I’m not the biggest board or card game player. Unless you count Monopoly and Euchre, both of which I become this ruthless alternate version of myself when I play them. So when you throw me in a room (a very, very large room) where board and card games are predominant, it’s easy to say I’m out of my element. The fascinating thing I found though, was that in no time at all, I felt right at home.

I play a lot of video games. I’m active in World of Warcraft (for the Horde!), I’ve logged an obscene amount of hours on many different Steam-supported games, and my love of Nintendo knows no bounds. But learning the rules of a complex card or board games absolutely baffles me.

I was lucky enough to be able to attend GenCon, a gaming convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their slogan is “The Best Four Days In Gaming”, and what I’ve seen thus far, I can wholeheartedly believe it. When I got to Indy last night with my brother and his friends, they had me play a couple games with them, as a fun warm-up for the days to come.

Dungeon Roll was the first and for me, quite overwhelming. When you’re handed 17 dice of two different colors with tokens and points and this and that…. it can make your brain get all mushy. But they taught me, and were patient with me. By the 2nd turn, I had started to understand it. By the 3rd and final turn, I felt even better about it and even was able to make good decisions on my own!

Photo by: Board Game Geek

Once that was done and the boxes of pizza were annihilated, we tried out The World Of Warcraft Adventure Game. I’ll leave out the details but let’s just say I have horrible luck.

Property of: Shannon Beaty/PopWrapped

We set out this morning to the Indiana Convention Center to pop my convention cherry and score some awesome loot. Never having been to an event like this before, I was blown away by the sheer number of people up and at it. And this was at 9 am, before anything really opened or got started. I heard from someone that there were people camped out front at 4 in the morning, so if that was you, I give you major props for dedication. Once inside, it was mind-blowing. People of all shapes and sizes were treading the halls, some decked out in company brands or favorite game related shows and movies; others went that extra (awesome) mile and brought colorful cosplay to the building.

Once I got my badge to get in, I followed the masses to the biggest hall I’ve even been inside of in all my life. Vendor after vendor were there with items I’ve never seen before. Everything from anime to fantasy to sci-fi. If you wanted something I would bet you could find it.

Property of: Shannon Beaty/PopWrapped

The vendors were super friendly, even when I had silly “What is this?” or “How do I use that?” kind of questions. There were aisles of games that you could ‘demo’ to see if you wanted to purchase them. Some of the games had lines that waited for at least a half of an hour, and all to just get a crack at a game! I was able to watch my brother and his friends try out a game called Shadows Of Brimstone: Swamps of Death.

Property of: Shannon Beaty/PopWrapped

There was a mentor who was guiding them through gameplay, having a know-it-by-heart memory of all the rules and being absolutely enthusiastic and wonderful with the questions the guys had while demoing it. Every now and then people would gather around the table to watch and absorb but for the most part it was just the 5 players. Needless to say, they were wholeheartedly in love with the game and bought it immediately.

Eventually the day wrapped up, as the hall closes at 6pm. However though, if you’ve got a drum of Red Bull and no desire to sleep, you can remain at the convention center and keep playing games. There are several tournaments going on this evening and even more throughout the weekend, some you can win prizes at and others where you win bragging rights…. which can be even better.

Before we left though, my companions insisted we wait just a tiny bit for a man named Rusty Bawls. Yes, say that name out loud, it’s exactly how it’s meant to sound. After a long day, I wanted nothing more than to go home and relax, but I’m very happy we stayed. Rusty (aka Christopher Yates) was a magician and comedian all rolled into one awesome package who also happens to wear a badass kilt and be from New Zealand. His show was downright hilarious as he was constantly interacting with the audience and passers by. He had 4 convention attendees make a human table and then proceeded to juggle over them, which was really cool to see. If you get a chance, watch this man put on an awesome show!

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We will be back bright and early tomorrow! I will give you a day two recap of what awesome things I can find as well as some of the best cosplay I’ve seen so far. Stay tuned PopWrappers!

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