Guests
Merle M. Rasmussen, best known as designer of TOP SECRETTM Espionage Role-Playing Game (225,251 copies), now works as the Property Management Specialist / Archivist for Casey’s General Stores, Inc. He’s been married 34 years to Jackie, the co-author of "Authentic Agencies," "OPERATION: ZODIAC," "Make the Most of Your Missions," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Mission," "Tortles of the Purple Sage," The Savage Coast, The G4 File: Guns, Gadgets, and Getaway Gear, "Integrated Grooming Station," NUTZ & VOLTZ A Robotic Science Fantasy Role-Playing Game, and "OPERATION: RENDEZVOUS OASIS." The couple owns three cats and they are active in a community food pantry. When not writing, they love to travel, visit friends and family, and raise miniature pumpkins.
What’s Merle Been Doing
In 1979, I conjured my first entry into the specialty game market with SQWURMTM (3,333 copies) fantasy, triangular card game. The object of SQWURMTM is to be the first Wizard-King to form his or her own complete and continuous dragon while attacking other dragons with knights, damsels, eggs, and treasure.
TOP SECRET® Espionage Game shot its way onto the role-playing market in 1980 selling 225,251 copies in English-speaking countries over the next seven years. TOP SECRET® signaled the start of my role-playing game (RPG) phase.
I was engaged to be married March 15, 1982 and then hired by TSR, Inc., to write RPG accessories, attend game conventions, and answer fan mail. Before my first day of work in June 1982, I moved from rural Council Bluffs, Iowa to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and married Jackie L. Smith on September 18, 1982.
My RPG accessories include adventures for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Basic, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Expert, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, TOP SECRET®, and TOP SECRET/S.I.TM. I also co-edited an adventure for BOOT HILL® Wild West Game.
My work appeared in DRAGON® Magazine, DUNGEON ADVENTURES Magazine, CHALLENGE Magazine, and The Dossier: The Official Journal of the International Spy Society. My DRAGON® Magazine column “Spy’s Advice” morphed into “The Rasmussen Files.”
On April 1, 1984, I walked out of TSR’s building into the snow. A few flakes were falling as 50 employees’ jobs were downsized, the third such cutback in a year. We were not fired and it was not our fault. Our positions were eliminated due to an $18 million shortfall from a $40 million sales prediction. I moved to central Iowa where I thought I had a job and a plan to finish a Bachelor’s Degree at Iowa State University.
Between jobs as a Picture Framer in Ames, Iowa and Sales Clerk at Fantasy Game Shop in Des Moines, Iowa, I worked as a freelance writer. Next, I worked as a Casting Machine Operator for Alliance Miniatures in West Des Moines, Iowa followed by General Manager of The Gameshop in Des Moines. Next I became a Correspondent II at American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines.
In 1988, WHITE WOLF Magazine published NUTZ & VOLTZ! A Robotic Science-Fantasy Role-Playing Game and NUTZ & VOLTZ! Spare Parts by Jackie and me. Also in 1988, I created a mutation of SQWURMTM, added a scoring system, and called to life BEASTIESTM A Build-A-Better Beastie Card Game.
I has hired November 18, 1988, as a Technical Writer by Casey’s General Stores to compile the Store Employee Handbook and Corporate Headquarters Employee Handbook. This job marked the beginning of my technical writing phase. I served as Newsletter Committee Chair and/or Contributor to Casey’s General News, quarterly employee newsletter, from fall 1989 to June 1993. I continue to submit articles to The Weathervane Quarterly Newsletter.
In April 1990, I became Corporate Communications Manager. I served as Editor of Casey’s HQ Shopper News, the weekly corporate headquarters bulletin.
In March 1992, I became Property Management Specialist. For over seven years I also served as Art Committee Vice Chair. Starting in 1993, I served over three years as Art Committee Chair. Since October 1999, I also serve as Archivist, collecting and preserving company memorabilia.
In 1996, my nine-state concept was chosen and an aerial sculptor was commissioned to create the mobile, Dynamic Performance celebrating the opening of the company’s 1000th convenience store, displayed at Casey’s Corporate Headquarters. Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa awarded me the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts in April 2000.
I became the Creative Director of Viking Games, L.L.C., on January 21, 2003. Also in 2003, I served on the design team for CASEYOPOLY© Limited Edition Property Trading Game (10 copies) and its mass-market version, CASEYOPOLY© 35th Anniversary Edition Property Trading Game (19,000 copies). Both CASEYOPOLY© games marked the start of my board game phase.
In 2004, I was the editor for IOWA STATE FAIROPOLY©: 150th Anniversary Limited Edition (5,000 copies). In 2005, I sold one copy of LUTHEROPOLY©: The Life and Times of Martin Luther to a Religious Studies instructor at Iowa State University. In 2007, I edited KNOXVILLE RACEOPOLY©: The Collectors Edition (at least 3,500 copies) and designed NEWTONOPOLY: We saved a place for you! (at least 3,500 copies.) ROOFTOP-OPOLY: It’s better to give than to receive! (at least 3,500 copies) first appeared in Des Moines in 2008. In 2009, I sold a single copy of STAGECOACH KING: Western Stagecoach Commerce Game to a private individual.
Unrelated to board games, in 2004 I directed production of the Color Iowa Beautiful Coloring Book, developed the Keep Iowa Beautiful Activity Book, and designed Keep Iowa Beautiful Travel Bingo©: An enlightening game about our environment (at least 700 copies). This travel bingo game received the PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) Pyramid Silver Award for Social Responsibility in January 2012.
In 2009, I served as a consultant and co-author with Wes, my brother, on espionage-themed materials for a departmental team building exercise involving 60 Lexmark International employees in Lexington, Kentucky.
The year 2010 brought me full circle back to card games with the publication of SAVE YOUR BRAINTM: YOU’RE GOING TO NEED IT! Brain Injury Prevention/Awareness Card Game (5,500 copies) published by the Iowa Department of Public Health. This card game was featured in PPB (Promotional Products Business) Magazine’s “Government Promotions Work” article, in February 2012. In fall 2011, I began consulting on game design for Uncle Sam Cards of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
In July 2013, I received a call to serve as Gaming Guest of Honor at the first Nexus Game Faire in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 19-22, 2014. Also in July, I received a call to write for GYGAXTM Magazine. On January 15, 2014, I received an e-mail from Luke Gygax asking if I were about to attend Gary Con VI as a Guest.
I am a 58-years-young Midwestern geek/nerd. Problem solving, writing and computer skills have opened many doors for me. When not researching, visiting family or gardening, Jackie and I like to travel. We own one house, two vehicles, and three cats. Hopefully you can find your bliss in some honorable avocation!
What’s Merle Been Doing
In 1979, I conjured my first entry into the specialty game market with SQWURMTM (3,333 copies) fantasy, triangular card game. The object of SQWURMTM is to be the first Wizard-King to form his or her own complete and continuous dragon while attacking other dragons with knights, damsels, eggs, and treasure.
TOP SECRET® Espionage Game shot its way onto the role-playing market in 1980 selling 225,251 copies in English-speaking countries over the next seven years. TOP SECRET® signaled the start of my role-playing game (RPG) phase.
I was engaged to be married March 15, 1982 and then hired by TSR, Inc., to write RPG accessories, attend game conventions, and answer fan mail. Before my first day of work in June 1982, I moved from rural Council Bluffs, Iowa to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and married Jackie L. Smith on September 18, 1982.
My RPG accessories include adventures for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Basic, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® Expert, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, TOP SECRET®, and TOP SECRET/S.I.TM. I also co-edited an adventure for BOOT HILL® Wild West Game.
My work appeared in DRAGON® Magazine, DUNGEON ADVENTURES Magazine, CHALLENGE Magazine, and The Dossier: The Official Journal of the International Spy Society. My DRAGON® Magazine column “Spy’s Advice” morphed into “The Rasmussen Files.”
