It’s that time of the year. Countdown to Gen Con, Dragoncon right around the corner, and a bunch of other conventions throughout the U.S. (and the world) to let you indulge in gaming goodness. I know what I’d love to do, and I know what I can do. What about you?
This year, I only have the time and money for one convention – 3con ( www.3congames.com ). Why 3con instead of Gen Con or Dragoncon? My wife’s coworkers are having a convention-within-a-convention during 3con, called ORCcon. My wife wants to go, many of her current coworkers are my former coworkers from my WizO days, so we’re going to see people face-to-face we’ve only known online and reminisce about “the good old days.”
3con looks to be really small, but I’m looking forward to breaking out of my comfort zone. When I attended Gen Con, either myself and/or my wife worked for Wizards of the Coast, and we participated in WotC-related events, mostly geared toward employees. I had a great time, but I didn’t have the “con experience” as a simple gamer. What free time I did have I spent in writing seminars, as I wrote for both Dragon magazine and www.planewalker.com at the time.
This time, I’m a civilian and I want to game! I’m actually quite shy in person, so I think 3con is a great opportunity for me to take this next step. Gen Con is HUGE and I’d be too intimidated to play a game I don’t know in front of thousands of strangers – it was bad enough meeting my fellow WizOs in person! I think small cons are a good way to build up to a huge venue like Gen Con or Dragoncon. Or at least I hope so.
Here are some of the things I’m hoping to do at 3con.
Library of Board Games: Watching vidcasts like Dice Tower and Table Top, I’ve seen a lot of new (and old) board games played I’d like to try. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money, and many of the games aren’t available in my locale. I plan to take advantage of this game library and try out some of the ones that have peaked my interest. 3con doesn’t have a list of what’s available, but I hope that Forbidden Island, Pandemic, and King of Tokyo are there, to name a few.
Paint and Take, Sponsored by Reaper Miniatures: I’m a big fan of pre-painted plastic miniatures, and due to budgetary restraints I use a lot of tokens, but I’ve always admired a skillfully painted metal miniature. An event like this lets me try my hand at painting without the initial output of paint, brushes, and miniatures. I don’t expect to turn out a masterpiece, but if I enjoy it, I’ll know investing in my own supplies won’t be a waste of time and money.
Alice: Adventures in Wonderland – Play with the Designer: Love the books, love the movies, and love the setting and characters. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland looks good, so how can a Wonderland board game be bad? I plan to check it out.
Admiral of the Black – Play with the Designer: Created by the same designer as Alice: Adventures in Wonderland, how can you go wrong with pirates? It’s described as a combination board game and deck building game…we’ll see how it plays.
Star Wars Edge of Empire – Escape from Mos Shuuta: Now you’re talking! I talked about how I really wanted this game in an earlier column, so I definitely want to try it out before I order it online (or buy it at the convention, if I can’t live without it once I play it). If I can talk the wife in trying it out as well, I can gauge her reaction and use it to judge the rest of our gaming group…no matter how much I love it, it’s worthless if no one will play it with me.
Dan the Bard Concert: You can’t properly enjoy a con without a good filking. I’ve never heard of Dan, but I like his costume and his lute, and the two songs mentioned have me intrigued…
The rest of the time will be spent taking in the sights of beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana (I was born in Wabash, but haven’t been back in years) and spending time with the other ORCs. I also look forward to checking out the Exhibitors’ Hall, as there are no gaming shops where I live, so I don’t have the opportunity to wallow in new dice, dice bags, and other game-related accessories on a regular basis.
In the future I hope to make the trip back to Gen Con. I’d like to go when D&D Next is released, as the launch of 3E was a party not soon forgotten. Wizards of the Coast doesn’t look like it’s going to have much of a presence this year, so I don’t think I’m in any danger of missing anything on that front.
I also want to attend the Ennies. Every other time, the Ennies have conflicted with a WotC event (either public or private), but I want to make the awards show a priority. Until then I have to enjoy the vidcast whenever it’s available.
After watching Wil Wheaton play Star Trek Catan on Table Top, I wish I could attend Gen Con just to play the mammoth Star Trek Catan board game. It looks like all the oversized Catan games are sold out, so I definitely have to book a spot when I go. If the game is still available. I hope it is.
I loved the Firefly television show and the movie Serenity, and I always wanted to try the game by Margaret Weis Productions. Unfortunately, the game isn’t sold anywhere near me, and my gaming group was leery of a new game system. If I could try it firsthand, I could present a more convincing argument for the investment. Plus, there’s a new version of the game coming out, with a first look at this year’s Gen Con. Hopefully if I go next year, there will be games available to join, and the new version available to buy.
Numenera is brand new, and most of Gen Con’s events are sold out this year. Given the rave reviews I’ve seen, I’m sure there will be even more events next year, and I am bound and determined to play. I hate to wait that long to try it out (and I probably won’t, given that I love all things Monte Cook), but since I intend to game the next time I go to Gen Con, that’s a game I want to play.
