2019 convention booklet a5 final draft - tabletop scotland · floor plan in this booklet. 10. wi-fi...

TABLETOPTABLETOPTABLETOPTABLETOP

SCOTLANDSCOTLANDSCOTLANDSCOTLAND 2019201920192019

Our Sponsors

Tabletop Scotland 2019! Welcome to the second Tabletop Scotland event. The main difference this year from 2018 is we have both halls of the Dewars Centre which doubles our floor space to put lots of exciting things in for you to enjoy. We are joined by many fabulous exhibitors including our sponsors DMB Games, Geeknson, Handiwork Games, The Board Game Book, D. Taylor Woodworking and Murphy’s Vault as well as our partners Asmodee UK, Coiledspring Games, Dice Roll Café, HABA Games and Unlucky Frog Gaming. Our exhibitors and partners are here to showcase their games & accessories over the weekend and will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about their products. We have over 1,000 seats of play space for you to enjoy as well as some fantastic events including 100 tables of Roleplaying Games over the weekend, Board Game Tournaments, Seminars and a Starship Bridge Simulator! We want you to have a great weekend at Tabletop Scotland. If you need anything at any time throughout the convention feel free to ask one of our volunteers (Red t-shirts) or one of the convention team (Yellow t-shirts) and we’ll be happy to help you! Thanks, Dave - Convention Director, Tabletop Scotland

2

Table of Contents: Content Page Welcome 2

Convention Timings 4

Cash Machine 5

Convention Team Colour Coding 6

Other Information 6 1: Wear your badge 2: Food Policy

3: Alcohol Policy 4: Code Of Conduct & Anti-Harassment Policy

5: First Aid Guidance 6: Smoking / Vaping Information

7: Parking Information 8: Park & Ride Information 7 9: Wheelchair Access 11: Quiet Room 8 10: Wi-Fi Access 12: Lost & Found

13: Taxis

14: Live Active Voucher Details 15: Contacting Tabletop Scotland 9

Would you like to play a game? 10

Board Game Library 11

Where’s my nearest tabletop game store? 13

Where’s my nearest game club? 14

Event Schedule 15

Seminars & Live Shows 16

Roleplaying Games 19 Roleplaying Games with Children 20 Dungeons & Dragons 21 Other Roleplaying Games 22

Board Game Tournaments 23

Empty Epsilon – Starship Bridge Simulator 24

Gateway Zone 26

Convention Maps 27 Strathmore Hall

Strathearn Hall 28 Entrance Area 29 First Floor

Bring & Buy 30

Unexpected Consequences of Dungeon Looting – Bill Heron 31

How much is too much? - Duncan Cowan 33

Little People - Ben Porter 35

Dearly beloved - Michael & Pauline 37

In Review - Iain McAllister 39

Playtest Zone 41

Tabletop Art - Ross Connell 43

Hobby Growth - Owen Duffy 45

Analog UK: Tabletop Gaming in the 21st Century - Matt Coward-Gibbs 47

Build it and they will come. - Greg Foster 49

Beginners Guide To Game Design - Mark McKinnon 51

Connected - David Wright 53

3

Convention Timings Front Desk Exhibitor Trading Saturday: 09:00 – 22:30 Saturday: 09:00 – 18:00 Sunday: 09:00 – 17:30 Sunday: 09:00 – 17:00

Merchandise Quiet (Kinnoul) Room Saturday: 11:00 – 18:00 Saturday: 09:00 – 22:00 Sunday: 11:00 – 16:00 Sunday: 09:00 – 17:00

Play Zone Timings Open Play HABA Family Zone Saturday: 09:00 – 23:00 Saturday: 09:00 – 18:00

Sunday: 09:00 – 18:00 Sunday: 09:00 – 18:00 Asmodee UK & Coiledspring Demo Zones

Gateway Zone

Saturday: 09:00 – 18:00 Saturday: 09:00 – 18:00 Sunday: 09:00 – 18:00 Sunday: 09:00 – 18:00

Games Library Playtest Zone Saturday: 09:00 – 22:00 Saturday: 10:00 – 17:15 Sunday: 09:00 – 18:00 Bring & Buy

Saturday: 10:30 – 18:00 Sunday: 10:00 – 16:00

Roleplaying Games, Seminars, Board Game Tournaments and the Empty Epsilon Starship Bridge Simulator are individually

timed. Sign-up sheets for each of these will be at the Front Desk on the Ground Floor. Family, Demo, Playtest & Gateway Zone tables are available

for open play once those zones have closed for the day.

4

Cash Machine The venue has no cash machine onsite. Whilst we anticipate that the majority of our exhibitors will take

debit or credit cards, the nearest cash machines are at ALDI and Morrisons, both less than a 10-minute walk from the venue.

5

Convention Team Colour Coding 1. Convention Team

The convention team of Dave, Duncan, John and Simon will all be wearing Yellow t-shirts. If you have a question or

need any assistance, then they can help you. Helpfully their names are on the backs of their t-shirts.

2. Volunteers The volunteers are the team who make sure every part of the convention works. As with the convention team they are here to answer your questions and provide assistance.

They are all wearing Red t-shirts. 3. Event Co-ordinators

Events are a key part of our convention and those who are hosting those events will all be wearing Blue t-shirts

Other Information 1. Your convention badge must be worn at all times. 2. Only food & drink purchased on-site may be eaten within

the venue. The onsite café on the first floor serves hot & cold food throughout the day catering for all dietary requirements. A pop up café will be in the Strathearn Hall for snacks and soft (hot or cold) drinks.

3. Alcohol from the bar is permitted throughout the venue

however we ask all attendees to act & drink responsibly. 4. Our Code of Conduct and Anti-Harassment policy must be

adhered to always. Please report any incidents to a Red or Yellow shirt.

5. First Aid is provided by venue staff, please let a Red or

Yellow shirt know if you require assistance. 6. Smoking / Vaping is not permitted within the venue. Please

use the designated area at the front of the venue.

6

7. There are 400 car parking spaces available at the venue.

A charge of £1 will apply on the Saturday with Sunday parking being free. Perth has many car parks should the venue car park be full - www.perthcity.co.uk/information/parking-in-perth/

8. The Park & Ride bus service from Broxden stops right outside

the venue on Saturday (7A) and Sunday (7B).

Depart 08:00 08:20 08:40 09:00 17:38 17:58 18:18 18:40 19:10 22:10 22:40 23:10

Arrive 08:09 08:29 08:49 09:09 17:47 18:07 18:27 18:48 19:18 22:18 22:48 23:18

Depart 08:52 09:12 09:32 09:52 17:32 17:52 18:12 18:42 19:12 22:42 23:12 23:42

Arrive 09:00 09:20 09:40 10:00 17:40 18:00 18:20 18:50 19:20 22:50 23:20 23:50

From Broxden P&R To Dewars Centre

And every

20 minutes

And every

30 minutes

And every

20 minutes

And every

30 minutes

From Dewars Centre To Broxden P&R

Saturday

Saturday

Depart 09:11 09:41 10:11 10:41 16:41 17:11 17:41 18:11

Arrive 09:18 09:48 10:18 10:48 16:48 17:18 17:48 18:18

Depart 10:12 10:42 11:12 11:42 16:42 17:12 17:42 18:12

Arrive 10:20 10:50 11:20 11:50 16:50 17:20 17:50 18:20

From Broxden P&R To Dewars Centre

From Dewars Centre To Broxden P&R

Sunday

SundayAnd every

30 minutes

And every

30 minutes

7

9. Wheelchair Access

The venue is accessible via wheelchair. External access is via a ramp or from the underground car park you can access the lift by contacting Dewars Centre reception via a buzzer. Disabled toilets are on the ground floor only.

The location of the lifts inside the venue are marked on the floor plan in this booklet.

10. Wi-Fi The venue has free Wi-Fi which must be registered for before use. There are signs throughout the venue.

11. Quiet Room

We have a Quiet Room (known as the Kinnoul Room) which is available for anyone to use. It is accessed via either the Front Desk area or the Strathearn Hall on the ground floor and is sign posted. This will close at 22:00 on the Saturday and 17:00 on the Sunday.

No gaming is permitted in the Quiet Room. 12. Lost & Found

If you find any items that may have been left behind by another attendee please bring this to the attention of a Red or Yellow shirt who will collect the item and take it to the Front Desk for safe keeping.

If you have lost any items then please ask at the Front Desk. We cannot be held liable for items lost. Where items are not claimed over the weekend these will be handed into Perth Police Station for safe keeping and you should contact them after the convention.

www.scotland.police.uk/secureforms/lost-property/ 13. Taxis – Here are some Taxi numbers should you need to

travel without a car or using public transport. o A&B Taxis - 01738 634567 o Ace Taxis - 01738 444000

o Thistle Taxis - 01738 441122

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14. Live Active Voucher

Each attendee can request a Live Active voucher from the Dewars Centre reception. This voucher gives a discount towards use of the facilities of the Leisure Centre.

