All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions

On Sunday, February 9, Gen Con opened up their system to purchase badges for Gen Con 2025. With that, the collective Gen Con-osphere is preparing for our annual day of mourning on Sunday, February 23. Your hosts Quarex and Ben go through the whole process, including ways to maximize your likelihood of winning the lottery—and especially not failing to act on a good time. Gen Con Indy FAQ for Housin...

In our 100th and longest episode, your host Quarex and Ben secured a special interview the man who needs no introduction—Peter Adkison. Listen in to learn: What Peter does at Gen Con What he's planning to do with his retirement How Gen Con can possibly live without his ever-present guiding hand Just how a move Gen Con to Chicago or Las Vegas actually appears How long it will take Gen Con to return...

On this first of our episodes of #GaryCon|Tent, Quarex and Ben preview everything Gary Con ahead of its XVII show, like: Hotels: https://garycon.com/hotels/ Badge Registration: https://garycon.com/hotels/ Event Registration: https://garycon.com/event-registration/ Guests: https://garycon.com/featured-guests/ Quarex and Ben also wishlist events, including: Art of TSR: https://tabletop.events/conven...

On this episode, your hosts Quarex and Ben talk about the badge process for Gen Con 2025, including: 4 Days Badges Single Day Badges VIG Badges GM Badges Media Badges Exhibitor Badges As our "best before days of gaming" promise to you, we discuss the impact of your chosen badge on the Housing Lottery process, which is an integral part of staying in Indy during the convention. We also discuss the p...

First, we want to recognize the passing of Jim Wade, one of the RPGA Paragons. His impact on RPG play experiences at conventions can't be understated, and we open this episode celebrate this unsung hero. To help get ready for Super MAG Fest (23-26 January 2025), Quarex and Ben spend some time discussion music at gaming conventions. Music at Super MAG Fest ( link ) FAQs for ChipSpace ( link ) and J...

As of Sunday, January 5, everyone can begin submitting events for Gen Con 2025. The rules and process behind this is encapsulated by the Event Host Policy ( link ). Your hosts Ben and Quarex walk you through almost everything you need to know from that policy so you can submit your own events for Gen Con — because the only thing cooler than the Gen Con Live Auction is running your own events. Host...

On this episode, Your Other Host Ben has collected five interviews from the board game space: Emily from Pink Hawk Games ( link ), whose first published game Knitting Circle is finishing its Kickstarter and whose next game, Pirates of the High Teas, will be crowdfunding in March—click the link to commit early and get exclusive rewards! John from Gamey ( link ), who was demoing Galaxy Fighters , a...

On this episode, Your Other Host Ben has collected four interviews from the RPG space: Jon from Beadle and Grimm ( link ), who are making big waves beyond just D&D and Magic the Gathering -- and remember that they're taking late pledges for their Star Trek Party Games on Kickstarter here Joe from Inkwell Ideas ( link ), who are producing very useful and eminently practical products for GMs Cli...

In this episode, Ben and Quarex march you through many of the gaming conventions you need to know about in January, February, March and April, including (but not limited to because of character constraints): Midwinter Gaming Convention in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, from January 9-12 ( link ) Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo in Oaks, PA from January 16-19 ( link ) Ohayocon in Dayton OH from January 31-Febru...

On this episode, Ben recaps his experience at Sunday of PAX Unplugged 2024. On this episode, we're talking about (some of) the games Ben played: Ziggurat, a board game from Mindware ( link ) Butterfly Garden, an elevated reprint from Capstone Games ( link ) Galaxy Fighters by Gamey ( link ), coming to Kickstarter in March The Black Mold of Claus Manor, written by Mike Martens and distributed by Pl...

It's smack dab at the beginning of the holiday season in December, and only one convention is bold enough to hold itself out for attendance: PAX Unplugged 2024 ( link ) from December 6-8 in famously sunny Philadelphia, PA. On this episode, your hosts Quarex and Ben discuss: What press badges mean The Venn diagram between line cons and gaming conventions Badges and hotels Parking through SpotHero (...

On this episode, Ben and Quarex meet up in a spooky Midwest town like Eerie, IN or Normal, IL and give thanks for the bounty of podcasting, conventions, family, and of course dreamers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Ben and Quarex talk about the conventions they attended this fall that don't rhyme with Namevole John. This includes: Vintage Computer Festival Midwest in Schaumburg, WI ( link ) Flat Con in Bloomington-Normal, IL ( link ) Save Against Fear ( link ), organized by the Bodhana Group ( link ) Let us know on social media what convention you've attended since Gamehole Con! Hosted on Ac...

