Return to the World of Minecraft

I slid open the cabinet door that our main family room television sits upon and saw our X-box sitting there in the dark. No one has turned that on in recent memory. My daughter and her friends like to hang out in the basement where we also have a sizeable television, so I thought they may like to play the X-box if I put it down there.

I unhooked it from the family room and moved it to the basement without much fanfare. I thought I might like to see if they notice it down there and do some exploring. The X-box is where my daughters and I would huddle around to play Minecraft several years ago. My kids are older now (college and high school), so I didn’t think Minecraft would appeal to them anymore, but we have other games they and their friends might like to play.

A weird thing happened. I got the system all plugged in, connected to wifi, and updated the system and games. Then I stopped to look at that Minecraft login. A bit about Minecraft. My girls and I have created in Minecraft for roughly 10 years. We goofed around with several different worlds and play styles, but we kept going back to a world called “Dad’s World.” I played countless hours with them and by myself building in my Dad’s World. If you start with the character in the original spawn point and walk in any particular path to the end of the road we built, it takes roughly 40 minutes for that to happen. All along that “paved path” you will encounter dungeons, towers, houses, boat rides, and villages that we all built. They even secretly built a mall to surprise me.

Like opening the wardrobe that leads to Narnia, I clicked on the Minecraft login and returned to “Dad’s World” for another visit. Memories, tasks, locations came rushing back to me, and yes, I have returned as the adventurer and builder that I am. In a matter of two hours of exploration and road building I discovered a villager/pirate village, a ruin with a broken portal, and I found a massive underground cavern while mining for resources. The absolute joy, creativity, and excitement returned. My girls and even my wife, will indulge me and look at some of the things that I have built recently. But, my mind came alive, and I have played many hours this summer. There is no Mr. Tumnus or Winter Queen or Aslan, but it is a magical world that I want to keep visiting. 

Gen Con 2026: Photo Journal

Gen Con 2026 was one to remember.  It broke attendance records, brought over 83 million dollars to downtown Indianapolis, and featured a tornado warning about 30 minutes before the vendor hall closed on Saturday.   In reflection of the convention, it is probably my favorite of the five Gen Cons I have attended.  Here are some of my favorite images of my experience: 

Checking out the board at the D&D Tower

Indy Gets Behind Gen Con

Fourth Wing dragon art

Gen Con is always magical

Time for adventure!

Adventure Over!

My favorite new game at Gen Con

No detail missed at the Witchlight Carnival

The Dungeon Masters stage

The destruction of Cardhalla

Farewell Gen Con, until next time!

Gen Con Days 3 and 4 Reflection

The rain fell on the city, but that didn't stop the gamers from descending on downtown Indianapolis for the last two days of Gen Con. It was more than just rain and gamers who descended upon Indy on Saturday, as severe thunderstorms erupted, bringing heavy rain and a tornado warning was issued about 45 minutes before the vendor hall closed. The rain subsided soon after 6:30, leaving cloudy to partly cloudy skies for the remainder of Saturday and Sunday.

Gaming did not stop; shopping continued; seminars and sessions were held; drinks and dinners with friends were enjoyed. Gen Con is always a unique experience filled with fun and games. Here are my top 5 moments of days 3 and 4:

5. Halcyon Daze documentary at the Gen Con Film Fest

I have never attended the Gen Con Film Fest before, but I stumbled across a title that I couldn’t pass up. Halcyon Daze: The Final Voyages of Disney’s Star Wars: Galactic Cruiser. Here is a summary of the documentary from IMdb:

A journey from casual interest to full-on obsession with Disney's short-lived, award-winning interactive attraction. Experience adventure, colorful characters, and the surprisingly profound feelings of its cast and fan community. IMdb Halcyon Daze

Having taken the journey in June of 2023, the second-to-last voyage, this film connected to me in a personal way, with a walk down memory lane, but the film went further as it dove into how community is found through the experience. I am not sure I experienced the profound connections the people in the documentary did, but I can certainly relate to them and see how they would find these powerful connections. I appreciated the research and science discussed in this film that answer the question of how the Halcyon experience has such a life-changing effect on people.

4. Nighttime Walks

A tradition that started when our group began securing hotels that are connected to the convention center is walking the convention center and Lucas Oil Stadium after hours. As if we don’t get enough walking around during the day, it is enjoyable to stroll the convention center and see pick-up games all around in the Play Hall. There are hundreds of empty tables where people have found a place to settle down with their new game purchases and play with friends. It isn’t packed, but this year, it was notably busier into the night than past years. I’m not sure what the difference is, but there are more people playing late into the night than before. The same is true for the field level in Lucas Oil Stadium. Many more games are going late into the night in that space as well. One favorite tradition is seeing the social deduction games underway in the main hallway of the convention center outside the play hall. Blood on the Clocktower and Werewolf, among other games, are played in group after group as we walk down the hall. It is great to see the diverse groupings all working together or against one another in each game.