On April 1, 1984, I walked out of TSR’s building into the snow. A few flakes were falling as 50 employees’ jobs were downsized, the third such cutback in a year. We were not fired and it was not our fault. Our positions were eliminated due to an $18 million shortfall from a $40 million sales prediction. I moved to central Iowa where I thought I had a job and a plan to finish a Bachelor’s Degree at Iowa State University.
Between jobs as a Picture Framer in Ames, Iowa and Sales Clerk at Fantasy Game Shop in Des Moines, Iowa, I worked as a freelance writer. Next, I worked as a Casting Machine Operator for Alliance Miniatures in West Des Moines, Iowa followed by General Manager of The Gameshop in Des Moines. Next I became a Correspondent II at American Republic Insurance Company in Des Moines.
In 1988, WHITE WOLF Magazine published NUTZ & VOLTZ! A Robotic Science-Fantasy Role-Playing Game and NUTZ & VOLTZ! Spare Parts by Jackie and me. Also in 1988, I created a mutation of SQWURMTM, added a scoring system, and called to life BEASTIESTM A Build-A-Better Beastie Card Game.
I has hired November 18, 1988, as a Technical Writer by Casey’s General Stores to compile the Store Employee Handbook and Corporate Headquarters Employee Handbook. This job marked the beginning of my technical writing phase. I served as Newsletter Committee Chair and/or Contributor to Casey’s General News, quarterly employee newsletter, from fall 1989 to June 1993. I continue to submit articles to The Weathervane Quarterly Newsletter.
In April 1990, I became Corporate Communications Manager. I served as Editor of Casey’s HQ Shopper News, the weekly corporate headquarters bulletin.
In March 1992, I became Property Management Specialist. For over seven years I also served as Art Committee Vice Chair. Starting in 1993, I served over three years as Art Committee Chair. Since October 1999, I also serve as Archivist, collecting and preserving company memorabilia.
In 1996, my nine-state concept was chosen and an aerial sculptor was commissioned to create the mobile, Dynamic Performance celebrating the opening of the company’s 1000th convenience store, displayed at Casey’s Corporate Headquarters. Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa awarded me the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts in April 2000.
I became the Creative Director of Viking Games, L.L.C., on January 21, 2003. Also in 2003, I served on the design team for CASEYOPOLY© Limited Edition Property Trading Game (10 copies) and its mass-market version, CASEYOPOLY© 35th Anniversary Edition Property Trading Game (19,000 copies). Both CASEYOPOLY© games marked the start of my board game phase.
In 2004, I was the editor for IOWA STATE FAIROPOLY©: 150th Anniversary Limited Edition (5,000 copies). In 2005, I sold one copy of LUTHEROPOLY©: The Life and Times of Martin Luther to a Religious Studies instructor at Iowa State University. In 2007, I edited KNOXVILLE RACEOPOLY©: The Collectors Edition (at least 3,500 copies) and designed NEWTONOPOLY: We saved a place for you! (at least 3,500 copies.) ROOFTOP-OPOLY: It’s better to give than to receive! (at least 3,500 copies) first appeared in Des Moines in 2008. In 2009, I sold a single copy of STAGECOACH KING: Western Stagecoach Commerce Game to a private individual.
Unrelated to board games, in 2004 I directed production of the Color Iowa Beautiful Coloring Book, developed the Keep Iowa Beautiful Activity Book, and designed Keep Iowa Beautiful Travel Bingo©: An enlightening game about our environment (at least 700 copies). This travel bingo game received the PPAI (Promotional Products Association International) Pyramid Silver Award for Social Responsibility in January 2012.
In 2009, I served as a consultant and co-author with Wes, my brother, on espionage-themed materials for a departmental team building exercise involving 60 Lexmark International employees in Lexington, Kentucky.
The year 2010 brought me full circle back to card games with the publication of SAVE YOUR BRAINTM: YOU’RE GOING TO NEED IT! Brain Injury Prevention/Awareness Card Game (5,500 copies) published by the Iowa Department of Public Health. This card game was featured in PPB (Promotional Products Business) Magazine’s “Government Promotions Work” article, in February 2012. In fall 2011, I began consulting on game design for Uncle Sam Cards of Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
In July 2013, I received a call to serve as Gaming Guest of Honor at the first Nexus Game Faire in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 19-22, 2014. Also in July, I received a call to write for GYGAXTM Magazine. On January 15, 2014, I received an e-mail from Luke Gygax asking if I were about to attend Gary Con VI as a Guest.
I am a 58-years-young Midwestern geek/nerd. Problem solving, writing and computer skills have opened many doors for me. When not researching, visiting family or gardening, Jackie and I like to travel. We own one house, two vehicles, and three cats. Hopefully you can find your bliss in some honorable avocation!
Special Guest Auctioneer - Frank Mentzer
Frank Mentzer, is an American fantasy author and game designer best known for his work on early materials for the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game. He was an employee of TSR, Inc. from 1980–1986, part of that time as Creative Advisor to the Chairman of the Board, Gary Gygax. He also founded the Role-Playing Games Association (RPGA) during his time with TSR. He has been closely involved with the world's largest game auction at the Gen Con game convention since 1983, and is an expert on (and a major collector of) family board games and role-playing games. After Gygax was ousted from TSR at the end of 1985, Mentzer left TSR as well and helped Gygax to start New Infinities Productions Inc.
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Special Guest and Friend of Xenocon -- Kim Eastland
Known for his amazing Gamma World 3rd Edition Adventure Series, key books of the Star Frontiers system, the Marvel Super Heroes RPG, as well as adventures for the Conan RPG. Publishing Masthead of the RPGA's Polyhedron Magazine, issues (12-15) The first editor of The Grenadier Bulletin, created to advertise Grenadier Miniatures status as the official producer of miniatures for TSR, Inc.'s AD&D and Gamma World role-playing games.
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SPONSORS/EXHIBITORS:
Entangled Stiches, Games +1, Have Fun Collectibles, Modern Woodmen of America, TPK, Wandering Mail, Wiggle Snort Games
EVENTS
Friday - 10/9/2015
6:00pm - 10:00pm
OPERATION: Machete!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 hours
Good morning, “Flicker” time lapse computer analysis recently discovered an unidentified structure in the Pantanal “Savannah” near the Bolivian/Brazilian border. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this swamp site. Find out the structure’s purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Cards Against Humanity Inspired - Geeks Againsts Humanity PLAYTEST
Total Party Kill Games
Brian Berg
6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Come join me in a playtest of my latest endeavor, Geeks Against Humanity. GAH is a variant of that other card game, you know the one. Come revel in geekdom and be ready to make fun of yourself. Absolutely no one under the age of 18 or those easily offended.
Savage Worlds - Walt’s Angels 3: The Mouse Strikes Back
Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Bryan Nash
6 Player slots available players, No experience needed
Once upon a time (long, long ago in a story far away…) there were some princesses whose happily-ever-afters turned out to be fairy tales. Now they work for me. My name is Walt. And it’s time to take down Emperor Mickey and his evil Empire once and for all. For you’re not just Angels any more. Now you’re JEDI Angels!
Black Fleet
Asmodee
Henry Mueller
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Come rule the high seas. Aye, it's a pirate, a merchant and a navy admiral's life for me. Come sail the seas as all three and be the first to reach your goal while preventing the other player's from reaching theirs' first. This is a back and forth race of cunning and risk. This game has an easy and fun rule set.
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
SAGA - Viking Invasion! An intro to SAGA
Studio Tomahawk
Andrew Bertelsen
4 Players slots available, No experience needed
It's Ragnar's Viking vs Rollo's Normans in this introduction to SAGA, the fast paced skirmish game by Studio Tomahawk. Games run approximately 90 minutes.
Boardgame: Damage Report
Break from Reality
Laura Gifford
6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Co-op Real Time Space Game. Takes 45 min to play, 15-20 min to explain. Will play 2-3 games.
