2025 marks NAIC’s second year in New Orleans. I was excited to visit the city again, but did it live up to my expectations?
Thursday
This year, I decided (based on cost and timetables) to fly
out of O’Hare instead of Madison. O’Hare doesn’t really have that many direct
flights to New Orleans, but I picked a 10 AM departure on American. Unlike last
year, my departure left on time and I arrived as expected in the Big Easy. I
decided to get to my hotel using the express bus line to downtown, which unfortunately
still required me to walk nearly a mile with my luggage. At least I got some exercise
that way.
This first day of the event started with a stop at the Pokémon
Center. As Psyduck is one of (if not my very) favorite Pokémon, I had to
restrain myself from spending too much on merchandise. I ended up picking up a
playmat (partially to replace my Psyduck/Slowpoke mat I have yet to locate
post-pandemic), a Psyduck light, a pair of socks, and a few other items.
Upon reaching the side event area, I was disappointed (and a
bit confused) to find out that they had substituted a six-pack sealed Ditto
format due to a lack of Build-and-Battle boxes. I was especially disappointed
when I realized the screen I had seen on RK9 on my phone was actually a payment
screen rather than a confirmation. That said, I still had plenty of fun in a
series of TCG raids and a Puzzle League competition.
Saturday
Having made sure to register properly the day before, I was
able to participate in both a sealed Ditto event and a TCG pocket event. Decked
out in my Ringo Starr trainer costume (with the socks I had purchased at the Pokémon
Center, no less), I managed to go 2-1 with a deck containing appropriately
quirky Pokémon like Ampharos and Sudowoodo. I was less successful at the TCG Pocket
event at 1-2, but at least my win came from over an actual opponent instead of
a bye like in Milwaukee.
Sunday
After suiting up in my Michael Hutchence outfit, I decided I
had enough energy to do another TCG raid, so I made that my last side event and
cashed out my tickets on an incubator backpack and a Luxray deck box. I also
took some time to wrap up some tasks from the Go scavenger hunt, earning myself
a Suicune pin and a few other trinkets.
The last major stop I wanted to make was at the Play Lab, which
now offers introductions to the TCG, Video Game, and Unite (possibly also Go).
Having not played Unite since its release, I decided to give it another chance.
Unfortunately, the experience largely reminded me why I wasn’t a fan of the
game. Admittedly, our team was beaten very badly, but overall, it just felt
like I wasn’t really accomplishing much there, nor did I have much a feel of
being part of a group. At least I have more to talk about when we get to
discussing this game on the podcast.
Monday
The only major event of my return trip was the 1.5-hour delay in my flight back
to Chicago. After that, it was a typical bus ride back to Madison, dinner, and
sleep.
-There were Switch 2 kiosk set up demoing the updated
Scarlet/Violet game. I already had my own system, but gave it a bit of a try to
get a feel for the new Pro Controller, which seemed fine.
-I was a bit disappointed at the lack of an anime viewing room
at this year’s event.
Overall
I had a great time at NAIC as usual. While they can always
use more staff, it did seem to be better than Milwaukee Regionals last month. I
do look forward to Worlds in August and (presumably) returning here next year.
