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Lets stop bracketing people into "competitive gamers" and "fluff bunnies" as defacto categories. All of us are "fluff bunnies" to an extent, and all of us are "competitive" to an extent.

On this point we can certainly agree. I would even settle for someone correctly labeling me as I am far more "competitive" than I am "fluff bunny".

Regardless, seems better ideas involving 40K and beer have been proposed ... and I'll drink to that.

Not attacking just saying that if the cost driver was the venue just change the venue to bring costs down.

Painting scores can be really mixed depending on the area and the judges you need to know what they are looking for. I have scored as high as 98% and as low as 65% on paint scores so I just want to know what the paint judges here are looking for so I can adjust.

Could you please post this years missions? Will the missions be pretty much the same as last years or straight book missions? Nothing like finding out your army does not do well given the mission parameters at a tournament after you paid.

Hi guys,
Just popping in to remind folks that this is for fun and enjoyment.

It is clear that some players are somewhat new to large tournaments and never spent this kind of money for events. Most of the recent GW GTs would run you almost $500 for the ticket and two hotel rooms in Baltimore. Many of these players never attended a real GT. If we tally up individual GT attendances, I think our club's members probably have attended close to 100 GW GT's. Our guys miss that old style event and that is our mission for what we want to provide.

Some folks thoroughly enjoy playing in stores or cheaper venues. Some prefer it over larger events. I love meeting new gamers, so you will see me at all kinds of events.

Some folks like specific rule sets. I don't care much about what type of events I play in, it is more about getting together with other gamers and playing in well run events.

All of the above are great reasons to help you make a decision on where to play, because the diversity of events out there means there will most likely be something for everyone. For those who want to try something new or go with their tried-and-true events, they have choices.


Please feel free to ask questions and we will be happy to help answer you as quick as we can, just remember we may not be able to get to your question immediately.

If you are still on the fence about attending this year, the best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on this thread or drop us an email. We have a ton of new info, rules packs, sponsor announcements, and more lined up.

frgsinwntr wrote:

gorgon wrote:frgs, no problem here. I've lived in the Philly area long enough to let NJ/Philly/NY/etc bluntness roll off my back.

Glad to hear you'll make it. You can chat us up at the hotel bar about your ideas. Or over games and beers from the wet bar in the main gaming hall on Saturday night. Or over drinks at any of West Chester's fine establishments (it's a college town).

Here's where I'm supposed to say "not that our club is a bunch of drunks," but...

Pint of Guinness and some 40k intellectualism? Absolutely! I'll be in Friday, that's a long weekend for me. You guys need help setting up or running the gothic thing?

Dibs on joining in for beer.

I'm considering just staying at the hotel with it costing 95 a night....

targetawg wrote:

frgsinwntr wrote:

gorgon wrote:frgs, no problem here. I've lived in the Philly area long enough to let NJ/Philly/NY/etc bluntness roll off my back.

Glad to hear you'll make it. You can chat us up at the hotel bar about your ideas. Or over games and beers from the wet bar in the main gaming hall on Saturday night. Or over drinks at any of West Chester's fine establishments (it's a college town).

Here's where I'm supposed to say "not that our club is a bunch of drunks," but...

Pint of Guinness and some 40k intellectualism? Absolutely! I'll be in Friday, that's a long weekend for me. You guys need help setting up or running the gothic thing?

Dibs on joining in for beer.

I'm considering just staying at the hotel with it costing 95 a night....

How about we play some Battle fleet alcoholic?

frgsinwntr wrote:

targetawg wrote:

frgsinwntr wrote:

gorgon wrote:frgs, no problem here. I've lived in the Philly area long enough to let NJ/Philly/NY/etc bluntness roll off my back.

Glad to hear you'll make it. You can chat us up at the hotel bar about your ideas. Or over games and beers from the wet bar in the main gaming hall on Saturday night. Or over drinks at any of West Chester's fine establishments (it's a college town).

Here's where I'm supposed to say "not that our club is a bunch of drunks," but...

Pint of Guinness and some 40k intellectualism? Absolutely! I'll be in Friday, that's a long weekend for me. You guys need help setting up or running the gothic thing?

Dibs on joining in for beer.

I'm considering just staying at the hotel with it costing 95 a night....

How about we play some Battle fleet alcoholic?

Hrm....see this I didn't know about. Details?

I'm up for some BFA, although you'll have to teach me how to play. I learn best over frosty beverages.

I'lll probably make it since frgsinwnter is going. Would be nice if frgsinwntr, targetawg and Avariel all go so would make for a good time with friends. Yermom said it was fun so willing to give it a shot if my friends do.

Yeah vinny me and George are going also, I don't think Tom iss going to make it though.

I'm not going to have an army up in time for the GT, but I live only 20 minutes away, so if you could send me a PM about your club and other happenings that you do, I'm in need of a new gaming group. Thanks

Not related to the OP, I know.