Dicemaster Demo
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event ends at 8:00pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
A demo for the game Dicemasters, a game of dicebuilding with superheroes and villians as well as Dungeons and Dragons and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Imperial Assault
Fantasy Flight Games
Brooke Valletta
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Imperial Assault casts you and your friends into the climactic events following the Death Star's destruction. In the campaign game, you and up to four other friends play a series of thrilling missions woven together in a narrative campaign.
7:30pm - 11:30pm
AdLiD ("Ad-Lib Dungeon")
Generic (mix of OD&D, BECMI, 1e)
Frank Mentzer
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average D&D/AD&D experience required
You decide what monsters and treasures will be found... and Frank creates an adventure on the spot. Anything can happen! Characters provided
Inspectres RPG - Who Ya Gonna Call? Inspectres!
Memento Mori Theatricks
Andrew Lister
No experience needed
Some strange things have been happening in the Quad Cities as of late. Who can we go to in order to make sense of and put a stop to these supernatural occurrences? The Inspectres, of course! Inspectres is a rules-light roleplaying game where you all play members of a group of supernatural hunters like the Ghostbusters.
We'll start with a very quick and easy character creation, go over the rules, and solve a series of supernatural problems.
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Bezier Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
In the tile-laying game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are tasked with building an amazing, extravagant castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria...one room at a time. You see, the King loves castles, having built Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired the Disney theme park castles) and others, but now he's commissioned you to build the biggest, best castle ever — subject, of course, to his ever-changing whims. Each player acts as a building contractor who is adding rooms to the castle he's building while also selling his services to other players.
Fields of Fire - Red Vs Blue
Proving Grounds Games
Richard Banes
2+ Player slots available, No experience needed
Fight with tanks and vehicles with this one simple game. This award winning system takes the players into the fight. With the use of counters and fabric terrain, anyone can learn how to have this game at a low cost with all the action needed for a great experience.
Warmachine/Hordes - Demos
Privateer Press
Cory Stockstill
No experience needed
Come join the forces of Western Immoren and battle your way to victory in a fast-paced, steam-powered or wild warbeast driven army of your design! This award winning tabletop miniatures game is as deep in strategy as it is in fun and aesthetic. Assemble your beautiful models to play against friends at home or store, or take them on the road to international tournaments to play
against people of every walk of life in hundreds of cities worldwide. With a huge online community supported by thousands of volunteers, podcasts, Twitch channels, YouTube and forums for every question, there's endless fun to be had! Join us to
learn the basics, see some cool models, and play a demo game!
Dicemaster Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event will begin at 8:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
$10 sealed booster tournament, play with what you pull and pick the basic action of your choice that we provide.
6:00pm - 10:00pm
OPERATION: Machete!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 hours
Good morning, “Flicker” time lapse computer analysis recently discovered an unidentified structure in the Pantanal “Savannah” near the Bolivian/Brazilian border. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this swamp site. Find out the structure’s purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Cards Against Humanity Inspired - Geeks Againsts Humanity PLAYTEST
Total Party Kill Games
Brian Berg
6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Come join me in a playtest of my latest endeavor, Geeks Against Humanity. GAH is a variant of that other card game, you know the one. Come revel in geekdom and be ready to make fun of yourself. Absolutely no one under the age of 18 or those easily offended.
Savage Worlds - Walt’s Angels 3: The Mouse Strikes Back
Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Bryan Nash
6 Player slots available players, No experience needed
Once upon a time (long, long ago in a story far away…) there were some princesses whose happily-ever-afters turned out to be fairy tales. Now they work for me. My name is Walt. And it’s time to take down Emperor Mickey and his evil Empire once and for all. For you’re not just Angels any more. Now you’re JEDI Angels!
Black Fleet
Asmodee
Henry Mueller
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Come rule the high seas. Aye, it's a pirate, a merchant and a navy admiral's life for me. Come sail the seas as all three and be the first to reach your goal while preventing the other player's from reaching theirs' first. This is a back and forth race of cunning and risk. This game has an easy and fun rule set.
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
SAGA - Viking Invasion! An intro to SAGA
Studio Tomahawk
Andrew Bertelsen
4 Players slots available, No experience needed
It's Ragnar's Viking vs Rollo's Normans in this introduction to SAGA, the fast paced skirmish game by Studio Tomahawk. Games run approximately 90 minutes.
Boardgame: Damage Report
Break from Reality
Laura Gifford
6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Co-op Real Time Space Game. Takes 45 min to play, 15-20 min to explain. Will play 2-3 games.
Dicemaster Demo
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event ends at 8:00pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
A demo for the game Dicemasters, a game of dicebuilding with superheroes and villians as well as Dungeons and Dragons and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Imperial Assault
Fantasy Flight Games
Brooke Valletta
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Imperial Assault casts you and your friends into the climactic events following the Death Star's destruction. In the campaign game, you and up to four other friends play a series of thrilling missions woven together in a narrative campaign.
7:30pm - 11:30pm
AdLiD ("Ad-Lib Dungeon")
Generic (mix of OD&D, BECMI, 1e)
Frank Mentzer
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average D&D/AD&D experience required
You decide what monsters and treasures will be found... and Frank creates an adventure on the spot. Anything can happen! Characters provided
Inspectres RPG - Who Ya Gonna Call? Inspectres!
Memento Mori Theatricks
Andrew Lister
No experience needed
Some strange things have been happening in the Quad Cities as of late. Who can we go to in order to make sense of and put a stop to these supernatural occurrences? The Inspectres, of course! Inspectres is a rules-light roleplaying game where you all play members of a group of supernatural hunters like the Ghostbusters.
We'll start with a very quick and easy character creation, go over the rules, and solve a series of supernatural problems.
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Bezier Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
In the tile-laying game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are tasked with building an amazing, extravagant castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria...one room at a time. You see, the King loves castles, having built Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired the Disney theme park castles) and others, but now he's commissioned you to build the biggest, best castle ever — subject, of course, to his ever-changing whims. Each player acts as a building contractor who is adding rooms to the castle he's building while also selling his services to other players.
Fields of Fire - Red Vs Blue
Proving Grounds Games
Richard Banes
2+ Player slots available, No experience needed
Fight with tanks and vehicles with this one simple game. This award winning system takes the players into the fight. With the use of counters and fabric terrain, anyone can learn how to have this game at a low cost with all the action needed for a great experience.
Warmachine/Hordes - Demos
Privateer Press
Cory Stockstill
No experience needed
Come join the forces of Western Immoren and battle your way to victory in a fast-paced, steam-powered or wild warbeast driven army of your design! This award winning tabletop miniatures game is as deep in strategy as it is in fun and aesthetic. Assemble your beautiful models to play against friends at home or store, or take them on the road to international tournaments to play
against people of every walk of life in hundreds of cities worldwide. With a huge online community supported by thousands of volunteers, podcasts, Twitch channels, YouTube and forums for every question, there's endless fun to be had! Join us to
learn the basics, see some cool models, and play a demo game!
Dicemaster Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event will begin at 8:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
$10 sealed booster tournament, play with what you pull and pick the basic action of your choice that we provide.
Saturday - 10/10/2015
9:00am - 1:00pm
Nevermore
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A casual-style card drafting game where you rise to power by poisoning the hands of your opponents with cards they can't use, while attempting to collect the most of a suit, gaining its power for the hand.
Numenera
Monte Cook Games
Andrew Lister
No experience needed
You are a group of young explorers working with one another to piece together the mysteries of the Ninth World. You have discovered a once hidden structure of unknown age and origin. Together you venture inward to find undiscovered riches and knowledge. What you do find is curious and will change your fate.
Barony
Asmodee
Henry Mueller
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Players are Barons vying to become the next King in a land with less and less space as other Barons try to take your rightful crown. Place a timely fortress and claim your title King of all the Lands.
