It was a thrill to meet so many of you at the UK Games Expo 2009 last weekend, thanks to everyone who stopped by the stand to say “hello”. We played a lot of games of Army Of Zero over the two days, and it was great seeing so many kids getting into it (and usually giving me a bit of a beating, it has to be said). There seemed to be a lot of dads there, intent on introducing their kids to gaming, and I think they appreciated that Army Of Zero offered the opportunity to do that.
Embarrassingly, when playing against adults, the dice seemed to be rolling in my favour most of the weekend! I’m going to have to get some loaded dice for the next event, so that I can butter up a few more punters.
Sales were pretty healthy, even so, although it took a last-minute rush of buyers on Sunday afternoon to totally convince me that it was worth it and to send me home with a spring in my step. That last-minute rush was unexpected, because from three o’clock it all seemed to be winding down. So a lesson for traders at other events - keep going until the end!
As far as the puzzle element of Army Of Zero goes, people seem to fall into two categories - either they’re flummoxed, or they totally get it. It was interesting to see a number of people have a couple of minutes with the cards and cotton onto some of the symbolism. In particular, the notches got sussed out by a few people, and one chap figured out the shield with the array of orange and blue dots. Another visitor picked up on the clue on the poster.
Our stand at UK Games Expo 2009
There was a further hint on the leaflets that we handed out, but probably that won’t make any sense until you’ve figured out part of the puzzle - it’s more like a confirmation that you’re on the right lines.
And finally I just want to say hello and thanks to Jason and Matthew from Dark House Games who were my neighbours for the weekend. They supply Bachmann Plasticville USA buildings for use in wargames, role-playing and so on - why not pay them a visit?
