Welcome again, readers, to another convention chronology. To ring in the year of the Fire Horse, I bring you the tale of my four-day weekend at GhengisCon in Denver, Colorado. I think that I am now safe to call Ghengis my second convention home. Cheyenne Gaming Con will not be usurped as my first con home, but Ghengis and its sister TactiCon both have a metropolitan aura, which allows them to attract a larger variety of vendors while still being a familiar place.
Day 1: Thursday
My trip to GhengisCon began with a delayed start because of high winds and an iced-over Interstate 25. My initial hope to leave early for a 9:00 a.m. Call of Cthulhu game was blown away–pun intended–courtesy of blowing slow. Ever since playing my first CoC game at TactiCon one or two years ago, I’ve been fascinated by the system. Also, if you’ve ever watched a movie where the protagonists seem to get themselves deeper and deeper into an outrageous mess by making worse and worse decisions, play a game of Call of Cthulhu. You will understand quickly how good intentions can devolve.
Despite losing the ability to play in this anticipated game, I managed to brave the slick, asphalt interstate with time to spare for my other planned game that day: Starfinder 2nd edition. The premise of that game was that a strange spaceship wreck was drawing attention from an assortment of parties. A small detachment from the Starfinder Society was assigned to do reconnaissance around the site, then rub elbows at a reception gala with representatives from the interested entities. Wow, who knew diplomacy took so much effort?
To my dismay, the vendor hall would not officially open until Friday, even though I stole peeks inside to preview who was there. Therefore, I sated my curiosity by browsing the vendors of artist alley that ran between the registration booth and the free gaming hall. It was this evening that I made my first purchase of the convention, dropping $30 at Dapper Fox’s Tabletop Emporium for six 3D printed figures of my players’ characters from my home campaign. No more using d4s as map tokens!
Day 2: Friday
I woke Friday morning with an anticipatory buzz. If I had a day to be the 2nd most excited about, it was Friday. GhengisCon is heavily focused on games, usually board, miniature, and tabletop, and only runs a handful of panels and talks. Today was a talk I was greatly looking forward to. Unfortunately, I had to gird myself until 10:00 in the morning. To kill time, I continued browsing the artist alley, which was open for business at 9.
If you are curious about what it’s like going to a convention, artist alley-type locations are some of the best places to make small talk. In my experience, both vendors and attendees are happy to chit-chat about products or experiences they’ve had. This was the case with both CorvidArtsLLC and AnansiDragon. I visited the former for DnD inspiration tokens, and the latter for a set of stickers. The CorvidArts folks chatted about characters they’d played and the differences between being the Dungeon Master and a player, while Anansi shared the history behind his Natural Zero standalone and Rogue Artist set of stickers.
Sadly, my time at the alley had concluded. I wandered back through the Hyatt Regency lobby to its elevator bank. I rode a metallic box up only one floor and turned three corners into a private conference room. Inside this room, myself and about 20 other people were treated to a presentation from Luke Gygax. If you don’t know who Luke is, he is the son of Gary Gygax. Gary was a founder of TSR Inc and one of the original creators of Dungeons and Dragons in the 1970s.
For one hour, I got to learn at the feet of the son of one of the creators. And the topic to learn about was worldbuilding. Luke drew on his experience from being in the U.S. Army and divided the craft into eight pillars. Following the presentation, the participants were split up into groups and challenged to create a world using the pillars we just learned about. My group created a mashup of Tatooine and Arrakis with an ice-band equator, ruled between a technocratic scholarship and traditional merchant princes. After the project was done, Luke promoted GaryCon happening in Wisconsin and had a limited supply of merchandise for sale. I snapped up a dice set for $20.
After the class, I had three hours to burn before my next game. It was during these hours that I wandered the now-open vendor hall. It was a fountain of familiar faces. Strange Fate Crafts, Gooey Cube, Robin’s Nerd Supplies, Lefty Loosey Games, and authors Mark Stallings and Todd Fahnestock were among the vendors in Denver.
I stalked within the mass of merchants, weighing what I wanted against my budget. My first stop was the fine leatherworker Iomnisus Limited. Part of my expenditures at this convention were apportioned for gifts. At Iomnisus, I placed an order for two playmats in special colors. There was also a brief stop at Strange Fate to scan through any new wares. Then started a counter-clockwise sweep through the hall.