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
Warmachine/Hordes - Demos
Privateer Press
Cory Stockstill
No experience needed
Come join the forces of Western Immoren and battle your way to victory in a fast-paced, steam-powered or wild warbeast driven army of your design! This award winning tabletop miniatures game is as deep in strategy as it is in fun and aesthetic. Assemble your beautiful models to play against friends at home or store, or take them on the road to international tournaments to play
against people of every walk of life in hundreds of cities worldwide. With a huge online community supported by thousands of volunteers, podcasts, Twitch channels, YouTube and forums for every question, there's endless fun to be had! Join us to
learn the basics, see some cool models, and play a demo game!
Warmachine & Hordes Highlander Tournament
Privateer Press
Adam Spindle
No experience needed
Come join us of a small local tournament in a new player friendly event! The Highlander format is designed to appeal to both new and experience players. This format is designed to bring the big bad Warjacks and Warbeasts to the forefront of the battles.
Worlds in Peril Presented by CGoD
Samjoko Publishing
James Shannon
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Super-heroics powered by the Apocalypse! Villains from the past and future are rampaging through Manhattan. Create your own hero and battle the save the earth from The Might Kozmodea!
Epyllion (Powered by the Apocalypse) - Enter the Dragonlings
Magpie Games
David Miessler-Kubanek
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are young dragons, children of the Dragonlord rulers, who need your help to investigate the rumors and discover the truth of the growing Darkness in the land. Along with your fellow dragons, you will protect the light and discover the true value of friendship. Pregenerated characters provided. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
Machi Koro
IDW Games
Brooke Valletta
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Welcome to the city of Machi Koro. You've just been elected Mayor. Congrats! Unfortunately the citizens have some pretty big demands: jobs, a theme park, a couple of cheese factories and maybe even a radio tower. A tough proposition since the city currently consists of a wheat field, a bakery and a single die.
Armed only with your trusty die and a dream, you must grow Machi Koro into the largest city in the region. You will need to collect income from developments, build public works, and steal from your neighbors' coffers. Just make sure they aren't doing the same to you!
10:00am - 2:00pm
Pathfinder - Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge PLAYTEST
Total Party Kill Games
Brian Berg
6 Player slots available, Experience playing this system is required
A vile tribe of bugbear seek revenge against elves for the death of their chieftain. Wholesale slaughter ensues, and the PCs are at the heart of the conflict.
The Grindhouse Arena 4: Heavy Grind
Pathfinder Miniatures Combat
Bryan Nash
**THIS EVENT RUNS 10AM - 6PM!!!!**
Up to eight players at a time, No experience needed
This isn’t the same old spinning-3D-arena-of-trap-filled-death! What kind of diabolical new twist has the GM (Grindmaster) come up with THIS year?? Come see for yourself! (Bloodbath splash zone ponchos not included) You can enter the arena at any time during the eight-hour marathon. Prizes will be awarded to the top gladiators at the end of the day!
Cutthroat Caverns
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A genre-bending card game of 'kill stealing' in a classic RPG dungeon setting. Walk the fine line between cooperative play and backstabbing amid creatures designed to punish the party for not working together.
Formula D - Grand Prix
Asmodee
Chris Hansen
**This event begins at 10AM and plays until winner is declared!**
No experience needed, 10 Driver slots available
Are you the driver with what it takes to win the Formula D Grand Prix? Can you complete 4 races on 4 different tracks? Each race will be 2 laps. Scoring will be by points given based on finishing position of each race. The driver with the most points at the end of all races WINS the GRAND PRIX.
Shadowrun - London Falling
Catalyst Game Labs
Richard Banes
2+ Player slots available, No experience needed
This is an introduction to the Shadowrun System. Your team of Shadowrunners will be traveling to London and you know that you will be fighting to save Parliment, hopefully in time for the upcoming vote....
Well Chummer? You got the skills to get this job done?
Star Trek: Attack Wing - Klingons Vs. Borg
WizKids Inc.
Jamie Herbert
2-6 Player slots available, No experience needed
For The Empire!
These creatures, called The Borg, wish to attack our borders, turn the Empire to a cog in their great machine. They tell us that resistance is futile, but my friends, honor is not futile! We shall stand and fight these cold lifeless foes with every hot drop of Klingon blood! TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!
Come learn to play Star Trek: Attack Wing and square off with The Borg.
Dicemaster Demo
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event begins at 11:00am**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
A demo for the game Dicemasters, a game of dicebuilding with superheroes and villians as well as Dungeons and Dragons and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pathfinder RPG - A Page of Scrolls
Paizo
Chris Zank
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
The City of Riverton is home to beggars, goblinoids, humanoids, liars, merchants, soldiers, and thieves. It is also home to Ahren, page of the Plar's court. When Ahren asks for your help retrieving a scroll from a vicious tribe of sewer-dwelling goblins, who are you to say No?
Noon - 4:00pm - BOARDGAME TOURNAMENT
Board Game Worker Placement Tournament
**Preliminary Rounds - NOON-2PM: Lords of Waterdeep, Fresco, Manhattan Project, Pillars of the Earth
**Championship Round: 2PM-4PM: Stone Age
Wizards of the Coast, Queen Games, Asmodee, 999 Games (respectively)
Doug Schehl
Are you the king of your play group? Do other players look on you with fear every time you sit down to play? Well now is your chance to prove it against the best the Quad Cities has to offer. Sixteen players will compete in four worker placement games and the winners will face each other in the granddaddy of all worker placement games Stone Age. So if you think you have what it takes, or if you just feel lucky sign up early and you can prove it. We will have signups for the four preliminary games starting at 11 on Saturday. Expected – Advanced players wanted, but if you want to compete and don’t know any of these games please see Doug at the game library on Friday or early Saturday and he will be happy to teach.
1:30pm - 5:30pm
OPERATION: Mirage!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 Hours
Good morning. Satellite reconnaissance has recently discovered an unidentified compound in the Libyan Rebiana Sand Sea. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this desert site. Find out the encampment’s purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Bezier Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
In the tile-laying game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are tasked with building an amazing, extravagant castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria...one room at a time. You see, the King loves castles, having built Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired the Disney theme park castles) and others, but now he's commissioned you to build the biggest, best castle ever — subject, of course, to his ever-changing whims. Each player acts as a building contractor who is adding rooms to the castle he's building while also selling his services to other players.
Evolution (with Flight Expansion)
North Star Games
Henry Mueller
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Have the most successful species of dinosaur and win the game. This game will include the new flight expansion and the 2nd edition cards. Who will evolve to control the earth and who will parish, only time and evolution can tell...
In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species, every game becomes a different adventure.
Blades in the Dark - Presented by CGoD
John Harper
James Shannon
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are a daring crew of scoundrels building a criminal empire in a haunted city full of thieves. Do you have the wits and skill to rise to the top or will you become yet another shade wandering the ink-dark streets of Duskwall?
Firefly (Cortex Plus) - Odds and Ends
Margaret Weis Productions
David Miessler-Kubanek
9 Player slots available, No experience needed
Times are tough for Serenity's crew, and you've taken a job that might be a hair outside your comfort zone. Shuttlin' Alliance VIPs. Shiny. Based on the Firefly TV series. Pregenerated television cast character provided. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
Boardgame Demos: Roll TTA, Eggs and Empires, Age of Discovery,
Clockwork Wars, Defenders of the Realm.
Eagle Gryphon Games
Laura Gifford
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Because Laura rocks and has cool games. Players will vote on which games to play
Heroclix Age of Ultron Sealed Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event begins at 3:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots, Advanced experience suggested
This is an Age of Ultron, two booster sealed tournament. Buy-in will be $20. Only need 2 six-sided dice and some tokens.
Dragonball Z TCG Demo
Panini
Sam and Collier Speak, Have Fun Collectibles
**This event begins at 1:00pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
Dragonball Z TCG captures the essence of the action-packed animated show and transforms it into a fun-filled, card-battling arena. We will have pre-built decks to play and learn with.2:30pm - 6:30pm
Death in Wretched Swamp SNEAK PEEK
Eldritch Enterprises (Available in 2015!)
Frank Mentzer
**THIS EVENT WILL BEGIN AFTER THE AUCTION ENDS**
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average D&D/AD&D experience required
Everybody dies in the swamp. But if you make it through, you'll be rich enough to retire.
