I’d like to start this report by thanking everyone who came out to Iceland (frikkin’ Iceland!) to play some cards with me. I had a great time in our sauna of a room, and I hope everyone else did as well. I would especially like to thank David Schachtler, Stefan Schubert, Mike Nudd and Ian O’Brien. All four offered up their time to help teach the game to their fellow EVE fans. With all the other events that were scheduled at Fanfest, it was great to see such dedication to Second Genesis.
I was a mess on Thursday. We should just get that out of the way up front. I had been up for more than thirty-six hours the day before, and had used more than a little alcohol to put myself to sleep on Wednesday. Though I had managed to arrive at the show on time, I was groggy and still a little sore from all the traveling and pre-Fanfest setup—in short, even though Thursday was going to set the tone for the rest of the show, I couldn’t really get excited.
It was good for me, then, that we had a constant stream of fans through the tabletop room, all of them very curious and enthusiastic about our non-video games. The more demos that were given, the more I perked up, and by the time the flood of Live Agent players (fans sent on missions around Fanfest) showed up, everyone at the ESG tables had gotten into a groove. People who hadn’t played since last year’s Fanfest were suddenly galvanized to make decks for the Firday tournament, while the regular players were raiding the supply of promo materials to keep up with the demand for demonstrations. Even some members of the gaming press popped their heads in and walked away with a very high opinion of the card game (as well as a starter deck or two)!
Friday
Friday’s tournament was admittedly a bit more sedate, but everyone involved had a great time. Many of the competitors had never played in a tournament before, but I don’t think anyone felt the low average experience level hurt. Even though there were plenty of new prizes up for grabs (signed art, new promo cards and even some framed foil sheets), the experienced players almost universally slowed down to teach the newcomers the ins and outs of tournament play. Unfortunately, without knowing what to expect, several new players dropped after only a few rounds, reducing our numbers from fifteen to thirteen.
When the finals rolled around, everyone was anxious to see the results not only of our tournament, but also of the PvP tournament downstairs. Participation prizes were handed out, and the top four settled in for the next two rounds, both of which lasted well over an hour apiece. What had started out as a very casual tournament suddenly turned deadly-serious, with games turning from patient explanations of game mechanics and strategy to quiet, tense struggles for supremacy.
The first round of the finals saw Stefan Shubert (schubi) facing off against Einar Þór Ívarsson, while Mike Nudd (mikelosaurus) stared down the barrel of Árni Magnússon’s brutal deck. With the newcomers out of the way, all four become deadly serious, nd set about methodically breaking their opponents’ decks. I personally played against all of the finalists except for Arni, and I don’t mind telling you that the other judges and I had absolutely no idea who would end up in what place. Strength of schedule certainly played a role in determining the top four, but any of them could be walking home with first place, as far as we could determine.
Stefan and Einar both utilized heavy early defenses, preferring to roll out unstoppable juggernauts relatively late in the game. When facing each other, both players utilized quick jabs to attempt to wear down resources, but all three games of the match ultimately came down who could amass ISK the fastest. Unfortunately for schubi, Einar was slightly more consistent and emerged victorious after the third game.
Mike and Arni were likewise equally matched, both running decks that relied mostly on smaller ships with a smattering of heavies for support and the eventual punch needed to win. Mike relied heavily upon Tourist Resorts and empty regions to bring in the cash while Arni’s locations primarily benefited from play outside of the home region. This difference arguably cost Mike the match, but not before he fought his way to an incredible third game standoff.
With the foreign invaders knocked out, the local boys (Arni and Einar both hail from Reykjavik) set about the task of beating each other into submission. Einar’s deck proved to be flexible, despite its use of bigger ships, but it ultimately lost out to the hordes of smaller ships Arni was able to field. A veteran of many card games, Einar gave as good as he got, making Arni sweat over three games and nearly an hour and a half, but he was eventually overcome.
Saturday
The idea for Saturday’s “Pod a Dev” challenge was kind of a last-minute addition to the schedule. I was wracking my brain for something interesting to do after the tournament (which always leaves both judges and players a little burnt out) and thought giving you all a chance to humiliate Tallest and me was a good way to disseminate some prizes in a very relaxed way.
Most of Friday’s players turned up, if just for a match or two, and we were joined by a quite a few people who had only Thursday learned to play the game. I personally played around ten games while Tallest and Kaemon accounted for about six or seven apiece. Out of those roughly two dozen games, we gave away eight full playsets of the four newest promo cards. Everyone seemed to like the cards, especially the two that were being seen for the first time.
All in all, Fanfest was a success for Second Genesis. A lot of EVE fans picked up the game, vowing to teach it to their friends and corp mates, and promised to return next year. The EVE Store actually sold out of Exiled boosters late Friday evening! I would highly recommend everyone look into coming to the Party at the Top of the World next year, and in the mean time, honing your skills as local events. With the short test league running through December, and the fully-supported version starting up in January, it’s an exciting time for ESG players, and I wouldn’t want to be helming any other game right now.