Voucher Pricing is the LA Card pricing on the table below. Please note that Ice Skating will not be available. Prices as of 1st May 2019

Standard Gym – Live Active Atholl, Live Active Blairgowrie, Live Active Loch Leven Premium Gym - All campuses, Live Active Rodney, Perth Leisure Pool and Bell’s Sport

Centre *Peak swimming at PLP (Perth Leisure Pool) includes use of the features such as Flumes

and Wild Water. Peak Swimming Times are from 4pm Monday – Friday • All day weekends • All day during all local school holidays

**Family swim consists of up to 2 adults and up to 3 juniors or seniors.

15. Contacting Tabletop Scotland

Should you have feedback either during or after the convention please use our email address [email protected] and we will get back to you

as soon as we can after the convention finishes. Note that during the convention this mailbox will not be monitored. We can also be contacted via Facebook and Twitter. Links are on our website www.tabletopscotland.co.uk

If you need to speak to a member of the Convention Team urgently, go to the Front Desk and they will help you.

9

Would you like to play a game? We have a multitude of options for you to play games. To help you we’ve categorised them as follows –

Already know what you want to play? Bought something from one of our exhibitors? Chosen something from our Games Library? Grab a table and sit down to play.

Is this hobby new to you or maybe you’re still finding your feet in deciding which games to play? If you’re not sure where to start or what to try next then come to Gateway, we’ll help you find your new favourite game.

Publisher & distributor of games by Fantasy Flight Games, Plaid Hat Games, Days Of Wonder, Z-Man Games, Catan and many more. The Asmodee UK demo team will showcase

new and upcoming releases.

Publisher & distributor of games by IELLO, Gamewright Games and Blue Orange Games. Coiledspring will demo new & upcoming releases and host tournaments

for Kingdomino & King Of Tokyo.

HABA make some of the best family games on the market. They will be demoing over 50 different

games to you and your family throughout the weekend.

Wanting to try out games before they are published? We have several designers and publishers

testing out games in our Playtest Zone. Note that the Playtest Zone is only on Saturday.

10

Games Library

Our games library is provided by Dice Roll Café from Glasgow and the All Around The Board team all the way from Kent! How does it work? It’s quite simple really. 1. Go to Library desk 2. Leave £10 cash deposit 3. Give us your mobile

number in case we need to contact you

4. Receive a Library card unique to you

5. Go to the library shelves 6. Choose one game at a

time that you want to borrow

7. We scan the game and your card

8. Play! Returning a game? 1. Go back to the Library 2. Our team will scan the

game and your card.

3. We return the game to the shelves.

Want another game? Return to the shelves! Our team are on hand to help you with the process and with game selection. While at the convention, you can check what’s currently available by visiting https://market.tabletopscotland.co.uk/ and going to the Library section. Finished using the Games Library? Return your Library Card and we will refund your £10 deposit.

Please note - Games cannot be taken outside of the Strathearn or Strathmore halls. Games must be returned no later than 10pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

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Looking for players? We have “Players Wanted” and “Teachers Wanted” signs available for you to use. Collect one from the Games Library, take it to your table and other players will know that you want them to join you! Please return the sign when you no longer need it!

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Where’s my nearest tabletop game store? Scotland is blessed with some fantastic tabletop game stores and game cafés.

Here’s a list of them and some of the events they host. Name Location Website

D&D

AL

Other

RPGs

Board

Games

Warhammer

Underworlds

ABZ Games Aberdeen https://www.facebook.com/abzgamesonline/

Asylum Books &

Games Aberdeen https://www.facebook.com/asylumbooksandgames/

Plan 9 Aberdeen https://www.facebook.com/pages/Plan-

9/341081725918660

The Last Outpost Airdrie https://www.facebook.com/outpostcomics/

Unboxed Gaming

Café Ayr https://www.facebook.com/unboxedcafe/

Castle Comics Cumbernauld https://www.facebook.com/castlecomicsuk/

Highlander Games Dundee https://www.facebook.com/HighlanderGamesDundee/

Little Shop Of

Heroes Dunfermline https://www.facebook.com/LittleShopOfHeroes/

Black Lion Games Edinburgh https://www.facebook.com/blacklionedinburgh/

Edinburgh Game

Hub Edinburgh http://www.gameshubedinburgh.com/

Murphy's Vault Edinburgh http://www.murphysvault.com/

Noughts & Coffees Edinburgh http://www.noughtsandcoffees.co.uk/

Red Dice Games Edinburgh http://www.reddicegames.com/

The Pop Shop Elgin https://www.facebook.com/ThePopShopElgin/

Geeks & Games Falkirk https://www.facebook.com/GeekGearBox/

Geek Retreat Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/GeekRetreatUK/

Geek-Aboo Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/thegeekaboo/

Lucky Sparrow Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/luckysparrowgamescafe/

Max XP Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/pg/maxxpgaming/

Static Games Glasgow https://www.facebook.com/StaticGamesUK/

West End Games Glasgow http://www.westendgames.co.uk/

Settlers Hamilton https://www.facebook.com/SettlersHamilton/

Ellerium Games Inverness http://elleriumgames.co.uk/

Kingdom Comics &

Games Kirkcaldy https://www.facebook.com/kingdomcomicsfife/

Knightly Gaming Lanark https://www.knightlygaming.co.uk/

Bus Stop Toy Shop Largs http://www.busstoptoyshop.com/

Comicrazy Café Paisley http://www.comicrazy.co.uk

Big Dog Books Perth http://bigdogbooks.co.uk/

Common Ground

Games Stirling http://www.commongroundgames.co.uk/

Stores in bold are exhibiting or hosting events at Tabletop Scotland.

Information correct at time of going to print.

13

Where’s my nearest game club?

We’ve collected information on clubs across Scotland, if yours isn’t listed let us know and we’ll add it to the website.

Club Name Location Website Max Cost

Average Age Games Played When? <= 15 16-24 25-34 35-50+ Board CCG RPG War

Aberdeen Wargames Club Aberdeen facebook.com/Aberdeen-Wargames-Club-169929073038704/

