It should come as no surprise to anyone who's been following my blog for any length of time that I tend to procrastinate. I will let several months lapse between blogs or attend an event and put off writing about it until it's no longer timely. This one is no exception, either. Better late than never, right?
So, I'll fix at least one of these transgressions and write about our time at the Southern Board Game Festival in Lafayette, Louisiana. "SoBo," as it's commonly referred to, is a board game convention that is "the premiere annual fundraiser" for the New Hope Lafayette foundation for under-resourced kids. This year's SoBo was our fourth time attending, and both Cindy and I consider it to be our "home con." I'll elaborate on that a bit later.
As a reminder to my readers, clicking on any link in blue will open in a new window. You won't lose your place here. Clicking on any photo will open a large-format version in a new window as well.
I first heard about SoBo in July of 2019, just a few months after that year's event. I found it after stumbling across an intriguing game called Captains of the Gulf on BGG.com. I don't remember exactly how I came across this game on BGG, but fate decided we should meet. In this game, you play the captain of a fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the "homeports" in the game is Corpus Christi, Texas. That immediately caught my eye, and I knew I just had to have this game. What are the mechanics? How many players? Complicated or easy? I don't care! My hometown is featured in it, and I want it....now!
I searched the BGG forums for this game and found this thread specifically asking about the availability of "CotG." For those who don't want to follow that link, I posted a comment on that thread, and someone named "BJ from Board Game Gumbo" told me about SoBo. Well, since we just missed the previous event, sign me up for next year!
Did you notice that I started that conversation in 2019? We all know what happened later that year, and how COVID shut down everything. It wouldn't be until 2022 that SoBo would get going again.
SoBo: A Brief History
While I could rehash SoBo's history, that guy "BJ from Board Game Gumbo" has already done so, quite eloquently, on his own blog, which you can find here. I encourage you to read it before proceeding with my blog. It will give you a great background on SoBo and set the stage for what's to come. In fact, I encourage you to peruse his blog site for other fantastic blogs on SoBo and board gaming in general. That's not all, though, oh, no! If you're more of a visual person, like me, BJ has a YouTube channel and a Facebook page dedicated to gaming. Look for his "Gumbo Live" on either of these platforms.
During the COVID shutdowns, I interacted with BJ on these platforms and built a strong rapport with him in these virtual settings. I had yet to meet him in person, but I knew it would be just a matter of time before I did.
This year marked the sixth SoBo festival. OK, not bad, we only missed the first two.
2018: SoBo debuts
2019
2022: Our first time attending
2023
2025
2026
As 2020 came to a close, we became hopeful that 2021 would see a return of SoBo and our chance to experience it in person. In either 2020 or, more likely, 2021, we actually bought tickets to attend the 2021 SoBo, which was canceled as well. At the time, SoBo offered to refund the price of our tickets or "hold" them as a credit for when SoBo eventually resumed. Being the optimists we are, we asked them to just keep our funds as credit.
Now what?
We improvise!
Cindy and I decided to hold our own "mini-con," one weekend in September of 2021. We picked several games as our "library," including Captains of the Gulf and the follow-on Crescent City Cargo. I backed Crescent City Cargo on Kickstarter and opted to include a re-print of CotG. We dedicated all of that Saturday to gaming. No chores, no errands, or anything not related to board games.
"Seaux Beaux (West)"
Fast forward to early 2022. SoBo was.....a GO! Yay! Hotel room booked in Lafayette, Higgins booked for boarding at "The Biscuit," and a few of our personal games packed and ready to go. Many years ago, when I worked as an offshore rig medic, we would crew change out of Intracoastal City, LA. From the Houston area, "I took I-10 east and hung a right in Lafayette." Having made that drive several times, I knew we could do it in about 3 1/2 hours. That's actually half an hour shorter than our drive to San Antonio. Go figure.
SoBo was scheduled to run Saturday and Sunday, 3/19 - 3/20. We left mid-morning on Friday and planned to stay until Monday morning to give us as much time as possible to enjoy the experience and avoid driving so early in the morning or late at night. It's not that we can't drive early in the morning or late at night, it's that we choose not to. We'd rather seep in and take a more leisurely pace. Besides, the hotel had a breakfast buffet included in the price.
