Messing with the blogging world since 2005
Still catching up on everything from this weekend… whew! A great time at ConnCon, that’s for sure.
But, for now and until I have a post with some photos, here are a few from the weekend.
The dice given to attendees!
Finally had the chance to play La Isla!
Drilling with my machine!
I’ll have more soon!
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ConnCon is upon us!
This weekend, I will be heading to my second straight ConnCon, a board game (and other games) convention held in Stamford, Connecticut.
Basically, it’s going to be three days full of playing games.
I’m excited for it this year, as I have a better understanding of how things go down there. Last year, I registered for every slot, not realizing how much “open gaming” there is. I also know that I don’t have to be going full speed, which is a good thing.
This is my preview of sorts for what I am signed up for and what I am hoping to see there etc.
Games I’m signed up for:
Slot 1: Ticket to Ride: United Kingdom & Pennsylvania
This features two new maps for Ticket to Ride. I like the look of the Pennsylvania one as it has a couple of close cities to me in New York, too. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy the maps, so it was something I thought would be fun to try and likely not the full slow, thus allowing me to check into the hotel and such before the next slot.
Slot 2: New York 1901
This is another game I’ve looked to try as I like the theme. I’ve never had the chance to play it, so this seemed like the perfect spot.
Slot 3 (late night): Open
I learned last year that scheduling the late-night spots wasn’t always needed, so I decided to skip that aspect this year. The late-night slots were fun last year as there were some cool party games (such as Two Rooms and a Boom), but there’s also the chance to do some open gaming.
Slot 4: Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Interesting theme and I liked the sound of the game. It also has a solo variant, so if I like the game, it might be something I’d consider eventually purchasing.
Slot 5: Steam Works
A cool-looking worker-placement game, it’s a theme I can, again, get into. If you can’t tell, I’m somebody who likes certain themes when it comes to games. This one sounds like it will be fun and I look forward to it.
Slot 6: Trickerion: Legends of Illusion
I’ve played this game, but we thought we might have been doing something wrong, so two of us are signed up to play this one. I enjoyed it (you are a magician putting on shows) as the theme is interesting and the mechanics of the game are cool as well.
Slot 7 (late night): Open
See the open slot above.
Slot 8: German Railroads
A huge fan of the Russian Railroads game (which, eventually, I need to get), I’ve been interested in this expansion. If I’m not mistaken, it’s not just a new “map,” but rather a few new things about the game, which will be cool.
Slot 9: Steampunk Rally
This is one of the ones I’m really looking forward to. I like the whole Steampunk feel, and the mechanics and what you need to do in this game looks like a lot of fun.
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Last year at the con, I played nearly 30 games. I am not sure I will get to that level this year as I also plan on going out for dinner one or two of the nights there. Last March, I kind of ate there (I was on one of the upper floors, where you get food in the morning and at night – I didn’t get that this year), so I’d like to get out and walk a little and find some places to enjoy a dinner etc.
For me, this is a mini vacation. The hotel is nice, so hopefully I’ll get a couple of nights of good sleep, have some fun playing games and just enjoy the time.
Either way, it’s going to be a fun weekend full of gaming, which I’ve been looking forward to. It’s also just a way to get away and not have too many things to worry about. Depending on the driving/riding situation (I am driving for sure, but not sure if I am solo or not), I might stop to do some photography and/or geocaching on the way down or back, but we’ll see about that.
I’m sure I’ll post about the con after I get back, so we’ll see how many games I end up tackling when it’s all said and done!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please Like HooHaa Blog on Facebook!
When I worked in newspapers, I had the chance and fortune to cover a professional baseball team for six seasons.
The team was the Oneonta Tigers, the short-season Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. There was a storied history with this team, dating back to the 1960s. The same owners had run the team through the years, which included more than 30 as an affiliate with the New York Yankees.
But, in 2009, the owners sold to a group who fled Oneonta after one season and went to Norwich, Connecticut. The city had lose its AA team and now had the blessing of the New York-Penn League to bring a squad there — and that team turned out to be the Tigers.
All stamped in and ready for baseball.
Since that move, one in which I’m still heavily disappointed about, I’ve said I wanted to catch a game here.
Allow me to say this — though the stadium itself is better than Damaschke Field in Oneonta, it’s just not the same. Short-season A ball is something I like to be more intimate. Norwich is definitely a stadium for a larger league, though it seems the area didn’t support it well enough (thus why the AA team left).
With all that in mind, two of us made the trek to Dodd Stadium on July 4 to watch the Tigers take on the Vermont Lake Monsters.
There was a good crowd that night, one in which fireworks were to follow the game. An announced crowd of 3,776 watched the home team win, 7-6, in just under three hours.
So, let’s take a look at the stadium itself.
First, one issue I’d have is it’s not easy to get to this spot. It’s in an industrial park area and one way in is closed on game days. So after winding and weaving and such, you come to the stadium.
It’s definitely baseball here. The parking cost a few bucks, even though we got there before they started collecting. They came and asked for it when they did start collecting and then told us we also had to move elsewhere, even though the whole parking lot was … empty.
Another fan told me this was here from the AA team’s days.
It was a bobblehead day, so we got there early enough to snag our bobbleheads and in we went.
A couple of things to note — it’s definitely more of a stadium feel here than in the past. While Oneonta was intimate and “old school,” Dodd stadium is much like many parks in the current day. In others words, there’s a large selection of food and drink. The team store, while a tad cramped for space, is well stocked with the normal items people might want.
The food selections were pretty solid (hot dogs were good) and the beer selection, too, was good. An interesting side to it — there was one beer stand that had some “older” favorites, such as Schlitz and Schmidts. That’s a pretty cool feature and one I’ve not really seen at a park. Heck, there was even PBR, if I remember right.
Lines for ice cream that night were pretty long all night (as to be expected on July 4), but there was a small Ben and Jerry’s cart that people seemed to walk right past, so you could get some ice cream without issue.
The sight lines for the stadium were pretty good. Seats were normal, though felt a little tighter because there was a strong crowd. Therefore, one couldn’t stretch out as much.
The ambiance was decent as people seemed to be watching baseball. We were lucky to see a pretty decent game with some good action, so that helped.
People were also quite friendly here, which is always a good thing. Outside of the one or two people we dealt with in the parking lot (who seemed to be a little pushy), everybody was welcoming and friendly, which is always good in a small-league team.
In the end, I’m glad I finally had the chance to go see the Tigers in Connecticut. It made for a good end to a two-game weekend and is a place I’d likely visit again, especially with two new teams (New Britain in the independent Atlantic League) and Hartford (Eastern League) going to be in Connecticut this upcoming season.
Park Notes:
Dodd Stadium
Norwich, Conn.
Home of the Connecticut Tigers (Short-season Single A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers)
Visited on: July 4, 2015
Opponent: Vermont Lake Monsters (Short-season Single A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics)
Ratings (out of 10)
I am continuing the Summer of Baseball from 2014 and hope to blog about each new stadium I visit in 2015. Ones visited in the past can be viewed linked up in the 2014 version.
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!