If an image is really worth a thousand words, here are numerous thousand phrases approximately Gen Con. There had been such a lot of things that I noticed over the weekend, and that I the best recall to take pix of a small portion of them. Right here’s a photo recap of the first day (and a bit) of Gen Con thru my digital camera lens.
We kicked off Gen Con on Wednesday evening (the night before it formally opened) with a sport of Battlestations. However, I’ve visible the sport round had by no means performed, and after the Kickstarter marketing campaign this year, we were all clearly curious to try it. Jeff Siadek installation a game for us and led us through a state of affairs wherein now not best were we combating an adverse alien spaceship. However, some of our own group members were suspect, and we had to root them out. It’s a fascinating recreation, with ships flying around in space, however additionally people running around within the ships. In the history, you could see the long, long line of humans waiting to pick up their badges early.
After dinner, we sat down to play a game of Enormous: The Crystal Caverns—I’ve been bragging approximately this sport for months, and the relaxation of the GeekDads was itching to strive it out. Jim Kelly changed into the Knight, Dave Banks performed as the Goblins, Rob Huddleston was the Dragon, Ian Banks was the Cave, and I played because of the Thief. The Goblins pulled off a win, finishing off the Knight earlier than the Cave became able to disintegrate on us all.
We met up with John Booth and Brian Stillman, who had gone to some other occasion after dinner, and I taught them Valeria: Card Kingdoms in our resort lobby. The restaurant was closed however had lots of open tables wherein human beings had been still gambling video games overdue into the night, so we grabbed a gap and set it up. Anybody loved it—enough so you’ll see it in a pair of greater pictures from later In the weekend.
Thursday morning, we got in line for our press badges, and I bumped into Vic Mitchell, the Gown Corpsman. He did “loose-ish” on-site upkeep for costumes and turned into decked out with thread, sharpies, duct tape (of course), a glue gun, and who knows what else in the pockets and pouches of the one. I like this concept! I saw a couple other human beings all through the weekend with Costume repair signs and symptoms, but I think this was the maximum marvelous outfit. (also: just over Mitchell’s shoulder. Within the pink T-shirt is Patrick Leder, co-clothier of Significant!)
After selecting up our press badges, we were given in line for early entry to the show off the corridor. Most days, the showcase corridor opens at 10am, but when you have an early get entry ticket, you can get in at 9am instead. We walked over to the entrance and accompanied the road of people, which extended alongside the east side of the convention corridor, and down the corridor. Down the hall … it ran the period of the convention hall and down the hallway connecting the ICC to Lucas Oil Stadium, to the factor where we questioned how early we’d absolutely get in. Luckily, though, once the doors opened, they stored the traces shifting quite quickly, and I used to be pleasantly surprised.
My first forestall on Thursday morning became the Calliope games Sales space. Ever because my first PAX (in 2010), wherein Ray Wehrs become the first publisher we met with on a primary day, Dave Banks and I have made it a subculture to go to Calliope first. This year, the various Family A laugh booths were moved to an exclusive phase of the showcase hall, extra the front and center so that mother and father bringing their kids to Gen Con didn’t have to make their manner all the manner to the back nook of the corridor—although the open gaming region becomes nonetheless Within the identical spot.
