Williamsburg, Virginia
August 7 – 10, 2003
It was great. Thanks to Greg and all those involved in the preparation and execution of GG12. The Hendee clan enjoyed it all:
Starting on Fri Aug 1, meeting the Bergs and James Miller at the hotel, through 5 days of sightseeing and fun as additional people arrived each day, culminating with the 4 days of GG12. This was the longest we have been away from home in one stretch, yet Lee and Bill still said they wish it had gone on longer.
The people make GG a great experience. The games are fun and they are the primary draw, but the atmosphere is more like a family re-union than a gathering of random people. Thanks to Greg, Ted, and Ty for starting it this way. Thanks to all the attendees for being there.
The gaming started 6 days before the official start of GG. Greg introduced us to Vigo, which I recall enjoying, but I don’t remember the game.
After a sweat-filled day seeing the history of Jamestown, Viva Pamplona was the only game I played before crashing. Keeping our pawns just in front of the bull was a challenge, particularly when the bull’s high-count cards are turned up, and no scoring cards. Only a few pawns got to the stadium before the bull.
After another sweat-filled day in Williamsburg, I was introduced to Pepper, a racing game called Flower Power (not related to the newer game of the same name), and Zendo. Zendo proved popular throughout the next week. I played it probably 6 times. Pepper is a heart-like card game, trying to avoid some cards. 4 people ended the game with scores of 0.
After another day in Williamsburg, Kban used his experience playing Maze to win decisively, but I did get one or two pawns off the board. Also played King Lui and Pounce.
We had more fun at Busch Gardens than I expected. We stayed until 8pm. I didn’t play games afterwards, crashing early.
On Wed, the setup for GG went very quickly. With more than a dozen people helping, the posters, ceiling hangings, registration packets, and other decorations were mostly complete by noon. From that time through Saturday night, I played 47 more games, with old friends and new. Some of the games I played for the first time at GG12:
Lawless – a card game of the old west. I rate it 7 out of 10.
Exxtra – a dice race game. 7 rating.
Ave Caesar – a chariot race with cards.6 rating. Some luck involved in drawing the right cards at the right time.
Billionaires – Al’s prototype. A new twist on stock collecting games. 8 rating.
der Garten des Sonnenkonigs – interesting bidding mechanism.6 rating.
The drive home was mostly uneventful. We were seldom in the “light rane”, since we weren’t moving “srowry”. The “reftrane” was typically faster. In S.C. we encountered some “right lain”, but it didn’t slow things much. The trip took 9 hours, door to door.
After unpacking, I ordered from a local Chinese restaurant. While the food was cooking, I walked across the parking lot to Ward‘s store. There were 11 of the Sunday night regulars involved in games of Alhambra and Puerto Rico. Since the family was waiting for dinner, I didn’t play any games, just talked a few minutes about the vacation and games, picked up the food and returned home.
I’m already anticipating the February GG event. The family will also attend, if school and sports allow.