Cons upon Cons: Gencon
Things are finally dying down enough for me to report back on a few more Cons I went to this summer, starting with GenCon.
This was my first Gencon and it was fairly overwhelming. I had a lot of fun wandering around the exhibit halls and gandering at countless board\card\rpg games.
Though I'd anticipated spending a ton of time actually gaming, the reality of the situation was it's loud as hell there and just about the last place I'd like to play anything. I don't even like to play board games with two tables next to each other, we've actually got STRAC HQ set up so the primary gaming areas are in 3 separate rooms. The idea of trying to get immersed in an RPG with 5000 other people clustered around in a deafening hall, not for me. For me, if I did Gencon again, I'd do it the same way as Essen, where you go with a group of friends, ogle the new games and then go back to a hotel room to play things.
That said, there was plenty of great stuff to do there. I picked up Two Rooms and a Boom which wound up being a huge hit when I played it at the OKcupid offices a month or so later. The guys at the booth were very friendly\informative when I spoke with them and talked about the challenges they'd faced finding plastic cards for their game, where cards were expected to be shoved in a pocket and have things spilled on them. Kingdom Death was available and their booth was mobbed, it was neat to check it something edited by the amazing Margot Atwell. I stopped by and picked up a copy of the Dungeon World rules and am still picking through them. I also saw Luke Crane demoing his Swords and Strongholds which I'd playtested a long time back.
Other fun stuff, had a brunch with Michael J. Sullivan author of the Riyria Chronicles and got some good advice. Went to the Kickstarter party and met among others this year's Twilight Imperium Gencon champion.
You can see Margot's reaction to celery soda here:
We also did a book signing event for Margot's book Derbylife which literally could not have gone better. Everyone was hugely enthusiastic, the reading was moving, and the owner of the venue Vital Skates was incredibly helpful and accommodating. A great experience to be a part of.
I also saw Ant Man in theaters. (My rating, 65%, skip unless free and you're drunk) and then got hammered at Hooters to watch the Rousey fight. Not a bad trip at all.