Right this way...
Let's do this! After receiving our badges, we walked through the doors and into a wonderland of games and fun. After "getting the lay of the land," my next goal was to finally meet, in person, BJ (not to be confused with Hawkeye's friend). Ah, there he is, let's go, Cindy!
BJ Rozas: The man, the myth, the legend!
Throughout the con, we would run into BJ and meet several others who made SoBo such a success. We even got a chance to play a game or two with BJ, despite how busy he was. All of the SoBo staff are volunteers, and devote many hours of their time to ensure a smoothly run operation. After four times at SoBo, I have yet to see any major problems or issues.
Two Newmans (but not related)
We met John Newman, who's the CEO of New Hope Lafayette and overall "showrunner" at SoBo. An avid gamer himself, John spent his time between checking on operations and sitting at a gaming table. I got to play CotG with him later than evening. He clobbered me, if I recall correctly. Just you wait, John, I'll have my victory yet! Maybe. I came close this year, in Food Truck Race. I didn't win, but at least I scored higher than he did. I'll take it!
Main gaming area
This main gaming area, also known as "open gaming," is where most of the action takes place. People would use their badge to check out a game from the library and play it. Have your own game that you'd like to play? Cool, bring it out and see if you can get others to join you. This is the perfect opportunity to play your favorite game at a higher player count. Since Cindy and I usually play by ourselves at home, playing a game with more players changes the experience, sometimes by a lot. This past year, we played Wine Cellar with the maximum number of players: eight. While perfectly fine to play with just two players, up to this point, the most we've ever played with was four, including us. This year we played wth eight and the game's dynamic changed drastically. Whatever strategy I thought I had went right out the window.
While the primary purpose of us attending a board game convention is to play games, most cons, including SoBo, also offer other activities. "Geaux Pub" is a place to playtest games that game designers are hoping to publish. Just think of the rulebooks you've (hopefully) read when unboxing a new game. In the back, there's usually a "Thanks to the following playtesters, who made this game possible," followed by a long list of names. Wouldn't it be cool to see your name on a list like that? At our first SoBo, I actually got to playtest two different games.
Hurricane
I've said over and over that a game with a good theme will always catch my eye. Being raised on the Texas Gulf Coast, we lived with the threat of hurricanes every summer. Particularly bad storms leave lasting impressions not only on the land and buildings, but people, too. When Hurricane Celia struck my hometown in 1970, I was still a young boy, but it left me with profound memories. You can read all about it here. In the playtest area, this game called "Hurricane" naturally caught my eye, and I started talking to Woody Hutsell, Co-founder of HutChu Games. A game about hurricane response management? And much like Captains of the Gulf, the Texas Gulf Coast was part of the play area. Sign me up!
Cindy and I signed up for one of the playtest sessions, and Woody talked us through the game. As we played it, and asked questions, Woody had his wife note all the questions and comments we made. Even at this early stage of development, I told Woody that I'd seen enough and was ready to back his project on whatever crowdfunding platform he used. We talked more about the game after the session ended and promised to stay in touch. Imagine my surprise, then, when a few weeks after the con, I got an email from Woody asking what I thought about two different cards from the game. "I like version A better, because...." About a year later, we met up at BGG Con for another playtest of Hurricane. He had incorporated a few changes that improved the game's flow. As of now (2026), he's still polishing it and making it the best game he can before launching a crowdfunding campaign. I'm looking forward to it!
T-Helper
At last year's SoBo, Woody introduced me to another work in progress, then called T-Helper. It's a card-based game involving cellular immunology, and I loved it! Don't let the title or my description alarm you. You DON'T need a medical or science degree to play or enjoy this game. Boiled down, it's essentially a set-collection game with a strong science theme. See? There's that whole "theme" thing again.
I played an updated and revised edition this year, and it has only gotten better. According to Woody, it's alllllmost ready for release. Just like Hurricane, my finger is poised on the "Back this Now" button.
THE Jay Bell
Jay Bell is a fixture at SoBo and another game designer. We playtested his prototype game LudoCraft, which is a game about... games. Yes, you read that correctly! It's a game about designing, publishing, and selling board games. This was another fun game to play, even at its early design stage.
