by Ambie Valdés

For the first time in forever, Toby and I went to Gen Con! This year was the 50th anniversary, and all the badges were sold out, so there were a lot of people there. We definitely did not go in expecting to play many games, but we still managed to play a few games throughout the convention! We also don't usually buy many new games, so we were mostly there just to experience everything as a once-in-a-lifetime event.

The convention was overwhelming. Before this, the biggest board game convention I went to was 3,000 people, so it was a huge jump to go to the 60,000 people at Gen Con! Also, most of the conventions I'd been to were more focused on open gaming and didn't have many vendors, but half the convention center was dedicated to exhibitors. We walked through the Exhibitor Hall multiple times each day, and every time we'd see booths we hadn't seen before. I'm pretty sure we still didn't see everything there.

Ambie went to Gen Con for the first time ever and made a vlog about her time there!

Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss some games they've played recently, including 1859, Rocky Road a la Mode, and T.I.M.E Stories: Lumen Fidei. We then talk about Gen Con and GenCant, including what we're excited about and some predictions we have. In this week's "Board Game Etymology" segment, Crystal discusses the origins of the word "hype."