Regncon 2015 – Bergen, Norway:

This is a very fun and local convention based around board, card, and tabletop games…with many other events going on, as well. The convention’s name is a pun on how much it rains in Bergen all year around. The con has a different theme each year; this time it was “Death and Decay”. This was oddly fitting, considering Halloween is coming.

Since a convention is all about content, some of the more memorable events should be mentioned. One was “Killer”: the art of stalking down other people and nailing them with rubber bands; a true contest of skill and taking cheap shots. Luckily for most people, the cafeteria and the toilets were safe zones. Despite this, a lot of people were caught with their pants down!

The association Hyperion has a morbid fascination with unicorns. So an illustration contest was held, and the contestants had three days to draw the best unicorn. In case you’re clueless, it’s an imaginary horse with a single horn. Most of the time it’s associated with purity and rainbows.

“Death from The Sims”

This brings me to the next event, a stick horse workshop. Judging by the success and feedback, it was a lot of fun. Naturally, some of them put on a silly performance and won prizes.

A local organization called GG Bergen, which focuses mainly on gaming, held among other things a Smash Bros. melee competition. It’s a game about Nintendo characters fighting each other. This organization gives kids who want to play against each other a reason to do so, and it’s available most weekends.

Since cosplay has gained a lot of popularity, a costume competition was unavoidable, and what fun it was. The good thing about it was that there was more than enough time to do a show, and the judges had plenty of time to examine the contestants’ costumes. Among the judges was the esteemed Mia Maki. I mention her since she actually has a reference page and is quite good at making costumes and props:

https://www.facebook.com/yoshplaysmia?fref=ts

“The Ferryman”

Tabletop gaming is fun for most of the family, and even more so for the people attending. Whomever decides to be the Game Master (GM) is the one who tells the story and provides context/challenges. The players respond to the challenges put to them by the GM. I only had time for “An apple a day”, set within the SLA Industries universe. There I was an operative investigating several murders at a local hospital. A doctor at the hospital had patched up a mass-murderer who decided to kill kindergarten children. After that, I was stuck in the afterlife with the rest of my party. It was a lot of fun.

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday fighting against kids. Tidsreiser held two events. Time Travelers is an apocalyptic game that takes place in the future, where 99% of the world has died. This means that survivors gather together in tribes. It’s fun and focused around the idea of trade negotiation, rather than solving every engagement at gunpoint…though my character kept saying that “accidents happen”.

On Sunday they held an adventure game in a local park called The Unicorn Land, a very tranquil place where elves, men and goblins roam around and a fight a lot, or just make questionable treaties. After all, it’s not easy to trust knights with coconut horses and vile goblins. At the end of the day, the children amassed in a fight against the adults.

Here is a link to their main page:

http://tidsreiser.no/

If anyone has children aged 8 and up and happen to live in Bergen, feel free to sign up.

“A Zombie with Nice Dentures”

Since this convention is focused around things to do on a table top, they also held a Magic: The Gathering (MTG) tournament. It’s a very popular (and old) card game built around combat, collecting and trading. Personally I like the concept, but the execution bores me; though this should not stop anyone from enjoying it.

The food from Los Tacos was decent, but nothing to write home about (pun intended). It’s a local nachos place.

A couple of scavenger-hunters did exceedingly well at locating the hidden things around the school.

“Some Demon from the Stygian Abyss”

Since there is an artistic streak in most of us, all of us participating could draw a unicorn and win prizes. I did not deliver my contribution, and it was too bad that they could not show them on the auditorium wall.

As an additional note, this could not have been done without gofers, the volunteers who keep the wheels running. Anyone can be a gofer if they sign up. Besides, this year they did a splendid job.

“Everyone Expects the Spanish Inquisition”

So long story short, It was very enjoyable, and it’s a recurring event to look forward to every year.

Since Hyperion is an important part of this community, here is a link to their main page.

http://n4f.no/

While you’re at it, feel free to take a look at my Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/SandCos

-Njål Sand-

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