LudoCraft
This year, we playtested his newest creation, "Decklaration." Jay, if I got the title wrong, please let me know so I can correct it. Jay described this as a "deck crafting" game instead of a deck-building game. It also has a unique negotiation mechanic that promotes high player interaction (and a LOT of laughs). I was so caught up in playing that I forgot to take any photos of this game. Oops!
Some of the more complex games might be a bit intimidating to someone who's used to "lighter" games. At a board game convention, I don't want to spend half an hour or more just reading the rulebook to learn how to set up and play a game. That's where guided playthroughs come in. A guided playthrough is a game that is taught by someone well-versed in it, or, better yet, the actual game designer. This person will already have a game set up, teach it to the participants, and then guide them through the actual gameplay. Remember when I mentioned how I even learned about SoBo? That's right, Captains of the Gulf! I acquired this through a Kickstarter campaign when Crescent City Cargo was launched as part of a set. I signed up for a guided playthrough of Crescent City Cargo hosted by none other than the actual designer of both games: Jason Dinger. How cool is that?
I contacted Jason before the con and asked if he'd consider signing my rulebooks. He was delighted to do so, and I made sure to bring both books with us to the playthrough. Cindy and I had already played "CCC" a few times at home, but I thought this would be a good way to ensure we were playing it correctly. I also wanted to get his insight on why certain actions in the game were designed the way they were.
Crescent City Cargo
I discovered during this playthrough that while I was playing the game correctly according to the rules, I wasn't necessarily playing it efficiently. Jason offered some tips on improving my "engine" on future plays that would boost my score. He explained his reasoning to us from a thematic perspective, which changed how I looked at the game.
The following year, 2023, he brought his prototype of Acadiens, the third game of the trilogy. Much like Woody and Jay, even the prototype of this game is enough to make me want to buy or back it the second it's ready to go.
BJ teaching/guiding Vantage
I've had my eye on the game Vantage since it came out. Unlike most of the other games from Stonemaier Games, this one offers a free-flowing "sandbox" type of game that gives players a huge amount of freedom to do whatever they want. The only reason I haven't obtained this game yet is the price. I'm happy to wait a little longer for the price to come down before buying it. I'm sure it's well worth the current price, given everything I've heard about it thus far, but I also need to be realistic.
At this year's SoBo, I was given the privilege of hosting two guided playthroughs. I had never hosted a playthrough before, so this would be my first. Naturally, I was a bit anxious about doing a good job and knowing the games well enough to not have to constantly look through the rulebooks. The first game, Food Truck Race, was one I backed on Kickstarter and only recently received. Cindy and I got to see a demo version of this game two years ago at BGG Con before it went live on Kickstarter. This game will be the subject of a future blog, so I won't go into too many details here. Given that this has only recently been released, none of the players were familiar with the game. I kept the teach as brief as possible while still covering all the important aspects of the game. I then let them play on their own until specific questions came up. By the end of the game, everyone seemed happy with the playthrough, so I'll count that as a win. The player in the black hoodie, in the background, had an inherent knack for the game and won handily over the other three as if he'd been playing this game for a while.
Ugh, I take terrible selfies! I wanted to capture the moment, though, and the players were happy to oblige. During the playthrough, the owner of Cousin Joe's Cater De Cajun food truck was walking through the venue, letting everyone know lunch was ready. He saw this game and asked if I would take the box outside to his truck after the game for some pictures. Of course I would! Besides, I was hungry and wanted some of his delicious jambalaya he had prepared that day. The following photos are from his camera, and he graciously allowed me to use them here.
After lunch, it was time for my second guided playthrough: Clank! Catacombs with the new Underworld expansion. Like Food Truck Race, I backed the Underworld expansion on Kickstarter. Clank! Catacombs is already hard enough to win, but the Underworld expansion adds a whole new level of danger: "big risks for big rewards." When playing with this expansion, it's not mandatory to visit the Underworld to win. It's there to offer the unwary player a chance for big treasure. Just watch out for all the hazards you'll encounter.
