House of Zoxe: Adepticon 2019

The main hall at Adepticon. 40K and random game area here, vendor area behind, and Fantasy Flight gaming area way, way behind at the far end. There was another large area for gaming upstairs.

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF):
Our first trip to Adepticon. We found this event to be welcoming and well organized, and all things considering, it's probably the goldilocks size ("just right"). The Swag bags are huge. Lukewarm showers are disappointing.

>> Who should attend: Wargamers, painters, fans of Fantasy Flight organized play

>> Who might be disappointed: RPG/DnD, MTG players, boardgamers/eurogamers, shoppers

Logistics:
When the hotel reservations went up, we didn't get in quickly enough to room at the Renaissance / convention center, but managed to get a room in the same office park at the Embassy Suites.

We set out by car to Chicagoland on Wednesday, arriving onsite before the evening rush hour, had an early dinner, and then walked over to get our badges Wednesday evening.

We naively thought that we would show up at 7pm and walk straight through, but the badge line was impressively long and processing through the queue took some significant time. Once out the other end of the line, we realized why: the Adepticon swag bags are gigantic, and the physical intensity of humping people through to hand them 20-30 lbs of stuff was quite a surprise. Our time in line went quickly, we met up with new/old friends and chatted with fellow nerds.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites, which was a short walk away (under 10 minutes once you find the shortcut behind one of the office buildings). The Embassy felt like an older property that was recently refreshed - the rooms were nice, beds were firm and clean, wallpaper, carpet, and styling felt new. But the walls were thin, the elevators were slow (and ominously clanky), and 2 of our 4 mornings there was little to no hot water for our showers. Ugh.

On the plus side, being an Embassy Suites, there was a full hot breakfast every morning and evenings featured a "manager's reception" with a mostly open bar and snacks. So, the Embassy gets thumbs up for location and perks, but a solid meh in the overall experience.

Being away from the venue, even by a short walk, meant that we needed to pack all our crap around with us, including jackets, paints/brushes, and my Dropfleet army. (Being a wargaming convention, attendees with backpacks and bags wasn't uncommon, and our burdens were a lot lighter than some of the other guys we saw with carts of 40k roaming around).

Anyway, if we go again, yes, I would probably stay at the Embassy, but only after looking at other alternatives.

Random Notes and Thoughts:

The venue is pretty nice. It's a bit sprawling and I got turned around more than once, but by day 2 it was easy enough to navigate.
The vendor hall was actually quite small. Booths are smaller and less flashy than Gencon (similar to PAX Unplugged in style and content). This is a "player's'" convention, not a "shopper's." The major booths were there, but the vendors very much focused on the target audience - wargamers and hobbyists/painters. That meant that there were few card/board/TCG games, nearly zero RPGs, and very little space for demos. If that's your thing, Gencon is your place.
Dropfleet Commander was as fun as I'd hoped. My Fleet paint scheme got a lot of positive comments and a few pictures taken. After all the work and random moaning, I was glad they were appreciated. The actual gameplay was fun and friendly and exactly the fleet/strategic vibe I wanted.
I was happy to see more content converted from Hawk Wargames (now defunct) to the TTCombat logos and boxes. It's nice to see them moving forward, if slowly.
I tried the new(?) Monument paint in a class. I loved the paint (very smooth, high pigment, great consistency and feel) but I hated their bottles. Clog free or not, they're pretty messy.
I got a great deal on 6 bottles of Secret Weapon weathering washes and also grabbed a pair of paint bottles to try for my current SoB project. First impressions are very favorable.
I got an Artist Opus brush in the swag bag but forgot to try it out.
I like the longer format of Adepticon painting classes; they feel less rushed than Reaper's and allowed for greater interaction.
I regretted not having my Freeblades Army done; their event tables were 1 row away from the Dropfleet stuff and I could see them having a lot of fun.

Final Thoughts:
We had a great time and assuming we can allocate the time off, I would attend next year. I would shift my focus a bit and try to play more games - in particular I'd get into the Dropfleet Tournament and Freeblades.

The venue is good, though I suspect Adepticon is pushing the site to its max. I appreciated that the venue had alternative food options and I could avoid pizza and rewarmed fried food if I wanted to, though I didn't always appreciate the prices. The Embassy we stayed at was kind of 'meh' in a few places, but got the job done.

I liked the longer painting classes. Reaper's schedule is much more busy; the classes are shorter. Adepticon's extra time allowed the teacher's to do a bit of lecture before we picked up brushes, which really helped (I wasn't trying to watch, listen, AND paint at the same time).

Picture dump follows. I found that most of my pics were of the Dropfleet Narrative Event. Imagine a lot more pictures with random guys in baggy jeans, black shirts, and beards.

The Dropfleet Commander table I would play at later on Thursday. This was early on Thursday morning.

Everyone should identify their schtuff. My battlefoam for DFC worked wonderfully.

Getting the fleet organized before play.

Early in the DFC Narrative Event; my Battlecruiser and support cruisers/frigates attempting to flank.

One of the other Dropfleet maps during Thursday's Narrative Event.

Top down shot, mid-game. Still getting assets into position. A few shots being fired here.

My fleet carrier (lower right) working through the traffic jam of my partner's fleet (also UCM). This group would get into position in the final round, and unleashed a truly impressive volley that finished off some stubborn PHR enemies.

Towards the end of the game, my battleships (left) finally got in range to join the fun. I was happy to go Weapons Free (roll all dice!!) on the Beijing.

Results of the Sketching class we took. Emphasis on getting the figures lit properly in just black and white, then adding a quick glaze of color.

Bases on display at the Secret Weapon both. I took a few reference pictures and then came back later and bought washes and paint.

The gaming hall on Saturday. Crowded but happy. The wall along the left retracts to join this area with the vendor hall (which opened later in the morning).