TableTop Scotland 5th September - 7th September - FRIDAY

 The journey

I got up very early. To be honest earlier than I’d planned. (I think my wife was looking forward to the weekend alone.)

Bus into Birmingham, train to Birmingham International, MagLev to the Airport. This was all very smooth. Public transport working well.

It had been hears since I’d flown anywhere. I was struck by two things. Firstly just how many people were  flying from the airport so early on a Friday morning. I was stunned by sheer volume of humanity. Everything was well organised and managed, though.

Secondly, blatant commercialisation. The weaving route through Duty Free outlets adding masses of unnecessary walking. But, worst of all, I noticed that Departure screens weren’t visible if you were sitting down, unless you were in a bar or cafe. Most of the screens were actually inside outlets and those that weren’t you had to stand up to see - unless you were sitting in a cafe.

The flight up was straightforward. I was carrying a backpack that contained everything I needed. I arrived  at Edinburgh airport still quite early in the morning and a couple of hours before TableTop Scotland started. (I think my flight options had been limited by available times, cost and Fear Of Missing Out.) I’d planned to maybe have coffee at the airport and blog for an hour or so before catching a bus or Taxi to the convention. But I found the airport coffee shops were very full. The whole airport was rammed with humanity. And my phone apps told me the event was actually only a twenty minute walk away. The weather look okay so I decided to walk.

Then the heavens opened and a gale started. Despite my - really good - umbrella, I got cold and wet. Also, whilst the map app on my phone got me to the campus the convention was on, it couldn’t find the exact hall being used or the entrance shown on the web-site. I knew I was close.

Then I saw a Holiday Inn and, a bit bedraggled, asked if I could wait inside until the storm passed.  I had coffee, started yesterday’s blog post and rechecked the details of the convention. Once the storm had passed I put my head out and saw people walking to the convention which was just next door to the Holiday Inn. It’s really convenient for the event venue which is why it was probably too expensive for me.

The Afternoon

Got in easily and received my Game Host pass. The entry was free for me because I was offering games. 

On the way to the hall I pass half a dozen kiosks bordering a lawned area with picnic tables. They all looked of good quality. I had a beef burger and chips from the “Artisan Butcher” stall. It was good.

I still had almost two hours until my first game. I went in through a bright foyer and looked around the main hall. The main part of the venue is like a large warehouse. The floor is a bit rough but it was filled with hundreds of small tables crammed with - mainly - indie tabletop games and associated merchandise. I spotted Modiphious and Chaosium there but they didn’t seem to stand out from the more “mom and pop” stands. 

About half of the area was trade stands, the further half of the hall was just tables and chairs for open gaming. Hundreds and hundreds of cloth covered tables.

I asked for the Role-playing games and discovered they were on a bright raised area bordering the foyer. I went up the stairs. They were loads of round tables, with cloths, Each table had a stand on it saying what game was being run there and by whom.

I was also given a free T-shirt as a thank you running games.

I found my table and set up.

Shortly after the game started, I was brought a list of the players who had signed up - mostly typed names with two handwritten at the bottom. This showed who had signed up before the event and who had signed up on the day.

This was my fantasy scenario about stopping the authoritarian sky warriors wiping out all of dragonkind. As has happened before, this turned a bit gonzo but everyone had a good time even though the characters failed. The World ended up being decimateded by a dragonkind driven insane by the actions of the evil sky people.

The game was timed to last from 2:30pm  to 6pm. I finished a bit early. as I’d not offered to run a full game in the evening - I was running a Games in Demand slot at 8pm -  I chose to walk to my hotel to check-in. My phone told me it wasn’t far.

So I set out. The route my phone gave me led me to closed gates and fences. There was no way through. I went back to the venue where a member of the venue staff explained to me that it was a perennial problem and pointed me to an alternative route. This proved to be pretty much as the crowd flies and I walked 20 minutes or so to my hotel, checked in, and walked back in plenty of time to buy chicken and chips from another kiosk.

The Evening

I’d offered to run some “Games on Demand”. I’d been told to come to Table 1 at 8pm. I’d be sent some players. I’d pitch the games I had ready to run. They’d select one and I’d run it for two hours.

As with everything else this was supremely well organised. I had three players. They chose my Steampunk Scenario - One of our Dinosaurs is Missing. This was as much fun as it usually is and we finished at 10pm.