System: BECMI Characters: Characters provided
Special Note: Available from Eldritch Enterprises in 2015!
Infinite Void - All About That Base
Stupid Dice Studio
Jamie Herbert
2-6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Oh, sure, "It will be a simple milk run" the corporation told us. "Retrieve a life pod from the edge of Triskalon Space, piece of cake" they said, Now we are heading deep into enemy space to loot an ancient progenitor research station from a genocidal race who are using the station as their own personal PVP server. Momma said there would be days like these!
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
SAGA - Viking Invasion! An intro to SAGA
Studio Tomahawk
Andrew Bertelsen
4 Players slots available, No experience needed
It's Ragnar's viking vs Rollo's normans in this introduction to SAGA, the fast paced skirmish game by Studio Tomahawk. Games run approximately 90 minutes.
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Capes, Cowls, and Villains Foul - Midtown Irregulars vs. the Commie Rats
Spectrum Games
Nigel Ray
8 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are the Midtown Irregulars, the 2nd best superhero team in NYC. You are accepting a silver medal at Madison Square Garden, when the ceremony is disrupted by some commie rats. No, not people. Rats! They stand about 7 foot tall, and have collars that say “CCCP”.
Nevermore
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A casual-style card drafting game where you rise to power by poisoning the hands of your opponents with cards they can't use, while attempting to collect the most of a suit, gaining its power for the hand.
Cosmic Encounter
Fantasy Flight Games
Henry Mueller
5 Player slots, No experience needed
Be the greatest race in all the Galaxy or win with a group of players. Better yet pretend to win as a group and then snatch the victory for yourself with a double cross. In this classic game each player will have a different special power for their race, allowing them to break the rules of the game.
Monster of the Week - Presented by CGoD
Evil Hat Games
James Shannon
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
A series of mysterious disasters and attacks are plaguing the town of Newhaven. Only your misfit team of monster hunters can see the true danger and save the town before it's too late.
The Quiet Year - The Quiet Year
Buried Without Ceremony
David Miessler-Kubanek
3 Player slots available, No experience needed
A map game that uses a deck of cards to help to define the struggles of a post-apocalyptic community, and attempt to build something good within their quiet year. Every decision and every action is set against a backdrop of dwindling time and rising concern. At the end of the quiet year, the Frost Shepherds will come, ending the game. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
7:00pm - 11:00pm
Saturday Night Special: The Sword of Oxidane
Frank Mentzer
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average experience with D&D/AD&D required
Can you retrieve one of the greatest Legendary Swords in all of human history?
Characters: Characters provided
Dread RPG - Terror in Paradise
The Impossible Dream
Bryan Nash
Six player slots available, No experience needed, Adult Themes.
Two weeks on the most secluded island getaway in the entire world sounded like a fantastic idea. No cell phones, no internet, totally off-the-grid. This should be the most peaceful two weeks you've ever had... So why are people screaming?? Come try out the Dread RPG, where hands trembling with fear are actually hazardous to your character's health!
Cutthroat Caverns
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A genre-bending card game of 'kill stealing' in a classic RPG dungeon setting. Walk the fine line between cooperative play and backstabbing amid creatures designed to punish the party for not working together.
Dicemaster Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event will end at 11:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
$10 sealed booster tournament, play with what you pull and pick the basic action of your choice that we provide.
9:00am - 1:00pm
Nevermore
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A casual-style card drafting game where you rise to power by poisoning the hands of your opponents with cards they can't use, while attempting to collect the most of a suit, gaining its power for the hand.
Numenera
Monte Cook Games
Andrew Lister
No experience needed
You are a group of young explorers working with one another to piece together the mysteries of the Ninth World. You have discovered a once hidden structure of unknown age and origin. Together you venture inward to find undiscovered riches and knowledge. What you do find is curious and will change your fate.
Barony
Asmodee
Henry Mueller
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Players are Barons vying to become the next King in a land with less and less space as other Barons try to take your rightful crown. Place a timely fortress and claim your title King of all the Lands.
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
Warmachine/Hordes - Demos
Privateer Press
Cory Stockstill
No experience needed
Come join the forces of Western Immoren and battle your way to victory in a fast-paced, steam-powered or wild warbeast driven army of your design! This award winning tabletop miniatures game is as deep in strategy as it is in fun and aesthetic. Assemble your beautiful models to play against friends at home or store, or take them on the road to international tournaments to play
against people of every walk of life in hundreds of cities worldwide. With a huge online community supported by thousands of volunteers, podcasts, Twitch channels, YouTube and forums for every question, there's endless fun to be had! Join us to
learn the basics, see some cool models, and play a demo game!
Warmachine & Hordes Highlander Tournament
Privateer Press
Adam Spindle
No experience needed
Come join us of a small local tournament in a new player friendly event! The Highlander format is designed to appeal to both new and experience players. This format is designed to bring the big bad Warjacks and Warbeasts to the forefront of the battles.
Worlds in Peril Presented by CGoD
Samjoko Publishing
James Shannon
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Super-heroics powered by the Apocalypse! Villains from the past and future are rampaging through Manhattan. Create your own hero and battle the save the earth from The Might Kozmodea!
Epyllion (Powered by the Apocalypse) - Enter the Dragonlings
Magpie Games
David Miessler-Kubanek
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are young dragons, children of the Dragonlord rulers, who need your help to investigate the rumors and discover the truth of the growing Darkness in the land. Along with your fellow dragons, you will protect the light and discover the true value of friendship. Pregenerated characters provided. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
Machi Koro
IDW Games
Brooke Valletta
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Welcome to the city of Machi Koro. You've just been elected Mayor. Congrats! Unfortunately the citizens have some pretty big demands: jobs, a theme park, a couple of cheese factories and maybe even a radio tower. A tough proposition since the city currently consists of a wheat field, a bakery and a single die.
Armed only with your trusty die and a dream, you must grow Machi Koro into the largest city in the region. You will need to collect income from developments, build public works, and steal from your neighbors' coffers. Just make sure they aren't doing the same to you!
10:00am - 2:00pm
Pathfinder - Slaughter at Splinterfang Gorge PLAYTEST
Total Party Kill Games
Brian Berg
6 Player slots available, Experience playing this system is required
A vile tribe of bugbear seek revenge against elves for the death of their chieftain. Wholesale slaughter ensues, and the PCs are at the heart of the conflict.
The Grindhouse Arena 4: Heavy Grind
Pathfinder Miniatures Combat
Bryan Nash
**THIS EVENT RUNS 10AM - 6PM!!!!**
Up to eight players at a time, No experience needed
This isn’t the same old spinning-3D-arena-of-trap-filled-death! What kind of diabolical new twist has the GM (Grindmaster) come up with THIS year?? Come see for yourself! (Bloodbath splash zone ponchos not included) You can enter the arena at any time during the eight-hour marathon. Prizes will be awarded to the top gladiators at the end of the day!
Cutthroat Caverns
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A genre-bending card game of 'kill stealing' in a classic RPG dungeon setting. Walk the fine line between cooperative play and backstabbing amid creatures designed to punish the party for not working together.
Formula D - Grand Prix
Asmodee
Chris Hansen
**This event begins at 10AM and plays until winner is declared!**
No experience needed, 10 Driver slots available
Are you the driver with what it takes to win the Formula D Grand Prix? Can you complete 4 races on 4 different tracks? Each race will be 2 laps. Scoring will be by points given based on finishing position of each race. The driver with the most points at the end of all races WINS the GRAND PRIX.
Shadowrun - London Falling
Catalyst Game Labs
Richard Banes
2+ Player slots available, No experience needed
This is an introduction to the Shadowrun System. Your team of Shadowrunners will be traveling to London and you know that you will be fighting to save Parliment, hopefully in time for the upcoming vote....
Well Chummer? You got the skills to get this job done?
Star Trek: Attack Wing - Klingons Vs. Borg
WizKids Inc.