On this episode, we are elated to talk with Mike Boozer about the Gen Con VIG Program. The Gen Con Very Important Gamer Program ( link ) is a way to supercharge your Gen Con experience. While the badge is pricey, we talk with Mike about all the ways that the VIG Badge and VIG Companion badges provide bang for your buck. Tickets are limited each year, and you'll want to email VIG@gencon.com between...

While at Gamehole Con 2024, our Alternate Social Media Aimee recorded about 10 interviews. These five recordings are curated from the following exhibitors: Michelle from Crafted, a girl-powered, coffee-fueled decor designer…with a laser and questionable power tools ( link ) Susan from Delvingwood, who durable, affordable, gaming gear for roleplayers, wargamers, and board gamers ( link ) Jason from...

With the help of alternate social media intern, Aimee, your hosts recap their experience at Gamehole Con 2024 in autumnal Madison, WI. This episode is jammed pack with commentary about the games, the vendors, and you guessed it — the dreamers that made Gamehole such a blast to attend. Unless you were stuck in Maryland, and also have to fill out the episode summary. And you're not known to be excee...

On Saturday, August 3, Ben and Quarex recorded a live episode from Meeting Room 12 of Lucas Oil Stadium, where we were joined by many dreamers who bought tickets (or handed us generics). This is the first half of that episode, where we discuss Gen Con 2024 in the moment — the second half of the episode lives exclusively in the hearts and minds of those in attendance. Enjoy this episode while Quare...

Did you know that All Year I Dream About Gaming Conventions has a Discord? Join up here to meet your heroes while you still can: https://discord.gg/q6hkw5YSCb In our precapisode of the very imminent Gamehole Con, your hosts Ben and Quarex get you ready for the next four days of gaming in Madison, WI. In a brisk 15 minutes, we're talking: Parking Buses The weather inside The weather outside Food of...

When he wasn't donating blood or running far too many games, your other host Ben interviewed a number of vendors on the exhibit hall floor. Given the long form nature of some of these chats, we picked three interviews for this episode: WizKids ( link ) Deck of Player Safety ( link ) Plus One Exp ( link )/ RPG Zine Club ( link ) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When he wasn't posting pictures of the convention or helping coordinate our live podcast recording, Substitute Social Media Intern Brian interviewed a number of vendors from the exhibit hall floor. We picked five interviews for this episode: Baird Crafted ( link ) The Bracer's Initiative ( link ) Gen Con Games Library ( link ) Lost Boy Games ( link ) Tabletop Tycoon ( link ) Hosted on Acast. See a...

Dreamers, important news has rustled your hosts from our brief hibernation after Gen Con. Origins Game Fair ( link ), held in Columbus in June, as well as Super MAG Fest ( link ), held in the Washington DC area in January, both announced their schedules for badges, hotels, and event submissions. As one or more of your hosts should be at these conventions, we want to make sure you're well informed...

On this episode, Quarex and Ben start to get you ready for PAX Unplugged, the Penny Arcade Experience convention in Philadelphia, PA from December 6-8! Because the convention doesn't have its events in gear quite yet, your other host is focusing on what you can get ready for -- whether it's the travel to and around the City of Brotherly Love, parking your Titularmobile downtown, buying a full-pric...

On this episode, Ben and Quarex preview GAMEHOLE CON in Madison, WI from October 17-20. Quarex will be in attendance with Alternate Social Media Intern Aimee Madison Airport ( link ) Alliant Energy Center ( link ) Hotels by the Convention Center ( link ) Parking at the Gamehole ( link ) Badge Registration ( link ) Events! ( link ) Dealer Hall List ( link ) If you're also attending Gamehole, let us...

On this episode, Ben and Quarex regale our dreamers about conventions we've attended since May 2024 that isn't called Gen Con or Origins. These include: Fargo Core Con ( link ) CONvergence ( link ) Kitsunekon ( link ) Risu Con ( link ) Phoenix Con ( link ) Coulee Con ( link ) Also mentioned in this episode: Shuffle Dungeons from Zero Strategy Games ( link ) The Silver Throat Himself, Keith David (...

On this episode, we interview John Wells, who is the beating heart behind Quarex's favorite roaming convention — QUAD CON . In addition to regaling us with stories about this convention, we learn just how many shows John goes to all around the world. If you're interested in running games, or showing up as a vendor, you can reach out to John via the Quad Con website (https://quadcitycon.com/). You...