Are you going to any conventions, big or small? What are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below, and provide links to websites if available. The more smaller cons I can find and try, the more comfortable I’ll be with Gen Con in the future!
This year, I only have the time and money for one convention – 3con ( www.3congames.com ). Why 3con instead of Gen Con or Dragoncon? My wife’s coworkers are having a convention-within-a-convention during 3con, called ORCcon. My wife wants to go, many of her current coworkers are my former coworkers from my WizO days, so we’re going to see people face-to-face we’ve only known online and reminisce about “the good old days.”
3con looks to be really small, but I’m looking forward to breaking out of my comfort zone. When I attended Gen Con, either myself and/or my wife worked for Wizards of the Coast, and we participated in WotC-related events, mostly geared toward employees. I had a great time, but I didn’t have the “con experience” as a simple gamer. What free time I did have I spent in writing seminars, as I wrote for both Dragon magazine and www.planewalker.com at the time.
This time, I’m a civilian and I want to game! I’m actually quite shy in person, so I think 3con is a great opportunity for me to take this next step. Gen Con is HUGE and I’d be too intimidated to play a game I don’t know in front of thousands of strangers – it was bad enough meeting my fellow WizOs in person! I think small cons are a good way to build up to a huge venue like Gen Con or Dragoncon. Or at least I hope so.
Here are some of the things I’m hoping to do at 3con.
Library of Board Games: Watching vidcasts like Dice Tower and Table Top, I’ve seen a lot of new (and old) board games played I’d like to try. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of money, and many of the games aren’t available in my locale. I plan to take advantage of this game library and try out some of the ones that have peaked my interest. 3con doesn’t have a list of what’s available, but I hope that Forbidden Island, Pandemic, and King of Tokyo are there, to name a few.
Paint and Take, Sponsored by Reaper Miniatures: I’m a big fan of pre-painted plastic miniatures, and due to budgetary restraints I use a lot of tokens, but I’ve always admired a skillfully painted metal miniature. An event like this lets me try my hand at painting without the initial output of paint, brushes, and miniatures. I don’t expect to turn out a masterpiece, but if I enjoy it, I’ll know investing in my own supplies won’t be a waste of time and money.
Alice: Adventures in Wonderland – Play with the Designer: Love the books, love the movies, and love the setting and characters. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland looks good, so how can a Wonderland board game be bad? I plan to check it out.
Admiral of the Black – Play with the Designer: Created by the same designer as Alice: Adventures in Wonderland, how can you go wrong with pirates? It’s described as a combination board game and deck building game…we’ll see how it plays.
Star Wars Edge of Empire – Escape from Mos Shuuta: Now you’re talking! I talked about how I really wanted this game in an earlier column, so I definitely want to try it out before I order it online (or buy it at the convention, if I can’t live without it once I play it). If I can talk the wife in trying it out as well, I can gauge her reaction and use it to judge the rest of our gaming group…no matter how much I love it, it’s worthless if no one will play it with me.
Dan the Bard Concert: You can’t properly enjoy a con without a good filking. I’ve never heard of Dan, but I like his costume and his lute, and the two songs mentioned have me intrigued…
The rest of the time will be spent taking in the sights of beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana (I was born in Wabash, but haven’t been back in years) and spending time with the other ORCs. I also look forward to checking out the Exhibitors’ Hall, as there are no gaming shops where I live, so I don’t have the opportunity to wallow in new dice, dice bags, and other game-related accessories on a regular basis.
In the future I hope to make the trip back to Gen Con. I’d like to go when D&D Next is released, as the launch of 3E was a party not soon forgotten. Wizards of the Coast doesn’t look like it’s going to have much of a presence this year, so I don’t think I’m in any danger of missing anything on that front.
I also want to attend the Ennies. Every other time, the Ennies have conflicted with a WotC event (either public or private), but I want to make the awards show a priority. Until then I have to enjoy the vidcast whenever it’s available.
After watching Wil Wheaton play Star Trek Catan on Table Top, I wish I could attend Gen Con just to play the mammoth Star Trek Catan board game. It looks like all the oversized Catan games are sold out, so I definitely have to book a spot when I go. If the game is still available. I hope it is.
I loved the Firefly television show and the movie Serenity, and I always wanted to try the game by Margaret Weis Productions. Unfortunately, the game isn’t sold anywhere near me, and my gaming group was leery of a new game system. If I could try it firsthand, I could present a more convincing argument for the investment. Plus, there’s a new version of the game coming out, with a first look at this year’s Gen Con. Hopefully if I go next year, there will be games available to join, and the new version available to buy.
Numenera is brand new, and most of Gen Con’s events are sold out this year. Given the rave reviews I’ve seen, I’m sure there will be even more events next year, and I am bound and determined to play. I hate to wait that long to try it out (and I probably won’t, given that I love all things Monte Cook), but since I intend to game the next time I go to Gen Con, that’s a game I want to play.
Are you going to any conventions, big or small? What are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below, and provide links to websites if available. The more smaller cons I can find and try, the more comfortable I’ll be with Gen Con in the future!
