…beats the shit out of a trip to Oz
CritterCon 2026 #19
Con Day Three
(Note: Various commentary by those other than me is in italics.)
In which we continue doing con stuff, including a kiddie LARP, a charity Toon game, and a costume party.
The High Points
More Songs About Food & Drink
Having no duties until 10:00 am, I, along with my spouse of nearly 30 years, indulged in a leisurely breakfast at Waffles From Outer Space. My lunch was at Aporkalypes Now, where a few of us ate some heavenly smoked pork ribs and several side dishes. On the way to the Kiddie LARP, grabbed smoothies for the 6 of us that would be assisting the kids. Finally, dinner was a big gathering at Thai One On.
A LARP For KiD&Ds
There is a huge track of stuff for kids to do at this con, and LARPing is one of them. So at 10:00 am today, three teams of six kids, aged 4 to 6, ventured into the Big Forest to rescue Princess Turtle from the Giant Named Foozix. Our team was “The Fearless Farmers”.
Spotsy and Alex were Fighters, Tia was a Healer (NHT don’t have Clerics), Charlie was a Ranger, Harry was a Rogue, and Vicky was a wizard. One of the other teams was a whole litter of cats (The Adventure Tabbys), and the third team four Yellow Labs and two Pygmy Goats that have been raised with them (The Good Dogs).
Each team was allowed 1 adult per kid to watch and listen via KidCams, and offer advice 6 times per kid. I was advising Charlie, Grace had Vicky, Blue and Omar had the Fighters, Spike had our Rogue, and Mary had the Healer.
This was a 1 hour game, because little kids, and it was fast paced from the starting bell. Luck of the draw had out farmers starting at the Lakeside Trail, where they had to deal with Pinchy Crabs right away. From there it was Woombats and Stink Trolls and Pie Gnomes and traps and other obstacles. By the time the got to the Giant’s camp, the Good Dogs had arrived minutes earlier and were fighting the Giant and his Baby Dragon.
We adults had used up all our help slots, but the Fearless Farmers decided to help the Good Dogs, because “All of us are messed up so we need to help each other”, as Tia said. And so they did.
In the end, the combined two teams rescued the Princess and won the day with 5 minutes to spare. The Adventure Tabbys showed up three minutes later because cats, but everybody had fun.
Charity Toon With A Genuine Coyote, Rabbit, Duck, and Human
This Toon game started at 1:00 and ran for 4 hours. There were 20 players and each Animator would run for an hour, which was good, because I had to tag out to go to the “This Ought To Be A Game” seminar, which runs 90 minutes.
The other Animators were our good friend and Quest Worlds terrain designer, Popcorn. Our rabbit Animator was Eloise McClover, and our duck was Bill, Speaker for a flock of 30 who were in the audience. Remember, ducks are sapient, but only smart in groups. A flock of 31 meant Bill was about as smart as a smart human.
The first adventure was “Packing For A Trip”, wherein 20 screwballs were trying to get their bus loaded up to go hunt Foogle Birds. By the end of 2 hours, they sorta kinda had the bus packed and everyone in it. Or on it.
Then came “The Great Foogle Hunt”, which is always chaotic and in this case had 6 of the players playing the Foogle Birds. It was way more chaotic than the first scenario.
What with every player ponying up $50.00 to play, then $5.00 a pop to re-roll dice or do other foolishness, we raised $2,360.00 for a wild animal rescue in Vermont.
Dogs & Cats, Partying Together!
After the Toon game, a bunch of us cruised the Dealers Room, where I bought a couple of games (Cats VS Cthulhu, Rock Mobster) and a t-shirt saying “Beware, contents are old & cranky.” After that was dinner, then dressing up for the costume party.
Grace decided to go as a high society Maine Coon cat, complete with a big floppy hat and a sequined dress. I’m going as a steampunk inventor Poodle with a bowler hat. We look forward to seeing how everybody else dresses up.
And now, off to the party! More geeky reportage tomorrow.
EDIT: Oops! Almost forgot to list the QW World Cup standings.
The Starters
Team Tough Girls Team Seriously Loca Team Edinburgh Wrecking Crew
Team Ukraine Triumphant Team 9.5 Team Scandal At The Disco
Team Secret Weapon Team Death Team Fred
Team Four Bad Cats Team Tiger One Team Gojira
Team Questbusters Team Seattlites Team Shotgun Monkeys
Team Cutie Pie
The Winners
Team Tough Girls Team Ukraine Triumphant Team 9.5
Team Scandal At The Disco Team Fred Team Gojira
Team Seattlites Team Shotgun Monkeys
Congratulations to the winners for surviving the incredibly brutal “Robots VS Werewolves VS Slime People VS Humans”
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