Kazakhstan Has First Ever Tabletop RPG Convention

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Last week I posted about how we "need" more gaming conventions, today I woke up to talk on social media about the first ever tabletop role-playing convention in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is a former republic of the Soviet Union that declared their independence in 1991. This wasn't a very large convention, but I think that we should consider it to be a big deal.

Eight people showed up to game at this convention, and two games were run at it. There was a Dragon Age RPG session that was run in English and a game of Numenera that was run in Russian. On Twitter, James Harland said "In 50 years we'll be as big as Gen Con!" These photos were reprinted from his Twitter post with permission.

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The world is a much smaller place when bound together by commonalities.

 

[Jesus Diaz]

This is awesome! Looks like a pretty cool crowd. I wonder who they play with, and when they'll start podcasting....

 

[MNblockhead]

No to be a Debbie Downer, but can you really consider 8 people hanging out and playing RPGs a convention? If so, I have gaming conventions at my house every fortnight.

Sure, more of a meetup than a convention, but let's not forget, Gen Con 0 had only 12 people. And that was at Gary's house. At least these folks arranged a proper meeting space.

Next year, GenCon had 96 attendees and it grew from there. That's often how these things go. I group of aficionados and hard-core fans decide to meet up in real-life and then they spread the word among their friends and fan networks leading to a period of fast growth.

Think of this as a meeting of the planning committee and let's hope that next year they'll have 100 people.

 

[harlandski]

I was waiting for someone to photoshop Borat in there

I wondered how long it would be till someone mentioned Borat. Not too popular with most people here, but I say he at least put Kazakhstan on the map!

 

[harlandski]

No to be a Debbie Downer, but can you really consider 8 people hanging out and playing RPGs a convention? If so, I have gaming conventions at my house every fortnight.

I know what you mean, and it is very small beginnings, but it was a convention in the sense that we brought together different communities for the first time: Russian and English-speaking gamers, hardcore rpg players and occasional players / boardgamers, students and working people. Now we're hoping to continue to build on those connections throughout the year, and have a bigger event in 2018.

 

[harlandski]

Sure, more of a meetup than a convention, but let's not forget, Gen Con 0 had only 12 people. And that was at Gary's house. At least these folks arranged a proper meeting space.

Next year, GenCon had 96 attendees and it grew from there. That's often how these things go. I group of aficionados and hard-core fans decide to meet up in real-life and then they spread the word among their friends and fan networks leading to a period of fast growth.

Think of this as a meeting of the planning committee and let's hope that next year they'll have 100 people.

Those are some really cool and encouraging statistics! Maybe we should at least *aim* for 100 people next year...

 

[Jhaelen]

Awesome!

What I find great about it is... they already have a higher level of gender representation at their conventions than we seem to in the U.S.

That was my first thought, as well
Sure, eight people isn't a lot, but you gotta start somewhere! Thanks to the media exposure it's likely they'll grow quickly.

 

[harlandski]

This is so cool. Huge props to the people who set this up. We need more gaming conventions everywhere!

Thank you! Early days, but the enthusiasm we've got from people worldwide is a massive boost!

 

[Caliburn101]

Put it on the map? It's as big as EUROPE!

 

[Nylanfs]

Yes but who cares about Europe. ;P

 

[AriochQ]

It seems like a good chance to go visit Kazakhstan! If there is one thing I learned from playing D&D, always find a local guide. I am willing to bet they would be willing to show you around a bit if you travelled to their convention.