A couple of updates...

Kraftmark and The Games Keep join our growing list of sponsors

We are pleased to announce that Kraftmark is another second year sponsor for MechaniCon 2010! Kraftmark offers fantastic epoxy sculpting products — such as ProCreate professional sculpting putty — that are in many hobbyists' toolboxes.

Not only have they sent some of their putty products for event prizes, they will be on site at MechaniCon doing product demos. It’s a great opportunity to pick up some sculpting tips from the pros.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/kraftmark-sponsorship-announcement/2010/09/


The Games Keep also returns as a MechaniCon sponsor, and will be offering board and card game products in our vending area. Their retail store is only a half-mile from the convention site, so plan to stop by when you come out in November.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/the-games-keep-sponsors-mechanicon-2010/2010/09/


The ever-growing MechaniCon 2010 sponsor list also includes The WarStore, FTW Games, Jawaballs, The Adventurer’s Guild, Showcase Comics and Games Workshop.

More updates and announcements to come very soon...

Update for 9/21 -- Philly Fall Brawl and Gale Force 9

Tickets remain for all our events, but they are moving, so please register soon! Two updates for you today:


Philly Fall Brawl

The Philly Fall Brawl returns for its second big year! Brought to you by The Adventurer's Guild BB League, the event is a 5-round, 2-day tournament full of the face smashing, blood spattered action everyone loves! Your $35 entrance fee gets you custom tournament d6s, a patch (for your jean jacket, of course), a bitz pack from The Warstore, and admission to the MechaniCon side events.

This will be an LRB6 tournament with 1.1 million gold to buy your team. Full rules including kick-off table and reference sheets are available at http://www.agbbl.com/phillyfallbrawl/

Please bring your team (preferably painted, but not required), two copies of your roster, block dice, and a d8.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/philly-fall-brawl-2010-updated-info/2010/09/



Gale Force 9 Sponsorship

We are very happy to have support from Gale Force Nine this year. They will be supplying some of their great products for the Privateer Press events, and helping with our custom gaming accessory for the Warhammer 40,000 Grand Tournament.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/announcing-gale-force-nine-sponsorship/2010/09/


Lots of great stuff going on here that we should be able to share with you soon. Stay tuned!

I just got myself registered for this event yesterday.

It was a great time last year,well organized with lots of prize support.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Nov.

Now I just gotta finish painting this army...

Ted.

Littlbitz wrote:

Now I just gotta finish painting this army...

Ted.

Speak the truth, brother.

See ya there

Sadly i can't attend this as planned

My computer is on the fritz... and I can't afford it...

Can't afford it, makes sense.


The computer on the frizt part, though ... I don't get that.

In my head I instantly analogized: "I want to go to the grocery store, but my computer is on the fritz ... fawk."

<3 ... not enough info = ??!??

It's a Dell inspiron.... 5 years old and the screen just died. Basically last night... I can take a picture of the hindge which is broken... But yea. I need the computer more than a gt...

I'm posting via phone currently :p

MechaniCon 2010 is just one month away! A couple updates:

40K Kill Team Tournaments

We're happy to announce that the Berks PA Gaming Club will be holding four Kill Team Tournaments at MechaniCon 2010!

In addition to prizes for each individual tournament, there will be a trophy at the end of the weekend for the overall winner determined by performance in the individual events. There are only 12 slots per round, so grab a ticket now before your time slot fills up!

Time slots:
– Friday 1pm - 4:30pm
– Friday 6:30pm - 10pm
– Saturday 12pm - 3:30pm
– Saturday 6:30pm - 10pm

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/new-events-info-40k-kill-team-tournaments/2010/10/

Tickets: http://www.themechanicon.com/1/ordering/
FAQ: http://www.themechanicon.com/1/wp-content/uploads/BerksKTfaqM10.pdf
Rules pack: http://www.themechanicon.com/1/wp-content/uploads/BerksKTrulesM10.pdf



Chris Bledsoe Memorial Charity Auction

Once again we will host the Chris Bledsoe Memorial Charity Auction on Saturday (November 6). The event is a silent auction in the Brandywine Ballroom from noon until 8pm.

Chris was very involved with the gaming industry and a huge fan of gaming, so the items up for bid are definitely related the gaming hobby. Anyone wanting to bid can get a bidder form at the registration desk. All proceeds will go to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

E-mail Tony Spino, the auction coordinator, at gaminggarage@gmail.com for more information about donating items and services or for any questions.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/chris-bledsoe-memorial-charity-auction-2010/2010/10/

You say you want loot?!?

COME. AND. GET IT.

With three weeks before MechaniCon 2010, our prizes are starting to roll in and pile up.

What's in all those GF9 boxes?