£3 Weekly

Asylum Books and Games Board Game Therapy

Aberdeen facebook.com/groups/644729025924610/ £0 Monthly

Knights of Trinity Aberdeen facebook.com/Knights.of.Trinity £3 Weekly

Annan Gaming Club Annan facebook.com/groups/521726434613476 £1 Weekly

East Neuk Tabletop Games Anstruther www.eastneuktabletop.org £2 2nd & 4th Sunday

Friockheim Tabletop Club Arbroath facebook.com/groups/383319935738361/ £3 Weekly

Midlothian Games Club Bonnyrigg facebook.com/events/2361527870759890/

£0 Fortnightly

Dunbar Boardgame Club Dunbar facebook.com/DunbarBoardgameClub/ £0 Weekly

Dundee Wargames Club Dundee www.dundeewargames.co.uk £3 Weekly

Dunfermline Wargames & Roleplaying Fellowship

Dunfermline facebook.com/DWARFclub/ £1 Weekly

Antonine Board Gamers East Dunbartonshire

facebook.com/antonineboardgamers/ £0 Twice Monthly

Scottish Fanatics East Kilbride facebook.com/EKTGC/ £3 Weekly

Currie Library Games Club Edinburgh facebook.com/currielibrary/ £0 3 Weekly

Edinburgh Board Gamers Edinburgh www.meetup.com/Edinburgh-Gamers/ £3 Weekly

Edinburgh Board Gamers Connect

Edinburgh facebook.com/groups/edibgconnect/ £0 Weekly

Edinburgh Indie Gamers Edinburgh www.meetup.com/Edinburgh-Indie-Roleplayers/

£0 Fortnightly

Juniper Green Board-Gamers

Edinburgh facebook.com/groups/393090567800456/ £2 Fortnightly

Open Roleplaying Community Edinburgh

Edinburgh www.orcedinburgh.co.uk £0 Weekly

Watt Gamers Edinburgh facebook.com/groups/wattgamers £3 / year

Adhoc

Broch Board Game Night Fraserburgh facebook.com/groups/1641251765927857/

£0 Weekly

Dungeons and Dragons in the Scottish Borders

Galashiels facebook.com/groups/1543475175963553/

£3 Fortnightly

Glasgow and District Wargaming Society

Glasgow facebook.com/glasgowwargames/ £45 / year

Fortnightly

Glasgow Board Games Glasgow facebook.com/groups/263536471024016/ £0 Weekly

Glasgow Games Group Glasgow www.g3gamers.co.uk £3 Weekly

Unplugged Shawlands Glasgow facebook.com/UnplugGame/ £0 Weekly

West Coast Wanderers Glasgow facebook.com/groups/156851501668746/ £3 Fortnightly

Falkirk District Wargames Club; Board Game & RPG

Grangemouth facebook.com/groups/1955877781294035/

£2 Weekly

ML2 Gamers Hamilton facebook.com/groups/163708224079373/ £0 Fortnightly

HAHA- Helensburgh Alternative Hobby Assoc

Helensburgh facebook.com/HAHAHelensburgh/ £5 Weekly

Shire Gaming Club Inverurie facebook.com/groups/846619568807838 £0 Fortnightly

North Ayrshire Wargames Club

Irvine facebook.com/NAWGC/ £3 Weekly

Kingdom RPG Club Kirkcaldy facebook.com/kingdomcomicsfife/ £3 Weekly

Kirkcaldy Meeple Club Kirkcaldy facebook.com/Kirkcaldymeepleclub £2 Monthly

Let’s Get Gaming Kirkwall Www.facebook.com/groups/letsgetgamingorkney/

£3 Weekly

Lennoxtown Gaming Hub Lennoxtown https://www.facebook.com/Lennoxtowngaminghub/

£5 Weekly

Lanarkshire Gamers Motherwell https://www.facebook.com/groups/261557973924682/

£3 1st & 3rd Saturday

Nairn Boardgamers Nairn https://tinyurl.com/Nairnbg £0 Adhoc

Perth Wargames Club Perth https://m.facebook.com/groups/135861000340151

£0 Weekly


14

Event Schedule We have a fantastic selection of events at Tabletop Scotland 2019. Over the next few pages you’ll find out more about all

of them.

Seminars &

Live Shows

Starship

Simulator

Hay Gallery Gannochy Boardroom

09:00

09:30

10:00

10:30

11:00

11:30

12:00

12:30

13:00

13:30

14:00

14:30

15:00

15:30

16:00

16:30

17:00

17:30

Strathearn Hall

Arkham

Horror LCGEye Of The

Beholder Film

Dungeons

& Dragons

Slot 1

Dungeons

& Dragons

Slot 2

Tabletop with

Children Starship

Simulator

Pre-BookedHow to

Gamemaster a RPG

RPGs for

Children

Slot 2 Starship

Simulator

Day BookedTales From The

Alethian Society

Roleplaying

Games

Slot 2

RPGs for

Children

Slot 3

Snake Oil

Starship

Simulator

Pre-Booked

Starship

Simulator

Pre-Booked

Roleplaying

Games

Slot 1

RPGs for

Children

Slot 1Pandemic

Final

Ticket To

Ride UK

National

Qualifier

Roleplaying Games Board Game Tournaments

Sunday

15

Seminars & Live Shows Tabletop Scotland is proud to have the following seminars and live shows at this year’s event.

Saturday

Title Start Finish Location

Hobbycraft 10:30 12:00 HAY A key aspect of this hobby for many tabletop gamers is the craft of painting miniatures and in this seminar David Imrie and Nick Murray will talk about and demonstrate their Hobbycraft.

Crowd Funding 101 with We're Not Wizards 12:30 13:30 HAY Crowd funding has become a key component of the tabletop games hobby in recent years. Websites such as Kickstarter providing game designers of all shapes and sizes the ability to secure funding and reach an audience for their products that otherwise may not have been possible. Our panel will talk about their experiences of using crowd funding to create their projects and what they have learned from that experience.

World Building 14:30 15:30 HAY A key step in any game design process is determining where the game is set, if indeed it has a setting. That applies whether you’re designing a new game, writing a setting for an existing game or home-brewing a variant for a published game. This seminar will go through that process and touch on how our panel approach it in each of their designs.

Writing Gamebooks for Fun & Profit 16:30 18:00 HAY Enjoy interactive stories on your smartphone? Nostalgic about the golden age of gamebooks? This session will get you started on creating your own, help you to actually finish it, and show you how you can publish a gamebook today. No experience necessary, but bring your ideas! A hands-on workshop.

Tabletop Art 19:00 20:00 HAY This seminar is all about the art that goes into making the games we love come to life. Our Tabletop Art seminar consists of a panel of artists who have worked on some of the biggest games in the industry and some of the smallest too.

Eye Of The Beholder - The Art of Dungeons & Dragons

20:30 22:30 HAY

An exciting new documentary that explores the history, influence, and stories behind the artwork that helps create the worlds in which we all play. The movie profiles D&D artists – both past and present – and also features former TSR insiders, game designers, authors, and fans.

Pub Quiz with Unlucky Frog 21:30 23:00 CAFÉ BAR & MUIRHEAD

Back by popular demand… apparently! The Pub Quiz is hosted by the Unlucky Frog team.

16

Sunday

Title Start Finish Location

Tabletop with Children 10:30 11:30 HAY Jennifer and Eric from Juniper Green Board Gamers will talk about their experiences of introducing the hobby to their children and other children too. Other topics such as “Should you let the child win?” as well as the effect that board games can have on mental well-being and other developmental benefits.

How to Game Master a Roleplaying Game 12:00 13:00 HAY Tom Mannering, former Scottish Pathfinder Society “head honcho” and newly spawned Unlucky Frog, will guide you through the mysteries of running RPGs. There will be time for Q&A too!

Tales from the Alethian Society 14:00 15:00 HAY Tales from the Aletheian Society is a serialised comedy-horror audio drama about the misadventures of a society of Victorian occultists. The cast are performing a live show at Tabletop Scotland. You can find out more about them on their website – https://www.hunterhoose.co.uk/ May contain actual or implied violence, frequent mild swearing and reference to dark occult themes.

Eye Of The Beholder - The Art of Dungeons & Dragons

16:00 18:00 HAY

A second showing of this exciting new documentary that explores the history, influence, and stories behind the artwork that helps create the worlds in which we all play. The movie profiles D&D artists – both past and present – and also features former TSR insiders, game designers, authors, and fans.

The Seminars & Live Show events will be recorded and

syndicated by our Media Partner – Unlucky Frog Gaming – www.unluckyfrog.com


17

Our Crowd Funding 101 panellists are – Sarah Kennington from One Free Elephant Elaine Lithgow from DigiSprite Mark McKinnon from Dream Big Games

Our World Building panellists are Matthew Dawkins – Onyx Path Publishing writer and developer Benn Graybeaton – Modiphius RPG writer Klara Horskjær Herbøl – Onyx Path Publishing writer Bill Heron – Modiphius RPG writer Kevin Young – Inspiring Games game designer

Our Tabletop Art panellists are - Andy Hepworth – https://www.facebook.com/andyhepworthart/ Jon Hodgson – https://www.facebook.com/JonHodgsonIllustration/ Ralph Horsley – https://www.facebook.com/pg/Ralph.Horsley.Art/

18

Roleplaying Games With the exception of the RPGs for Children, all of the Roleplaying Games will take place on the 1st floor of the

Dewars Centre.

• All RPGs for Children sessions are in the Strathearn Hall • All Dungeons & Dragons games are in the Gallery • All other RPGs are in the Gannochy

You will find Sign Up sheets at the Front Desk. These will be pre-populated with the names of those who pre-registered online and will show where we have spaces available. Every game will have their sheets in that area and attendees

can sign up for any game that has open spaces. These sheets will be available at the start of each day for games running that day. Players should turn up to where the game is being hosted 10 minutes prior to game start time when a muster call will

happen to ensure that games start on time. With the exception of some of the Dungeons & Dragons games, no prior knowledge of any game being run is required! Where games contain content that may not be suitable to those under 12 they have a rating assigned to them. If you are

uncertain whether a game is suitable content wise then we have several games that have no age rating assigned. Note that all RPGs run in the Gallery and Gannochy will use the X-Card to ensure that all participants are able to enjoy themselves throughout the game.

You can read more about that in the “In Game Conduct” section of our Code Of Conduct on our website and more about the X-Card specifically here http://tinyurl.com/x-card-rpg


19

Roleplaying Games with Children

We’re delighted to be able to offer a selection of RPGs suitable for 8 to 12 year olds. Parents & Guardians are welcome to join in the games or watch as their children create stories together.