Jamie Herbert
2-6 Player slots available, No experience needed
For The Empire!
These creatures, called The Borg, wish to attack our borders, turn the Empire to a cog in their great machine. They tell us that resistance is futile, but my friends, honor is not futile! We shall stand and fight these cold lifeless foes with every hot drop of Klingon blood! TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!
Come learn to play Star Trek: Attack Wing and square off with The Borg.
Dicemaster Demo
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event begins at 11:00am**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
A demo for the game Dicemasters, a game of dicebuilding with superheroes and villians as well as Dungeons and Dragons and Yu-Gi-Oh!
Pathfinder RPG - A Page of Scrolls
Paizo
Chris Zank
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
The City of Riverton is home to beggars, goblinoids, humanoids, liars, merchants, soldiers, and thieves. It is also home to Ahren, page of the Plar's court. When Ahren asks for your help retrieving a scroll from a vicious tribe of sewer-dwelling goblins, who are you to say No?
Noon - 4:00pm - BOARDGAME TOURNAMENT
Board Game Worker Placement Tournament
**Preliminary Rounds - NOON-2PM: Lords of Waterdeep, Fresco, Manhattan Project, Pillars of the Earth
**Championship Round: 2PM-4PM: Stone Age
Wizards of the Coast, Queen Games, Asmodee, 999 Games (respectively)
Doug Schehl
Are you the king of your play group? Do other players look on you with fear every time you sit down to play? Well now is your chance to prove it against the best the Quad Cities has to offer. Sixteen players will compete in four worker placement games and the winners will face each other in the granddaddy of all worker placement games Stone Age. So if you think you have what it takes, or if you just feel lucky sign up early and you can prove it. We will have signups for the four preliminary games starting at 11 on Saturday. Expected – Advanced players wanted, but if you want to compete and don’t know any of these games please see Doug at the game library on Friday or early Saturday and he will be happy to teach.
1:30pm - 5:30pm
OPERATION: Mirage!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 Hours
Good morning. Satellite reconnaissance has recently discovered an unidentified compound in the Libyan Rebiana Sand Sea. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this desert site. Find out the encampment’s purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
Bezier Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
In the tile-laying game Castles of Mad King Ludwig, players are tasked with building an amazing, extravagant castle for King Ludwig II of Bavaria...one room at a time. You see, the King loves castles, having built Neuschwanstein (the castle that inspired the Disney theme park castles) and others, but now he's commissioned you to build the biggest, best castle ever — subject, of course, to his ever-changing whims. Each player acts as a building contractor who is adding rooms to the castle he's building while also selling his services to other players.
Evolution (with Flight Expansion)
North Star Games
Henry Mueller
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
Have the most successful species of dinosaur and win the game. This game will include the new flight expansion and the 2nd edition cards. Who will evolve to control the earth and who will parish, only time and evolution can tell...
In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species, every game becomes a different adventure.
Blades in the Dark - Presented by CGoD
John Harper
James Shannon
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are a daring crew of scoundrels building a criminal empire in a haunted city full of thieves. Do you have the wits and skill to rise to the top or will you become yet another shade wandering the ink-dark streets of Duskwall?
Firefly (Cortex Plus) - Odds and Ends
Margaret Weis Productions
David Miessler-Kubanek
9 Player slots available, No experience needed
Times are tough for Serenity's crew, and you've taken a job that might be a hair outside your comfort zone. Shuttlin' Alliance VIPs. Shiny. Based on the Firefly TV series. Pregenerated television cast character provided. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
Boardgame Demos: Roll TTA, Eggs and Empires, Age of Discovery,
Clockwork Wars, Defenders of the Realm.
Eagle Gryphon Games
Laura Gifford
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Because Laura rocks and has cool games. Players will vote on which games to play
Heroclix Age of Ultron Sealed Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event begins at 3:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots, Advanced experience suggested
This is an Age of Ultron, two booster sealed tournament. Buy-in will be $20. Only need 2 six-sided dice and some tokens.
Dragonball Z TCG Demo
Panini
Sam and Collier Speak, Have Fun Collectibles
**This event begins at 1:00pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
Dragonball Z TCG captures the essence of the action-packed animated show and transforms it into a fun-filled, card-battling arena. We will have pre-built decks to play and learn with.2:30pm - 6:30pm
Death in Wretched Swamp SNEAK PEEK
Eldritch Enterprises (Available in 2015!)
Frank Mentzer
**THIS EVENT WILL BEGIN AFTER THE AUCTION ENDS**
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average D&D/AD&D experience required
Everybody dies in the swamp. But if you make it through, you'll be rich enough to retire.
System: BECMI Characters: Characters provided
Special Note: Available from Eldritch Enterprises in 2015!
Infinite Void - All About That Base
Stupid Dice Studio
Jamie Herbert
2-6 Player slots available, No experience needed
Oh, sure, "It will be a simple milk run" the corporation told us. "Retrieve a life pod from the edge of Triskalon Space, piece of cake" they said, Now we are heading deep into enemy space to loot an ancient progenitor research station from a genocidal race who are using the station as their own personal PVP server. Momma said there would be days like these!
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG - Sailors on the Starless Sea
Goodman Games
Derek Jones
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Since time immemorial, you and your people have toiled in the shadow of the cyclopean ruins of mysterious origins, and the source of many superstitions. They have always been considered a secret best left unknown by the folk of your village, but now something stirs beneath the crumbling blocks. Beastmen howl in the night and your fellow villages are snatched from their beds.
With no heroes to defend you, who will rise to stand against the encircling darkness? The secrets of Chaos are yours to unearth, but at what cost to sanity or soul? If you succeed, your village will be saved and you will graduate from peasant to 1st
level adventurer. If you fail? Well, who wants to live forever?
SAGA - Viking Invasion! An intro to SAGA
Studio Tomahawk
Andrew Bertelsen
4 Players slots available, No experience needed
It's Ragnar's viking vs Rollo's normans in this introduction to SAGA, the fast paced skirmish game by Studio Tomahawk. Games run approximately 90 minutes.
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Capes, Cowls, and Villains Foul - Midtown Irregulars vs. the Commie Rats
Spectrum Games
Nigel Ray
8 Player slots available, No experience needed
You are the Midtown Irregulars, the 2nd best superhero team in NYC. You are accepting a silver medal at Madison Square Garden, when the ceremony is disrupted by some commie rats. No, not people. Rats! They stand about 7 foot tall, and have collars that say “CCCP”.
Nevermore
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A casual-style card drafting game where you rise to power by poisoning the hands of your opponents with cards they can't use, while attempting to collect the most of a suit, gaining its power for the hand.
Cosmic Encounter
Fantasy Flight Games
Henry Mueller
5 Player slots, No experience needed
Be the greatest race in all the Galaxy or win with a group of players. Better yet pretend to win as a group and then snatch the victory for yourself with a double cross. In this classic game each player will have a different special power for their race, allowing them to break the rules of the game.
Monster of the Week - Presented by CGoD
Evil Hat Games
James Shannon
5 Player slots available, No experience needed
A series of mysterious disasters and attacks are plaguing the town of Newhaven. Only your misfit team of monster hunters can see the true danger and save the town before it's too late.
The Quiet Year - The Quiet Year
Buried Without Ceremony
David Miessler-Kubanek
3 Player slots available, No experience needed
A map game that uses a deck of cards to help to define the struggles of a post-apocalyptic community, and attempt to build something good within their quiet year. Every decision and every action is set against a backdrop of dwindling time and rising concern. At the end of the quiet year, the Frost Shepherds will come, ending the game. Presented by Corridor Games on Demand.
7:00pm - 11:00pm
Saturday Night Special: The Sword of Oxidane
Frank Mentzer
10 Player slots available, 4+ hrs, Average experience with D&D/AD&D required
Can you retrieve one of the greatest Legendary Swords in all of human history?
Characters: Characters provided
Dread RPG - Terror in Paradise
The Impossible Dream
Bryan Nash
Six player slots available, No experience needed, Adult Themes.
