Episode 134 – Cons and Pros of Cons Mostly a catching-up show this week, but we do spend a few minutes at the end talking about different approaches to gaming conventions. It should surprise no one that Andrew and Anitra get very different things out of the conventions we attend. This episode is sponsored by Breaking Games and their new game The Stars Align – which we played on an airplane tray table. Very neat. First, some news! We’ve been in Alaska, and it was great. Anitra and Nick made a bunch of punny valentines – one of our new yearly traditions. Anitra finally explained in full why she hates Candy Land. We’ll have a giveaway coming up in two weeks, when we’ll be talking about “spring cleaning”. We’re asking you, our listeners: Do you ever thin out your board game collection? If so, how do you do evaluate whether or not to keep a game? What We’ve Been Playing Order of Invention – one of the games from our sponsor, Breaking Games. Gaming in Alaska! * Palm Island* Drop It – we played a ton of this with all kinds of people.* Ethnos* Century: Golem Edition* Mysterium – a crowded, loud hall was not the right place to play this. Nevertheless, we still had fun.* Q-bitz* Get the MacGuffin (review coming soon) – “Feels like Fluxx, but shorter.”* The Manhattan Project: Energy Empire* Poetry Slam (review coming soon)* Supertall – we like it better with 3 players.* Tiny Ninjas – super portable. Then we came back! * 10 Days in the USA (since we were fresh back from AK, lots of questions about how you’d get there and what it’s like there.)* My First Castle Panic* Campaign Trail is here! We’re really looking forward to playing it with all the new bits.* Planetoid – on Kickstarter now. We are definitely backing this one, especially given the low price. Then Andrew went to TotalCon… * Forbidden Desert* Played a prototype and talked with Emerson Matsuuchi, the designer of Century: Spice Road, and all its descendants.* Shikoku, coming soon to the USA thanks to Grand Gamers Guild. Preorders are available now! SNAP Review: Sparkle*Kitty Hear our thoughts on Claire’s favorite game. Can you escape the cursed “no-cursing” towers using adorably cute spells? There are princesses here for everyone. Read the summary on our website. Approaches to Cons Andrew and Anitra agree that conventions are about socializing with other gamers and getting an experience you can’t get at home. Anitra likes using the vehicle of “play games” to meet people and try things she can’t find elsewhere. Andrew likes to bounce around and talk to people,