I
think the easiest way to describe Gen Con is to list the things people do there.
I’ll start with the obvious, in case you have no idea what Gen Con is about,
and move into some things even veterans might not have experienced yet. If you
go to Gen Con, you can use this list as a sort of scavenger hunt. Check off
everything and we’ll say you won Gen Con.
1. Play a Board Game or Card Game.
These are the backbone, the heart and soul of Gen Con. Yes,
there are plenty of miniature gamers, role players and cosplayers around, but
it’s the board and card games that light up the exhibit hall and drive the
economic engine that keeps this convention going. These are the games
responsible for the crazy lines that wind around the exhibit hall on the first
day. These are the games that sell out and draw gawkers at the playing tables
the rest of the week. It’s easy to find a board game to play – check one out in
the game library room and play it with your friends. If you didn’t bring
friends with you, you can get into a demo game at a vendor’s booth in the
exhibit hall, or sign up for one of thousands of official board game events. If
you play Magic, you’ll have no problem settling into the huge card game hall.
2. Play a Roleplaying Game
Gary Gygax, the guy who started Gen Con,is the same guy who
created Dungeons and Dragons. Throughout the early years, especially in the
80s, it was D&D that drew people to the convention. The big event of my
first Gen Con in 1979 was the release of the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
Dungeon Master’s Guide. If you’ve never played a roleplaying game (RPG) before,
Gen Con may be a good place to try. The organized events are friendly to beginners,
and most roleplaying games are cooperative, so you’ll get plenty of help from
other players. Dungeons and Dragons is still around, though it’s going through
a rough patch. Maybe you could try Pathfinder, its apparent successor, or
something brand new like Numenera, a fantastic, far-future game by Monte Cook, one
of the designers that led the renaissance of D&D and other roleplaying
games back in the 90s. He’s the closest thing roleplaying has to a living rock
star.
3. Check out some Miniature Games
Gen Con started with miniatures. Fifty years ago, Gary Gygax
and his friends in Lake Geneva Wisconsin (Geneva Convention = Gen Con. Get it?)
held a small convention for some friends that played games, especially the miniature
combat games that eventually led to D&D. They moved beautifully painted
miniatures around impressively detailed maps with sculpted terrain, and they rolled dice to see who
killed whom. Today there are still hundred of miniature gamers at Gen Con, in
the miniature gaming hall. They move beautifully painted miniatures around
impressively detailed maps with sculpted terrain, and they roll dice to see who kills
whom. This can be an expensive and time-consuming hobby to get into. The
unspoken secret is that it’s mainly about painting the miniatures and then just
playing the game so you have an excuse to show them off. At Gen Con you can wander
around and look at these impressive displays without opening your wallet or
lifting a brush.
4. True Dungeon
This event has been the gem of Gen Con for the past decade.
Basically, they take a large ballroom at one of the convention center hotels
and build a legitimately scary, well thought out dungeon. The rules of the game
are fairly simple, but the decorations, costumes, makeup and actors are
professional. Think of it as a high quality haunted house, but you go in with
torches and weapons and potions and everything you need to slay the monsters
that pop out and solve the ingenious puzzles that get you to the next room. If
you want to do this event, make sure you know when online event registration
opens (usually in January). All of the True Dungeon slots fill up within about
twenty minutes.
5. Buy Things
This is the most obvious one. The Exhibit hall is filled
with colorful booths of hundreds of vendors, and is just a bit short of the size
of three football fields. Wander it like a miner in Dwarf Fortress, or hit each
isle systematically. On Thursday morning, the first day the exhibit hall is
open, thousands of people jam into the hallway outside and wait for the doors
to open so they can get the big new games before they sell out. Things calm
down a little by Thursday afternoon, but the crowds are still amazing. There
are all the new games, of course, but what about out of print games? Check. How
about innovative stuff from the independent press? Check. Armor and weapons?
Check. Special tables made just for gamers? Check. Weird dice of all colors and
shapes? Double check. As noted earlier, the exhibit hall is also a great place
to try out new games and get to know other gamers.