Why, it's one of this year's goodie bag giveaways...a customized MechaniCon multi-template! That's a $12 item that's free for anyone registering for our 40K GT main event.



Check out Battlefoam stepping up to the plate!



Here's just SOME (maybe half) of the GW product from our generous sponsors!



This is some great Warmachine and Hordes support from GF9!



And Kraftmark has given us some of their great hobby putty products!



This is just SOME of our loot. We'll probably top $5000, and a bunch more stuff arrived in just the two days since we took these pics. So make sure to register today if you want a crack at it!

I'm still hoping to be there, but having been out of work for the past five weeks has definitely put funds a bit low.

I am looking for some people to split hotel costs with and/or travel from the airport. Let me know if you're looking for another person anyone!

Painting every night on my army for the Friday Night Fight

Tironum wrote:Hi guys,
Just popping in to remind folks that this is for fun and enjoyment.

It is clear that some players are somewhat new to large tournaments and never spent this kind of money for events. Most of the recent GW GTs would run you almost $500 for the ticket and two hotel rooms in Baltimore. Many of these players never attended a real GT. If we tally up individual GT attendances, I think our club's members probably have attended close to 100 GW GT's. Our guys miss that old style event and that is our mission for what we want to provide.

Some folks thoroughly enjoy playing in stores or cheaper venues. Some prefer it over larger events. I love meeting new gamers, so you will see me at all kinds of events.

Some folks like specific rule sets. I don't care much about what type of events I play in, it is more about getting together with other gamers and playing in well run events.

All of the above are great reasons to help you make a decision on where to play, because the diversity of events out there means there will most likely be something for everyone. For those who want to try something new or go with their tried-and-true events, they have choices.


Please feel free to ask questions and we will be happy to help answer you as quick as we can, just remember we may not be able to get to your question immediately.

If you are still on the fence about attending this year, the best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on this thread or drop us an email. We have a ton of new info, rules packs, sponsor announcements, and more lined up.

I realize the need to maintain an 'image,' and even though I'm going to this tournament - I have to ask why ticket pricing for this tournament being vastly larger than other 'Grand' tournaments is being dismissed as a different playstyle? I saw the post about how much it takes to run this thing, and I totally understand venue costs. I think what people are really asking is, when other large, well-run, well-supported tournaments on the East Coast are so much cheaper to enter when they have similar or more expensive areas of venue, what's the return for them to enter in droves? Before I get lumped in with people who are classed as 'not having been in large events before,' I have competed in UK GT heats/tournaments which are very large, well organized events where people travel from other countries to attend. It has been a few years though, but even GW had reasonable tickets and even fed us.

The largest issue for me deciding on the ticket was the painting. Scoring is nice in a lot of ways as it doesn't preclude, but dissuades people who aren't serious about the hobby to enter... but the subjectivity of a 50 or 100 point painting scale is really starting to tweak me. I have a well-painted army (except the last two squads still in production), but I can't help but think this tournament rewards two types of people right off the bat: People who paint extremely well, or people who can afford level 4 paint jobs for points. I love that the well painted armies get rewarded, but some armies (like a lot of mine) was professionally painted because I lack the time to commit. GW always scored painting in UK GTs with an objective system where you meet all the criteria and you get points. Based, check. Unique squads, check. Minimum Colors, check. Then perhaps a bonus for something insane like hand-painting portraits, logos, massive conversions. How does this stand up? I don't know, but I hope it's not a curve based on whatever the judges saw from the top 10 paint jobs. Painting scores in tournaments are to maintain standards and honor those who take the hobby to the next level. I can only hope this doesn't go too far past that.

All in all, I think this should be an awesome event from what you've all posted. I can't wait to get a crack at a 5th ed tourney for the first time since getting back into the game. I'm sad my army wasn't completed by the time the NOVA open was on. If all the hype about putting the Grand back in Grand tournament are truly advertised, I may not mind the cost, but I may mind the paint scoring if it's subjective as hell.

Zain, we indeed use a checklist painting system. It's pretty clear that clarity is what everyone wants for paint scoring. It's 53 total available points, with a maximum possible score of 50. We have a total of 1-3 subjective points available to the paint judge, because sometimes an army may not score well via a checklist (which by its nature tends to be very technique-oriented) but has a really nice overall effect anyway. But obviously the great majority of points are as objective as we can make them.

The system seemed to work pretty well last year, but we made a few minor tweaks for 2010. Check your PM...I sent you some more details.

Zain60 wrote:

Tironum wrote:Hi guys,
Just popping in to remind folks that this is for fun and enjoyment.

It is clear that some players are somewhat new to large tournaments and never spent this kind of money for events. Most of the recent GW GTs would run you almost $500 for the ticket and two hotel rooms in Baltimore. Many of these players never attended a real GT. If we tally up individual GT attendances, I think our club's members probably have attended close to 100 GW GT's. Our guys miss that old style event and that is our mission for what we want to provide.