Saturday

Str

ath

ea

rn H

all

1

0:0

0 -

11

:30

OneDice - Glade of the

Unicorn

12

:00

- 1

3:3

0

OneDice - The Lost

Village

14

:30

- 1

6:0

0

Hero Kids - Darkness

Neath Rivenshore

D&D - The Scourge of

Paldaria Woods

D&D - The Disappearance

of Blank Valdori

Sunday

10

:00

- 1

1:3

0

OneDice - Glade of the

Unicorn

12

:00

- 1

3:3

0

OneDice - The Lost

Village

14

:30

- 1

6:0

0

Hero Kids - Tomb Of The

Lost King

D&D - The Scourge of

Paldaria Woods

D&D - The Disappearance

of Blank Valdori

20

Dungeons & Dragons Sessions Our Dungeons & Dragons schedule includes lots of Adventurers League scenarios including an EPIC and some Community

Created Content (CCC) adventures specifically written for Tabletop Scotland. If you don’t currently play Adventurers League then you can still take part by picking up a pre-generated character in one of the Levels 1 to 4 scenarios.

Saturday

Ga

lle

ry

10

:00

- 1

3:3

0

CCC-1 Three Moles for Father

Octavius (Levels 1 to 4)

14

:30

- 1

8:0

0



19

:00

- 2

3:3

0

EPIC - DDEP08-03 Last Call at the

Yawning Portal (Levels 1 to 4)

CCC-2 The Night Gate (Levels 1 to

4)


4)

CCC-3 Heart of the Storm (Levels

1 to 4)


1 to 4)

DDAL05-05 A Dish Best Served

Cold (Levels 5 to 10)

DDAL08-01 The Map with No

Names (Levels 1 to 4)

DDAL07-03 A Day at the Races

(Levels 1 to 4)


(Levels 1 to 4)



DDEX3-11 The Quest for

Sporedome (Levels 5 to 10) EPIC - DDEP08-03 Last Call at the

Yawning Portal (Levels 5 to 10) DDAL07-06 Fester and Burn

(Levels 5 to 10)

DDAL07-07 Rotting Roots (Levels

5 to 10)

DDAL08-10 The Skull Square

Murders (Levels 5 to 10)

DDAL08-11 Poisoned Words

(Levels 5 to 10)



D&D - Temple Of The Eternal One

(15+) (Level 10)



Sunday

Ga

lle

ry

10

:00

- 1

3:3

0



14

:30

- 1

8:0

0




4)


4)


1 to 4)


1 to 4)





DDAL08-02 Beneath the City of

the Dead (Levels 1 to 4)


(Levels 1 to 4)


(Levels 1 to 4)

CCC-OHAYOCON-01-03 Fiendly

Competition (Levels 5 to 10)

DDAL05-05 A Dish Best Served

Cold (Levels 5 to 10)

DDEX3-11 The Quest for

Sporedome (Levels 5 to 10)

DDAL07-08 Putting the Dead to

Rest (Levels 5 to 10)

Dungeons & Dragons: Battle

Royale (Level 17)

DDAL08-12 Xanathar's Wrath

(Levels 5 to 10)

21

Other Roleplaying Games Sessions

Alongside all the fantastic D&D games, we also have an amazing array of other Roleplaying Games on offer including

several being run by writers for those games!

Saturday

Ga

nn

och

y

10

:00

- 1

3:3

0

Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 - Forest of

Fear: Slumber No More (12+)

14

:30

- 1

8:0

0

Call of Cthulhu 7th edition - The

Haunting (12+)

19

:00

- 2

3:3

0

Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 - The

Island (15+)

Blades in the Dark - Shady with a

strong chance of daggers (12+)

Castle Falkenstein - A Night at the

Opera

Aegean - The Curse of the Golden

Bull

Delta Green RPG - Aisle 13 (15+) Dungeon Crawl Classics - Beneath

the Temple of Doubt

Alien The Roleplaying Game –

Monan’s Folly

Dungeon World - A Choose Your

Own Adventure Fate - Flight of the Vega

Cypher System - Olympic Dynasty:

Running Up That Hill (15+)

Invisible Sun - We Begin At The End

(12+)

Fate Accelerated - The Athena Club

Investigates: The Curse of the

Mummy's Tomb (12+)

Is It A Plane!? - Midnight Watch

John Carter From Mars 2d20 - The

Water Forge (12+)

FFG Star Wars Age of Rebellion -

Rebel Country

L5R - The Tournament of The

Emperor's Favour

Mongoose Traveller - ReContact! Manifold - The Graveyard Of The

Robots

Monsterhearts 2 - Gametown

(18+)

Night Witches (PbtA) - Pashkovskaya

Nocturne (18+) Savage Worlds - The Lazarus Project

Paranoia - Troubleshooter

Graduation (15+)

One Ring - Of Leaves and Stewed

Hobbits Superlatives - Three Worlds Star Trek Adventures - Badlands

Over The Edge - Things to do in Al

Amarja when you're dead (18+)

The Agency - Go-Go a Gone-Gone!

(15+)

Vampire: The Masquerade –

Broken Veins (15+)

Swords & Wizardry Light (OD&D

Clone) - Spiked Punch

The Cthulhu Hack – The Brighter the

Light (15+)

World Wide Wrestling (PbtA) -

Saturday Night Smackdown (18+)

Sunday

Ga

nn

och

y

10

:00

- 1

3:3

0

Achtung! Cthulhu 2d20 - Forest of

Fear: Slumber No More (12+)

14

:30

- 1

8:0

0

7th Sea - Eisen needs heroes. (15+)

Alien The Roleplaying Game –

Chariot of the Gods (15+)

All Flesh Must Be Eaten - 28

Minutes Later (18+)

Call of Cthulhu: Down Darker Trails -

A Fist Full of Tentacles! (12+) Feng Shui 2 - The Legs of Time (15+)

Conan - The Pits Of The Laughing

God (12+)

FFG Star Wars Age of Rebellion -

Rebel Country

Cypher System - The Wedding List

(12+) Manifold - The First

Delta Green RPG - Last Things Last

(12+)

Phoenix: Dawn Command - The

Seeds of Hatred

Doctor Who - Where there's a will...! Savage Worlds - Here Be Dragons

Feng Shui - Big Trouble in Little

Chinatown (NY) (18+) Star Trek Adventures - Badlands

Pendragon - The Adventure of the

Three Damosels of the Fountain Superlatives - Three Worlds

They Came From Beneath The Sea! –

Crabs! True20 - Big Top Action

Yin-Yang - The Legend Of The Glas

Gaivlen

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Board Game Tournaments We have 2 forms of tournament on at Tabletop Scotland - Registered & “Turn Up To Play” The Registered tournaments take place in the Strathearn Hall.

• You will find Sign Up sheets at Front Desk. • These will be pre-populated with those who pre-registered

online and will show where we have spaces available. • These sheets will be available at the start of each day for

tournaments running that day. • Players should turn up at Front Desk 10 minutes prior to game

start time when a muster call will happen to ensure that games start on time.

• Note that both the Warhammer Underworlds & Arkham Horror LCG events require players to bring their warband / deck to participate.

The “Turn Up To Play” events will be held at the Coiledspring Demo Zone & Stuff By Bez booth.

Saturday Tournament Name Start Finish Location Catan: UK Nationals Qualifier 09:30 20:00 Strathearn Hall

Warhammer Underworlds: Grand Clash 09:30 20:30 Strathearn Hall

Pandemic Survival: Semi-Final 1 Qualifier 10:00 12:30 Strathearn Hall

Pandemic Survival: Semi-Final 2 Qualifier 13:30 16:00 Strathearn Hall

Walk The Plank! Life Size 14:30 17:00 Strathearn Hall

Kingdomino Tournament – Turn Up & Play 11:00 13:00 Coiledspring @ Strathmore Hall

Wibbel++ Triathlon Turn Up & Play 14:00 15:00 Stuff By Bez @ Strathmore Hall

Sunday Tournament Name Start Finish Location Pandemic Survival: Final - UK Nationals Qualifier 10:00 12:30 Strathearn Hall

Ticket To Ride: UK National Qualifier 10:00 17:00 Strathearn Hall

Arkham Horror LCG: Labyrinths Of Lunacy 14:30 18:00 Strathearn Hall

Snake Oil: Large Dose 14:30 16:00 Strathearn Hall

King Of Tokyo Tournament - Turn Up & Play 11:00 13:00 Coiledspring @ Strathmore Hall

Kitty Cataclysm Tournament 14:00 15:00 Stuff By Bez @ Strathmore Hall

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Empty Epsilon – Starship Bridge Simulator

Prove yourself in the Empty Epsilon Starship Bridge Simulator!

You will have to work as a team to command an Atlantis Class starship in a live, real-time computer simulation of a hostile encounter with alien factions. This event is co-sponsored by Computing @ Edinburgh College and One Free Elephant.

