GCT Studios’ Adepticon Diary (Part One)
“The British are coming!”
Paul Revere (supposedly)
“Another town I’ve left behind,
Another drink completely blind,
Another hotel I can’t find,
Another backstage pass for you,
Another tube of super glue,
Another border to get through,
I’m driving like a maniac,
Driving way to hell and back,
Another room a case to pack,
We Are The Road Crew! “
Motorhead (definitively)
Chicago does many things right but none more so than deep-dish pizza and AdeptiCon. This is GCT’s second show in the Schaumberg area of Chicago and it just keeps getting better and better. Old friends, familiar faces, new players, and a kick-ass tournament to boot. But I digress…
AdeptiCon started in 2002 with just 110 players attending a special event. Now, 12 years later, there are 4500attendees roaming the halls of the Schaumberg Convention Centre to battle it out in over 460 tournaments. The Dealer’s Hall is home to 100 exhibitors, and the side-halls are packed with seminars, special events, painting classes and loads of pick-up games. It truly is a Temple of Ro-Kan to all things miniature and wargame related. It runs from the Thursday to the Sunday with the Wednesday being set aside for setup. That’s when we got there, on Wednesday, in the freezing cold, to unload and begin building the booth.
As far as most shows go in the USA, AdeptiCon has to be by far the easiest when it comes to this. Our other main show GenCon, owing to size, and schedule, can be a nightmare to do set-up, because you’re contending with Thousand-Sons-hued articulated lorries, and Ryder Truck drivers, who are dazed and confused having driven non-stop from Texas; it takes hours and hours, but at Adepticon, we were done before sunset and home for tea and crumpets as we British are wont to do.
We debuted our new show exclusive miniature on Thursday. I always think of him as the Man-With-No-Name, but he’s actually called Toshiro. He’s Ronin, applicable to all factions, cool as hell, and armed to the teeth! We were fortunate to have the entire Wave 39 with us as well, which made everyone extremely happy. We were also delighted to bring on a new retailer in Grognard Games, be sure to hit them up for your Bushido fix if you’re in the Chicago area, www.grognardgames.com
On Saturday we hosted our very first official AdeptiCon Masters Bushido Tournament. Before I go into the details on this most excellent of events, we have to give a big round of rapturous applause to Aaron Nowick, and his amazing wife, Danielle Nowick. Not only did they build and paint every single piece of the amazing terrain used to decorate all sixteen mats, but Danielle did this whilst heavily pregnant and in her last trimester! So, again, thanks from GCT for all your hard work. Aaron ran a tight ship, a great tournament, and answered rules questions with the consummate ease of a life-long Judge. Another nod of sincere thanks has to go to Mats to Mars who provided the incredible mats used in the tourney. They looked absolutely amazing, and not only do they add to the overall experience of playing but they encompass what they call a ‘ Bushido PlayerAid Border’, that has all those little rules we tend to forget in the heat of battle.
They are also lovingly decorated with artwork of your favourite Bushido characters and I suggest you head over to www.matsbymars.com to see what I’m gushing about! Next week we’ll have an in-depth interview with this years winner, Mark Creamer, as well as a complete look at all the lists that were at the tables, and a breakdown of all this years medal winners. Until then!
Don’t miss your chance to sign up for the tournament, if you’re thinking of coming we urge you to decide soon and grab a ticket. In the event of a relatively low take up we will be unable to run the tournament. So get one while you can: