What’s the best thing to do in Spain? Visit Barcelona, Sagrada Familia, Madid, Prado Museum, Granada, Alhambra Palace, Segovia, Roman Aqueduct, Seville, Alcázar, Cordoba, Toledo, Valencia?
No, my friends, the best thing to do in Spain is go to a board game convention in Badajoz! For me, it’s been since 2019 for a game convention (GenCon and WisconsCon). I really enjoyed spending a long weekend making new friends in Spain while playing some historical board games.
First up…why is a convention named for an acorn? Well, Badajoz is famous for producing Iberico Jamón (ham from pigs fed on acorns). Badajoz has been settled since Neolithic times, with several Dolmen and Roman ruins nearby (it was part of Roman Lusitania).
It was also a Muslim Taifa kingdom, so has medieval ruins to explore as well. The convention takes place in January, which is great because Badajoz can get really hot during the summer.
I found out about the convention through my connections to GMT’s Levy and Campaign Series of games. If you have not tried out Nevsky, it’s an operational level medieval board game (Teutons vs Rus) by Volko Ruhnke, the COIN designer (Andean Abyss, Falling Sky, Fall of Saigon, Pendragon, and others), which fills a niche I do not recall ever seeing before. Nevsky is the first, but a second one, Almoravid, is hopefully due to come out in April (on the ship from China now).
I am currently helping proof and playtest the third volume of the series (Inferno – mid 13th century Tuscany) and working on my own for the future (Lauria – War of the Sicilian Vespers). I brought both to have some demonstration games for the series. Essentially, following in Volko’s footpath when he demonstrated Almoravid here in 2020.
On Thursday, I set up my table and walked around to get a feel for the show. Attendance was restricted this year per Spanish Covid regulations. Pictures are from the entire weekend.
Demoing my Design for Levy & Campaign – Lauria: War of the Sicilian Vespers. These two sat down and started playing right from my materials. Experienced playtesters from Almoravid, they were excited to see another game with a bit of Spanish flavor even though it takes place in Italy.
The War of the Sicilian Vespers saw the King of Aragon seize Sicily from Charles Anjou after a revolt in the name of his wife, Konstanze Hohenstauffen. It includes new elements for increased use of sea forces (Ships & Galleys) as well as the mighty Almogavars.
Prior to coming, I mentioned on an online forum that I would be bringing both games, so I had some folks come up and talk about both. Many had played in the 2019 demonstration of Almoravid, so were also excited to talk about when it would become available. There was also a demonstration of Plantagenet, another P500 L&C game from GMT.
When I was not demoing my games, I did some general walking around to see what else was going on. There were plenty of games familiar to folks in the US that might be at any FLGS, like Dune, Successors, Commands & Colors, and many more. I did not take enough pictures.
I think conventions like BellotaCon are a tremendously important part of our hobby. There we can meet new people, spend time playing face-to-face, and try out new games that we might buy at our favorite retailer. If you are working on a prototype of a game, having folks come and try it is tremendously helpful.
They offer the opportunity to teach your game and spend some time building a rapport with a potential audience. I really enjoyed my trip and highly recommend attending if you plan on going to Spain anytime soon. Visit in January and stop by BellotaCon on your way out to the more tourist-like attractions (see the first paragraph).