I started to walk to my hotel. Halfway along, I found the route barred. I walked back to the venue and called a Taxi. I had some difficulty describing where the venue was. Apparently the app used. By the Taxi Service has the same issue as the map apps on phones. Or my description was in terms the locals recognised. So I walked to the Holiday Inn and was eventually picked up from there.

I was really happy with the convention. My games had gone well with great players and things were well organised.

The gloss was taken off by the fact that my phone app and the local taxis seemed to have difficulty finding the exact part of the venue campus I was on. And the fact that a reasonable walking route from the event to my hotel which worked during the day, was blocked at night.

TableTop Scotland 5th September - 7th September - Preamble

 My history with Scotland

When I was first doing the rounds of UK conventions in the early part of the 21st century, I travelled the length a breadth of the country. From Devon to Edinburgh.

I forget the name of my first Edinburgh convention, but it was based at the University. The first time I came I was demonstrating my Trad Superhero Game, Squadron UK.

I had to take the figures and play-mats in to work, dash to the station at the end of the day, and lug them all up on the train. It took hours and cost a lot of money.

When I got home, I discovered that it was actually cheaper to fly to Scotland than catch the train. (That doesn’t make any sense to me.) And it was faster.

The only problem was that bringing luggage put the air fare up a lot. The figures and play-mats had to go.

So I wrote a whole new game. The Comics Code.

This was a complete departure for me. No figures. No terrain. Completely Theatre of the Mind. Just 2 six-sided dice.

But, most importantly, it was a small paperback book that I could fit in a flight bag alongside my spare socks and undies.

It revolutionised my approach to game design and spawned a whole range of similar titles - many of which I’m playing this weekend. I owe Scotland a lot for forcing me into a whole new area of games design.

My history with Tabletop Scotland

TableTop Scotland seems to have been set up with the intent to give Scotland a large, professional, tabletop games convention like UK Games Expo in England. I have always wanted to come but, originally, it was in Perth which was a bit too far for me to travel. And, since its move to Edinburgh, I was on my convetion hiatus.

But now I’m back on the scene, I’m retired, and I can finally attend and see if it’s as good as I always hoped. It needs to be because it may turn out to be the most expensive convention for me to attend.

Planning

Tabletop Scotland is now based in The Highland Centre, which is right next to Edinburgh airport. If you’re flying up that means you don’t need to get a bus or Taxi into the city which is a real saving.

It is really well planned. The web-site is clear and informative, even months in advance of the event.

I had to make my plans to attend really early in order to get the best price on flights and to reserve accommodation. (I was worried that if I left it too late, it might be like UK Games Expo, with all the local hotels being booked out.)

As I’m now retired - there’s no reason I HAVE to fly up. I could try to book cheaper train tickets by booking in advance. I could travel very cheaply by coach. But that might mean having to book extra nights’ accommodation, which would wipe out any savings. So I decided to indulge myself and book air tickets.

The web-site lists many nearby hotels and it was an easy job to find one which was a good compromise between cost and proximity to the venue.

Because they are so well organised, I had to submit the games I wanted to Referee months in advance. There are seven organised TTRPG slots. Friday afternoon and evening. Saturday Morning, afternoon and and Evening and Sunday morning and afternoon. I can’t remember why, but I decided to offer to run in three of the seven slots. At the time of submitting the games, I hadn’t played any TTRPGs for over 5 years, let alone Refereeing them, let alone at a convention.

I offered to run scenarios I was preparing for the StabCon convention. A fantasy one, a science fiction one, and a playtest of the horror game I was designing. I thought I’d spend the rest of the time offering “Games on Demand” or playing.

Nearer the event, a message went out asking for Referees to offer “Games on Demand” so I threw my hat in the ring there - offering to run in three of my remaining four slots.

I also noticed a Referee was offering to run one of MY games - The Comics Code. This was a rare opportunity to I signed up to play in that game. It is so rare I get to the chance to play one of my own games. I call signing up to play in a game you’ve designed “designer bombing”.

That was me, all set up, months in advance because this convention is just so well organised.

Nearer the event I was asked for details of the games I could offer.  I submitted four short games I could offer - my D&D lite intro, my Steampunk Scenario about the missing dinosaur, a “Dr Who without the Doctor” game and (because I’d just watched the first two episodes on TV) a scenario based on Alien: Earth. I had no idea of what that was going to be, I just knew I could easily run something.

Nearer the event I produced pregenerated characters for the Games on Demand games and received detail as of the three times I’d be asked to offer my games.