Some folks thoroughly enjoy playing in stores or cheaper venues. Some prefer it over larger events. I love meeting new gamers, so you will see me at all kinds of events.

Some folks like specific rule sets. I don't care much about what type of events I play in, it is more about getting together with other gamers and playing in well run events.

All of the above are great reasons to help you make a decision on where to play, because the diversity of events out there means there will most likely be something for everyone. For those who want to try something new or go with their tried-and-true events, they have choices.


Please feel free to ask questions and we will be happy to help answer you as quick as we can, just remember we may not be able to get to your question immediately.

If you are still on the fence about attending this year, the best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on this thread or drop us an email. We have a ton of new info, rules packs, sponsor announcements, and more lined up.

I realize the need to maintain an 'image,' and even though I'm going to this tournament - I have to ask why ticket pricing for this tournament being vastly larger than other 'Grand' tournaments is being dismissed as a different playstyle? I saw the post about how much it takes to run this thing, and I totally understand venue costs. I think what people are really asking is, when other large, well-run, well-supported tournaments on the East Coast are so much cheaper to enter when they have similar or more expensive areas of venue, what's the return for them to enter in droves? Before I get lumped in with people who are classed as 'not having been in large events before,' I have competed in UK GT heats/tournaments which are very large, well organized events where people travel from other countries to attend. It has been a few years though, but even GW had reasonable tickets and even fed us.

The largest issue for me deciding on the ticket was the painting. Scoring is nice in a lot of ways as it doesn't preclude, but dissuades people who aren't serious about the hobby to enter... but the subjectivity of a 50 or 100 point painting scale is really starting to tweak me. I have a well-painted army (except the last two squads still in production), but I can't help but think this tournament rewards two types of people right off the bat: People who paint extremely well, or people who can afford level 4 paint jobs for points. I love that the well painted armies get rewarded, but some armies (like a lot of mine) was professionally painted because I lack the time to commit. GW always scored painting in UK GTs with an objective system where you meet all the criteria and you get points. Based, check. Unique squads, check. Minimum Colors, check. Then perhaps a bonus for something insane like hand-painting portraits, logos, massive conversions. How does this stand up? I don't know, but I hope it's not a curve based on whatever the judges saw from the top 10 paint jobs. Painting scores in tournaments are to maintain standards and honor those who take the hobby to the next level. I can only hope this doesn't go too far past that.

All in all, I think this should be an awesome event from what you've all posted. I can't wait to get a crack at a 5th ed tourney for the first time since getting back into the game. I'm sad my army wasn't completed by the time the NOVA open was on. If all the hype about putting the Grand back in Grand tournament are truly advertised, I may not mind the cost, but I may mind the paint scoring if it's subjective as hell.

Hehe... I feel like I was lumped into that category... and I've done the NOVA, Necronomicon, Baltimore GT, Conflict, St valentines day massacre and others... I think you'll find that they won't change the painting or price, its is far to close to the event.

However... any word on missions yet?

I looked but haven't seen them. To be quite honest I'm on the fence on whether or not I want to see them early. Normally I do, but as long as they aren't overly complicated and stupid.. i wouldn't mind just getting them there at the table 10 minutes beforehand.

It has the benefit (despite its obvious annoyance) of not rewarding people for tweaking lists for the objectives.

Still wishing I could make this. Fingers crossed that you change the weekend next year.

If it wasn't two weeks after the Warstore Weekend I would have definatly attended. But a big convention and a GT is two much for me in two weeks.

Just a quick update for today!

Industry icon Dave Taylor is once again offering his painting services for our Chris Bledsoe memorial charity auction! If you're the winning bidder, Dave will paint a 28mm model of your choice.

Followers of Dave's blog may recognize last year's winning bidder’s Vulkan He’stan model.



Privateer Press also recently donated a signed copy of the Trollbloods book to add to our pile of items and services. The auction is a great way to get your hands on some cool stuff and support a great cause. All proceeds from the auction will go to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

http://www.themechanicon.com/1/chris-bledsoe-memorial-charity-auction-2010/2010/10/

To echo frgsinwntr's post, can you please post the missions. Or at least confirm whether you'll be using _all_ of the missions from the book, a three tier approach like Adepticon (in which the tiers are based on the rulebook missions) or whether you'll be using homegrown missions (modified kps, table quarters, killing hqs etc).

This for me is the most important thing to know before committing to a tournament. If I'm going to travel 300 miles and stay in a hotel and pay a lot of money for a tournament I'd like to know in advance the type of missions. If I don't like the mission design then I can make the choice not to attend.

Thats been one of the great things about the indy tournaments recently. TOs have been posting missions in advance which means players can make the educated decision about attending or not based on whether they think they'll have a good time gaming.

Thanks in advance.