So last time I talked about Aaron Jenkin’s massive 3D recreation of FFG’s A Game of Throne board game. This time I want to highlight some of the other large scale pimp-outs I saw at the convention.
I’ll start with a favorite area control game of mine, Domaine.
Domaine is the non-auction re-theme of Löwenherz, an interesting area control game where you try to carve out point-scoring areas by walling yourself off and expanding into other players’ territory. Mayfair loves to showcase giant versions of their games at conventions and this one is no exception. I had the chance to play on the map depicted above and found the size adequately pimped to large size but not so cumbersome as to drag the game down.
Unfortunately, since this was just a standard event, the creator of this set wasn’t around to talk about it. The pieces were very well made and had quite a bit of heft. Under one of the pieces, I did see a note saying “Scuplted by Action Terrain,” which I found out is a Vancouver based hobby/modelling store.
In addition to terrain pieces, the game also sported painted knight figures for both player pieces and score tracker. If I had one criticism on the whole set up, it’d be that the trees force the player to put the pieces on top of the sculpt and it makes for a very busy board and breaks the visual aesthetic. I got used to it after a while but I think I’d rather see a better solution for the forest spaces on the board.
My large-sized victory:
As I mentioned, Mayfair likes to bring out their large-sized games to the convention and so they have most of their catalog on display in grand fashion. The biggest was Settlers of America game in the Catan line.
Mayfair isn’t the only company to put out large-sized versions of their games, Catalyst Game Labs brought a massive room-sized version of The Duke.
I did ask a bit more about this version and apparently Catalyst is willing sell a copy of the game at this size but when pushed for a price, the figure was easily in the $3,000.00 range. I think I’ll stick with my regular-sized edition at home.
Companies can afford to make large-sized versions of their games as marketing tool. It’s impressive but they do tend to have the capital and drive to pull off these monsters. Like Jenkin’s Game of Thrones, I find it more impressive to see casual gaming enthusiasts take on the challenge.
This version of 1812: The Invasion of Canada was really impressive. A massive board set in stunning z-scale (1:300) detail. I only got to watch this game for a little bit before being pulled away but I would love to get a game of it in on this epic map.
Another wide view of this great pimp-out of 1812.
Another enthusiast showcased The Battle of Five Armies from Ares Games. The creator of this version was a playtester for the game which explains how he was able to create a large version so quickly after the release. I was actually scheduled to play in this event but a scheduling mix up had me too late to join in. I enjoy War of the Ring so I’d like to try this game out and see how it measures up. I figure playing on this great set up can’t help but improve it’s standings.
So that wraps up some of the “big” pimp items I saw at Gen Con 2014. In a few weeks, the local Genghis Con will be happening in Denver and I’m looking forward to seeing what people pimp out for it this year.