A&E 6The Kilt April 26, 2013

HAZEN HIGH SCHOOL

adepticon 2013 Experience:More than just war gaming

Alex MathisonStaff Writer Adepticon is one of the largest miniature war gaming conventions in the United States. The convention draws thousands of attendees each year and is overflowing with events. This year I was lucky enough to be able to attend the convention, which was held from April 18 through the 22 in Lombard, Illinois, and I participated in multiple events. What follows is a summary of my experience at the convention and my thoughts on the convention as a whole. The whole experience really starts Wednesday night. Our flight arrived at around 12 AM local time at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and was greeted by a massive rainstorm. Visibility was poor and there was a lot of turbulence. I was on one of the lucky flights, as many did not arrive until much later if they arrived at all. Midway Airport had actually flooded, so O’Hare was the only operating airport. Many convention attendees were unable to attend due to the weather. Luckily for me, I was able to make it to the hotel where the convention was to be held with no issues. Thursday was the first official day of the convention. I had registered for the convention early, so I was able to avoid the longer lines and immediately receive my convention pass and “swag bag.” The bags contained everything from coupons for 20% off of booths at the vendor hall to boxes of models. Thursday also had two major events; the Warhammer Fantasy tournament and the Warhammer 40k championship qualifier round. I was lucky enough to be able to participate in the championship qualifier round. Beside starting an hour and a half late, the tournament ran smoothly. The tournament was four rounds long, and to qualify for the final sixteen, players needed to either win all four rounds or come very close. Despite my best effort, I ended the tournament with two wins and two losses,

putting me way out of the running for the final bracket. The Thursday portion of the tournament ended at midnight. Friday is when most of the convention opened up. More tournaments began on Friday, including the Warhammer 40k friendly tournament, and the vendor hall opened. The line to get into the vendor hall was over an hour long, but once inside, convention attendees could find everything from used models to brand new games. I took full advantage of the vendor hall, and probably spent more than I should have, but I was not disappointed with the huge selection that was available. I was able to get into the Warhammer 40k friendly tournament due to the weather preventing many participants from even reaching the convention. The event had players split into four teams, which would be competing against each other over the course of three games for the top spot. Each team was assigned a color and participants had to wear a bandana corresponding to the color of their team. The entire event had an 80’s rock theme. Participants were encouraged to “Rock On!” and to not remove the bandana to risk receiving “poser points.” If a player had other people cheering for them during their game, they received “groupie power” and were allowed a spin on a prize wheel, which could have a huge impact on the game. The wheel included

things like making the players units extra fast or shoot better, so players were calling in friends from all over the convention to come cheer them on. I was on blue team which was referred to as “Robin.” The blue team ended up coming in fourth place out of four teams, with the crème team coming in third and the green team coming in second. The yellow team received first place and were each given a box of Chaos Cultists as their prize. This was without a doubt the best event I participated in over the weekend. Even though I only won one game out of the three I played, the atmosphere and the players really helped to set this event apart from every other. I had an excellent time playing in incredible wacky scenarios, which included capturing “stonefist” and making sure your commander was “on center stage,” and playing opponents I otherwise wouldn’t have ever met. The Warhammer 40k friendly was fantastic. Saturday was a day I had set aside as my “demo day.” I did my best to try a demo for every game that was available at the convention. Some were excellent, like Infinity and X-Wing, which was a Star Wars themed dogfighting game, while others were not. It was a good decision to set aside a day just for demos and I am glad I did. Adepticon had more than just games. I met several people who I will be staying in contact with after the convention, including an Army Major, several store owners and an organizer in the Vancouver, BC area for miniature war gaming. In closing, Adepticon 2013 was fantastic. I had an excellent time playing a variety of games against a variety of opponents. For anyone looking for an excellent miniature war gaming event, look no further than Adepticon.

For an explanation of miniature war gaming, please see the January 2013 issue of The Kilt.

Photo by| Alex MathisonThe army brought to the convention out on display for paint judging.

A display board showing off four Ork armies owned by sveral members of the same band. The band’s music was played on the speakers during the display.

Photo by| Alex Mathison