Clank! Catacombs base game
Underworld expansion
Notice how the Underworld is separate from the main dungeon? You access the Underworld through specific tiles that have a ladder or chute to the Underworld.
All four players who signed up for this playthrough were already familiar with Clank! Catacombs, but not the expansion. This allowed for a shorter teach and more time for them to play. Two of the four were obviously well-versed in the Clank! world and routinely played many cards from their deck each turn, allowing for some pretty impressive play. I learned some useful strategies from them to use the next time I play.
After the game, two of the players stayed behind to help me pack up, which was much appreciated. Both said they had fun and were glad to have a chance to play the new expansion.
To the SoBo organizers, THANK YOU for trusting me to host my very first guided playthroughs. I sincerely hope I did a good job and that there were no complaints on your post-con survey. I had fun and will happily do it again should the need arise.
Both Cindy and I have adopted a plan for any game con we attend. We try to balance playing both longer, heavier games with shorter, lightweight games. Game cons are a fantastic way to "test drive" a game before actually buying it. Some games get a lot of hype on game forums or surge in popularity polls. When we sit down to play them, though, the game falls flat for us. And that's perfectly fine. Different strokes for different folks, right?
Conversely, we'll be looking through the con's library and find something that might be interesting to play, or it might not. Reading the box, it looks like a short-playing game, so we'll give it a try. And sometimes be very pleasantly surprised. This year, a few games turned out to be real gems for us.
Sunset Over Water
The artwork in this game blew me away. I was impressed with all the cards, and this lightweight game would be a perfect fit for our library. Average play time per game was just 20 minutes. Perfect for a game night "palate cleanser."
Kites
In contrast to the serene beauty of Sunset Over Water is the frenetically paced game Kites. This is a real-time game like Kitchen Rush, where those sand timers you see are your worst enemy. Kites is a cooperative game, so all players win or lose together. Once those sand timers are flipped, it's controlled chaos at best. This game is the perfect antidote for the post-lunch lethargy. The adrenaline rush from this game will chase away the drowsiness and give that needed energy boost. Once any of those sand timers run out, it's game over. Easy game to learn, difficult game to win.
Geaux Parade
This cute little card game was just begging to be played. Produced by Gentilly Games, Geaux Parade pits each player against each other to see who can organize the best Mardi Gras parade. As soon as I played the first game, I knew I had to have it in our collection. It was that fun. But first, though, I had to wait to see if I had won a copy from SoBo. I mentioned these three games specifically because they were on the "Play to Win" table. Check out the game, play it, and return it. Each person in your group who played the game is eligible to win it as long as their badge is scanned at checkout. At the end of each con day, names from all the play-to-win games would be drawn, and the lucky winner would get a copy of that game. Alas, I didn't win Geaux Parade in the drawing, but I did order it as soon as we got back to the hotel that night.
As a brief aside, I thought Geaux Parade would pair perfectly with two other New Orleans/Mardi Gras-themed games we already have: Big Easy Busking and French Quarter. I see a game night with a Mardi Gras theme in the future. Who's in?
SoBo wouldn't be possible without a cadre of volunteers spending many hours beforehand organizing such an event. Here is a "roll the credits" list of SoBo's organizers. Any omissions are my fault alone.
CEO, New Hope Lafayette: John Newman
Volunteer Director: Mitchell
Head Game Librarian: Marshall
Geaux Pub: Jeremy & Josh
Hot Games: Logan & Jamie
Play to Win (PTW): BJ
Scheduled Games: Connor
Virtual Flea Mkt: Logan
Tech Services: Matt
To ALL the volunteers who make SoBo such a well-run game con, well done! A big round of applause to each and every one of you!
Southern Louisiana's food culture meshes perfectly with SoBo. For our first two trips to SoBo, the venue was the Student Union Building on the University of Louisiana - Lafayette campus. Dining options were either the on-site cafeteria or a service like DoorDash. In 2023, our second SoBo foray, the event was held in October, during Lafayette's annual Festivals Acadiens et Créoles. Even better, this festival was right across the street in a neighboring park from ULL's Student Union Building! That was a fun year! Entrance to the festival is free, and you can come and go at your leisure. Need a break from hours of board gaming? Hungry? No problem! Just head outside, cross the street, and listen to some good Zydeco music as you satisfy your hunger with a catfish po' boy or some red beans and rice or many other options.
