vaccination and a negative test, it felt a lot safer than some of the larger events I've avoided going to.

I've missed this.  It's good to be back.