BGG.Con Recap

The weekend before Thanksgiving, there's a big boardgame convention in Dallas called BGG.Con. I've been lucky enough to attend all six years of its existence, including this past year.

For me, it's a great way to try out new games and catch up with friends from across the country that I don't get to see very often, let alone play a game with. This year was no exception.

New Games

Because I try to play so many new games, my friend Mark Johnson invited me to discuss the games I played on his podcast, Boardgames To Go. He also created a geeklist on BGG to read along with during the podcast.

So, with a podcast about all the games I played, what more is there to write about here? I'll just pick out a few random highlights to keep this post short.

This year, I had three main goals:

1. Play games I've never played before.
2. Play with people I've never played with (or rarely).
3. Play games that are too long to be played normally.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my results. Out of 18 different games played, 16 of them were completely new to me. As for #2, I did play many games with at least one person I already knew, but that's okay. I also played at least four (that I recall) with a group of total strangers. My third goal worked out just about right. I was able to get in two long (three or more hours) games, which seems about right.

Buy Low, Sell High

Another highlight for me every year is the flea market. It is such a pain to inventory, price, and pack up a huge assortment of games to sell, but it always feels worth it afterward. Not only do I get rid of a lot of excess games that are just taking up space, I can make a little dough as well.

I had the help of a friend, Sean, which made a huge difference. It was fantastic to have someone help me haul in and set up my wares, plus having an extra pair of eyes to keep track of everything. The benefit for him was not only getting to sell a few just-won games, but also to get into the market before the masses for first pick among the booths. A win-win for both of us!

This year, I sold about 75% of what I brought, adding up to over $500. Even better, I managed to get out of there without buying anything! I did make one trade, game for game, but I think I got a great deal on that one.

Check It Out

This was the first year I volunteered at the convention. I worked in the game library, which is a massive collection of boardgames that attendees can check out to play. This was a very easy job, but it was also a lot of fun. I was able to watch what games were hot going in and out, and talk about geeky game stuff with them as well as my co-volunteers. It was a great respite to be able to just sit down and not worry about finding a game or a person or anything.

This has become a great annual tradition for me, but I worry about how long that will last. Several of my friends have decided to go only every other year. I certainly don't blame them, I just hope I don't have to reduce my frequency as well.