Come see me at CONvergence 2016!

This weekend - starting today, actually - is CONvergence, a big-deal science fiction/fantasy convention here in Minnesota. I've heard about CONvergence for years, but have never been and always felt I was missing out. So I'm pretty excited that this year I not only get to go, but get to go as an Invited Participant.

I'm not totally sure what all that entails, but I do know it means I'll be on a lot of panels. And moderating a couple of them. My schedule is below, if you'd like to come say "hi."

I probably won't be around much today or tomorrow, but I'll be there all day Saturday and Sunday. As you can see, Saturday is packed with panels, but I have more time on Sunday to check out everything else that's going on. Hope to see you there!

Saturday, July 2

11:00 am

Moving at the Speed of Plot - I'm moderating this panel on the relationship between world-building and plot. The official description of the panel says it well: "When you’re world building, how do the choices you make, such as setting, affect the decisions you make later about plot? Has your world inspired your plot more than your plot has inspired your world?" If you've read Kill All Monsters, you know where I fall on this, but it'll be fun to discuss with some other writers.

12:30 pm

Gaming with Kids - All about introducing kids (and really anybody) to deck-building, role-playing, and Euro-style board games. David introduced himself to deck-building games with Dinosaur King and Pokemon, but I'll take credit for RPGs and board games.

3:30 pm

Are Comics No Longer for Teens? - I'm moderating this one, too. According to the official description, the panel is mostly focused on DC and Marvel, but I expect we'll widen the discussion to include more kinds of comics than just that. I've been talking with some of the other panelists and we've got some varying opinions, so this should be an awesome conversation.

5:00 pm

Building Collaborative Works - Talking about the benefits and drawbacks of collaborating with other creators, as well as some practical "how to" stuff.

8:30 pm

Everything New is Old Again - Really looking forward to this conversation about reboots, remakes, and sequels. Been talking to some of the other panelists on this one, too, and I'm not the only one who enjoys a well-done remake. Maybe not at the expense of original stories though (if such a thing exists). Gonna be fun to hash this out.

Sunday, July 3

2:00 pm

Submarines: They Don’t Have to Be Black - The theme of the convention this year is the vehicles of science fiction and fantasy and I couldn't be more thrilled to get to talk about scifi/fantasy submarines. If you follow my Life at Sea Tumblr (or just this blog for a long enough period of time), you know how much I love the sea adventure. Looking forward to geeking out about some favorite fictional subs and most likely learning about some that I'm not so familiar with.

My Favorite Board Game: Fury of Dracula

This week's item from Calvin's list comes with a caveat: My favorite board game is always the last one I got. That said, I'm a huge fan of strategy games and my previous favorites are Betrayal at House on the Hill, Pirate's Cove, and Mwahahaha (though that's more of a complicated card game than a true board game). Right now though, it's all about Fury of Dracula.

I understand that it plays similarly to Scotland Yard, though I've never played that game. One player is Dracula and the others are vampire-hunters from the novel: Lord Godalming, Doctor Seward, Van Helsing, and Mina Harker.

The object for the Dracula character is to collect points while eluding the hunters, moving in secret around a map of Europe. He gets points for creating new vampires, defeating the hunters in combat, and just surviving the day. Once he reaches a certain number, he wins. The players work as a team to find Dracula and destroy him before he gets all his points. If they succeed, they win as a team.

I've only played a few times, but it's a much more balanced game than it first appears. Every time I play with a new group of people there's some distrust that things are easier for Dracula than for the players. That only lasts for a while though and the hunters are usually able to locate him after several turns. Once that happens, it's much more difficult - but not impossible - for Dracula to disappear again. It takes a lot of skill and strategy to play either side.

One of the things I love most about it is that it doesn't matter how many people play or who plays which hunter. All four hunters are used regardless of if there's one person playing them all or several people working as a team. The game tells you that you can't have more than five players (one for Dracula and each hunter), but that's not true. You can have an unlimited number of folks on the hunters' side, putting their heads together to come up with the best strategy. And if someone has to leave the game - it does take a few hours to play - it's not a disruption to either bring in a replacement player or just have one of the other, current players take over that character in addition to her own. That flexibility is unique among strategy games. It's also a good training game for kids who are attracted to strategy games, but not that good at them yet (so long as the adult members of the team are patient and willing to teach).