Lucca Comics & Games 2018: Flamme Rouge and Cosplay

Yes, that's right — Lucca Comics & Games 2018! The 2020 event was originally scheduled to take place Oct. 28 through Nov. 1, but since I'm missing out, I thought I'd share yet another post that I thought I had published at the time of writing, but which — surprise, surprise — was still in my draft queue with all of these fabulous images unshared.

Cosplay fans take note! You will find hundreds of wildly enthusiastic participants at Lucca Comics & Games, so think about attending the fair once you're able to do so. Anyway, here's my post from roughly two years ago...

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When a game wins a national award, its publisher tends to play up that fact at conventions, so it was no surprise to find a booth dedicated to Flamme Rouge at the 2018 Lucca Comics & Games fair that took place Oct. 31 to Nov. 4.

This bicycle-racing game from Asger Harding Granerud, original publisher Lautapelit.fi, and Italian publishing partner Playagame Edizioni had won the 2018 Gioco dell'Anno in mid-October 2018, beating out Azul, Dragon Castle, Kanagawa, and When I Dream for this Italian game of the year award.

Both Flamme Rouge and Kanagawa debuted in 2016, but they're relatively new on the Italian market, so they get to compete against more recent titles. I love the diversity of competitions created by such localized releases, with the best-known example possibly being Qwirkle winning the 2011 Spiel des Jahres despite it having debuted in the U.S. in 2006.

We'll wrap with another round-up of cosplay from Lucca 2018. I had mentioned in my first report that The Exorcist get-up was likely the most audacious costume at the show, but it was given a run for its money by this Iron Man outfit:

I'm not sure whether this costume was homemade, custom-built for another event, or what, but it was an amazing replica of what you'd expect to see for a movie promotion gig. The eyes lit up, the chest lit up, the face mask popped up on its own, vents opened up on the shoulders and back to reveal more gearing, the wearer had a full goatee, etc. It was magnificent!

This Mario Kart group would through the crowds at various times, each person beeping their horn to clear a serpentine path for their vehicles.

Modern-day pirates synchronize their plundering schedules before hitting the water.

Not sure who this guy is — or the person in the costume either.

Random anime characters posing with my son.

Folks in cosplay line up on the old fortress walls that form the perimeter around Lucca's town center, ready to pose with whoever wants to.

My wife seems smitten by an Italian assassin...

...and I returned the favor by falling for a droog, but night was falling, so alas, the image is tinted by streetlights and you can't make out her spot-on eye make-up.