Gary Con XV Reflections

I returned from a weekend in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin recently where I attended the gaming convention Gary Con.  This is a convention that was started in honor of D&D creator and developer Gary Gygax.  The convention was started by his son Luke as a way to remember his father.  

It is the most unique convention that I attend as it is a convention that players attend to simply play games.  They don't go hunting for rare or most recent games from the companies that sell them.  Gary Con attendees just...play games!  Yes, there is a pretty cool expo hall that is fun to walk through to purchase game supplies, books, coffee, dice, or other gaming treasures like candles and art.  But, the expo is more of a nice short diversion from gaming.  It's true.  For example, this year the day we arrived I played a Kickstarter card game themed after Call of Cthulu (10:00am).  Then, I moved on to the expo to see some acquaintances and moved over to a Dungeons and Dragons Onslaught demo game (11:00).  I grabbed a bite to eat, then moved to a 5-hour game of Paizo's Star Finder (14:00).  When that wrapped up, I had ten minutes to make it over to another gaming room to play Spell Jammer (19:00).  Everything wrapped up roughly at 23:00.  That is a pretty typical day for most.  It is exhausting but exhilarating all at the same time.   

Both years I have attended Gary Con, I have gone with my friend, colleague, and podcast partner Dan Reem.  While last year we spent a lot of time exploring this convention together to figure out where everyone goes during the day, this year we hardly saw each other during the day.  Also, joining us this

year was our friend and colleague, and member of our staff Dungeons and Dragons games, Marcus Kugler.  We would see each other in passing and even had some pretty hilarious text conversations during the games, but I most looked forward to the end of the day when we got to recap our experiences.  If you are interested in the details of those, you can catch those on our podcast Teachers in the Dungeon.  Our podcast can be found on most podcast catchers such as Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and more.  If you don't care to listen, that is fine, but you will have to take my word for it that the recaps were a blast. 

The celebrity sightings were pretty cool.  Celebrities at a gaming conference?  Yep, if you haven't paid attention, Role Playing Games (RPG's) like Dungeons and Dragons are in vogue in celebrity circles.  Unfortunately, I missed most of them, but my friend Dan sat at a table next to Vince Vaughn who actually turned and made a comment on how Dan's game was Diplomacy, but it didn't seem like things were very diplomatic.  I would expect no less of a funny comment from that guy.  Dan also caught Joe Manganiello judging a cosplay contest with Luke Gygax.  Dan also saw influencer Jay Foster the Viking

Jay Foster the Viking DM

GM who is a professional Dungeon Master, actor, and manager of the Instagram page @swoleinitiative  He even got to snap a photo with him (right).  I think I must be blind; I missed them all even though Dan said I literally brushed elbows with Joe Manganiello in the hall.  I did see the one celebrity I was looking for, however.  I twice saw Dragonlance author Margaret Weis, and I even got to say hi to her.  I will take that any day of the week.  

I think what I will always remember about the 2023 Gary Con experience is the presentation that Dan and I gave.  We applied and were accepted to make a presentation about our RPG Summer Camp.  Our audience was limited with our friend Marcus and friend and host of the Rebel Base Card podcast, Greg McLaughlin in the audience with a few other guests, but the conversation about teaching and working with kids and Dungeons and Dragons was awesome!  We all learned from each other as the questions and conversations were rich.  We made friends, connected to continue the conversation, and walked away knowing more than that which we came.  

While these weren't the only memories in which I brought home, they are some of the most memorable.  I value the vendors I met in the expo hall, the conversations that I had with my friend Greg, the DM's and GM's who led the games I played, the fun of watching my friend Marcus experience his first Gary Con, the Gino's East deep dish pizza, the six inches of snow on Saturday, and more.  Will I return?  Does a Barbarian scream in rage as she slams her battle axe upon an enemy?  You bet!