One Year Later - Untold's First Year, In Review

So, technically, Untold hasn't reached its first year quite yet. I'll do an official "Year Later" blog in April to discuss the actual one year anniversary. However, sitting at the edge of the new year (and possibly the last if the Mayans had it right), one can't help but look back over the past year. And since this is an Untold blog, I'll be looking back at Untold's first year. No card mechanics or combos, no building encounters or bad guys. Just a simple reminiscing.

Now, I've known the Wandering Men going on four years now. And I've told the story of how I got into Untold so many times, and I'm sure you're all tired of hearing it. But I remember very clearly the day I found that Untold was officially released. See, Jennifer and I had signed on as Beta Testers, and for nearly a year, we talked it up to friends and family, wrote ecologies and articles. And finally, Ashy made the announcement in the rainy month of April that Untold was officially released. I for one was impressed that not only did Untold release, but released with a large number of products available as well. April was a wet and rainy, but it didn't keep us from setting up C.U.B.E.'s and spreading the word.

Before we knew it, Summer had set in and the con season was upon us. Mobicon, in Mobile Alabama, was Untold's first official con after the release. I remember a lot nervousness and hesitancy going into that con. I didn't sleep the night before the con was set to open. I remember thinking that it could be a big step for Untold. So, that Friday came, and in the blistering sun and sweltering humidity (nothing new for the Gulf Coast), we set up the WM Booth and I hit the Gaming Hall. We were scheduled to do 6 demos, and wound up doing 11. Mobicon was a lot of fun and we were exhausted by the end of it.

Imagicon proved to be just as popular but in far worse environs. Because of where the gaming room was, you had to literally yell to speak to the person next to you. However, Untold remained extremely popular and we had a real heartfelt moment at the end of it. Sunday afternoon, we were packing up the booth and saying our goodbyes to the team members as we all went our separate ways for a few weeks. As we were leaving, I had someone approach me who had sat through a demo with me the day before. He had a rules question. Apparently, a couple of the guys there were setting up an Untold game in the now barren Merchants Room, to get a little more play time before the party was completely over. That moved us in such a way, I can't even describe it.

The final big con of the summer (for me atleast) was ConCarolinas in Charlotte. It didn't start out great. We converged on North Carolina in the wee hours of the morning, with Cap and his wife being gracious enough to open their home to admittedly a bunch of weird folks so that we could rest and prepare for the weekend to come. We were all disappointed Friday when we arrived. They had set up our booth right in the gaming room. But we made the best of a bad situation and set up for the demos. The first day was pretty quiet. Around 7 pm, we were beginning to talk about closing up shop, but were bombarded by folks who wanted to play Untold. We had three games going that night and the booth was doing a lot of good business. We didn't finish up until 11 that night, and had a lot of fun. That was the weekend that Hall first unveiled his skills as a GM on an admittedly tired group.

But this year wasn't all about cons. We had a lot happening on the home fronts as well. Untold picked up two official retailers, in Pensacola Florida and Leeds Alabama. I don't know how many products we've released either, but we had some great ones. Some of my favorites were the Gifts of Maoru, Triple Threat: Slugs and Steel and Primal Powers. We had the opening of the Untold: Elite and even picked up some fans in Canada and Britain.

This first year has been amazing for Untold, but what about the next? Well, Untold is still growing and struggling to put its root down. We've all done our share but I feel like I could do more, and I plan to this next year. I want to get Untold to be a regular fixture at my FLGS again. I also plan to do more C.U.B.E.'s with the help of LK and the other folks in the area. I look forward to upcoming con season and want to help out again if possible. I also really want to help the community, both on and off line grow however I can.

All in all, this last year has been good to Untold. And I know that Untold has made this year good for me. One of the reasons we play games like this is to spend time with friends and family, and Untold has provided me with a large number of friends to share Untold and other things with. I look forward to what Untold and the Wandering Men have in store for us this next year, and I look forward to the work we'll all be doing to help Untold grow.

That's going to wrap it up for this week. Next week starts a New Year and a new blog. Not sure what the New Year will bring either for this game or for me and my blog, but you'll be one of the first to know. I do want to say thanks to everyone who reads and enjoys this blog. Thanks for encouraging me to do it and thanks for sharing my favorite hobby with me. Until next week, thanks for reading and have a safe and happy New Year!