Valerie Putman:  Prose on Cons—2007 Itinerary/Wish List

If I had limitless time and money (and I could be in two places at once), these are some of the gaming events I would want to go to next year.

1/19 – 1/22 Dreamation
1/26 - 1/28 Atlanta Game Fest
2/1 – 2/6 Nuremburg
2/11 - 2/14 NY Toy Fair
2/15 – 2/18 Ghengis Con
2/16 – 2/18 MegaCon
2/16 – 2/19 Conquest NW
2/16 – 2/19 Strategicon
2/22 – 2/25 Total Confusion
Dates?  UberCon
3/18 - 3/22 Games Expo
4/13 – 4/15 Conquest SAC
4/23 - 4/26 GAMA Trade Show
Dates? Concentric
May? Conquest LA
5/25 - 5/28 KublaCon
6/1 – 6/3 Die Con
Dates? Atlanta Game Fest
7/5 - 7/8 Origins
8/16 - 8/19 Gen Con
8/31 – 9/3 Conquest SF
9/1 - 9/3 Dragon*Con
9/27 - 9/30 Buckeye Game Fest
October? Conquest CruiseCon
10/17 - 10/21 Essen
Dates? Con on the Cob
Dates? BGG.con

Add to that the Gathering of Friends and several other smaller events with close friends, and we’ve got a very full gaming calendar.  But sadly, there’s just no way to make this wish list a reality.  For example, there are four different events the weekend after Valentine’s day!  Maybe the plan is to buy off your significant other with chocolates so that you can earn a weekend pass for gaming.  Or better yet, you can plan a romantic weekend getaway with your sig other.  Or quite possibly, you spent Valentine’s day alone and now you want to make up for it with a weekend of gaming.

Some of these events (NY Toy Fair, Games Expo, GAMA Trade Show) are for industry insiders only.  While I can dream that this little weekly column might earn me a press pass one day, the truth is that I wouldn’t see most of my friends at these events and that’s the real reason I go to gaming conventions.

I guess it’s no surprise that most of the events are on the East coast or on the West coast with very little in between.  It makes sense that more regional events will be located where the populations are densest.  The national conventions, like Gen Con and Origins, are more centrally located, but that still means flying for most people around the US.

I am hoping to find more summer events.  Thirteen events while I am in Spring semester doesn’t really help.  In the Fall they tend to clump up right after Essen to take advantage of the new games just getting back from overseas.  I do take advantage of the time between gaming events in the summer to visit family, non-gaming friends, and to spend more time with gaming friends as long as I’m already traveling to their corners of the world.  I’ve always thought that renting an RV and driving around the country for a summer would be great.  Of course, I’d want a hired driver so that the people I was traveling with could all hang out in the back playing games while we drove from place to place.  And I’ve heard that RVs are really expensive.  So, maybe it’s back to the drawing board with that plan.  Hmmm….maybe I just need to plan far, far ahead for that day when I’m not really up to traveling as much.  Gaming retirement home anyone?

Happy National Games Week and Happy Thanksgiving fellow Americans!  Happy it’s-just-a-normal-Sunday to everyone else!  Thanks for everything you’ve done for boardgaming, Rick, and a special thanks for bringing me onboard at BGN.  I look forward to working with you, Eric.  Thanks so much for keeping the site alive.

I’d rather be gaming!
Valerie Putman

© 2006 Valerie Putman

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Comments:

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Nuremburg is also a industry-only event, although I believe that anyone who is a member of the SAZ, the international Game Designers’ Guild, can get in, whether they have published a game or not. There are several open-gaming events in Germany as well, similar to the Gathering, such as the one Rick attended. Posted by Jeff Allers on Nov 26, 2006 at 01:58 AM | #

Before renting that RV to do the gaming tour of the country Valerie, make sure you ask several Bostonians about their experience to Columbus for a certain event in an RV. Theoretically it was a fantastic idea, but...... Posted by Craig Massey on Nov 26, 2006 at 08:47 AM | #

Hey Valerie, no Australian Games Expo? ;) http://austgamesexpo.com/ It’s in your Summer, I think. Posted by Melissa Rogerson on Nov 26, 2006 at 03:12 PM | #

Woo hoo, Melissa!  Australia here I come! Posted by Valerie Putman on Nov 26, 2006 at 03:18 PM | #

Craig, pray tell who amongst the Boston crowd was lucky enough to try to make it to Columbus in an RV? Posted by Dale Yu on Nov 26, 2006 at 05:06 PM | #

That would be Pitt, Alan, Aaron W, Aaron Bass, Ricardo, and Mark & Tery.  I think that is everyone.  The stories from the trip are quite funny, though I’m I think I quite happy to have flown that year. Posted by Craig Massey on Nov 28, 2006 at 08:53 AM | #

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