My First Convention

So after 31 years of gaming, I finally went to my very first Gaming Convention.

Kublacon was held this weekend at the Hyatt in Burlingame, California and a couple of my friends were going and invited me along with them. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had thoughts of a hotel-sized Magic the Gathering tournament complete with the scent of the great unwashed masses. Luckily my image was unfounded. The hotel had a nice open feel to it and there were tables set up everywhere to house board games, RPG, dealers and events for the kiddies. 

My friends had gotten there early in the morning because they signed up for a few games, but I wasn't able to based on some prior commitments (wasn't really sure I was even going until the day of). I met up with one of them after browsing the dealer area (picked up some nifty new dice. I may have a dice addiction. I'm currently seeking help) but the other was knee deep in a 6 hour long Battlestar Galactica board game. 

I saw a bunch of interesting looking games being played, but some of them looked entirely too complicated to learn in a short period of time. I wasn't really sure if you could just sit down and start playing or if you had to be signed up ahead of time, so I mainly just lurked around the tables and watched other people play. Looking at the schedule, there were a bunch of games that I would have liked to get in on like a 1st Edition Gamma World and some 1st Edition D&D games. 

One dealer stood out to me, Geek Chic. I've seen pictures of their gaming tables, but seeing it in person was much more impressive. They were reasonably priced for the quality you get. Hell, my couches cost more than one of their larger tables. Of course, it's hard to watch tv while you're laying on a table, but I digress.

There were some events that I would have liked to have seen, but they were held when I wasn't there. The Zombie Walk and Auction sounded like fun, but alas I missed them both.

Everyone seemed really friendly and seemed to be having a great time, I just wish I would have been able to sign up for some games. I think I would have had a lot more fun if I things to look forward to and maybe I could have met some interesting people at the game tables.

PacifiCon is coming up Labor Day weekend near my work so I'm definitely going to plan a lot better and maybe spend a whole day (or maybe two) stretching my gaming legs.