Archon 36

I spent this past weekend at Archon 36, the St. Louis, MO area science-fiction convention.  I had a really good time.  I played a couple QAGS games run by my favorite GM, a game of Legend of the Five Rings, and some Munchkin (combining the Western and science-fiction genre games, which resulted in some very strange combinations of cards, like android indians riding giant cats) in scheduled events.  I also got to play a demonstration game of Sentinels of the Multiverse, which turned out to be awesome, as well as a Sunday afternoon game of Arkham Horror.  That game did not turn out at all like we expected, but we were able to win through a string of incredibly lucky dice rolls at the end, so it's all good.

Of course, there is more at Archon than just gaming.  I attended a panel discussion about our current understanding of the realities and hazards of traveling to and trying to survive on other planets, a panel discussion on a perceived current trend in science-fiction of more nostalgia and "looking back," rather than looking forward with hope to future (most current science-fiction, whether in books or movies or TV, tends to have a very dark take on the future, which may be driving people away from the genre), and a panel discussion about how to properly evoke feelings of horror in games (usually difficult to do since people are sitting around a well lit table or otherwise feeling comfortable in their environment).  It was a weekend of time with friends, good food, and general relaxation.  The only downside is waiting a year until the next one.