SFX Weekender 3 - Your feedback.

[Cougar]

We're really veering off-topic now, but anyway.

WRT to titles like the BSG and The Walking Dead games, I've always been very wary of games that are themed around other IP . Like computer games, board games based on movies or TV shows tend to be almost universally pish IME. Much as I love board games, that's the main reason I didn't pay too much attention to the Esdevium stand this year (the other being them being lumbered with a really crappy location near a pinch point).

Interesting therefore to see someone rate the BSG game. Am I doing them / it a disservice here? I'll make amends for that next year if so.

*toddles off to BGG*

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Cougar

Interesting therefore to see someone rate the BSG game. Am I doing them / it a disservice here? I'll make amends for that next year if so.

BSG is good, easily my favourite game out there. It's not a game for beginners certainly, but once you get a few rounds under your belt it's really very easy.

The Walking Dead game isn't quite in the same league, and is definitely more of an introductory product. However it's surprisingly fun for what it is. Note there are two Walking Dead games out at the moment, one based on the TV series, one on the comic. They are very different games from different manufacturers.

[FoldsFive]

Originally Posted by Cougar

Interesting therefore to see someone rate the BSG game. Am I doing them / it a disservice here? I'll make amends for that next year if so.

*toddles off to BGG*

I'm a huge fan of the BSG game, as are my gaming group - It's really well paced, never dull and provokes more way more hilarious arguments about who is/are the cylon/cylons during an average game than is strictly necessary.

[An Astronaut]

Originally Posted by Cougar

Interesting therefore to see someone rate the BSG game. Am I doing them / it a disservice here? I'll make amends for that next year if so.

*toddles off to BGG*

I'm not a massive fan of the BSG game, largely because I'm not a huge co-op fan (traitor or otherwise) but it's generally a very well regarded game and is highly ranked on BGG. Certainly it's one of the best co-op with traitor games out there (arguably the best) and it's very thematic, capturing the tense nature of BSG very well. Dismissing games because they are licensed properties is often reasonable but more and more licence holders are going to REAL boardgame companies these days. Of course you'll still get Monopoly WoW and Starcraft Risk (which are both coming out this year) but then the original games using those properties were done by FFG, the same company behind BSG, and I personally love Starcraft: The Boardgame.

A word of advice, the current Discworld boardgame, Discworld: Ankh-Morpork, is done by Martin Wallace, a very highly regarded designer, and is a really nice game.

[doctorwhodini]

I had a great time at Prestatyn, the whole atmosphere was just fun with people out to play and enjoy themselves. Some of the stage entertainment was really entertaining and things like Brian Blessed's talk was simply hilarious.

I think Pontins may be having a slightly bad press here. I didn't try the restaurant, but had sandwiches from The Pound Shop (so called because things don't cost a pound??) They were cheap and they weren't economising on the filling either. The staff in there were really helpful and friendly. My total bill came to about three quid, but they couldn't have treated me better if I'd been spending thousands.

Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend this weekend. It's not every day you get to see Connie Fisher (the one from TV talent show and the Sound of Music show in London) singing a duet with a Dalek for Welsh television! And whoever made that Wookie suit (complete with authentic "growling" voice) did an unbelievable job.

[Rhian]

Originally Posted by doctorwhodini

I think Pontins may be having a slightly bad press here. I didn't try the restaurant, but had sandwiches from The Pound Shop (so called because things don't cost a pound??) They were cheap and they weren't economising on the filling either. The staff in there were really helpful and friendly. My total bill came to about three quid, but they couldn't have treated me better if I'd been spending thousands.

We found the same – both days we had sandwiches from the shop, cheap and good, and though the queue in there always looked scary it actually moved really quickly. Plus you could then eat while waiting for the next panel to start, which you couldn't really do with a plate of chips!

[SgtAngua_CW]

I didn't eat much in there either, just our main meals and we had breakfast before we left.

The main problem was trying to find time to eat! Stocking up my bag next time

[Dakki]

Originally Posted by nahp

I've been to each one so far and it has got better each year (with the exception of the queues this year lol)

This is pretty much a matter of taste I'd say.

I for one liked Pontin's in Camber Sands much better. OK so it was in the middle of nowhere (the location in Prestatyn was better) but the structure of the place was very good IMO. Both the Main Void and the Screening Zone in Camber Sands were much better organized and in some way bigger. This might not physically be the case but it felt like there was much more room to roam in Camber.

Ofcourse there were more peeps this year but still...

When it comes to the happening itself, it's pretty much up to what/who of the guests you like. I thought year 1 with Tom Baker was the best one. The first one is always the first one, and I mean this in a positive way. Last year I really enjoyed Russell Tovey and this year Colin Baker was the star for me. (remember I've only attended saturdays all three years)

So, all years have had it's good guests. But I was let down this year by the screening zone. Especially on the saturday there were very few screenings, more panels. (I know, this has been mentioned here before...)

Anyways, in MY opinion year 1 and 2 were better than this year. But this year was good too!

[Grumpy old git]

If the event gets any bigger, SFX may want to consider using Pontins' Hemsby site, near Lowestoft.
The spaces aren't under a single roof, but all are much, much bigger (and the food was way better when I researched the place for Cult TV in March 2010).

See here for site pics.

Plus, the bar had Old Speckled Hen, on draught!

[Honey]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old git

If the event gets any bigger, SFX may want to consider using Pontins' Hemsby site, near Lowestoft.
The spaces aren't under a single roof, but all are much, much bigger (and the food was way better when I researched the place for Cult TV in March 2010).

See here for site pics.

Plus, the bar had Old Speckled Hen, on draught!

Hi I think you mean the Pontins Pakefield site near Lowestoft - the Hemsby site was the biggest in the country, and used by many conventions, but unfortunately when the new owners of Pontins took over they closed it down and it now stands derelict.

Can I just say that I have heard that Pakefield are supposed to have two bedroom disabled accommodation which would be brilliant, haven't heard great things about the food, but it may be no worse than the other pontins.