We're ba-aaaaaack!
After going elsewhere last year, it's delightful to be back in 'our' cabins.
SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TABLE LAYOUT OMG
swanky new seating situation
CES takes brave meet newbie Chris (the artist formerly known as cpol for all you oldies out there) through the somewhat intimidating Greater Idea deck.
Patrick is taught Hive by Myko.
On Saturday, there's a Game of Thrones LCG draft! I forgot to take a photo of the 'before' but the table was entirely covered with cards.
also some chairs
Chris and Patrick try to build something viable out of their drafts.
Myko builds his ILLEGAL DECK tsk tsk
Patrick's Tyrell/Watch takes Myko's Greyjoy/Stag to the cleaners.
Meanwhile, Primate and Chris have built the day's only good decks.
Chris and Erik size each other up in a game of mafia.
Patrick stands firm under Myko's scrutiny.
Erik and Shanba enjoy the luxurious new couch.
Bellaphant arrives, hooray! Also Legendary is happening.
It's our most packed day of the meet as we start on the barbecue.
Fences oversee the veg options.
Our head chefs.
There are crashes aplenty in Robo Rally, meanwhile.
Max and Bella chillin' with some foods.
Before we can get to the murder mystery, we have the now-traditional poker tournament.
When each player gets eliminated, they go to get changed. Nexus returns in costume to oversee the final showdown.
I somehow forgot to take any pictures during the murder mystery but I did get this just afterwards...
NEXUS
FOUND
WAS GIVEN THE TREASURE
Sunday brings some meatier games to the table. It's Keyflower!
Brass becomes a big hit with a subset of the meet (not pictured: game taking four hours).
Patrick and Erik help Fences to test games for Nationals. (Pandemic Contagion)
Some people apparently won games of Fuse but I don't believe them.
The tension draws a crowd.
Our first game of Battlestar Galactica. Leoben!Shanba enjoys fucking with our Destiny.
Things, uh... things don't go well for the humans.
Happier times, when two Cylons were in the brig.
A beefy game of Acquire breaks out.
Nexus springs into action in Love Letter.
Our not-on-Sunday Sunday roast being prepared!
il maestro
This thing was a frakking triumph.
Dan, Fenchurch, Erik and Primate struggle bravely against Ghost Stories.
Prozac confronts the depth of his fucked-ness in Keyflower.
The quest for the perfect Dominion setup for Nationals continues.
The final day! We take a shortcut to the minigolf.
Erik navigates the odd terrain.
Dan tries to get out of an egg.
The bunny of towniness shows up to mock Prozac with its unattainability.
Erik is one of many who try desperately to make the obstacle actually worth attempting.
Fenchurch maintains a staunch commitment to obstacle engagement over efficiency throughout.
Someone stole the third snake's head.
Erik wraps up a close victory over CDB.
This hole was a bloodbath.
Primate learns from Prozac's mistake as he goes on to find the elusive superior path through this final hole.
Dan confronts the tricky raised ground of the last hole.
CDB, Prozac and Primate draw all over the Railway Rivals board (which proves to be a surprisingly great roll-and-move game!).
CDB's Game of Thrones-themed Upick night results get weird.
Patrick plays Bandu: a story in three parts.
I asked for smiles. Thanks for a great meet, everyone.
OH SHIT IT'S THE SECRET MEET AFTER THE CREDITS, PATRICK AND I ARE HANGING WITH EEVEE (AND FENCES I GUESS) IN NOTTINGHAM
CES absolutely DESTROYS the Suburbia scoring system.
cat cat cat cat cat
This was my week, y'all. cat cat cat
CES and Patrick stand ready to assist with volunteer duties on the Friday of Nationals.
My grandmother demanded that somebody take a photo of me, so
I took this board game/LARP equipment vendor by surprise!
Fences' horde of volunteers set up the board games on Saturday morning.
Our rota
almost
works...
Our secret den for Avalon, Ugg-tect and, oh, yes - something called Werewolf.
The little hidey-hole in the corner playing host to Pandemic Contagion.
Thanks to Fences for having us as part of Nationals! It was tiring but so much fun.