6. Seminars
Gen Con is not just about playing games. One of my favorite
things to do is take a short break from gaming to sit back and listen to
someone tell me something interesting. There are seminars on hundreds of topics
- writing (both fiction and for games), upcoming game releases, game design,
and tips on how to keep your RPG players happy. Don’t dismiss these as a waste
of gaming time – they’re a great way to keep you excited beyond the con and let
you meet the minor celebrities of the industry. The writing seminars may be led
by your favorite series authors, or bestsellers like Pat Rothfuss,
who’s a long-time attendee.
who’s a long-time attendee.
7. Meet the Designers
Whether you find them at their booth in the exhibit hall, at
a seminar, or while you’re helping them playtest their new game, make sure you
find the designers of your favorite games or RPG adventures and tell them how
you feel. Don’t be a stalker about it, but I’ve never met a designer who didn’t
appreciate me telling them, in a couple short sentences, that I love their game
and why. A special note here when talking to roleplaying game designers – don’t
tell them how amazing your character is.
8. Check Out some Celebrities
Granted, this isn’t ComicCon. Your not going to get the
entire cast of Game of Thrones or the next superhero movie, but you’re also not
going to have to wait in long lines. Just wander to the signing area in the
back of the exhibit hall while you’re hitting the booths and sneak a peak at
people like Peter Davidson, the fifth Doctor, or Neil Grayston, the guy who
plays Fargo in Eureka. You can look for free, but if you want to get an
autograph and take a picture, it’ll cost you $25. The atmosphere is low-key,
the celebrities are very friendly, and you’ll get some time to talk with them.
9. Become a Patron of an Author or Artist
Toward the back of the exhibit hall there are two areas
called Artists’ Alley and Authors’ Alley. These are rows of small display
tables made affordable for artists and authors to sell their own work directly
to you. Some of the work is good, and some is amazing. Find someone you like.
Buy their stuff when you’re at the con and talk them up to your friends when
you get home. If you stop and talk to them about their work, they’ll probably
remember you when you stop by again next year. If they get big and famous and
end up as the feature artist on the next RPG or Magic release or Fantasy Flight
game, you can say you knew them when.
10. LARP
This a stretch for many, and the mark of a serious
roleplayer. LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing. Think of it as one of
those old “Host a Murder Mystery” parties on steroids. Twenty to fifty people
participate, each with an assigned role in a story and probably dressed for the
part. The rules are usually simple, but the interactions are complicated and
very social. You might be the president of Iran trying to negotiate weapons
deals with a Russian ambassador, or a medieval Japanese warlord dealing with an
incursion of Lovecraftian monsters into your lands. If your not comfortable
joining in the fun, at least wander through the elevated walkways to the nearby
hotels in the evenings and see what’s going on. My guess is you’ll know a LARP
when you see it.
11. People Watch
For some, this is THE activity of the Con. Whether you’re
collecting photos of all the amazing costumes for your blog, checking out all
the geek attire on display (how many variations of “Keep Calm and …” T-shirts
are there?), or just challenging yourself to figure out which people are in
Indy for Gen Con and which are there for the Moto Grand Prix, this can be very entertaining.
If the costumes make you smile, check out the costume parade through the
convention center on Saturday.
12. Breathe
Take a breath, feel the atmosphere of the place. Just wander
and realize that you are in the midst of nearly fifty thousand gamers who share
your passions and absolutely LOVE being there. I know, experienced Gen Con
goers are laughing uncomfortably as they imagine the strong whiff of Gen Con
body odor that sometimes assails you. But honestly, this problem has
dramatically decreased in the last few years, and the ventilation in the
convention center is amazing. For me, Gen Con is the closest thing to
reproducing the feel of Christmas morning when I was a kid. Just look at those
faces around you. They’re all smiling, and if they’re not it’s because they’re
running late getting from one event they looked forward to all year to another
event they looked forward to all year. Feel the love, man. These are some of
the nicest people you will ever meet. I’ve been to all the Gen Cons in Indy and
I’ve never seen a police car at the convention center or a security guard
challenging anyone. Nearly fifty thousand people in a crowded space and the
city budgets nothing extra for police, and the vendors in the crowded exhibit
hall aren’t concerned about theft.
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| Waiting for the Exhibit Hall to open on Thursday morning |
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