⚓Anecdotes from Demoing IADS: The Game at Tabletop Conventions
- iadsthegame
- Jul 8
- 3 min read
The Needs-a-Break-in-the-A/C Non-Boardgamer
🛍️ After a couple of hours pacing the vendor hall and hauling around their loot, con-goers often find themselves seeking refuge in the nearest air-conditioned space — which is exactly how the Tabletop Gaming Room sometimes attracts non-board-gamers.
⏲️ A common exchange I’d have with passersby was:
“That looks complicated.”
To which I’d smile and reply,
“It only takes about 15 minutes to learn — the perfect length for a break!”
And it was! After picking up the basics in their first demo round, many would quickly follow up with:
“Okay, a real round now!”
🔫 By their second game, these fair-weather tabletop fans were already guiding their wooden armament tokens toward enemy units, making their own foley sounds — “pew pew!” or “fweeeeeeeew!” as missiles zipped across the chart.
I always knew they were hooked when they started asking about newer tech like cyber warfare, commented on the empty oceans in our navigational charts, or asked why there weren’t any surface-to-surface missiles (shoutout to Brooke!). That’s when it was time to introduce them to the Advanced Capabilities Expansion.
🚢 One of my favorite “non-board gamers” from Kawaii Kon Honolulu was Gregory. He’d been resting at a nearby table for a while before curiosity got the better of him — he'd overheard us saying terms familiar to him from War Thunder.
As an avid War Thunder player, he picked up gameplay quickly, and within minutes we were already bringing out the submarines and RPAs. Like many PC gamers, his first question was:
“Have you thought about putting this on Steam?”
While we love the idea of digital play for long-distance friends, what makes IADS: The Game so special is its tactile, imaginative nature. Watching teammates lean over the map like a billiards table, lining up the perfect opening to cue their aircraft or vessel cards — that’s the kind of physical interaction we love most.
🎮 Gregory — a self-proclaimed video gamer only — was pleasantly surprised by how addictive the game was. He ended up playing multiple rounds with us across the entire Kawaii Kon weekend. I especially appreciated his sharp observation:
“This isn’t a simulation at all — and that’s what makes it so addictive.”
The game’s quick turnover allows players to experiment with a new combo or strategy and jump right back in the next round.
🏢 Demoing at conventions is the number one way we refine and evolve IADS: The Game into the most effective (and fun) IADS learning tool out there.
After demoing at Your Hobby Place Alexandria recently, the manager there said it best:
“This is a really well-fleshed-out board game. You only get this kind of ease in teaching new players after years of play-testing.”
We couldn’t agree more. We’re super excited to attend even more conventions this year — with two big ones on the horizon:
Your Hobby Place Alexandria’s Summer Bash and Connections Wargaming Conference at Johns Hopkins University in late July!
Now that we live in the DMV area, we're excited to meet local airplane nerds here, too!
You can keep up to date on our upcoming events on our new SITREPs page here!
— Madonna
Awesome game to chill with friends!