Two weeks on the most secluded island getaway in the entire world sounded like a fantastic idea. No cell phones, no internet, totally off-the-grid. This should be the most peaceful two weeks you've ever had... So why are people screaming?? Come try out the Dread RPG, where hands trembling with fear are actually hazardous to your character's health!
Cutthroat Caverns
Smirk & Dagger Games
Michele Maakestad
No experience needed
A genre-bending card game of 'kill stealing' in a classic RPG dungeon setting. Walk the fine line between cooperative play and backstabbing amid creatures designed to punish the party for not working together.
Dicemaster Tournament
Wizkids
Matthew Smith
**This event will end at 11:30pm**
Unlimited Player slots available, No experience needed
$10 sealed booster tournament, play with what you pull and pick the basic action of your choice that we provide.
Sunday - 10/11/2015
10:00am - 2:00pm
OPERATION: Sacred Cobra!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 Hours
Good morning. An NSA listening post recently intercepted Al-Quida terrorist chatter emanating from inside Angkor Thom “Great City,” Cambodia. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this jungle site. Find out the terrorists’ purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Gygax Memorial Game, Ticket to Ride: Europe
Frank Mentzer
4 Player slots available, 2 hrs, Minimal experience with any version of Ticket To Ride expected.
The classic boardgame by Alan Moon, a memorial to Gary Gygax. He. and Frank played this on Sunday mornings at most conventions.
Fuzzy Heroes - Return of the Fuzzy Heroes!
Inner City Games Designs
Bryan Nash
Up to ten players, No experience needed
Back by popular demand, the Fuzzy Heroes return to XenoCon! This family-friendly, epic tabletop battle between the cuddly stuffed animals and the renegade action figure toys will determine once and for all who rules the bedroom! No experience necessary!
Shadowrun: Crossfire - Shadowrun Team
Catalyst Game Labs
Richard Banes
3+ Player Slots, No experience needed
Wanted: Shadow runners to play a Crossfire Game. Crossfire is a Card Deck Building game set in the Shadowrun game world. Four Players are needed to play. Try learning a new game and have some fun, Chummers.
Boardgames: Kids Gameblock - Rhino Hero, Survive!, Walk the Plank!
HABA, Stronghold Games, Mayday Games
Laura Gifford
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Variety of kids games, Rhino Hero, Survive!, Walk the Plank!
Elysium
Space Cowboys
Brooke Valletta
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Elysium is a game of set collecting and combinations in which players recruit cards representing heroes, items, powers and gods. These cards have many different powers and you can create powerful combination to earn gold (the help of the gods) and victory points (the favor of the gods).
Noon - 4:00pm
Board Game Dexterity Challenge - Rhino Hero, Wonky, Bling Bling Gemstone, Loopin’ Louis
Swan Panasia, USAopoly, Mayday Games, Broadway Games (respectively)
Doug Schehl
**THIS EVENT WILL RUN FROM NOON - 2PM**
16 Player Slots Available, All experience levels accepted!
Are you a serious gamer? Do you like to ponder your next move for ten or fifteen minutes? Well this event is not for you. This event is for sixteen people that like to have fun! It will be a round robin event where all contestants will compete in all events and the winner will take the prize as the Quad Cities most dexterous gamer! If you don’t know these games, don’t worry about it. Just prepare to have a good time.
Pokethulu - Over Cold Mountain
Cumberland Games
Andrew Lister
Are you a Pokemon fan? Do you geek out over the work of Lovecraft? Then this game is for you! Welcome to a world where young cultists travel the world in search of taming hidden eldritch horrors. Come take on the role of one of these young cultists and fight alongside your collection of Thulhus.
10:00am - 2:00pm
OPERATION: Sacred Cobra!
TOP SECRETTM ©1981, Second Edition, February 1981 (64 page rulebook).
GM: Merle “The Administrator” Rasmussen.
# of Players: 8 (eight), 4 Hours
Good morning. An NSA listening post recently intercepted Al-Quida terrorist chatter emanating from inside Angkor Thom “Great City,” Cambodia. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to observe and, if necessary, infiltrate this jungle site. Find out the terrorists’ purpose and return that information to this agency. As always, should you or any of your TOP SECRET force be caught or killed, the Administrator will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck!
Gygax Memorial Game, Ticket to Ride: Europe
Frank Mentzer
4 Player slots available, 2 hrs, Minimal experience with any version of Ticket To Ride expected.
The classic boardgame by Alan Moon, a memorial to Gary Gygax. He. and Frank played this on Sunday mornings at most conventions.
Fuzzy Heroes - Return of the Fuzzy Heroes!
Inner City Games Designs
Bryan Nash
Up to ten players, No experience needed
Back by popular demand, the Fuzzy Heroes return to XenoCon! This family-friendly, epic tabletop battle between the cuddly stuffed animals and the renegade action figure toys will determine once and for all who rules the bedroom! No experience necessary!
Shadowrun: Crossfire - Shadowrun Team
Catalyst Game Labs
Richard Banes
3+ Player Slots, No experience needed
Wanted: Shadow runners to play a Crossfire Game. Crossfire is a Card Deck Building game set in the Shadowrun game world. Four Players are needed to play. Try learning a new game and have some fun, Chummers.
Boardgames: Kids Gameblock - Rhino Hero, Survive!, Walk the Plank!
HABA, Stronghold Games, Mayday Games
Laura Gifford
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Variety of kids games, Rhino Hero, Survive!, Walk the Plank!
Elysium
Space Cowboys
Brooke Valletta
4 Player slots available, No experience needed
Elysium is a game of set collecting and combinations in which players recruit cards representing heroes, items, powers and gods. These cards have many different powers and you can create powerful combination to earn gold (the help of the gods) and victory points (the favor of the gods).
Noon - 4:00pm
Board Game Dexterity Challenge - Rhino Hero, Wonky, Bling Bling Gemstone, Loopin’ Louis
Swan Panasia, USAopoly, Mayday Games, Broadway Games (respectively)
Doug Schehl
**THIS EVENT WILL RUN FROM NOON - 2PM**
16 Player Slots Available, All experience levels accepted!
Are you a serious gamer? Do you like to ponder your next move for ten or fifteen minutes? Well this event is not for you. This event is for sixteen people that like to have fun! It will be a round robin event where all contestants will compete in all events and the winner will take the prize as the Quad Cities most dexterous gamer! If you don’t know these games, don’t worry about it. Just prepare to have a good time.
Pokethulu - Over Cold Mountain
Cumberland Games
Andrew Lister
Are you a Pokemon fan? Do you geek out over the work of Lovecraft? Then this game is for you! Welcome to a world where young cultists travel the world in search of taming hidden eldritch horrors. Come take on the role of one of these young cultists and fight alongside your collection of Thulhus.
D&D Adventurer's League
D&D Adventure's League at XenoCon 4 is sanctioned by Geek City Games
89 2nd St #8, Coralville, IA 52241
(319) 333-1924
[email protected]
SCHEDULE
SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
Three Players Min Required, Max of 7 Players per table.
Friday 7:30PM-11:30PM
DDEX3-02 - Shackles of Blood (levels 1-4)
The Red Plumes have increased patrols in the region surrounding Hillsfar, and a string of disappearances has followed in their wake. Naturally, this has roused the suspicion of the factions. Join your factions and find out the truth behind the missing farmers. A four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters.
DM: Randy Hancks
Saturday 9:00AM-1:00PM
DDEX3-01 Harried in Hillsfar (levels 1-2)
In the village of Elventree, near the oppressive city of Hillsfar, a recent string of strange occurrences has the locals on edge. The factions have gathered here on the borders of the forest of Cormanthor to determine what’s happening. Is this the machinations of Hillsfar, or something more? Five one-hour mini-adventures for 1st-2nd level characters.
