ScrapYard Armory

NJ Con 2011 is in the books and it was a great con.  NJ Con is a small New Jersey based convention that packs a lot of gaming into a small frame.

The convention site this year was the La Quinta in Somerset NJ.  The lighting was good and the on site facilities were better than I expected.  More importantly there was a wide range of games for con-goers to try out.  The small venue works to NJ Con’s advantage.  If you are in the NJ area you have no excuse not to miss this budget priced convention.

A Scheduling Controversy?

I had reports from the field that some of the afternoon games started earlier than their posted 2PM times.  At least one potential con goer was upset at missing the start of a few games and left disgruntled.  For the record all BattleTech games started at their prescribed times.  Not an issue for most but something the convention staff should seek to nail down.  I’ve heard countless stories of games starting late in my day but early starts are a rarer beast.

BattleTech Gaming

Jim “RatBoy” Williamson was on hand from Time Warp Comics and Games to host two QuickStrike games based on the Fall of Terra scenario book.  Both games were great and made use of a custom generated record sheets which may be seeing a more formal release in the near future.  They certainly helped the game along and proved super easy to use.  Expect two after action reports in the future here at the ScrapYard!

ScrapYard contributor SaxyWolf hosted a Grinder Saturday evening that was well attended and a lot of fun.  By the end of the night the players had only gotten up to Heavy ‘Mechs but they made sure to blast apart almost all of the Medium units before they got there.  Copious tons of armor were reduced to slagged over the 4+ hours of Grinder mayhem.  We used our usual setup of MechWarrior figures and 2 inch hex terrain with homemade hills and trees.  New this year is heavy duty laminated record sheets which worked quite well.  Players used dry erase markers to mark damage making the whole set reusable.

After a day of sitting in the car after the con, the record sheets were a tad stubborn to get super clean.  A little bit of baking soda on a damp paper towel was enough to scrub them new as the day we made them.

Operation Mallard Freedom

Between games while getting a breath of fresh air outside, SaxyWolf came across just the cutest duck family you ever did see.  Momma duck was carefully leading her brood of twelve ducklings around the parking lot.  After snapping a few pictures it was back to gaming.  What could possibly go wrong?

A little while later, on another break from the games SaxyWolf heard a duck in distress.  When he found the mother duck she was frantically quacking and flapping her little wings back and forth over top a storm drain with only a single duckling left beside her.  Disaster had struck.  The ducklings were in danger.

SaxyWolf sprang into action and called up the local animal shelter who told him to call the local police who then transferred him to another police department who said they would call the shelter.  Would the ducklings be saved after being given the run around?  Does hope yet exist in the Inner Sphere?

Well it appears that someone heard the call for help because after about 30 minutes the hotel parking lot was filled with Animal Control, Police, Fire Department, Ambulance and Search and Rescue.

After a concentrated rescue effort the ducklings were saved and returned to their mother who led them away from the dangerous storm drains.

Other Gaming

NJ Con boasts a wide array of games from several eras.  Here are a few pictures from the convention games being played.