It's all about the GAME, man!

Hi,

So this weekend was the Fetish Fair Fleamarket, the biggest BDSM-event of the winter here in New England (possibly even the year considering it's bigger than the one in the summer).

So, of course, I went to a gaming convention in New Jersey.

First off, you know how Connecticut has like 5-6 of the Top 10 Places I'd Drop a Rock on From Oribt? Yeah, Jersey is claiming those slots with a vengeance. East Brunswick makes Boston streets look like a model of urban development.

The convention itself (Dreamation) was a middling-sized affair. Probably between 500 - 1000 people (definitely trending to the low end). The focus is largely on board games. The board gaming area was huge and constantly humming with people. They had a pretty serious set of computer and video game tournaments going on and a solid LARP contingent that seemed mostly to happen in another wing of the hotel. The role-playing portion of the convention had a section of RPGA-style games on another floor and the section devoted to open-table RPG gaming was pretty much owned by the indie gaming crowd.

The dealer's hall was really lackluster and the wargaming section was pretty much Battletech and Warzone. The guy in charge of the wargaming section was pleading with me to come down and run some Charlie Company...and to also bring down people to *play* Charlie Company. Pretty disappointing. The other major downers were that I pre-registered for some games but, despite the confirmation email, I wasn't actually registered for any games. There was also no reasonably-priced place to eat, which meant a trip into the Escher-esque hell that is downtown East Brunswick.

Did I have a good time? Yeah, I did. Mostly because I ran into a bunch of people I normally see at GenCon and so we all sat around and talked shop and had fun. I also played in some fun games.

( Let me tell you about my character... )

Beyond the games there were lots of hallway conversations and discussions and just fun hanging out time. It was a really good time, but I do wish that indie gaming was more centered in cons closer to home. Ah well.

later
Tom

It's all about the GAME, man!

Hi,

So this weekend was the Fetish Fair Fleamarket, the biggest BDSM-event of the winter here in New England (possibly even the year considering it's bigger than the one in the summer).

So, of course, I went to a gaming convention in New Jersey.

First off, you know how Connecticut has like 5-6 of the Top 10 Places I'd Drop a Rock on From Oribt? Yeah, Jersey is claiming those slots with a vengeance. East Brunswick makes Boston streets look like a model of urban development.

The convention itself (Dreamation) was a middling-sized affair. Probably between 500 - 1000 people (definitely trending to the low end). The focus is largely on board games. The board gaming area was huge and constantly humming with people. They had a pretty serious set of computer and video game tournaments going on and a solid LARP contingent that seemed mostly to happen in another wing of the hotel. The role-playing portion of the convention had a section of RPGA-style games on another floor and the section devoted to open-table RPG gaming was pretty much owned by the indie gaming crowd.

The dealer's hall was really lackluster and the wargaming section was pretty much Battletech and Warzone. The guy in charge of the wargaming section was pleading with me to come down and run some Charlie Company...and to also bring down people to *play* Charlie Company. Pretty disappointing. The other major downers were that I pre-registered for some games but, despite the confirmation email, I wasn't actually registered for any games. There was also no reasonably-priced place to eat, which meant a trip into the Escher-esque hell that is downtown East Brunswick.

Did I have a good time? Yeah, I did. Mostly because I ran into a bunch of people I normally see at GenCon and so we all sat around and talked shop and had fun. I also played in some fun games.

( Let me tell you about my character... )

Beyond the games there were lots of hallway conversations and discussions and just fun hanging out time. It was a really good time, but I do wish that indie gaming was more centered in cons closer to home. Ah well.

later
Tom