Last weekend was RickFest VI, my annual invite-only mini gaming convention. It’s twelve hours of hanging out with my friends, playing games, and eating way too much food that’s not really good for me. As I did last year, I rented a small community centre hall, because RSVPs showed we were looking at about 35 folks showing up.
Turns out we only had about 25 people ((There’s a nasty flu going around, so we had several folks who didn’t show. Also, my parents, who were planning to come into the city, didn’t, because my mom broke her ankle just before Christmas.)) over the course of the day, with a maximum of about 18-20 at any one time. I hauled about 50 games, a big pot of the traditional RickFest veggie chili, and a bunch of other food down to the hall ((Assisted by Michael and Sandy, who always do a lot to help out setting up and tearing down. Thanks, guys!)). I had to stop to pick up some ice and the hall keys, so there were already a few folks waiting when I got there. Loading the games into the club took almost no time with everyone helping, and everyone got playing games while I finished laying out the games and food, which was ideal.
Here are some pictures.
The game assortment for RickFest VI
Tom and Clint playing Zombie Dice
Fred, Nathan, Julia, Paul, and Steven playing Tokaido.
Paul, Michael, Tania, and Lindsey playing Ticket to Ride
Sandy and Jen playing Ticket to Ride
Chris, Paul, and Michael playing Settlers of Catan
My first big game of the day: Sentinels of the Multiverse. With Chris, Lindsey, Tania, and Michael. ((We triumphed over La Capitan in the Ruins of Atlantis. The heroes were KNYFE, Wraith, the Visionary, and the Naturalist. The Naturalist’s rhino-form tanking ability was crucial in our victory.))
I’m actually in this picture! Playing Elder Sign with Melly, Matt, Elliot, and Fera. Yig owned our asses.
“We’re going to play a game with just the girls,” they told me. So Melly, Fera, Sandy, Lindsey, and Tania decided to play Race for the Galaxy.
Dan came by Maddy, and played some Zombie Dice. Later, Maddy got to play Werewolf with us, which was a game she really wanted to play, apparently.
Melly, Matt, and Elliot playing King of Tokyo
Erik, Sigrid, Bjorn, and Soren managed to make it by. Here, they’re playing King of Tokyo.
Paul, Steven, and Frederic playing Forbidden Island.
Lindsey, Tania, Chris, and Michael, also playing Forbidden Island.
Another shot of the Elder Sign game.
Battlestar Galactica with Michael, Chris, Elliot, Paul, and Matt. Messed up the rules a bit, because it’s been a long time since I played. The cylons won, killing the humans with sadness.
Playing the Archer card/boardgame with Chris and Sandy. I played Cheryl and won through a combination of sex and insults.
We finished the evening with a game of Cards Against Humanity. That’s me, Tania, Melly, Elliot, Matt, Chris, and Dan.
This was Dan’s first game of CAH. He looked like this through pretty much the whole game.
We finished packing up and cleaning up the hall and loading the car. By the time I dropped the keys off and got home, it was after one. I had much less in the way of leftovers this year ((Though I ran out of chili. Need to find a middle ground between last year’s batch – way too big – and this year’s.)) – most of it was chocolate, rolls, and cookies.
But even with lower-than-expected attendance, it was a fun day of friends, food, and games. Thanks to everyone who came out to play with me, and special thanks to those who helped me set up and tear down. RickFest would be even more exhausting for me without you.
One final thing: I’ve been calling RickFest the eleventh most wonderful time of the year. Some ((Especially Tania.)) have disputed that. So, this year, I had everyone rate the degree of wonderfulness for the event. Now, using an advanced algorithm called “averaging,” I have scientifically determined that RickFest is the sixth most wonderful time of the year! Yay for RickFest!