Local Conventions are the Best!

You hear a lot about big conventions like GenCon and while those seem dazzling, and I am certainly planning on going at some point in the future, I can't sing enough praises of local conventions. They are friendly, they are easy to navigate, and they have loads of great games for all levels of gamers.

I went FBC Gamers Tabletop Day at the beginning of July and ran a couple events and participated in an Unmatched tournament. Honestly the games are just half the fun here, it's an opportunity to get to meet other people who share the same interests as you. And once you start going to a few of these events you run into a lot of the same people. Friendships form! Games bring people together!

KantCon is a board game convention held at the end of July in Overland Park, Kansas and it is conveniently located about 15 minutes from my house. I ran four hours of games and had a blast. I taught: Dragon Parks, Canvas, Railroad Ink, Super Mega Lucky Box, and Welcome To. I can't pick a favorite of the bunch, they're all excellent games, but I would say that Welcome To was probably the favorite of the bunch among the people I got to play games with.

I love doing events like this because they are fun, but they also help me test out how games perform for different groups and player counts. Games that utilize simultaneous turns are my favorite for a reason! They also help me streamline how I teach games. I've taught Welcome To about four or five times now and I think I have it down to an art (I have a video on the game I'll be posting to YouTube soon!)

Local game conventions are easy, affordable, and family friendly! Go find one near you and get your game on!