Saltdean – Pasteboard and Plastic 13

With two young friends (Danny and Joshua) we pitched up at the scout hut in Satldean for Pasteboard and Plastic (PnP) 13. The group run three events a year that start at 10am and run through to as late as you want. We arrived shortly after the start time and there was already one game in progress with another just being set up, lots of second hand games for sale and a wide selection of games available for play.

It may be worth mentioning how this aspect works, essentially everybody brings a long a number of games and puts them together in what amounts to a games library. These are then available for attendees to play. This is a great way of trying out a game you might be thinking of buying.

Dick and Helen stalwarts of the group welcomed us and with Helen’s help we soon had a game of Dominion going. A game neither boy had played before but
both thoroughly enjoyed. Helen won the first game demonstrating her experience at the game (her family having all the expansions, it being a favourite of theirs).

With Mark Rivera starting a game of Defenders of the Realm (one he picked up at Essen and one that weighs almost as much as it costs) I left the boys with Helen to play another game of Dominion but with some of the Seaside expansion elements including pirates. This second game did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm for Dominion.

On the other side of the room I joined Mark, Tony and Neil Mayer (editor of thru-the-portal) as Defenders of the Realm was getting ready to start. It is a collaborative game (but one where if you win there is a clear victor within the team of good guys) where each player represents one of the many well known heroic character types from Dungeon and Dragon style games e.g. a wizard, thief, paladin etc. Our team of hero’s had to travel the land desperately trying to ensure that the evil power in its many forms did not prevail. I started the game with ‘we are doomed’ (the wrong attitude I know) maybe because I am half empty by nature and maybe because I lacked the necessary caffeine for the heroic endeavour. Whilst we did eventually succumb to the evil and loose the game it was a tremendously enjoyable game with a tension that I am sure will aid its replay ability. Mark has written an excellent review of the game here.

Our next game was The Great Fire of London another game Mark had acquired at Essen and one I mentioned in my Essen post as it has a British designer and sold out. This was another enjoyable game but with the boys now joining us we had six players and the game probably works best with no more than four. I had been interested in this game given its obvious historical theme however the game play whilst very enjoyable I don’t believe to be strong enough to support children studying this area of history. Again check out Marks blog for a comprehensive review.

As part of the groups efforts to raise funds for the local Scout troop they had a raffle with the boys managing to scoop 3 games between them and Dick indicating that with the entrance fee, gift aid and the raffle they had raised in excess of £140.

And so a day in Saltdean came to a close for us. We had had a really good day but I couldn’t help reflecting sadly on the difference in demographics between what I had experienced at Essen and a very male dominated scout hut in England.