Gen Con has been dubbed “The best four days in gaming,” and every year it seems to reinforce that claim. With nearly every conceivable board game, card game and role-playing game company represented, Gen Con has continually been one of the largest conventions in the United States and shows no signs of slowing down.
While Gen Con is a tabletop gaming centric event, it also has a lot to offer in other arenas. There are event halls to PC and console gaming and, one of my personal favorites, the “BattleTech” gaming pods, which allow you to pilot your favorite mechs from the game as if you are in the cockpit. Gen Con also offers special events, such as concerts, author signings, art shows and the opportunity to listen to developers talk about upcoming games.
Gen Con 2015 day one was a blast. We got here around 7:30 a.m. to pick up our badges and get things rolling. An initial stroll around the amazing Indianapolis Convention Center allowed us to take in some of the fantastic cosplay and mingle with our fellow gamers. We eventually settled in the game library for our first bit of gaming this weekend. We were able to playtest a game that is still in development and tried the game Dead of Winter. Dead of Winter is a great zombie game that allows you to either cooperate for the survival of your group or potentially sabotage your group and escape on your own. I highly recommend it.
As the day progressed, we started our events. After meeting up with another friend, we tried out a superhero RPG called AMP. Fortunately we had a good game master, and the game turned out to be a lot of fun. A little too much of an X-Men ripoff for my taste, but it was still enjoyable.
Gen Con night moves
We finished the night with a couple of really fun events. The first was a Firefly Drinking Songs concert with Mark Gunn in one of the ballrooms at the Westin. Words cannot accurately describe how much fun this was. There are few things more enjoyable than sitting around with your follow Browncoats and singing songs about the ‘verse. The second was a live recording of the d6 Generation podcast. The guys were great and involved a lot of audience participation capped off with a four-way audience game of Family Feud. The best part is that all participants got to walk away with prizes ranging from miniatures to old ’80s board games.
I have thoroughly enjoyed Gen Con thus far, and that was just day one. The rest of the weekend promises plenty more fun and excitement.
