Valerie Putman:  Prose on Cons—Buckeye Game Fest

Well, if I define a gaming “eventâ€? as a get-together of at least 8 friends from at least 3 states for at least 36 hours of gaming fun, then my club’s regional game convention, Buckeye Game Fest, will be my 14th game event of the year.  The Buckeye Game Fest will take place September 28 – October 1 at the Radisson Worthington Hotel in Columbus, Ohio.  Last year, the game fest attracted 175 gamers with some traveling from as far away as Texas and Florida.  Honestly, with Columbus Area Boardgame Society (CABS) meetings often topping out over 100 anyway, many regular meetings feel like a convention.  But the Buckeye Game Fest is a great excuse to get together with these regular gaming friends and our out-of-town gaming buddies for 4 days of gaming.

Pros
Registration is just $35 for the weekend if you sign up at the door.  This gives you access to the amazing CABS game library (lugged over from our regular meeting space) and plenty of space for open gaming along with a packed tournament schedule and a game auction Saturday morning.  Many of the CABS members attend and GM events at the WBC, so the tournaments are well run by experienced players.  The tournaments include:  Carcassone, St. Petersburg, Attika, San Juan, Alhambra, Caylus, Memoir ’44, Ticket to Ride, Goa, and Puerto Rico.  There is also scheduled Eurogaming for:  Medici, Power Grid, TransAmerica, Tikal, Die Macher, Union Pacific, El Grande, Pickimino, Thurn and Taxis, Settlers of Catan, Louis XIV, and many others.  Puffing Billy (train gamers) and War gamers also have scheduled games.  Of course, you can always find plenty of space and able bodies for open gaming.  I usually skip the auction, but I’m planning to attend this year and purge a large number of games that I just don’t play.  I need to make room for my haul from Essen!

Cons
The hotel rate is okay, at $80 a night, but the last time I checked the reserved block was sold out.  The hotel would prefer not to have outside food brought in, and the sandwiches they have for sale are merely adequate.  Luckily there are several quick places within a block to walk to.  In the end I’m kind of biased…this is my club’s event and I think it’s really well done.  But if I had to be totally honest, I don’t think I’d fly to Ohio for the Buckeye Game Fest unless I also had friends to visit.  But if it was within a 6 hour driving radius, I’d be there for sure.

Hope to see you there!
I’d rather be gaming,
Valerie Putman

Comments:

< Back Home