Please note that there are age restrictions on participants: 12+ if a parent is playing. 16+ if playing unaccompanied. We have 3 “Book At Convention” sessions which can be

booked on the morning of the day they are being held. Pre-Booked events may still have spaces and crew sheets will be available at the Front Desk for all sessions that day. Where spaces exist, you are welcome to sign up.

Saturday Schedule

Session Type Start Finish Location

Pre-Booked 10:00 11:30 Boardroom


Book At Convention 13:30 15:00 Boardroom



Sunday Schedule

Session Type Start Finish Location





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Gateway Zone A big part of Tabletop Scotland 2018 was our Gateway Zone where we introduced lots of attendees to games for the first time. The list of games we chose for last year worked really well and most of them are returning in 2019. If you’re new to board gaming, the gateway zone is absolutely the place for you to start exploring. This year’s team lead for Gateway Zone is Gilly McBride and here are the games we have chosen.

Carcassonne by Z-Man Games

Catch The Moon by Studio Bombyx

Flamme Rouge by Stronghold Games

Santorini by Roxley Game Laboratory

Splendor by Space Cowboys

Sushi Go! by Gamewright Games

Takenoko by Studio Bombyx

Ticket To Ride by Days Of Wonder

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Convention Maps

The convention this year uses both halls and all the upstairs areas to host everything we have to offer.

Strathmore Hall

Strathearn Hall

Ref Exhibitor

M-A1 Big Dog Books

M-A2 Tabletop Crafter

M-A3 Dark Fantastic Mills

M-A4 Floating World Designs

M-A5 All Rolled Up

M-B1 Digisprite

M-B2 BadCat Games

M-B3 Stuff By Bez

M-B4 Battle Boar Games

M-B5 One Free Elephant

M-C1 Handiwork Games

M-C2 Fog Of Love

M-C3 D. Taylor Woodworking

M-C4 Inspiring Games

M-C5 Common Ground Games

Note that the Playtest Area is only on Saturday.

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Strathearn Hall

Strathearn Hall

Ref Exhibitor

E-A1 Geeknson

E-A2 Board Game Book

E-A3 Warbases

E-A4 Illusionary Constructs

E-A5 Tanya Roberts

E-A6 Genki Gear

E-B1 Ralph Horsley Art

E-B2 Cardboard & Coffee Games

E-B3 Decking Awesome Games

E-B4 YAY Games

E-B5 Wooden DonKay

E-B6 Little Shoppe Of Holdalls

E-B7 Dream Big Games

E-C1 Settlers

E-C2 Crafting Jones

& Redwell Games

E-C3 Medusa Games

E-C4 DMB Games

E-C5 Murphys Vault

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Entrance Area

First Floor

Ref Exhibitor

G-A1 West End Games

29

Tabletop Scotland Bring & Buy Over the weekend we’ll be hosting a Bring & Buy where you might pick up a bargain or sell those unloved items to someone who will make sure they’re played.

Full details on how the Tabletop Scotland Bring & Buy works can be found on our website - https://tabletopscotland.co.uk/what-can-i-do/bring-buy/ You can browse what’s in the Bring & Buy both by visiting it in the Strathmore Hall and via the online portal - https://market.tabletopscotland.co.uk/ - once games have been dropped off at the convention. Timings –

• Game drop off opens at 9:00 both days

• Attendees can enter the Bring & Buy from 10:30 on Saturday and 10:00 on Sunday

• No reservations or holds for games in the Bring & Buy are possible

• The Bring & Buy closes at 18:00 on Saturday and 16:00 on Sunday

• More items may be added and sellers may “cash out” whilst the Bring & Buy is open

• If you are only able to attend Tabletop Scotland on the Saturday then you must cash out and collect any remaining games before 18:00 on Saturday

• On Sunday between 16:00 and 17:00 attendees with items remaining must cash out and collect any that haven’t been purchased

• Any items or cash not collected before these times will be classified as donated to Tabletop Scotland 2019 for us to use as we see fit.

For those of you who are selling games in the Bring & Buy, please note 10% (rounded up to the nearest £1) is deducted from all sales. This will contribute to our charity fundraising for www.macmillan.org.uk

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Bill Heron

www.themandragora.com

Unexpected Consequences of Dungeon Looting We’ve all been there. As players and GMs. The fight is over. The monster is vanquished. Loot. Rest. The player-characters (PCs) move onto the next room. Raid. Loot. Rest. Repeat. That’s the traditional approach, but it doesn’t work quite like that if the GM wants. First of all – and let’s be honest here – adventurers usually stroll in the front door. They then proceed to systematically go room to room. That’s the conventional wisdom in dungeon crawls. But what if… Let’s consider this. What if the left-hand side of the entrance - the front door - is trapped? Nasty poisoned spike traps the locals (denizens) know to avoid – if the adventurers “case the joint,” they may notice this. The denizens are organised. They call for reinforcements and raise the alarm – any loud noises put the whole place on alert. Heavy hitters -not just their minions – who come to see what is going on. It’s also a way for the GM to foreshadow what lies ahead. If the denizens can see in the dark or are blind, they won’t need torches or light – the PCs likely will. If they’re immune to poison, every sharp edge is poisonous. If they can fly, climb walls, or levitate, they’re upside down on the ceiling or out of melee reach. If the PCs are forced to retreat, the denizens follow them back to the PCs’ base. If they rest, the denizens attack in waves, giving little respite to the PCs who need full rests to regain spells HP etc. The PCs run away (sorry, retreat gracefully!), deciding to try their luck when they are rested and healed and at full strength. Guess what? So do the denizens. They’ve fortified their complex, added cover, set ambushes and traps, and called on their allies from deeper within the dungeon or elsewhere. Next time the adventurers attack, they’re waiting.

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It’s not just dungeons and denizens the PCs effect. It’s the local economy. Local lords, temples, and those with an interest in tax gathering and tithes notice a large influx of older or unusual wealth to local business who are now charging exorbitant prices for lamp oil, rope, arrows etc. Do the adventurers pay taxes? The local authorities may well insist they do… Law enforcement and the authorities will also be somewhat concerned when a bunch of carousing adventurers tear up the town (again) or threaten the town indirectly by their presence and actions. Casting a fireball down the street is not civically minded There’s only so many high-level characters in a town – Resurrection spells are few and far between, else they cease to be special (see Conan the Barbarian, Game of Thrones!). Magic item buyers and sellers aren’t common, at least to begin with – then the charlatans arrive. Suddenly “healing potions” and “magic swords” and “protection from fire” potions are being sold everywhere. Then there’s the Other Guys. These individuals are at a similar level of advancement as the PCs. Possibly the adventurers are encroaching on “Their” turf. Perhaps they’re capitalising on the PCs successes – or failures. Maybe they’re on the side of the bad guys. Or they are bounty hunters. There’s the price of fame and the power vacuum. If the PCs choose to make their home in a town, possibly embroiling themselves in local politics, this can have far-reaching effects. Why haven’t the local thieves’ guild generated more revenue, and tithed it to their city masters? That snotty nobleman the characters beat up for a laugh is the queen’s younger brother. That dragon or evil wizard that inhabited the local dungeon was an effective deterrent to Something Worse, who is now free to act. Of course, memories give way to history, history fades to legend. And the dungeon waits again…!

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How much is too much?

Duncan Cowan I used to live in a three-bedroom house with an integrated garage. I still do, but now it

has a ‘dining room’ with a large Geeknson gaming table where the garage once was and is now, at best, a two-bedroom house. What happened to the third you ask? Well it now contains a board game collection bordering on a ridiculous size.

I first sensed I had a potential problem when on realising no more shelving units would fit around the walls, I created library style aisles in the center of the room for more games. According to BoardGameGeek where I track my collection, I have over

1,000 games (including expansions). This is not a boast but highlights how quickly things can escalate out of apparent control. If I run out of space and have boxes on the floor my first question is not whether I have too many, but how I can more efficiently store everything I have or whether I need another new storage unit.

So is this too much? For many people it certainly is. For others maybe. For some I am a mere amateur as they curate huge collections. It’s true that I don’t play all my

games on a regular basis, and that there are more than a few I’ve yet to play. However the key point is I’m not only a game player. I’m an avid collector of games. Almost as much as playing I love unboxing, re-organising, setting up and

admiring board games. Most evenings you’ll find me reading a rulebook, possibly not for the first time. For me, this hobby is about more than the time we play games

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together, important though that clearly is.

It’s about discovery, acquisition, curation, appreciation and education.

So, is this too much? As long as you’re not doing it just to keep up with the Jones’, you’ve got the space

for a collection, an understanding partner and you’re not spending the rent or mortgage money on games then what harm are you doing? Apart from harm to the structural integrity of the first floor of my house of course!

Duncan Cowan is one of the organisers of Tabletop Scotland.