Starting last year, and again this year, the venue moved to the downtown convention center. While you could still use DoorDash if you wanted, SoBo had a food truck there each day of the con to satisfy your cravings. Yummy food just outside the door of the con. Oh, yes, yes, yes!
Cindy and I prefer booking a hotel that includes breakfast in the price. We eat a good breakfast before heading to the con and plan on eating lunch (and possibly dinner) on-site to maximize our gaming time. We also bring snacks, but always "game-friendly" snacks that won't leave residue on the game pieces or the board.
Last year, we decided to celebrate Cindy's birthday with BJ and his wife the night before SoBo started. We asked them to pick a casual place that they liked, and BJ suggested Social Southern Table & Bar. We decided to Uber from our hotel to the restaurant and back so we could both enjoy drinks without having to drive afterward.
Cindy, me, Linda and BJ
This was our first time meeting Linda, and what a blast we all had. Conversation flowed back and forth all night so easily that someone listening at a nearby table could easily mistake us for lifelong friends. As if the evening couldn't get any better, the food was incredible. We ordered two appetizers to share.
Pork belly burnt ends
Baked feta
Those pork belly burnt ends were covered with a blueberry BBQ sauce, and had it been offered in an entree size, I would've ordered it that way. Deeee-licious! The feta was good, too, but as a dedicated carnivore, those pork belly bites held me captive.
The entrees were just as good, and by the time I finished mine, I had just enough room for a bite or two of dessert.
Smoke fried chicken and biscuits
With such great food and great conversation, I was surprised when I glanced at my watch and saw it was just past 9 pm. Wow! BJ mentioned that it had been a long day for them, and as much as they wanted to stay and visit, they needed to call it a day. After such a big meal, Cindy and I were ready to go back to the hotel as well. I told Cindy that I'd order our Uber once we paid the bill. "Oh no, you're not," Linda said, "There's no reason why we can't drop you off at your hotel. You're riding with us!"
Yes, ma'am!
As they drove us back to the hotel, BJ suggested a good Italian place for lunch the next day, since we'd have all day to explore Lafayette before the con started. So far, his picks were spot on. Not that we were surprised by that.
The next day, we stopped by Sarrica's Little Italy as BJ suggested and had another meal that far exceeded our expectations.
Nice mural!
"Social" was such a good restaurant that Cindy and I ate there again this year. I don't know why I even bothered to get a menu, since I ordered the same dishes as I did last year. Our server, Kole, was a real rock star and treated us more like the restaurant's owner than just another customer. I asked to speak to the manager in order to brag about Kole's top-notch service.
Trevor, the on-duty manager, dropped by our table, and I told him how appreciative we were of such good service and good food. Knowing how busy a restaurant manager can be, I intended to make it a quick "thank you for everything," but we ended up having a most pleasant, extended conversation. I mentioned that we were here for SoBo and had looked forward to eating at "Social" again since our last visit. Trevor, if you happen to read this blog, please know that y'all are at the top of our list the next time we make it back to Lafayette.
This year, we decided to have breakfast at Parish Biscuit Company, another of BJ's stellar recommendations. As a bonus, we got to meet our friend Caroline and get caught up on the last few years. Thank you, Caroline, for joining us. It made our day.
Biscuit Two Step
As much as I love biscuits and gravy, it's not the most healthy choice for breakfast. That's why I limit myself to this scrumptious dish to once every few months. The "Two Step" is two fluffy biscuits with two different gravies: sausage gravy and smoked sausage/Tasso gravy. Like everything else we've had so far, this simple dish packed a LOT of flavor. This is another place that will get top priority when choosing where to eat the next time we're in Lafayette.
I'll close this blog with one final picture that I think epitomizes SoBo. This is why Cindy and I consider it to be our "home con." We attended our first SoBo in 2022 as strangers and left that same con as family. To me, SoBo is more of a family reunion than a board game convention.
That's a wrap for 2026
Coming up next, I'll resume my series on our trip to Madeira and write about our private jeep tour of the island's west side.
Until next time....
carpe cerevisi
