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GenCon 2018 Write-up

Aug 11, 2018

GenCon 2018!

 

Tabletop Potluck looks forward to GenCon every year. This convention is an incredible experience and involves so many different ways to enjoy our hobby.

We had our panel, Tabletop Potluck’s School for Kids Who Can’t RP Good, on Friday afternoon and it was a blast! Even with some technical difficulties (nothing some theatre-taught projecting couldn’t fix), we loved every minute of interacting with everyone who came. Thank you so much to everyone there! We hope there will be many more to come (fingers crossed for PodCon 2). Keep up your amazing stories and paint those marbles!

 

Notable New Games:

  • The Witcher RPG: Though this looks a bit number crunchy (we would LOVE to see a simpler quickstart guide for this), the character creation is filled with depth to add to your backstory and relationships.
  • Pathfinder Playtest: We picked up a copy of the playtest for the long awaited 2nd edition of Pathfinder. Stay tuned to see if we try it out for you all to hear! We hope the system streamlines some stuff from the earlier edition. Also, Goblin is a playable race right from the start which is A+! It’s also available in free PDF copies on their site.
  • Just One: A cooperative party game where you all play together to get the best score! Your goal each round is to get one player- the active player- to guess a mystery word based on the clues given by teammates. It’s a fun twist on a classic party game and should hit shelves this November!
  • Transformers Card Game: Marquez has been an on and off Transformers fan his whole life and it seems that Wizards of the Coast has made an awesome card with simpler mechanics than Magic The Gathering while including a bunch of fan-favorite characters.
  • Tall Pines: A narrative card game where you create and solve a mystery in a sleepy mountain town a la Twin Peaks.
  • Infinities: A 4X game. We did a pared down version minus the narrative elements, so we’re curious to go back and explore the story options and see how it works when you’re on teams. Ray had never played a 4X game before and was able to pick up the rules pretty quickly, so this is a great place to start! The Kickstarter launches August 21st!

 

Non-games to look out for:

  • Dungeon in a Box: Owned by our good friend David Crennen from CritJuice and Saving Throw Show, Dungeon in a Box is a growing subscription service that sends you great maps, tokens, and more every month!
  • Dryad Tea: They have some fancy artisanal tea blends. Even just smelling their “Ravens in the Library” blend is a heavenly experience.
  • Crafting and dancing lessons at the con. Step away from the kitchen table and into a hobby that meshes really well with the games you love. Or learn to dance and get that heart rate up while feeling incredibly fancy.

 

Entertainment:

  • Cosplay Parade: A yearly event for those who want to see the cosplay competition without spending hours in the show. It’s a brilliant way to showcase these amazing costumes without filling up your con!
  • Critical Role was all over this con. This included a live show and a few different panels. There were multiple Taldorei campaign games running and the Critical Role booth in the Exhibitor Hall was whimsical and very popular. So if you’re a critter, GenCon is the con for you.
  • Burlesque: a less expected way to experience your hobby. If you haven’t seen An Evening of Nerdlesque Burlesque, put on by The Glitter Guild, this should be on your wishlist next year. It’s a real hoot. A real sexy hoot that’s also hilarious and sometimes terrifying.

 

Favorite purchases:

  • Book of the Righteous by Green Ronin Press: Outside of the podcast, a few of us are in a couple of D&D games and this book gives so much beautiful information and spells/class builds revolving around the ever-present gods of the realms.
  • Board Game Booster Box: A great deal
  • Art prints: GenCon gets some amazing artists who work for games like Magic: The Gathering. Their corner of the exhibit hall is gorgeous. You might even find originals of some of your favorite works!

 

Personal Highlights:

  • Sally: "Artist Alley for sure. So much to see and look for since there isn’t just artists, but books too. I did end up buying a book after I got back home from one of the authors who had a booth there."
  • Charlotte: "A extemporaneous pickup game of DnD run by Max from the Drunk and Ugly podcast. I played a drow paladin who talked like Rita Repulsa. Also an amaaazing Masks game. Shout-out to the GM Morgan! And the Delta Green panel! I could listen to those guys talk for a while. All very funny and smart and deserving of all those dang Ennies."
  • Megan: "I always have a great time chatting with David Crennen and this year was no different. Besides catching up with him and praying for a CritJuice finale, I treated myself to some Wyrmwood products and enjoyed spending the con in cosplay. OH SHIT! ALSO! Adventures in Time and Space Escape Rooms. Dracula was awesome. And we beat it. SO THERE. They always have stuff running in Champaign/Urbana (which is awesome)."
  • Marquez: "Sleepily making our way to the Games on Demand room and signing up randomly for a game I’ve never heard of, Masks of the Mummy King and proceeding to have a blast improving our way through a temple, collecting treasure and figuring out puzzles!"
  • Ray: "Enroute Spa had a massage station. Every con needs a massage station. I also got to meet a couple Internet friends in person for the first time, and met a few new friends of friends whom I hope to see a whole lot more. Also the Delta Green dudes gave some fascinating insights into the world of game design and invigorated me to do more designs of my own. You know what else was invigorating? Getting a massage. I’m still not over it."

 

And that’s a wrap!

TLDR: GenCon is always awesome. If you haven’t gone yet, start planning for next year. The dates are August 1-4, 2019. We’ll see you there!