Pimpcron: Shorehammer Convention Recap!
Pimpcron recounts the spectacle and madness that was Shorehammer.
Boy oh boy! Your Pimpcron has a blast last weekend! I left with some awesome memories from hanging out with my friends from last year, and making many more this year. Hmmmmmm, but an article only saying all of the nice stuff that happened just doesn’t feel right to The People’s Pimpcron. So I guess I will throw in some fictional stuff to keep it interesting.
For instance, we had a Arnold choking competition.
Same Laid-Back Vibe
I am a dirty, filthy, casual gamer; there I said it. I don’t care for the ultra-competitive scene and that whole atmosphere just turns me off immediately. Plus, there are plenty of hardcore tournaments around, so I chose to do something different when I founded this convention last year. I wanted a welcoming, friendly atmosphere and a casual setting but still allowing people to be competitive. Not knowing exactly how to attract that type of people, I just designed the convention to be something that I’d like to attend. Come to find out, I have eclectic taste. Our first year we had Gorilla Jello Wrestling, a series of puppet shows depicting the Battle of the Bulge, and a live Mule Auction. Not mention that all of our door prizes were just expired canned goods, and when we ran out, we just gave away firm handshakes.
After a lot of feedback from last year, I decided to change things up and Shorehammer consisted of a 3-round AoS Tournament Friday, followed by Pub Trivia that night. Saturday was the big day with our main event the 3-round Highlander followed by the first-ever tournament for my game Brutality! After that was a panel focusing on RPG missions and narrative by the creator of the Sci-fi RPG Solar Echoes. Then I had my 8th Edition Open Discussion where we all aired our grievances. It was almost unanimous that even though 8th edition isn’t perfect, and we miss some parts of 7th, 8th overall is better. Then I finished out my panel reading my meanest comments from my articles. It was quite fun and we all had a laugh at my expense. Just like family dinners.
The last day included the Painting Competitions, 40k Nutcrusher Tournament, Speed Painting and then my ridiculous awards show. Of course there was free games, and free play boards all weekend plus other stuff I won’t drone on and on about. I’m proud to say that Mule-related injuries were down 3-fold this year.
New Friends and Old Friends!
Everybody seemed to have fun again this year and pretty much everybody had a smile on their face all weekend. I had the pleasure of meeting several members of The Basement Wargamers from Pennsylvania who is a pretty chill group of people. I enjoyed hanging with them and will be seeing them again in two months for a tournament they are hosting. I also got to see my friends from last year like the Tabor Warhammer League, North Korean Officer’s Academy, Outer Banks Wargaming Group, and many more which was awesome! We drew people from the seven nearby states and doubled our attendance from last year. I feel like we’ve captured lightning in a bottle and will do everything I can to ensure we keep this same, friendly atmosphere every year in the future. I was thrilled that no fewer than five people told me that we were their very first tournament because we seemed so approachable. That is an honor, for sure; I was so happy I gave them all canned goods left over from last year. I’m out of those now, I swear.
The rest are missing their lids anyway.
One of the coolest parts of starting this convention is the networking and friends I’ve met. The region I live in is nearly a wargaming void. The small group of wargamers huddle together for warmth and most of us drive at least 30 minutes to meet. We have roughly 12 people in all, and that is for the surrounding 100 miles or so. So before starting this I always felt like playing, hanging out and making friends with people from faraway places was a daydream. But now I keep up with tons of people I’ve met on facebook and enjoy their company.
Boldy Going Forward
We are getting input from all of our attendees how we can improve Shorehammer and next year will be bigger, faster and stronger. Also, I think I’m bringing back the Mule Auction, it felt kinda empty without it. Check out our wonderful sponsors and send them money!
Gamemat.eu is always a pleasure to work with I’ve bought so many mats and pre-painted terrain from them I should buy stock in the company. Lol. I can’t say enough good about them.
Terrains4games.com have been awesome and friendly. Hand –made terrain, resin, and MDF buildings which I have also bought for my convention. They have great prices and lots of sales. A Christmas sale going on right now.
Fear This Kustoms makes great gaming supplies, but my favorite is the Point & Turn Counter.
The Grand Hotel was our location and very easy to work with. This hotel has everything. They do frown on Gorilla Jello wrestling in their ballrooms though. Gotta keep it low key.
Thank you all for coming! This has become one of my favorite holidays each year.
Or contact me at [email protected] for the latest rules if you don’t do the Facebooks.
