Easter... Egg? Gothcon

Brains...?

So Easter have come and gone and for me that most of the time means spending time in Gotheburg attending the Swedish boardgame/miniture/TCCG/RPG convention Gothcon. Now as far as international cons goes this is a small one with around 2000 people (that can be reliably tracked). But as far as this type of conventions goes in the Nordic region it is one of the larger. Beyond that things would feel fairly similar to other cons, you play games, hang out with people you only see once or twice a year and spend money on stuff you probably should not spend money on like... well..more games. 

But first and foremost it is the atmosphere that gets me every time. Because no matter how protective and elitist different sub-factions of physical gaming culture can get (and trust me... it can) once you set foot inside the con, you are at home. Around you are people who are as if not more geeky and nerdy as you are and nobody judge you for it. This of course rings true for any sub-culture con but since i am a gamer and i this is my hobby. This is where i call home 

So what did i do over these four days? Well apart from having a look at a metric ton of stuff i liked to buy i took the time to sit down with some games i was unable or unlikely to be able to play at home. It was nice to be able to play games and not mind the real world outside. The highlight of the weekend was oddly enough a tiny storytelling RPG. One of those that you pick a random scenario and just roll with it. Ours was a team of the most failed superheroes this side of the Great Lake Avengers. But it is a type of game i really enjoy when i am in the right mode because it lets me flex my storytelling muscles. I think the game it self was called Followers or some such. Anyway getting to sit down with a table of people and together weave a story is something that always have and i hope always will bring warmth to my heart. 

Now fortunate enough for me i do not have to wait very long for the next con as we have one coming up in my home town in about a month. expect a more in-depth write up of that one as i can get some decent sleep during that con. The perks of being withing walking distance. 

Anyway, that was just a quick update on what i have been up to. For a review of the games i played head over to spelkult.se in the coming week or so. 

Until next time

Stay safe, be kind and play fair. 

Bye. 

To see your heroes grow old.

I was for many years in my youth a big fan of wrestling. especially the WWE (WWF back then) variety. Now I of course, did grow up in a world where the kayfabe, the masquerade of wrestling being anything beyond a well-rehearsed show had fallen. We all knew the wizard behind the machine. But it was still very interesting and not to mention difficult as heck to get ahold of. Now everyone who watches wrestling does at some point end up with a favourite wrestler. Mine was always Mark Calaway. Better known as "the Undertaker". A beast of a man, a hair short of 210 cm and for most of his career built like a brick house. He was also initially a very mobile wrestler as he was doing high flyer moves in an era of American wrestling where big wrestler tended to be slow power wrestler. As time went by many others would push the game forward. But the Undertaker was also always carried by his other gimmick, he was able to "call upon dark powers" to ignore hits and moves. This did grant him an air of indestructibility that really played into the same power fantasy as superman. 

But this was over 20 years ago and as I out of curiosity watched a recap of Wrestlemania 33 that happened this last weekend. The Undertaker headlined the event and every single one of those 20+ years could be seen in his face, his body and how he moved. It was in a way heartbreaking. A part of me really wished that he would have hanged up his boots a lot earlier. Not having to see him go through matches being carried, made to look good by others as his body does not longer have the power to really do that himself.  

Now there would be no shame in doing that, the Undertaker have been wrestling for over 25 years. Most athletes retire long before that and many WWE wrestlers work shows every week, sometimes several shows a week. That does take its toll on the body. But for some insane reason Mark Calaway kept on wrestling. While wrestling as a "sport" is fake, the action is as real as any stuntwork and many times more dangerous. It does leave its marks on the body. 

So as I watched the end of the match and once it was over I saw the Undertaker slowly remove his gloves, his coat and then finally his hat. His face a mix of sadness and relief. Then Mark Calaway exited the ring but for the first time, the Undertaker stayed. In the ring, a legend laid and walking up the ramp was a 52 year old man. I hope this is the actual retiring of the Undertaker. Not built up with any hype or made a spectacle of. It was quiet and dignified. The proper way to send off someone who have been a hero me and many others. 

But it is the end of an era and I do feel a tinge of sadness but at the same time I am glad that Mark Calaway finally is free from the alter ego that was and in many ways still is the Undertaker. But there will never ever be someone as dedicated to his craft as the Undertaker, nor as dedicated to the whole idea of the spectacle of wrestling.