For the people who think Gen Con is too busy or too much, be intentional. Set aside time to rest. Set aside places with fewer people. Set aside funds in advance so you can attend. It’s worthwhile.
My name is Zazu, and some of you may know me from my social channels, Zazu2_games. I’m returning to tell you about my Gen Con experience! This year, I committed to being intentional–before I left for Gen Con, while I was at Gen Con, and after leaving Gen Con. I started planning for Gen Con way in advance. I booked a hotel, invited people to come with me, and set up funds to help others get to Gen Con. When I come home from the con, people are always super curious about what I do for four days. I knew if I planned in advance, I could help others actually get there–this is the biggest convention we have in the US, and attending is an experience in and of itself. I wanted to share that with people, both those close to me and people I only get to interact with online. I was able to help facilitate that this year, and it was awesome–we were able to impact the diversity of Gen Con because the majority of the folks I brought along were African American, like myself.
When I went to Gen Con this year, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the number of familiar faces, greetings, and catching up from last year or the latest events–so much, the people that I brought with me banded together and informed me, “Hey, thank you so much for bringing us and showing us around, but we’re going to go do our own thing. It seems like every five seconds you stop and talk to somebody for five minutes.” I laughed because that is who I am, but I love it, they love it, and we all would meet up for meals and play a game at the end of the night or in the middle of the day.
One thing I did not expect to see was the intentionality of the people who would be there, online friends, vendors, and different people who volunteer with the organization. This year, I didn’t know what to expect logistically due to the downtown construction. There were some things that were blocked off, even though they are usually wide open. Some routes had to be changed creatively so you could flow throughout the entire convention center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and the various hotels. To my surprise, people just went with it. There weren’t many complaints or traffic jams. Everybody went with the flow, adapting to the situation at hand.
At one point, there was a tornado warning. Everything paused as we listened to the announcements. The crowd reacted responsibly and accordingly, evacuating the food truck area and seeking shelter from the outdoor areas. We had some water raining from the ceiling of the exhibit hall, yet everyone walked around it and maintained their sensibility. That takes intentionality. Any one person or everybody could have decided, “Hey, this is terrible, I’m leaving. I’m going to go sit in my hotel room because there’s a possible tornado touching down,” but we just persisted. The publishers didn’t shut down their booths, Gen Con didn’t shut down the convention, and we just kept gaming and hanging.
Lastly, shout-out to Gen Con, as an organization and to its staff, for being a pillar of the gaming community. I was asked to give feedback beforehand, during, and after my experience, and on things I thought the organization could improve upon. I’m glad to give my feedback because I’ve seen things change.
I enjoy Gen Con because not only do they ask and listen, but they also do their best to implement some of the changes I’ve heard suggested and some I’ve suggested myself. Year to year, you see the improvements. Some of them are subtle, some of them are pretty big, but there are also things that people see from year to year that they may have loved but no longer exist. Lots of people enjoyed the balloon art, but some had concerns about latex. And Gen Con said, “Hey, I hear you. Let’s see what we can do.” And there was this awesome photo wall, which I walked by a thousand times and never took a picture (don’t judge me!). The staff decided, “We can do something fun and interactive for everybody.” They did just that, and that is the spirit of Gen Con.
That’s part of why I go and will keep going. PSA for the people who think it’s too busy or too much: Be intentional. Set aside time to rest. Set aside places with fewer people. Set aside funds in advance so you can attend. It’s worthwhile. I’ll leave it at that!
Thank you so much, Gen Con, for another brilliant year of board gaming, and I’ll see you all next year.
Be Chill, Game On, God Bless
For more from Zazu, check her out on TikTok and Instagram.
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