I've never been to a gaming convention. Ever.
I've definitely never been to the fabled Gen Con, which is once again coming up.
In flipping through my old Dragon Magazines recently, I see all the old ads and lists of Cons. There just never seemed to be any good Cons near me in either New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or Delaware. Or maybe I wasn't looking in the right places. Who knows?
I was always ambivalent about Cons as well, so maybe I just didn't put enough effort into trying to find them and attend. Maybe I was just too introverted back in the day.
Does this reduce my gaming "cred"? Am I really missing out on something good?
Question: What do you think of Cons? Are they something that every gamer should try to attend at some point? Does it depend on the Con?
I love cons for a variety of reasons. I get a chance to meet other gamers, sit in or play in different games that I might not otherwise play, and they're a safe venue for generally geeking out a bit. I think everyone should go to one of the big cons if possible, just to try some new games or game styles you might not get to play regularly. Smaller cons may have some of the same things as the larger ones, but they will often be more familiar and have a smaller fan base and attendance. I've seen some of the local cons here get a little cliqueish, but that tends to depend on the con. YMMV.
ReplyDeleteDude, I LOVE GenCon. It is this singular event that annually rejuvenates my faith and excitement about our shared hobby. I always get caught up in the excitement.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I DON'T do is try to dive headfirst into the weekend, skip sleep, overschedule myself, etc. I generally get a hotel outside of town, eat well, leave the con at a decent hour each evening, etc.
I also go to regional cons up here around Chicago. They're hit or miss, but attending them nonetheless helps hold me over until GenCon.