Gencon bills itself as the world's largest gaming convention. It's four days devoted to RPGs, tabletop games, card games, dice games, miniatures games, foam swords, and cosplay. (But no—well, very few—console or computer games.)
I, along with 50,000 other folks, attended this year's bash located in downtown Indianapolis. It was my first true nerd con, and I spent 4,000 words describing the wonderful weirdness of it, but words alone can't do justice to a spectacle as big as this one.
Without further ado, then, here are the images that best summed up my own Gencon experience. (If you want to see more, including the performers in a has-to-be-seen-to-be-believed nerd burlesque, click over to my feature). Click on any image to enlarge.
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"I'll take a Ham Solo and two Greedos, please."
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A happy couple.
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Games can get pretty intense at Gencon.
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This guy was really excited to show me what was in his bag. (It was a cat.)
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The detail on some of the miniatures games was truly astounding. Here, the main player panels for an air combat game.
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Even elves get lost at Gencon.
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The Pathfinder Society occupied a truly enormous room at Gencon.
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Simply mustering for tables has a long, LONG list of rules.
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53 people try to set a world record by simultaneously plays Sails of Glory.
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Father and daughter cosplayers.
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A hand-made dungeon filled with hand-painted miniatures. "Oh, the dungeon was only about six hours of work," said its creator when I asked.
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When you need that many different dice to play a game, I'm sorry—you've lost me. But more power to you!
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The Train Gamers' Association held a major tournament at Gencon.
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Who knew there were so many board games about trains?
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Cthulhu was everywhere. Board games, card game, tabletop role-playing scenarios, T-shirts...
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Wizards of the Coast was unveiling the "Tyranny of Dragons" storyline at Gencon.
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Should Indiana's SB 101 pass, Gen Con, and its tens of thousands of attendees, may not return to create less-diverse characters at its convention center.Ars Technica
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A serious game of Dungeons & Dragons underway, now with more insane hat-makers.
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Babysitting was available for those moments when you had to battle Cthulhu uninterrupted.
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You can find games about almost anything these days... including Pride & Prejudice.
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Proving that games can be about literally anything, this title covers the history of Oxford. You can apparently get C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien together for meetings at The Bird & Baby.
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It takes a lot of pool noodles to outfit an army with foam weaponry.
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My foam sword, in progress.
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For $30, you could build a truly enormous foam weapon.
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Boffer combat. Those foam swords pack a bigger wallop than you might think.
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Part of the Catan tournament. The winner earned a spot at the world championship in Essen later this year.
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Giant Catan.
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A close up of giant Catan. Trade you two wood for one sheep?
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Catan has expanded into so many editions I can't even keep them all straight anymore.
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A giant version of Catan: Star Trek.
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Ships used in giant Catan: Star Trek sit idle.
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Hello, Wario.
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My miniature, primed but unpainted. What is it? Who knows!
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My painted miniature. Turns out painting tiny, lowercase a's is difficult.
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Miniature painting takes serious precision.
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Everyone loves miniatures painting!
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Comic juggler Rusty Bawls (yes, you read that correctly) was wandering the halls, entertaining passers-by.
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My prediction: when the battlemechs show up, that falafel stand gets razed.
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XCom: The Board Game comes out this winter, but you could play a beta at Gencon.
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Every food truck and watering hole in downtown Indy made its pitch to Gencon attendees.
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Seriously, no masks.
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I'm... not even sure. But they look upset.
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Just an ordinary day in downtown Indy.
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Giant balloon warriors.
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Perhaps the most elaborate costume of the show. The guy "spoke" only by touching the smartphone attached to his forearm, which would then make comments in the character-appropriate voice. This... made conversation difficult.
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Firefly: The Game.
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Surf's up?
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Magic: The Gathering held a huge tournament at this year's show.
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Batman, sporting a fine yellow tartan kilt.
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I guess it beats those old "FBI (Female Body Inspector)" shirts from the early 90s.
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This might have been the single nerdiest T-shirt for sale at the convention.
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Lose a piece for any game and you can probably replace it at Gencon.
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Dice came in every shape and style you could imagine—and some you probably couldn't.
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I have questions about the practicality of these mouth shields, but they do look cool.
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You never know who's under those masks...
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Yes, even Archer has a card game now. It will apparently take you into the danger zone.
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Playing Archer.
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Vader—cool, but rather overdone as a costume. There were enough evil Jedi wandering the halls to form their own army.
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The mace really makes it.
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A view of Cardhalla, the massive card city built by attendees over seveal days and then ritually destroyed.
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Building Cardhalla.
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I'm not sure who these people were, but it was awesome.
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For anyone who needed a break from the role-playing, Gencon had an open crafting room filled with tools and materials.
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It was true; I hadn't heard of them.
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Yes, it was all hand-knitted.
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