Convention Conundrum – Gen Con 2024

So it looks like I’m going to do a day trip to Gen Con on Friday this year. I’m anxious and excited and scared and hopeful and worried and… You get the idea. So I’m gonna write out what I’m looking forward to and what I’m concerned about and maybe that’ll help. A list of the good and the bad. Gen Pros vs. Gen Cons, I suppose.

Let’s start with the good things: the things I’m excited about and the reasons I plan to go.

Games

I know, a real shocker there, but I do love this hobby. Despite my demos and reviews suffering several setbacks (pandemic, having a kid, moving several states away), I still enjoy playing board games. I don’t have a regular group but I’m working on building one at the new FLGS, Titan Games. They do regular open gaming weekly and I’ve been going to a number of nights. I’ve gotten to play with some folks, teach some great games, and enjoy myself. Sam and I also play games with my sister-in-law and her husband when they visit from the next town. We’re doing a playthrough of Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West and it’s been good fun so far, even if we have a few gripes.

Of the 79 titles I’ve noted in the BGG preview, I have seven as must haves because they’ve caught my attention enough to really try to get them. I’ll be talking with the publishers and asking for a review / demo copy, but if I have to wait for a copy to come into the FLGS to get it, I can be patient.

Captain Flip is a fun little filler game that I’ve played on BGA. It’s quick but thinky enough to not feel like a filler game, but it plays in 20 minutes. It was nominated for the 2024 Spiel des Jahres and I’d love to teach it and play it at the open game nights.

Compile seems like a cyberpunk tug of war card game with a lot of replayability. The twelve protocols in the game offer a lot of option, especially when each player only uses three of them. I love card games that are simple in rules and more complex in game play and this seems like a great fit.

Metrorunner is another cyberpunk style game with worker movement and set collection aspects. I enjoy a good game with a rondel, and this one seems like another winner. I also love that there’s a solo option, like most titles from Thunderworks Games.

Planet Unknown: Supermoon is the only expansion in my must have list. I really enjoy Planet Unknown and we’ve played it a lot over the past few months at home. Adding more ways to play the game as well as a moon to worry about means even more replayability. One I’m excited to see, even if it’s not available for purchase just yet.

Rebel Princess is a game I almost ordered from Germany, but I saw that Bezier was going to release it in the US with addtional components and some balance tweaks. I love trick taking games and the theme is very cute. With the player powers, this also seems like a game I’ll really enjoy.

Stonespine Architects, another game from Thunderworks Games, is a card drafting game about building a labyrinth. The balance of theme and gameplay for this one seems very well done and again, a solo mode makes me want to try it even more. Even if it’s not new at Gen Con, I’m still excited.

The Vale of Eternity isn’t a Gen Con release either, but there’s something that really caught me about this game. The drafting and set collection make it approachable, the monster hunting theme is fun and interesting, and the thirty to forty-five minute play time makes it perfect for game nights.

Now, there are way more games than I’ll possibly be able to see in just one day. But if you know of something from the BGG Preview that you think I’ve missed or there’s a game you’d like to see me review or demo, please let me know.

People

Aside from my day trip to Origins in 2022, I haven’t seen a lot of my industry friends since 2019 and a lot has changed since then. I miss a lot of them and even if we haven’t talked much since then, I look forward to giving lots of quick hugs and fist bumps to folks I haven’t gotten to see in years. I look forward to discussing the new games, hearing the excitement and passion their voices, and making plans to do events and reviews of titles.

When Gen Con 2022 happened, I felt really down about missing it, but I didn’t feel safe enough to consider going. I saw a lot of maskless selfies shared, and I removed a lot of folks from social media. Between the grief of missing out, my depression and anxiety, and seeing friends posting (often maskless) selfies, I felt really down. I’m hoping getting to see some old friends will help boost my spirits and rekindle relationships I have with them.

Passion

I still love playing and talking about board games. Helping people find games they’ll enjoy is something that makes me feel fulfilled, and there was a good chunk of time where I didn’t really get to do anything with gaming. Life happens, priorities change. Now that things are a little more stable, I have more availability to enjoy the hobby. I think seeing the friends I’ve missed and experiencing a convention will help inspire me to do more events at my FLGS.

And now for the concerns.

Covid

Covid is still real, it’s killed a lot of people. I’m scared of bringing it home to Sam or my daughter. I’m scared of getting sick myself, of course, but I know that my loved ones are at a higher risk than I am. I will be masked the entire convention, even if it’ll be stupidly hot, but that’s worth it. It’s not a perfect defense, but it in addition to the vaccines and sanitizer I’ll be using a ton of, I hope to come home unscathed.

Rejection

Not to turn this into a trauma dump, but I experience something called RSD – Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. In short, this means that if someone doesn’t respond to a message or seem excited to see me, my brain interprets that as them disliking me. I know this is not true, as I have lots of friends who’ve been busy themselves, but I also know my brain is telling me a number of not great things. I know I’ve been much slower to make posts and do content than most other reviewers. I still do written format instead of videos. I am not always talking about the brand new game that just came out just to dump it a week later to talk about the next shiny. I enjoy playing games with people, frequently multiple times. Port Royal, a game from a decade ago, has been something I’ve really enjoyed playing lately and introducing it to new folks has been a blast. I still enjoy seeing the new games, but I’m never going to be as fast to publish content as people who do this full time. This is an aspect of my hobby, something I do for the love of the game. But that also means I’m not as well known as people who’ve come up in the last year or two. I hope that publishers see worth in the content I make and the events that I run, but only time will tell. Until then, my brain will continue to make snide comments and I’ll do my best to ignore them.

Wrap Up

So… yeah. This post is likely a little more stream of consciousness than most of my others, but I think it’s appropriate.

I’d love to talk about the convention, games you’re wanting to play (even if they aren’t brand new), games you’re enjoying, or anything else to do with gaming. I’d love to set up events in the Champaign, Illinois area if you’re local, or online if you’re not. Please let me know if any games are ones you’d like to learn, cause I’d love to teach them.

I think I’ll be ready in a week to make the drive to Indianapolis. I’m gonna be nervous, but I hope it’ll be worth it.