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Still too much going on for me to get enough sleep, so today's update is a quick one:
This weekend is OxCon, the annual gaming convention organized and run by the Oxford University Diplomacy Society (a.k.a. the Board Game Club that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cheshcat and I are lifetime members of).
Yesterday evening -- Friday night -- there were pre-convention activities. The original idea of laser tag was rendered impossible by the recent closing of the Oxford LaserQuest facility. Instead, a few of us met up in west Oxford to go ice skating. Afterward, we met a larger group in east Oxford -- Cowley, to be specific -- at a curry house for dinner. When dinner ended, I headed back to the as-yet unnamed flat in north Oxford. Overall, it was an evening of much fun... but, since my main mode of transportation in Oxford is my feet, my legs felt somewhat sore after all this tromping about (and skating).cassiopia has been writing about Walking to Rivendell -- well, I felt like I walked all the way there in one day! No complaints, though... as I said, it was gangs of fun.
Today the convention actually began. The main event was the Puerto Rico tournament, which consisted of three rounds of eight parallel games. Previously, playing Puerto Rico with people likexirpha and gyades and bammba_m and elision, I had figured that I was fairly good at the game. However, in all three tournament place, I came in third place (out of four or five players). Not terribly spectacular, I must admit. After the tournament ended, a few of us who were not yet sick of Puerto Rico gathered together to play again. Finally, at long last, I ended up winning! So, hallelujah, my self-esteem has been at least partially restored.
At lunchtime, there was a break in the tournament, socheshcat and I grabbed some lunch and ate it outside in the city centre. Which makes the second time this year that I have been able to enjoy my lunch out of doors. Not what I would have expected from January in England, but I'm not going to complain.
In addition to the Puerto Rico tournament, there was a variety of other games going on all day.cheshcat came for the convention[*], but was not interested in playing so much Puerto Rico, so she played other games like Vinci with the non-tournament crowd. After the competition ended, I played a few rounds of a very silly game called Loopy Louie, and I learned how to play an interesting strategy game called Goa. Which I won, first time out.
At the end of the night, I walked home. Leaving The Mitre, which is the venue for the convention, I enjoyed the realization that I was walking away from a day of gaming and out into a world where the Bodleian Library was a stone's throw away and there was all this historic architecture everywhere around me. Nearly one year later, the sense of awe at living in this amazing place has not worn off. I hope it never does.
Now it is time for a late dinner and then off to bed, as the second day of the convention features the Settlers of Catan tournament, and I would like to be awake enough to compete well.
[*] Read her account of the day here.
This weekend is OxCon, the annual gaming convention organized and run by the Oxford University Diplomacy Society (a.k.a. the Board Game Club that
cheshcat and I are lifetime members of).Yesterday evening -- Friday night -- there were pre-convention activities. The original idea of laser tag was rendered impossible by the recent closing of the Oxford LaserQuest facility. Instead, a few of us met up in west Oxford to go ice skating. Afterward, we met a larger group in east Oxford -- Cowley, to be specific -- at a curry house for dinner. When dinner ended, I headed back to the as-yet unnamed flat in north Oxford. Overall, it was an evening of much fun... but, since my main mode of transportation in Oxford is my feet, my legs felt somewhat sore after all this tromping about (and skating).
cassiopia has been writing about Walking to Rivendell -- well, I felt like I walked all the way there in one day! No complaints, though... as I said, it was gangs of fun.Today the convention actually began. The main event was the Puerto Rico tournament, which consisted of three rounds of eight parallel games. Previously, playing Puerto Rico with people like
xirpha and gyades and bammba_m and elision, I had figured that I was fairly good at the game. However, in all three tournament place, I came in third place (out of four or five players). Not terribly spectacular, I must admit. After the tournament ended, a few of us who were not yet sick of Puerto Rico gathered together to play again. Finally, at long last, I ended up winning! So, hallelujah, my self-esteem has been at least partially restored.At lunchtime, there was a break in the tournament, so
cheshcat and I grabbed some lunch and ate it outside in the city centre. Which makes the second time this year that I have been able to enjoy my lunch out of doors. Not what I would have expected from January in England, but I'm not going to complain.In addition to the Puerto Rico tournament, there was a variety of other games going on all day.
cheshcat came for the convention[*], but was not interested in playing so much Puerto Rico, so she played other games like Vinci with the non-tournament crowd. After the competition ended, I played a few rounds of a very silly game called Loopy Louie, and I learned how to play an interesting strategy game called Goa. Which I won, first time out. At the end of the night, I walked home. Leaving The Mitre, which is the venue for the convention, I enjoyed the realization that I was walking away from a day of gaming and out into a world where the Bodleian Library was a stone's throw away and there was all this historic architecture everywhere around me. Nearly one year later, the sense of awe at living in this amazing place has not worn off. I hope it never does.
Now it is time for a late dinner and then off to bed, as the second day of the convention features the Settlers of Catan tournament, and I would like to be awake enough to compete well.
[*] Read her account of the day here.
