JoCo Cruise Recap
We did a cruise!
Last week, the Crab Fragment family sailed on the JoCo Cruise.
Hosted by its namesake Jonathan Coulton, JoCo is a seven-day Caribbean adventure for fans of nerd music, science fiction, gaming, and other nerdly things. For several years this group has been large enough to charter an entire ship. This year it was HAL’s Nieuw Amsterdam.
And although I do miss freaking out a half-ship of ordinary people, as we once did, it’s also excellent to have a space all to ourselves.
Some people describe JoCo as a gaming cruise, but honestly that’s a pretty small part of the experience. The ticket price includes access to nightly concerts, and daily activities tailored to the audience. And that ticket ain’t cheap. But it’s a family tradition now, and well worth it. This is something like our sixth or seventh year.
As you can see in the photo above, Carol and I saved some money by wearing the same outfits every time.
Games
Once upon a time, Cheapass Games was an official sponsor of this cruise, back when we had revenue and projects to promote. Then for a while longer, our logo showed up beside our adopted parents Greater Than Games. But over time, our participation in the gaming track has tapered off, and we’re still trying to figure out how to be a bigger part of this adventure, aside from just showing up.
The open gaming area occupies the top level of the dining room, clearing out only for the evening meals. Last year that room was pretty empty, as people were just coming back from Covid and we were all a little leery of anything that trapped us indoors.
This year, people seemed less afraid of Covid (as you’ve no doubt noticed), and there was plenty of activity in the game room. The Lido restaurant also had gaming tables dedicated all day long, and people could be seen playing games here and there throughout the ship.
I managed just a few playtests, adding a few rules to my new game from DunDraCon, which I’m now calling Whispers. I played Bitin’ Off Hedz and Shipwrights of Marino exactly once each, and also played a few games from the Library.
I played Lords of Vegas once (new edition still on Kickstarter until March 17, do check it out); one game of London, by Martin Wallace; and almost a whole game of Power Grid.
London (Martin Wallace, 2010 / 2017) was new and interesting, and I’d love to play it again, but the type on the cards is so unnecessarily small that I almost want to make my own large-print edition first. It’s a midrange engine-builder, but as the folks who taught me explained it, “your engine keeps falling apart.” I noticed that just by knowing the designer’s work, I could guess the answers to a lot of rules questions before we looked them up. I seemed to be in the lead for the entire game, until I misunderstood the endgame and was pushed back to last place. So, a word to the wise, don’t volunteer to end this game early, because you’re about to eat all the cards in your hand, twice.
Power Grid (Friedemann Friese, 2004) was new for three out of four of the players. The rulebook says “in your first game, you should give up halfway and start over,” but we powered through (ha ha) until the game room closed around us, just a few turns from the end. The new players, myself included, were mystified that the connections in the western US were simply more expensive than in the east, with no apparent benefit, but our one expert said “that’s just how it is,” and so that’s just how it was. I think we also got some other rules wrong, but I can see why it’s a perennial favorite.
Ports of Call
This cruise stopped in three places: Puerto Rico, Tortola, and Half Moon Cay, which is Carnival’s private beach, “The number one private island in the Bahamas.” Three stops seems a little light for a seven-day cruise, but this bunch don’t really mind a few days at sea, and there is a pretty sizable contingent of Joconauts who never leave the ship.
In Puerto Rico, Carol and I walked from the port to the fort, ate mofongo, bought souvenirs, and parked at a cafe where we could soak up some free wifi. I visited the Plaza Felisa Rincón De Gautier, the tiny little park that inspired Hyde Park, in Ten Cards Up.
While we were pulling into Tortola, Carol and I did a little research online, and we found a house. It’s a charming estate high on a hill overlooking Cane Garden Bay, and we live there now. Come visit anytime.
But seriously, in Tortola, we hopped aboard an open-air tour bus and rode around the island, which is our favorite thing to do in a new place. We saw terrifying switchbacks, beautiful views, a rum distillery, a beach, foolish tourists, and ten minutes of tropical rain. And we think we even spotted the house we had been viewing online.
At Half Moon Cay we swam in the ocean and built sand castles with plastic tools. Thankfully, we did not repeat last year’s mistake of spending too long in the sun and becoming angry lobster people.
On the at-sea days, we ate too much, lounged about the deck, and caught up with friends. We only see a lot of these people onboard the cruise. Beside the pool, Nora and I played a few games of Tak while waiting for hamburgers. We also dropped a few coins in the casino, literally (who decided to put a quarter-pushing machine on a boat?) and watched the Joconauts downing Wang-Wangs like Julian Glover with the Holy Grail.
The cruise was pretty great. It lasted forever and yet took no time at all, and I already can’t wait to do it again.
The Plaza Felisa Rincón De Gautier, Old San Juan