Con-ventional Wisdom

The convention season is winding down with a lot of the bigger shows on the board gaming calendar (Origins, Gen Con, PAX, and Essen) behind us. However, this week we’re at one of the most popular and fun events of the year: Board Game Geek (BGG) Con in Dallas, Texas. BGG Con is popular for a lot of different reasons, but one of the best elements is its size. Every year, only about 3,000 tickets are sold, helping the show maintain an intimate feel. Over the course of the week, you see a lot of the same faces and get a chance to actually sit down and connect with some people. Due to its timing right after Essen Spiel in Germany, it also means there’s been enough time for a lot of the hot, new titles to make their way over to North America. The BGG Hotness takes on a physical form in the Hot Games section of the main gaming hall. Whatever table you end up at in that section, you can be sure you’ll be playing a titles with a lot of buzz.

Across North America, we are spoiled with the amount of gaming events that occur on a regular basis. There are the big events we’ve already mentioned, but there are also a vast number of local gaming events spread across the continent that give people a chance to play with new groups and get new titles to the table. We even hold our own CMON Expo every Spring, and its small size gives us a chance to connect with all of the attendees.

Connection is really what conventions are all about. Whether it’s fans getting a chance to meet their favorite artist or designer, publishers introducing their new titles to gamers, or just friends, old and new, getting a chance to come together around a table and roll some dice, conventions allow that opportunity to connect and share the hobby with people face to face.