His favourite game is Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the

Cursed Island. His most disliked ‘game’ is The Mind. And he is

ALWAYS the werewolf.

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Little People

Ben from Unlucky Frog Gaming

www.unluckyfrog.com

At the end of last year, I found out that I was to become a

father for the first time. Don’t roll your eyes – this is relevant! I experienced all the usual emotions that you hear people go through when they find out that they’re to become a parent;

shock, disbelief, wonder, excitement, trepidation, etc. Honestly, there were times where it seemed that friends and relatives were more excited than I was at the news. But once the initial buzz dissipated, we still had the 6 or 7 months before

Eleanor-Mae’s dramatic entrance into the world – and all the boring day-to-day considerations that went with that. Foremost amongst those considerations was that we lived in a house filled with wee, plastic men and board games, and would soon be joined by an infant.

I’m quite fortunate in that my wife is very patient and accommodating of my hobbies (or habits) and wanted to ensure that I still had a wee space in the house for myself. The loft bed in the spare room, out of which Unlucky Frog has

been run for the past 2 years, was dismantled and some very appreciative guy with sunglasses and man bun took it away with the help of a friend who most definitely did not want to be there. My painting desk was moved out of the bedroom, and two

large shelving units were put into the room to house ma dudes (my miniatures), also keeping them well out of reach of stubby, little fingers.

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Now I can call the spare room “the studio” without sounding

like a complete idiot. Or so I tell myself. Alas, it wasn’t all hilarity and furniture shifting. There’s

something about the arrival of a child that really puts things into perspective; things that I’d previously felt reluctant to part with were suddenly bundled into brown paper and jiffy bags. We decided that Dark Souls was more likely to be chewed than played, and that the Trollbloods I hadn’t worked on for

years were more likely to end up in a toaster than on a gaming table or display cabinet. Though the evaluation of my priorities was precipitated by the birth of my daughter, there are lots of reasons that people decide to change things.

Some put away or move on from hobbies or aspects thereof. I once read about the Collyer Brothers of New York and immediately threw out bundles of magazines I had collected for fear that I too would one day have a labyrinth of junk in my house that only I knew the way through.

I know of people that operate a strict “1 in, 1 out “ policy with their board game collections to avoid the Collyer problem. It’s also a clever way of constantly forcing yourself to prioritise.

You need to get rid of a game; how much do you really want this new game? As thorough as I think that my plan to baby-proof my gamers’ house has been, I am almost just as certain that it’ll all come undone.

I’ve observed that cats and babies have a way of wrecking even the greatest plans.

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Dearly beloved

Michael & Pauline

www.meeplelikeus.co.uk

We are gathered here together, in the Dewars Centre in Perth, to

celebrate a hobby and family of hobbies. Together we are board gamers, wargamers, role-players and more. Our likes and preferences are as diverse as our lives. Look around the convention floor here and you’ll see hundreds of people playing dozens of games, each with varying degrees of complexity. There’s so much rich variety in our hobbies that you could play a different game every day for the rest of your life and still have new things to explore. We’ve somehow still managed to find enough in common to be here. There’s an awkward secret at the heart of all of this – one that makes life difficult for reviewers and enthusiasts. It’s that in the end these games don’t actually matter.

Whether you’re into Warhammer 40k or Dungeons and Dragons. Whether you like hardcore eurogames or thematic dice-rollers. Whether you’re into Monopoly or Magic: The Gathering. We’ve all got one key thing in common and it’s what conventions like Tabletop Scotland excel in celebrating – our shared togetherness. In the end the games we play are just ways for us to sit down with the people that matter in our lives and spend mindful time enjoying their company. The best tabletop games don’t magically turn our time into entertainment. They’re catalysts – something that takes what we put into them, alchemically transmutes it through our friends, and converts it into fun. Bad games or good games – they only really matter as a way to bring us all together.

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Don’t believe me?

Go grab three of your least entertaining friends. Pick the best game you have on your shelves. Enjoy the excruciating hour you spend before saying ‘Let’s just call it here’ and packing the box away. Now grab three of your best friends and break out the least favourite box in your collection. No matter what you play it’ll be worth your time because together you’ll manage to find the fun. We’ve likely all had the experience of wanting to play but not having people around us to make it happen. Many of us are, at least on the surface, adults. We have real lives. Jobs. Responsibilities. And we have friends who have the same. Finding a time for two of you to get together can be hard enough. Four? Forget about it.

You can have shelves full of the best games but they’re just dead boxes unless you have people that can bring them to life. People that are willing to put aside the complexities of existence long enough to engage in an act of whimsey. People who never felt comfortable with the exhortation to put aside childish things. The right people can make the wrong game fun. The right people will make the right game magical. It’s just sometimes hard to arrange the time for you all to be together. And yet here we all are. Together. Celebrating a hobby that we all have in common. In this convention you can’t let your eyes drift anywhere without seeing people just like you. They may like different games for different reasons, but every single one of them is a fun generator.

Our games are cardboard computers that only ever work when people take time out of their lives to invest them with meaning. Every person at this convention, you included, is a vital part of making this hobby work. You may not even realise it, but you’re the source of joy that a group is missing right now. Go find them, and make their day!

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In Review

Iain McAllister

www.giantbrain.co.uk

There are two main ways you’ll bring your game to market: a publisher picks it up or you self-publish. The former means a lot of the stress of marketing is taken out of your hands, but the latter is a very different matter. You are going to need to contact some media outlets so let me offer some advice as to

how to go about that, from the point of view of someone who gets a fair number of requests each year. Do your research Not every reviewer is going to cover every type of game, or if

they do are likely to have longer lead times on getting material produced depending on genre, complexity etc. Many will say somewhere on their site the sort of games they review, or you will be able to tell from the material they have previously put out. If in doubt just ask.

Don’t spam I get contacted a lot by games companies that don’t even bother to put my name in the intro. That heavily implies that they haven’t followed my first piece of advice and are just

sending out blanket emails to any site they can find. You might get hit or two this way, but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of a lot of people and may mean that a reviewer that would have helped you out is no longer going to. Find out who you want to review your game, engage with

them a bit beforehand and at least get their name right in emails. It will go a long way to getting you the material you need.

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Months not days This is probably the single most important piece of advice I am going to give you. You need to be reaching out to reviewers months before you go to publication, be that via Kickstarter (KS) or not. If you are going to be headed to crowdfunding

then this is even more important as not only are you going to need reviews to give your project some legitimacy but a lot of reviewers that take on KS projects may be booked up well in advance. It takes a good long while to produce a review and some

outlets may not guarantee one at all, especially if you contact them with only a couple of weeks to go before launch. Get the word out early and often and you will reap the benefits. Be Gracious If you are seeking paid advertising, then that is one thing and you can be irked if you don’t get what you paid for. However, a lot of review outlets, including my own, are doing it for free and will hopefully give you an honest opinion of your game. That might turn out to not be the opinion you hoped for.

Be gracious in dealing with bad reviews: thank them for their time, move on and maybe take a moment to reflect on what they said or wrote. Maybe they have stumbled upon a problem with your game you hadn’t seen, maybe it just wasn’t for them. Regardless if the reviewer is polite and forthcoming

there is no reason to kick off if the review doesn’t shake out the way you expected. How you market and build a community around your game can be just as important as the game itself. Most designers want to get their game into as many hands as possible and

learning to liaise with reviewers, podcasters and other media folk is an important step on the road to becoming a publisher.

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Playtest Zone On Saturday at Tabletop Scotland our attendees can try out new games by designers and publishers of all sizes.

The playtest zone is being hosted by Iain McAllister of The Giant Brain blog and Brainwaves Podcast. Iain has been designing games for years and is the organiser of the Edinburgh Playtest Group. Find out more via his website – www.giantbrain.co.uk

How does this work?

• The Playtest Zone forms part of the Open Play area and will

be sign posted by a Playtest Zone banner.

• If you playtest a game then you will be given a form to fill in and hand back to the Playtest Zone host afterwards.

• Your feedback will be collated along with all other players and given to the designer.

Why should I playtest a game?

Playtesting games helps designers refine their games. This is an excellent way of giving feedback to the designers

before they commit to any kind of publishing strategy. What about the Playtesters?

All attendees who provide their consent as part of the Playtest

Zone feedback forms will be included in a prize draw which will take place on the Saturday at 5pm. Your personal information will not be shared with the designers unless you explicitly consent to doing that.

41

Playtest Schedule

Start Finish Playtester Game Name Player Count

10:00 13:00 Scott – Snowden James CMYPlay & Fission Mission 2 – 6

CMYPlay: Resource management game where players draft cards to add and mix basic colours to create

unique colour-based objectives.

