While board games are at the heart of Gen Con, our annual convention offers up so much more for the hungry, nerdy soul. We’ve introduced a new blog series for you, featuring all things beyond games at Gen Con.
Today, this blog post focuses on the incredible friendships and bonds at Gen Con, written from the perspective of one of our fabulous content creators, Zazu from ZazuX2 Games.
Zazu here, reflecting on my sophomore journey to the wonderful world of Gen Con. My freshmen year, I must admit I was super excited but also a bit nervous. Tens of thousands of patrons walking about, all on a mission to play, purchase and preview all things games for one magical weekend.
Year two – I had a plan, an agenda, screenshots on my phone for heaven’s sake. I was what grownups call, “prepared.” Well, I stuck to that plan like soap on a water slide. If it weren’t for formal invitations and ticketed sessions that made their way to my phone calendar, I would have been completely untethered. Set adrift in a beautiful board game galaxy!
So how did I manage to attend all those new game previews, ticketed event sessions, meet and greets, publisher parties, late night rounds of games, exhibition hall demos, and delicious downtown dinners?
It ’twas the power of Friendship! (continuing echoing “friendship” into the abyss). Around every corner, in every session and just standing in line I kept meeting great people. I went with the flow and followed friends to all of the activities. I managed to attend the couple of scheduled events I had but there was never a dull moment. I got to experience the things I love but also friends hobbies like, miniature painting and RPGs. So just how many friends did I see or meet at Gen Con aka Friend Con?… to the stats!
The Stats:
| Interaction | Count |
| IRL reconnections | 25 |
| Online → IRL meetup | 9 |
| Completely New Friend | 21 |
| Hugs Given | *Lost count |
55 friends total! That’s a lot of people to play boardgames with in the future. Also don’t ask how many games I actually managed to play over the course of the weekend, those stats are less than impressive *cough* 5 *cough*. Gen Con isn’t just about the games. Building a community of friends is more important than building a deck, character stat sheet or tableau. I mean you have to play with someone… “Be Chill, Game On”
Diversity of People in Gaming
Sometimes you do the same thing the same way for so long you forget that things could be better. It’s no one’s fault, we just get used to the way things are. I had gotten accustomed to seeing few to no people that look like me. To the point that I subconsciously keep count of other minorities I interact with, passby or notice from a far. With every addition to the count, I’m reminded of the folks who require that comfort and familiarity of people that look like them to come out of their shell and try something new.
I’m delighted to report I personally observed 3x of the number of diverse persons that I’ve seen during any board gaming event I’ve taken part in. Changes like that are not by accident, it takes caring people with intentional goals. That goes for participants and the great folks who run Gen Con.
As I sat in the BIPOC lounge during a mixer a gentleman enthusiastically talking to himself and furiously swiping at an iPad caught my attention. As I approached I realized he had earbuds in and was narrating a vivid scene for a D&D campaign. Intrigued by the story myself, I decided to not interrupt and observe. He noticed me watching and started a conversation. I was hesitant to speak, I didn’t want to ruin the experience for the people on the other end of the iPad running a scenario.
But he proceeded to switch back and forth from D&D to a real life conversation with me. That’s a different kind of “code switching” right there. Took 20 years to find someone that looked like me to play D&D with. Ten years later, I get to watch my brother run a campaign for people of color while participating in a mixer full of like-minded game enthusiasts. In conclusion, change is certain, familiarity is fun and games are the greatest. Thanks, Gen Con.
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