3. Generosity of Vendors

Over the years, I have encountered generous vendors who have supported my game club with products or large discounts on products. This year was no different. I had two vendors offer free products for my students and teachers to use in the club or in classrooms. I know for some it is a write-off and for some they have the financial ability to do that. When they talk to me about the club and ask questions about the students and how the club works, I appreciate their interest and their belief in what we are doing in our school.

2. D&D Carnival at the D&D Tower

I didn’t know what to expect from the D&D Tower, but what I discovered was a ton of fun! We entered the tower on the seventh floor and were given a ticket that stated what character class we were. I was a Ranger. Then we discovered that the Witchlight Carnival had appeared! Legend has it that the carnival appears from another plane every eight years and disappears almost as quickly as it came. Visitors got to play games that tested each of our abilities: Dexterity, Charisma, Wisdom, Intelligence, Constitution, and Strength. We received rewards (stickers) for completing the test of our abilities. The carnival, complete with NPCs, had carriages, tents, signs, and more. There was a cyclops that we had to stare down to test our constitution. We had to test our charisma by convincing an NPC which cup we poisoned. After an hour and a half of participating in the fun, we received prizes for our time at the Witchlight Carnival, and we headed out to the convention.

1. The Dungeon Masters Live Play at the D&D Tower

This may be my favorite activity for the entire convention. I joined several hundred D&D fans in the Indiana Repertory Theater to watch the recently created live play group The Dungeon Masters (DMs) official D&D Live Play campaign. The cast is amazingly talented, all led by The DM, Jasmine Bhuller, with players Mayanna Berrin, Christian Navarro, Neil Newbon, Devora Wilde, and special guest Theo Solomon. We laughed, cheered, gasped, and sat on the edges of our seats as we watched this compelling storyline unfold. It was a ton of fun, and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend this Saturday night at Gen Con any other way.

Gen Con Days 1 and 2 Reflection

Walking into the hotel room at 11:30 PM with tired feet from miles of walking, sore shoulders from carrying bags of games, and a heart filled with joy from new and old friends laughing, strategizing, and putting all “to the roll of dice” means Gen Con is here, and it is the midway point. A weary body and buzzing mind are in reflection of what I have experienced and in planning what I still want to do. For now, I reflect on my top moments of the first two days of Gen Con 2026.

5. Dungeons and Dragons shares plans:

From the D&D Tower on West Washington Street, company leaders announced Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft, and a revival of the gritty, post-apocalyptic D&D setting Dark Sun. Writer, producer, and actor Joe Manganiello took the stage to announce D&D Icons will bring Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, and Luke Gygax back to creating classic settings. R.A. Salvatore brings back the Forgotten Realms hero Drizzt Do Urden. Greyhawk was highlighted in the reveal of Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch Queen, where we will experience the ascent the very famous Tasha. Maybe the biggest reveal, at least the one with the most questions, was made by Darth Vader. He announced a partnership between Dungeons and Dragons and Star Wars in 2027. Vader said nothing more other than to stay tuned.

4. G.I. Joe Operation: Crimson Masquerade:

Friday opened with espionage as I joined a G.I. Joe RPG adventure. Five of us took on the roles of various Joes, as we went undercover to stop an arms dealer at a Metropolitan Art Museum Gala. We discovered Major Bludd was planning to sell state-of-the-art weapons systems to a foreign power. Our GM was awesome at teaching us the mechanics of the game and encouraging a game with serious role-play. Then, he let us set up a very cinematic fight at the end to top off the session. Let’s just say the final battle would be great on screen but was probably even more epic in our imaginations.

3. Dungeon Crawl Classic:

There isn’t much to say beyond this was a simple dungeon crawl of zero-level (basically civilians) characters who are certain to die. Not much story, not much role-play, we simply go in, fight, and try to survive. The laughs and action, with new and old friends at the table, made this a game to remember!

2. The Four Doors:

This may be my favorite game discovery of Gen Con 26! The Four Doors was created by Matt Leacock, Matthew Riddle, and Ben Pinchback. Matt Leacock is known for his very popular game Pandemic. I learned and played this game with four enthusiastic strangers who were fun and ready to play. We worked together to try to keep the evil shadow from closing the four doors of a magical lighthouse. Our job was to collect four sacred treasures to protect the doors, then cast a spell to ignite the lighthouse to stop the sinister shadows. This collaborative game was easy to learn, but we found it challenging to win, which is a good thing!

1. The Stars Come Out:

I had the chance to meet, face-to-face, authors Jim Zub and Stacey King, whom I have interviewed several times on the podcast Teachers in the Dungeon. While waiting in line to see Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, creators of DragonLance, I met Jesse Theiler and Joelle, creators of The Dungeon Cocktail Experience. Then Joe Manganiello stepped in front of me to talk to Margaret and Tracy. I came face to face with Joe’s dog Bubbles, with whom Joe carries everywhere. He turned to say hi to me, and I gave him a hi right back. It was a good afternoon checking the box of “rubbing elbows with celebrities.”

As I finish writing this, I have crossed the midnight hour, sliding into early Saturday morning, which means we have officially passed the halfway mark of Gen Con. I plan to post the top 5 moments of days 3 and 4 on the normal day Seeking Positivity In The Galaxy posts, which is Tuesday, August 4.