West Coast Meeple Fest

This past weekend, I headed up to San Jose/Santa Clara for Doug & Shelley's West Coast Meeple Fest, an invite-only con. It was their first year putting it on and I'd have to say it was pretty successful. I didn't meet anyone I wouldn't want to play with again and I got to play some new games! Some were oldies like Zoff in Buffalo (a fave of Leon's) and some were fairly new (like Thebes).

I paired up with Curt on Saturday for the Tichu tournament and that was a blast!! I love playing Tichu, but I hardly ever get a chance to play because we're always playing board games. We won the first two rounds and advanced to the finals against Ted and Mike. Ted was on the winning Tichu team at the Gathering and Mike was on the second place team, so I knew Curt and I might be in for it. And we were. We lost. The cards just weren't with us. I'm sure we could've played better, but oh well. More practice!! Ted & Mike are great players too, so that certainly didn't help!

Because I don't play very often, I always feel a little nervous calling Tichu (which means, you're betting you'll be the first person out). So, I was happy to make it the one time I called it. I should've called it at least a couple other times, but I chickened out. The most memorable thing that happened to me though was I had triple 4s and 5s and from my left I received a 4 and from my right I received a 5! So, I started the hand with two bombs! I don't think that's ever happened to me before. It was quite exciting.

I really enjoyed getting to see people that I haven't seen in a while, like Ted Alspach & the infamous Derk and Aldie (of BGG fame). The only time I had met them was last year at BGG.con 2006 and things were a bit stressful, so it was nice seeing them in a more relaxed atmosphere. I also got to see friends from the East Coast too again!! I think I've seen them now three times this summer which is more than I've seen some people that live in the same city as me!! But I like it. I feel like I'm actually getting to know them a bit, rather than just seeing them a couple times a year and having to get reacquainted each time.

As usual, I was part of the late night crew. We actually got some Werewolf in, so I was happy about that. I didn't play, I moderated. It's fascinating to watch people play knowing who is who. I love it! I'm looking forward to playing some in Dallas at BGG.con 2007!

And then, rather that take my flight home, I opted to drive home with D & S. It was great to spend time with them because they're married with kids, so it's difficult to get any alone time with them! It was nice to be able to chat with them on the 7 hour drive home and find out more about them. Usually, when I am with them, there are at least 5 other people around!! It was a blast and the time seemed to fly by!

Upon my return, I jetted over to #5's house for our date and I had asked him to show me his artwork. It's really good. I figured it would be, but I was *still* surprised. It was a lot of fun looking at the couple sketch books he had out for me to peruse. Now I wanna seem him draw. He's quite talented, which is very impressive to me. It's always cool to see the person you're dating do the thing that they're really good at and enjoy.