I picked up a copy of the new trick-taker Movie Tricks during my visit to SPIEL Essen 2025. It has a box cover that made at least one person in my circles wonder if the cover was generated by AI…not because of the illustrations by credited artist Eirik Belaska, but because the title, characters, explosion and car bursting out of the middle of the cover image feel so generic.

This is also to say: expectations were low for Movie Tricks. My 12-year-old thought that the game’s title was terrible, even if we all agreed that the title was pretty accurate: Movie Tricks is a trick-taking game where players take turns playing cards to the table, with each trick’s winner getting first pick of market cards that get added to their personal movie tableau.

The trick-taking is standard fare—Movie Tricks is a “must follow” game with a trump suit that may or may not change after each trick. Over the course of 10-13 tricks, players will build up their tableau to score points using a set collection mechanic (Props), a majority mechanic (Soundtracks), a simple scoring multiplier (CGI), and a slightly different set collection scoring tool with a balance component (Roles). In addition, players score based on their “Best Movie”—aligned with the highest scoring row of cards across…

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For the past several years, the last weekend of March meant one thing: I was in Anaheim for WonderCon. San Diego Comic-Con’s slightly smaller, slightly more relaxed sibling. The routine was comfortable. Fly in, badge around my neck, wander the floor, admire the cosplay, sit in on a panel or two, and eat something from a food truck that probably violated at least three municipal codes.

This year I broke the pattern. Instead of Anaheim, I booked a week in Milwaukee for AdeptiCon,  the annual gathering of the tabletop miniatures faithful, recently relocated from Chicago to the Baird Center. About 12,000 attendees. Wall-to-wall wargames. And me, showing up without a painted army to my name.

That last part turned out to matter more than I expected.

A Convention That Knows Exactly What It Is

AdeptiCon is not trying to be everything, and it makes no apologies for that. It is a miniatures wargaming convention, full stop. If you love tabletop miniatures, building them, painting them, deploying them in anger across a felt-covered battlefield, this is your Super Bowl. If you don’t, you may find yourself wondering where the panels, cosplay contests, and celebrity signings wandered off to.

The big systems dominate the floor: Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, Star Wars: Shatterpoint,…

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