Continuum 2025:  Fri 25th July - Mon 28th July

Saturday 26th July

I slept extremely poorly. Nothing wrong with the accommodation. I may have been over-excited or worried about the coming day. I had two slots booked to run games in. The second of these was the first playtest of my forthcoming (I hope) horror game. Now to add to my worries was concerns I’d be too tired to do that properly.

Breakfast ran from 7am to 9am. I tried to get an extra half hour lie in a got there 7:30. It was a typical quite good hotel-type breakfast. However, I was starting to get the feeling that whoever is in charge of the catering at the conference centre has some ideas about “efficiency”. Everything you needed was there (except for Pains au Chocolate) but slightly “off”. For example the fruit course was cut into large pieces than normal. 2cm chunks of melon rather than 1cm. It’s a little thing but when you;ve had as many hotel breakfasts as I have, you notice these things. Couple with the idea of a barbecue outside and tubs of ice-cream for dessert, a picture was beginning to emerge.

My first game was a Savage Worlds game. An anime-type game set in a high school on the outskirts of a future Tokyo. Our high school students were oblivious to the paranormal organisation shenanigans our History Professor was mixed up in. I ran the teenage school reporter for half of the game. When I played her too well and managed to get onto the departing gyrocopter with the kidnapped Professor - Lois Lane style - rather than splitting the group I suggested to the Referee that I gave up her and ran one of the other pregens instead. So I switched to the bug lug mechanic who saw the reporter as his little sister and was desperate to get her back.

The morning slot is only 3 hours long. Savage Worlds combat is quite involved. And the scenario being run was actually part of an extended campaign. The session was FUN but we didn’t get to rescue the Professor.

I had felt myself dozing off during the slot, so, worried about my afternoon and evening games I skipped lunch and went back to my room between 1pm and 2pm to get my head down. I don’t think I slept but the 50mins or so meditation seemed to help.

My afternoon game was my “Amnesiacs in Space” one. This is the third time I’d run it (StabCon and the emergency extra session on Friday at Continuum.) I knew what I was doing. The players - including at least one person I consider a luminary of the UK Table-Top Role-Playing Scene) were experienced and up for fun. I got to use the whiteboard again even more than yesterday. Though I can’t seem to manoeuvre this scenario to an explosive climax - it is always resolved well and everyone had a good time. Me included.

I checked the board. I had zero signups for my Horror game playtest. I went to my room to review it anyway. Another feature I’d noticed was that the fully sign-up games leave some stragglers and a game can pick up players at the last minute.

Between 6pm and 7pm I relaxed in my room. Checking notes and resting my head a bit more.

At 7pm the evening meals was in the restaurant this time. A buffet style selection of hot food (think school lunches) but there was a massive queue again. (They should lay out identical selections at opposite ends of the serving area to allow two groups to select simultaneously.) Again the selection was of high quality but showed efficiency in the selection of what was on offer. Lasagne etc. Again dessert was a small tub of ice-cream. No complaints, did the job, but not spectacular.

My horror game playtest still head zero sign ups. Trying to to feel rejected, I took down the sheet and signed up to something with a space. I didn’t check what it was. (All games at Continuum are good).

This turned out the be a “DramaSystem” game where we played a rock band at the end of a long tour deciding whether to sign a future contract and continue as a group or not.

Great Referee, great players (me included) created a wonderful emergent storyline which would make a great basis for a movie.

But…..

the game system is all about the emotional relationships within the band. As someone who is famously socially awkward - possibly autistic - I found the emotional “stuff” a bit difficult to cope with. Nobody’s fault and it didn’t spoil the game. I doubt anyone even noticed how uncomfortable I was feeling. But I don’t think I’ll play this system again.

We finished well before midnight and I was able to get a good night’s sleep. This time.