There was a moment during Geekway where I wasn’t playing any games.

I’d sat down next to some friends while they wrapped up a game - I too had just come off playing something. I’d stayed up until 4 AM planting beans by way of dice, and was contemplating getting away from everything to take a nap. Looking around in my exhausted state, I was struck by what an amazing experience a gaming con is. I was surrounded by people who had taken entire days away from the rest of their lives to revel in their chosen hobby.

That nap didn’t happen. All around me people were helping each other, yelling at each other, playing games - how could I do something silly like sleep? Some were playing games that took up less space than my Chinese takeout. Others were setting up stuff that they’d still be playing 6 hours from now. We were all doing different things but we were all doing them together.

Games bring people together but if you haven’t been to a gaming convention you’ve never seen that realized to its full potential. I’ve often joked that strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet, and nothing epitomizes that sentiment like Geekway (and other cons, I’m sure). I couldn’t walk from one end of the main room to the other without someone offering me a seat, and I played everything from Letter Tycoon to Cosmic Encounter with new people by offering the same to them.

Cons bring people together in really cool ways. Charlie and I met at Geekway, and really only get to see each other in person at conventions. There were a number of people there that I get to see once a year, and yet you fall into instant familiarity the minute you start gaming with them. I got to hang out and play with some awesome designers, and got to meet someone in the industry I respect the hell out of but never thought our paths would cross. Waiting in line to register someone recognized the podcast logo on my shirt and said hi, an indescribable moment for me. I introduced my new friends to my old friends and threw dice with all of them.

One of my favorite moments was just before a Cosmic Encounter session with two random people. I leaned over to them, pointed to the guy next to me and said “Hey...that guy designed Dead of Winter.” You’d have thought it was Christmas. Dead of Winter was their most played game last year; they didn’t even know the designer would be at Geekway let along in a game across from them - the assumption that designers are like movie stars hidden away from plain view dispelled in an instant. By happy accident, I spent most of the convention playing with the very people who make the games we love. It’s really cool to see their passion for the hobby unabated by working in it.

Over the course of 4 days I planted beans, killed werewolves, and delivered the news. I grew poppies in Afghanistan, saved baby wombats, delivered guns to raiders, patented letters, and sent my gladiators to die in combat. I smuggled weapons past a sheriff, directed the war effort against the Axis, and saved the president from a bomber. I did all this without leaving a hotel, surrounded by strangers, old friends, and new friends.

Conventions are amazing, board games are awesome, and everyone should do more of both.

Conventions are Awesome

Rafael Cordero

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Calvin's Corner - Scythe

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Episode 20 - Geekway Plays And Animal Facts

Bonus Episode 2 - News At Eleven Playthrough With Jon Gilmour And Charles Wright

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