Helcon

Last weekend I attended Helcon III , a board games event in Helsinki.

Helcon.
Helcon

We were playing in Asukastalo Ankkuri , a youth centre in the Herttoniemi district of Helsinki. The facilities were ideal, with plenty of room for the 40 or so board game players who attended from all over Finland.

Elfenland.
Elfenland

I finally got a chance to play Elfenland , which I bought when I first got interested in board games. I’ve only ever played it two-player with Eve, but with five players it was a lot more fun. Other games I played were:

Table full of board games.
Table full of board games

Shelf full of board games.
Shelf full of board games

Helcon is a very friendly event – people bring their own games and leave them on the shelves and tables at the sides for others to freely borrow and play. Most games are informal – when people arrive or finish a game, they start wandering around and choosing the next game to play. Once some have agreed on a game, they look around for other free people to join them, so it’s easy to join a new game. I played with lots of different people – if only I could remember their names!

Carcassonne winner.
Carcassonne winner

As well as the informal playing, a few tournaments were run, including Carcassonne and a tournament of randomly-selected two-player games. Luckily for me the Carcassonne tournament was played in a light and friendly spirit, and somehow I ended up winning!

Helcon was great fun – if you’re interested in board games, I can strongly recommend attending next year’s. I’ll be there!

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