Fission Mission: Semi-cooperative worker placement game where players aim to score highest whilst running

a nuclear power plant without incident!

10:00 13:00 Aaron Billingham Last Dance 3 – 6

Dance across the floor to learn what you need from the nobles and then on to the queen to impress her with

your combined knowledge. Each turn you make a move and then everyone follows the called dance step. If

you’ve planned it right, you’ll end up talking to the nobles who can give you the conversation cards you need.

Other players of course may end up in your way but if you’ve followed the line of the dance just enough you

can cache in your style to call a step of your own, rearranging the dancers to your advantage and stealing the

show.

10:00 13:00 Paul Spencer Bizarre Bazaar 3 – 6

An intergalactic jumble sale for 3 – 6 traders

10:00 11:30 Paul Conry Pulp Flicktion 3 – 5

A mash-up of set-collection, storytelling and a judgement mechanic by the handing out of awards to the best

moviemakers. Create your best movie by collecting all the actors, props, special effects and locations you

can. Beware though, as other meddling moviemakers are doing the same and trying to sabotage your movie

to make theirs the best it can be! After someone has completed their set, it's up to everyone to pitch their

movie, in whatever state or mishmash of genres it's made up of! Awards are handed out and the best movie-

maker is crowned!

11:45 13:30 Rick Hollingworth Prism Warriors 2 – 4

A cooperative action game, players control an individual limb of a giant robot, defending Megatropolis from

the Giant Monsters that threaten it! Uses programming mechanics to coordinate attacks and avoid incoming

danger.

14:00 17:00 Ross Glover 1 Survives 2 – 6

Card Game based on classic horror movie plot. Set collect to escape the island or kill the killer, with take that

mechanism creating another win condition as last person standing.

14:00 17:00 Steven Crighton Witchy Business 2 – 4

Players take on the role of a Witch using a variety of ingredients to summon mythological monsters ranging

from tiny Forest Fairies to Dracula himself. After each player takes a turn collecting cards and summoning

their monsters, they battle during the “Witching Hour”.

With the Goal to have the highest power level of monsters by the end of the round. The winner then receives

a Treasure card, with the aim of the game to be the first person to collect the agreed upon amount of

Treasures. E.g. First to 2,3,5 etc.

14:00 17:00 Gerard Grant Betawinna at the races 3 – 8

This is a board game with 8 horses racing. Each player is an owner of a horse and players bet on any horse to

win or be placed 2nd or 3rd. The unique point of this game is that though there are thousands of permutations

of which horse will win there is NO DICE involved in this board game. There are ‘Stewards Judgement Cards’

which result in horses moving forward or back one or two furlongs . ‘Owners’ can also buy or sell a horse.

14:00 15:30 Brian O Moore Bumper Bots 2 – 6

Bumper Bots is a chaotic worker placement game. Remotely control a team of bots to create a habitat on

another planet. Gather resources and build domes for the humans when they arrive. But you are not the only

team trying to build here. Battle against other bots who will try to bump you off important resources all

while battling the elements of space. You decide where to place your bots but whether they do what you

want is another story!

15:45 17:15 Rik Adams Grave Disorder 2 – 6

You play the part of Igor, who has been sent into the local graveyard to find body parts for his Mad Scientist

master’s latest project. All the local scientists are taking part in a competition to build the best monster. You

must collect the eight body parts needed, but will they be best ones.


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Tabletop Art

Ross Connell

www.moregamesplease.com

The tabletop industry has been in a period of growth for a

number of years, and for players there has never been a better time to be in the hobby. As the industry goes from strength to strength, we’ve seen the number of games grow with it and last year alone an estimated 3,500+ titles were released. Some have speculated

that this might be a bubble about to burst, but even assuming this won’t happen, the number of releases does present those making games with a unique challenge. In such a busy market how do you help your game stand out? More often than not our first impressions are based around how

something looks. Thinking about your own collection, how many games did you buy because the art or components were what first pulled you in? Perhaps you were browsing your local game store and were inspired to check out a new release because of its cover, or saw a game being played at a convention and its appearance made you move closer.

However you discover games, it’s safe to say that their visual appeal usually plays a part in that journey. I wanted to learn more about the people who were involved in creating game art, but after searching online couldn’t really discover much

about the artists themselves. In the summer of 2017, I rather impulsively decided to change that and launched More Games Please. The aim was to create a cultural library focusing on board game art and based around interviews with the talented individuals behind it.

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Since then I’ve been lucky enough to speak to some of the

best artists in tabletop, learning more about their work and lives, as well as hosting an annual public vote on the best board game art of the year. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that board games are rarely the

products of large companies but often created by small, incredibly passionate teams many of which are creating their first ever games. These small teams generally need freelancers to help them complete projects, and a good artist is becoming increasingly important in a project’s chance of success.

Tabletop has attracted artistic talent from backgrounds such as TV and film, video games and books as well as those brand-new to professional work. A large part of their role is in turning game mechanics, with a wave of a magician’s hand, into parts of a living breathing world. This might be through illustrated maps and locations we want to explore, captivating

characters and creatures that inhabit them, or by putting life into the cardboard that would otherwise feel static, functional or mundane. It’s all too easy to take for granted how different our experience would be without these visual flourishes. Art turns structure and mechanics into something far greater than the sum of their parts.

There’s the old idiom that a picture is worth a thousand words and art can world build whilst also giving us a greater understanding of the mechanisms that make up games. The additional visual information that art and graphic design show

us can at a glance, provide players with things like a stronger understanding of the cards they hold or the actions they can take and by doing so increases investment in the theme and the feeling of immersion in the players themselves. As the industry continues to grow so too will the diversity of the

talent within it, bringing with them new ways of looking games and fresh ways of showcasing these themes old and new. I for one can’t wait to see where that takes us.

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Hobby Growth

Owen Duffy

www.boardgame-book.com

When you think about it, it’s pretty staggering how gaming has grown in the space of just a few short years. What was once a nerdy pursuit enjoyed by a tight-knit community of fans has become a global phenomenon, with new players flocking to the hobby in their millions. More than 3,500 new releases hit shop shelves last year, and dedicated gaming bars and cafés

have opened in cities from London to Los Angeles, Amsterdam to Abuja. On first inspection, the analogue gaming boom might seem difficult to explain. We live in an age of ubiquitous digital entertainment. PC and console games come with production

budgets to rival Hollywood films. Smartphones and tablets provide a huge range of cheap and addictive distractions. And streaming services like Netflix and Spotify offer more music, movies and TV shows than it’s possible for one person to consume.

But for many tabletop gamers, a big part of the hobby’s appeal is the chance it offers to escape from the digital world. At a time when so much of our entertainment is solitary and screen-based, the chance to log off and enjoy some face-to-face fun with family and friends. And the tactile experience of

shuffling cards, rolling dice and moving meeples has a tangible appeal that clicking, tapping and scrolling just can’t hope to match. Then there’s the fact that while gaming has long been considered a geeky hobby, these days geek culture is bigger

than it’s ever been. Comic book adaptations have become some of the most successful movie franchises in history. Anime fandom has become firmly entrenched around the world.

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And online series like Tabletop and Critical Role have exposed

a huge audience of new fans to board games and roleplaying. Of course, the other massive factor in the board game boom is that so many modern games are just brilliant. There’s a talented global community of designers bringing

exciting and innovative new ideas to the table, and the variety of games on offer ensures that there’s something for all players. Whether you’re looking for a quick and simple game to play with kids, a raucous party game over a couple of drinks, or a complex and thoughtful strategic challenge, there are games to suit just about every conceivable taste.

As a games journalist, it’s been thrilling to cover this fascinating hobby. I’ve had the opportunity to play some exceptional games, and to meet the creators responsible for them. But games have also been incredibly important to me on a personal level.

My childhood games of Warhammer 40,000 gave me my love of horror, science fiction and heavy metal. My teenage Vampire: The Masquerade RPG sessions let me explore my personality at an awkward time when I was figuring out exactly who I was. And over the years I’ve met some of my closest

friends across the gaming table – one of whom eventually even married me. The tabletop hobby grows bigger every day, and it’s become a thriving, diverse and exciting community. It’s the enthusiasm

of these fans that ensures that it will stay strong for years to come. Owen Duffy is a games journalist whose work has appeared at

The Guardian, The BBC, VICE, IGN, Ars Technica and Tabletop

Gaming Magazine. He is the editor of The Board Game Book,

an annual series exploring some of the best new games and

sponsor of Tabletop Scotland 2019. He lives in Glasgow with his

wife and sons.