DM: Randy Hancks
Saturday 1:30PM-5:30PM
DDEX3-05 Bane of the Tradeways (levels 1-4)
Times are hard in the Hillsfar countryside, especially for those of non-human ancestry. Unscrupulous merchants in league with the hated Red Plumes bleed local farmers and artisans dry. Perhaps some of those loot-laden caravans coming and going from Hillsfar could use a bit of liberation? A four-hour adventure for 1st-4th level characters.
DM: Randy Hancks
Saturday 6:00PM-10:00PM
DDEX3-03 The Occupation of Szith Morcane (levels 5-10)
Agents of the fire giants of Maerimydra, a city in the Underdark, have overtaken the drow outpost of Szith Morcane. The factions seek out adventurers to free the outpost’s leaders for questioning on the giants’ activities. Can you extricate them before it’s too late? A four-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters.
DM: Randy Hancks
Sunday 10:00AM-2:00PM
DDEX3-07 Herald of the Moon (levels 5-10)
Elanil Elassidil, an elf bard of no small legacy, has put out a call for trustworthy agents. It is time, it seems, for a quietly hidden piece of elven history to become known to the world. Meira Faerenduil, lost knight of Myth Drannor, has been dis-covered, and must be brought back to civilization. A four-hour adventure for 5th-10th level characters.
DM: Randy Hancks
Pathfinder Society Events
Friday - 10/9/2015
7:00pm - Midnight
PFS Quest: Fane of Fangs (tier 4-6; Pregens)
James Martin
5-08 The Confirmation (1-2)
Aaron Wagner
0-6 Black Waters (1-5)
Ken Pratt
Saturday - 10/10/2015
8:00am - 1:00pm
7-01 Between the Lines (1-5)
Aaron Wagner
7-02 Six Seconds to Midnight (3-7)
James Martin
6-21 Tapestry's Toil (5-9)
Jake Nicholson
1:00pm - 6:00pm
We Be Goblins Free
Bill Ranes
6-18 From Under Ice (1-5)
Ken Pratt
6-22 Out of Anarchy (1-5)
James Martin
7-03 Bronze House Reprisal (5-9)
Ryan Force
7:00pm - Midnight
6-97 Siege of Serpents Special (1-11)
Ryan Force (1-4)
Jake Nicholson (5-9)
Ken Pratt (3-6)
Troy Schnack (7-11)
James Martin (overseer)
Aaron Wagner (1-4)
Standby: Gene Edwards (3-6)
Sunday - 10/11/2015
9:00am - 2:00pm
6-98 Serpents Rise (Pregens 7th)
Nick Sullivan
Ryan Force
Jake Nicholson
James Martin
Troy Schnack
7:00pm - Midnight
PFS Quest: Fane of Fangs (tier 4-6; Pregens)
James Martin
5-08 The Confirmation (1-2)
Aaron Wagner
0-6 Black Waters (1-5)
Ken Pratt
Saturday - 10/10/2015
8:00am - 1:00pm
7-01 Between the Lines (1-5)
Aaron Wagner
7-02 Six Seconds to Midnight (3-7)
James Martin
6-21 Tapestry's Toil (5-9)
Jake Nicholson
1:00pm - 6:00pm
We Be Goblins Free
Bill Ranes
6-18 From Under Ice (1-5)
Ken Pratt
6-22 Out of Anarchy (1-5)
James Martin
7-03 Bronze House Reprisal (5-9)
Ryan Force
7:00pm - Midnight
6-97 Siege of Serpents Special (1-11)
Ryan Force (1-4)
Jake Nicholson (5-9)
Ken Pratt (3-6)
Troy Schnack (7-11)
James Martin (overseer)
Aaron Wagner (1-4)
Standby: Gene Edwards (3-6)
Sunday - 10/11/2015
9:00am - 2:00pm
6-98 Serpents Rise (Pregens 7th)
Nick Sullivan
Ryan Force
Jake Nicholson
James Martin
Troy Schnack
Game Library
List of Available Game Titles:
1960 Making of a President, 7 Wonders, Abyss, Age ofWar, Agricola, All Creatures Great and Small, Alhambra, Alien Frontiers, Among the Stars, Android: Netrunner, Arkham Horror, Bang! The Dice Game, Battlestar Galactica, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Botswana Brass, Carcasonne, Cash 'n Gun$, Castle Panic, Cloud 9, Coloretto, Concordia, Constantinopolis, Council of Verona, Diamonds, Dixit, Do you Worship Cthulu?, Dominion, Doomtown: Reloaded, Dragonheart, El Grande, Elder Sign, Escape: The Curse of the temple, Five Tribes, Flash Point, Fire Rescue, Fluxx, For Sale, Forbidden Desert, Formula D, Fresco, Fury of Dracula, Gloom, Greed, Hanabi, Hey That's My Fish, Imperial Settlers, Istanbul, Jaipur, Keyflower, King of Tokyo, Kingdom Builder, Kingsburg, Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game, Long Shot, Lords of Vegas (x2), Lords of Waterdeep, Lost Cities, Machi, Koro, Manhattn Project, Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-men, Memoir '44, Merchants of Venus, Modern Art, No Thanks!, One Night, Ultimate Werewolf, Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Quilt Show, Rampage, Roll Through the Ages: The BronzeAge, Russian Railroads, Saboteur, Samurai, San Juan, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Shadows Over Camelot, Sheriff of Nottingham, Sid Meier's Civilization, Smallworld, Smash Up, Snake Oil, Space Cadets, Splendor, Star Realms, Stone Age, Sushi Go!, Telestrations, Terra Mystica, The Pillars of the Earth, The Resistance, The Resistance: Avalon, Through the Desert, Tigris & Euphrates, Tikal, Timeline: Historical Events, Tournay, Tsuro of the Seas, Twilight Struggle, T'zolkin: the Mayan Calendar, Ultimate Werewolf, Vegas Showdown, Viticulture, We Didn't Playtest This at All, Wits and Wages, Word on the Street, Zooloretto.
1960 Making of a President, 7 Wonders, Abyss, Age ofWar, Agricola, All Creatures Great and Small, Alhambra, Alien Frontiers, Among the Stars, Android: Netrunner, Arkham Horror, Bang! The Dice Game, Battlestar Galactica, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Botswana Brass, Carcasonne, Cash 'n Gun$, Castle Panic, Cloud 9, Coloretto, Concordia, Constantinopolis, Council of Verona, Diamonds, Dixit, Do you Worship Cthulu?, Dominion, Doomtown: Reloaded, Dragonheart, El Grande, Elder Sign, Escape: The Curse of the temple, Five Tribes, Flash Point, Fire Rescue, Fluxx, For Sale, Forbidden Desert, Formula D, Fresco, Fury of Dracula, Gloom, Greed, Hanabi, Hey That's My Fish, Imperial Settlers, Istanbul, Jaipur, Keyflower, King of Tokyo, Kingdom Builder, Kingsburg, Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game, Long Shot, Lords of Vegas (x2), Lords of Waterdeep, Lost Cities, Machi, Koro, Manhattn Project, Marvel Dice Masters: Avengers vs. X-men, Memoir '44, Merchants of Venus, Modern Art, No Thanks!, One Night, Ultimate Werewolf, Power Grid, Puerto Rico, Quilt Show, Rampage, Roll Through the Ages: The BronzeAge, Russian Railroads, Saboteur, Samurai, San Juan, Sentinels of the Multiverse, Shadows Over Camelot, Sheriff of Nottingham, Sid Meier's Civilization, Smallworld, Smash Up, Snake Oil, Space Cadets, Splendor, Star Realms, Stone Age, Sushi Go!, Telestrations, Terra Mystica, The Pillars of the Earth, The Resistance, The Resistance: Avalon, Through the Desert, Tigris & Euphrates, Tikal, Timeline: Historical Events, Tournay, Tsuro of the Seas, Twilight Struggle, T'zolkin: the Mayan Calendar, Ultimate Werewolf, Vegas Showdown, Viticulture, We Didn't Playtest This at All, Wits and Wages, Word on the Street, Zooloretto.
A Look at the Action:
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