Brief BRASS Recap
Francisco's initial thoughts on Boardgame Retreat At South Sound
First off, I had a great time at BRASS!
I had been to Men’s Retreats before, and I have gone on a board game weekend trip with guys in my church small group, but having those experiences mashed together was fantastic.
The dozen people I interacted with most (of the 20-30 people at the retreat) ranged from friendly to very welcoming, with people always willing to teach the games they knew. In fact because of this, Junkyard Juggernauts, Prestige, and Guillotine were the only games I had played before, while I got experience for the first time:
Catch (prototype fishing-themed engine building game)
However, since most of the people at the retreat knew each other, but I was new to everyone except my friend Ken Cummings who was also there (appreciated you being there Ken!!), I had to work to get over my awkwardness in asking new people to play Junkyard Juggernauts.
“Hey you don’t know me, but do you want to play this game you have also never heard of, for 3-5 hours, instead of a game you know, with people you already like”
- My internal dialogue
I thankfully didn’t experience anyone who was snotty or stand-offish, and a handful of generous people that gave JJ a shot and said it was fun. Another guy there, Ben, was playtesting his game Catch at BRASS and it was awesome that we were able to exchange plays.
Thank you to Aaron, Dave, Jordan, and Ryan for putting this on, and I am hoping to go back next year!
The awkward internal dialogue about asking new people to playtest is so relatable. I've been in that same spot at conventions where you're like 'do I pitch my thing or just blend in?', and breaking that ice is always the hardest part. The fact that multiple people gave JJ a shot and enjoyed it is huge tho, especially when everyones already got their comfort games. BRASS sounds like a solid format for game testing and just connecting over shared intersts.