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Analog UK: Tabletop Gaming in the 21st Century Matt Coward-Gibbs

University of York www.mattcowardgibbs.com

For the past eighteen months, I’ve travelled across the UK,

attended numerous conventions, visited game stores, cafes and clubs, and spoken to hundreds of gamers. All to try and find out how analog gaming in the UK works. As a gamer and a Sociologist, I’m interested in the games we play and the way in which we, as gamers, use our leisure time

to both build community and promote pro-social interaction. Games are interesting things. As one of my participants told me ‘games are really just paper, wood and plastic. It’s the rules and people that give it meaning.’ summed it up perfectly. The games we play are tools for us as groups of people to spend

time together. It’s probably still a touch early to give you any firm conclusions, but there are some key messages that keep coming up which can be elaborated on. The following is in no particular order, but all hold importance for different aspects of our community.

1. As a community, we need to be aware of the impact of our heritage. Gaming has not always been inclusive (you’ve only got to look at early RPGs to see this). We need to think about how we play games and make sure that they are accessible to all.

2. We need to be able to actively challenge what constitutes a ‘gamer.’ It shouldn’t matter if you play Cluedo, Catan, or Cthulhu Wars – everybody who enjoys playing games can be a gamer. It doesn’t matter how big somebody’s collection is, how many of the BGG top one hundred they’ve played, whether they only enjoy social deduction

games, or, even if they’ve only ever played commercial ‘mass market’ games. Let’s make sure that this hobby is not gatekept.

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3. Inclusivity shouldn’t be a buzzword, it should be part of everything to we do. When I spoke to a convention organiser in 2018 they told me that: ‘we did things right and we’ll make sure we tweak the things that weren’t quite right’. His message is key, we need to be willing to change things that aren’t working to make sure the hobby is

accessible and inclusive. We might think of it like an ongoing playtest!

4. Analog gaming is open to all. As a community, we need to spread this message. Conventions actively promoting family friendly atmospheres and ‘gateway zones’ are proving that this is possible. Though, this isn’t always easy,

as Toby, one of my participants, commented ‘it’s easier to turn gamers into friends, than friends into gamers.’

5. The community at large does great things for wider society. Analog gamers generate vast sums of money for local charities, and our large-scale events positively impact wider economies. Too, games themselves are being used

in a variety of settings including education, within mental health services, in nursing and care facilities.

6. The market is becoming increasingly saturated. We are in a renaissance of analog gaming, we need to actively support our friendly local game stores, games cafes, clubs and conventions.

Analog gaming is first and foremost about having fun. The ability to have fun should be open to all no matter their experience, economic standing, or demographics.

It’s up to every one of us. Let’s start a conversation and consider how the community can continue to evolve and involve others for the better.

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Build it and they will come.

Greg Foster

Dungeon Master

I started a gaming group. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my intention to do that.

I just wanted to play. More specifically I wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons as a regular Dungeon Master. Two years later and that group is still going strong with new players coming and going, and plenty

of regulars to guarantee a game every week. My local gaming shop Highlander Games in Dundee has allowed me to highjack their space every Thursday and fill it with players. This has been big part of the success of this group that sees between 15 and 35 players each and every week

getting their D&D fix. For this I am grateful for the support from the shop and its staff. On that first night, when only having a couple of books and no real idea what to expect, I could never have predicted what it has become. From a small group of players, the club grew to

support multiple games each week, it is thanks to these players wanting to become Dungeon Masters that the club has become so successful. Not only do we run our weekly Thursday night D&D we have also ran additional D&D day events where we have raised

money for local charities. I am immensely proud of everything the club has achieved and, although it hasn’t always gone smoothly, I wouldn’t change a thing.

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The regular players and those who have joined us even briefly

have all come from a variety of backgrounds and situations. All have spent many hours playing a most enjoyable game and sharing stories of past and current successes or (with more hilarity) failures.

It’s not all just about epic role-playing games like D&D (although it is awesome and there are just a few games taking place at Tabletop Scotland). A gaming group can revolve around anything. From a humble deck of cards to the time-consuming mega games, the most important component is for everyone to have fun.

Tabletop Scotland is a great way to introduce and experience different types of games. However, you don’t need a big group of people to have a great community. It can be as simple as a couple of friends after school or work. The good thing about tabletop games is that the majority don’t need

any prior knowledge. Some of my favourite times have come from learning a new game as we played. From turning up with a couple of books and not knowing anyone, taking it one week at a time our Thursday night D&D group grew into a community.

Groups and clubs are important to the tabletop gaming community. They provide a base from which, with a bit of luck, can branch off into new groups of friends, hobbyists (beyond tabletop games, shocking I know) and sometimes colleagues.

A good group or club should also create its own atmosphere of acceptance and tolerance separate from the worries of day to day life. We all need space to breath and laugh.

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Beginners Guide To Game Design

Mark McKinnon

www.wreckandruingame.co.uk

Every gamer has thought about making games: adding house rules, homebrewing, to creating new universes, but a lot of these ideas never see the light of day – why not? An idea will be nothing more until you make it. I start with a theme: a setting, a story that I want to tell whilst others start with the mechanics. Wherever you start, the first step is always the same: 1: write it down! The only way to finish anything is to start it. Start with a broad overview to begin with – the story, the aim, some of the actions available. This overview should flow pretty easily once you start and serves an important purpose: you get excited about it! 2: write your rules Every game needs rules. Your rules will change as your game evolves but it’s important to create a first draft so that the game can be playtested. Your rules should cover how to set up, what players do, how to score/win. Write end-to-end, then later on you can lay it out in steps so they can be easily changed. 3: make a prototype DO NOT SPEND MONEY! The aim is not to have it looking pretty, it’s to check functionality – cut up pieces of paper to use as your board, tokens and cards. Use any spare parts you have lying about from other games or buy in packs of resources. Always sleeve cards so you can change the front quickly. 4: the first playthrough Your game won’t be perfect the first time you play it. Play it at its lowest player count with someone you know – a friend, or family. Explain the rules and have a notepad handy for any questions asked. Make up rules on the fly for anything missed to keep momentum – this can always be changed later. You may not need to finish a full game before you decide to stop, but when you do finish be sure to talk about what worked, what didn’t and amend your rules.

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5: 2nd play If you can, play again straight away with the same player(s) you can see the direct impact of those changes. People ARE GOING TO TRY AND BREAK YOUR GAME. Game 2 is a good time to try unusual situations. Continue taking notes and making changes as you go. You’ll want to make the rules as tight as possible before the next step so play as much as you can with your close group and try testing as many variables as possible. 6: playtesting This is without doubt the most important stage of the process – playing with strangers. You may not get honest feedback from family to spare your feelings, people who don’t know you will be brutally honest. You’re going to need to be able to accept criticism, so this step will be the hardest first time round – just remember they’re doing it to help you make a better game. Join local clubs, look for a local playtest group, and be part of the community. You don’t have to action their feedback, but you always have to listen to it. Don’t go defensive, and thank them for their time and input. Get them to complete a feedback sheet so you can look for trends later. Wreck and Ruin changed from squares to hexes after my first brutal playtest You can play your entire game each time, or you can concentrate on a specific section – especially if you’ve been making changes to a certain element. You can never playtest too much. Repeat this over and over, making changes until you’re only tweaking. Don’t be too precious with the design, let it go where it needs to go – you’ll make a better game this way. 7: blind playtesting Blind playtesting is checking the game can be played as intended without your input. This can be done in a number of ways – some designers sit back and watch what happens, some video it to watch later. Sometimes your wording will need changed rather than the rules. If the game can be played without a hitch – this does not mean players don’t have to refer back to the rulebook – then you’ve designed a game!

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Connected

David Wright I’ve been gaming since 1984/85, I can’t remember exactly when it was, but it started with a bang. My brother Allan got

the D&D Basic Red Box set and later during a family holiday to York I picked up Middle-Earth Role Playing (MERP). In short, I’ve been gaming for a LONG time. Throughout my hobby life, being able to connect with people

has always been a huge part of why I play. Aside from the countless hours playing RPGs, CCGs, Board Games and yes even Wargames; I’ve also gained some amazing friends and acquaintances. I’m fortunate to know a lot of people involved in this hobby;

publishers, writers, designers, artists, retailers, players and many more. Some I know through real life relationships, others through social media, various forums and from meetups at conventions & other events.

During Tabletop Scotland, I know that many of you will meet people you gamed with for the first time at Tabletop Scotland 2018; and maybe

you’ll game with them again this year. If you do, I’d like to think that’s part of what makes this convention special. At the start of the convention you may be strangers but by the end? Well that’s for you to decide.

The games may be the reason we’ve met, but the people are

the reason we keep playing.

#RPGLifeUK Live – Nottingham 2017

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2019 convention booklet a5 final draft - tabletop scotland · floor plan in this booklet. 10. wi-fi...

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