I browsed through the vendors, catching up with friends and learning about their new projects. If my memory serves me correctly, both Todd and Mark have new books coming out later this year. At the Lefty Loosey booth, I sat down to learn the ropes of their Omaaj card game. The goal in Omaaj is to create a 3×2 picture of cards using decks uniquely themed to a person, place, or time. Chief Game Nut Charlie managed to swipe victory just in the nick of time with his Mesozoic Era deck against my Pax Romana.
After a few hours of searching sales, I wandered into a room off from the open gaming hall for GooeyCube oneshot. I stepped into the role Xakrumar Stormborn, Flowlock Fusilier extraordinaire. My compatriots and I were hired to seek and destroy a cult attempting to resurrect a dark wizard. I immensely enjoy playing in GooeyCube adventures. Their world-building top notch.
My adventure into the Dungeon of Du’unix ended at 6:00 p.m., but the day was not done. I loitered around between the open gaming hall and artist alley for the next five hours, waiting for the afterparty to start. If I ever wondered if I was comfortable at party events, the answer is now leaning strongly towards “no.” I want to clarify that it was not all bad. There was a BBQ potluck dinner offered, which was very good. Sadly, the room could’ve been bigger than what it was, and the space I found to eat was within short distance of an amplifier playing rock and roll as ambience. I like Ozzy Osborne, but at my volume. So I bailed after 45 minutes and shuffled my tired body back to the hotel.
Day 3: Saturday
Saturday was a slower start than Friday, which I needed. I didn’t have any games in the morning, so I wandered around artist alley again, meeting vendors like Rabbit Hole Recreation Services, Moon Gate Exploration Company, and Adrian Arduini of Arduini Adventures. Figuring I’d need a pick-me-up no matter how long I stayed at the afterparty, I had booked an 11:00 a.m. massage with Cori the Massage Wizard. I then treated myself to another walkaround of the vendor hall and a best-of-3-out-of-5 set of Bokken with Charlie from Lefty Loosey.
For Saturday’s games, it was a double bill of the Savage Worlds systems. The first one was a spoof of the 1999 movie “The Mummy,” and the second was a pulp noir horror superhero tale based in a setting called Occult City. As a system, Savage Worlds is very versatile. Besides the two mentioned above, I’ve played in Savage World games set in Deadlands–alternative history, supernatural Wild West–ancient Greece, and more. There was even a fan-created, far-future sci-fi setting being sold in the artist alley.
Halfway through my Occult City game, I learned that a VIP had arrived at the convention. This surprise guest was the famous Ginny Di. Ginny is a, “Singer, YouTuber, cosplayer, tabletop gaming nerd,” with nearly one million subscribers on her YouTube channel and almost 400 videos covering a variety of topics. She kindly signed my adventure modules from Moon Gate Exploration and posed for some pictures. I look like a complete goofball!
Day 4: Sunday
Saturday was another late night, but I didn’t sleep in as well as I did the previous night. Therefore, I woke up with some cobwebs on Sunday. Luckily, the hotel breakfast was enough to clear my head for a game of Blind Syndicate. Blind Syndicate is a special board created by V where the players act as Prohibition-Era gangsters to create business and earn money through illegal means. You know, gun-running, bribery, speakeasies, etcetera. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be cut out for the mobster lifestyle since I came in last out of four players.
The activity on my schedule was another panel. Like with the previous panel, this one involved Luke Gygax. But also included Alphinius Goo, the head man of GooeyCube. The pair spoke for an hour about their past collaboration, the Tomb of Gyzaengaxx, and what was forthcoming. After this insider-esque sitdown, I checked out of my hotel, turned my wheels towards I-25, and drove home.
Closing
GhengisCon can be firmly marked down as a successful visit. I am wholly pleased with the merchandise I bought, the games I played in, the new friends I made, and the old acquaintances I renewed. I now look westward to Salt Lake City and SaltCON Spring for my next convention. After that, Cheyenne Gaming Con in May for sure. Maybe something else beforehand. Fare thee well friends!
James Meyer 