Gaming has come a long way from the stereotype of white, geeky men playing Dungeons & Dragons in someone’s basement. From August 1st to 4th, more than 70,000 people from around the world will fill the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, and downtown hotels for Gen Con, North America’s largest gaming convention and the self-titled “Best Four Days in Gaming.”
As the board game industry has grown, Gen Con is creating opportunities for gamers belonging to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities by hosting a dedicated space where they can connect with gaming industry professionals in an informal setting and discuss career opportunities in the gaming industry, including publishing, game and art design, content creation, and freelance opportunities.
Women are also becoming leaders in the gaming industry. Elizabeth Hargrave’s 2019 debut release Wingspan featured artwork by Natalia Rojas, Ana Maria Martinez Jaramillo, and Beth Sobel and is credited in some circles as a “gateway” game—one that introduces others to the board game hobby. With its beautiful illustrations, peaceful topics, and tactile components, it is also credited with bringing more women into the hobby and the industry. Gen Con, LLC has several women working in one of the premier events in the board game industry. Some of these women include:
Dani Kennedy, Marketing & Community Development Manager: Dani lives in Seattle, where the company is headquartered. Her yearly goal is to ensure that the tens of thousands of attendees have the best experience possible. She works to build community and enthusiasm throughout the year by having fun on Gen Con’s social media networks. Catch her Saturday night’s destruction of Cardhalla (a house of cards, but much larger), the balloon structure popping on Sunday, or just running the halls, usually with a photographer in tow!
Kali Anderson, Event Manager: Kali manages several general events during the convention. She gets in more than her daily steps by going back and forth to assist various groups in the First Exposure Playtest Hall in the ICC, helps RPGs and LARPs gamemasters, and visits the gaming areas in Lucas Oil Stadium. “Our community is truly special, and being part of the team that makes it happen brings me so much joy,” she says.
Mandi Hutchinson, DEI Advisory Committee member: Mandi is part of a committee dedicated to making Gen Con more inclusive by enhancing relations within the community and listening to attendees’ feedback. Throughout the year, Mandi and her team use this information and other research to develop new events, spaces, and programs that ensure everyone has a seat at the table. In addition to spending time in gaming areas, Mandi will also be playing games and hosting or attending events in the BIPOC lounge.
Marian McBine, Event Manager: Marian is one of several Gen Con event managers who oversee Gen Con’s 22,000+ events. For four days, she’ll be based in the Gamemaster’s Headquarters. Still, she’ll often be walking around checking on the various programs she oversees, such as the puppet program, the massive games library, and the game and memorabilia auctions.
In addition to the women working for Gen Con, get to know these five women, working in or adjacent to the gaming community in Central Indiana, to make gaming more fun for everyone.
Banzainator, Content Creator: Banzainator has made a career of creating content for various board game companies and collaborating with others to play and review games. In addition to being a popular, family-friendly streamer and making a positive space on social media and Discord, she is also the community manager for game publisher AEG (booth #403). “Banz,” who has a degree in public relations, will spend Gen Con making content for Floodgate Games (Booth #439), networking with other publishers, checking out new games, and also playing “a few.”
Donna Fischer, Riley Children’s Foundation: Speedway resident and current Riley Children’s Foundation Community Fundraising Program Director Donna Fischer has been busy helping coordinate local volunteers to staff the Extra-Life.org (booth #2908). Gamers can sign up during Gen Con to raise money for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital. All direct donations raised at the booth will benefit Riley. So far this year, 164 gamers have raised over $24,000 for the Riley Children’s Foundation through Extra-Life.
Dr. Mary Flannagan, Resonym: Designer, artist, and Dartmouth College professor Dr. Mary Flanagan is the visionary behind the research laboratory Tiltfactor. Her work investigates how game-inspired art and ‘critical play‘ reshape our perceptions of biases and stereotypes. She also established Resonym (booth #1913), a socially conscious game company based in New Hampshire, to amplify diverse voices in tabletop gaming. Their games have won awards for exceptional art and unique gameplay that foster community and inclusivity.
Molly Johnson, Flatout Games: Molly Johnson and two other friends founded Seattle-based Flatout Games (booth #403) in 2017 and have since created award-winning, family, and environmentally-friendly games. In addition to collaborating with other major publishers, Molly helped create the Flatout Games CoLab to collaborate with emerging and established professionals in the board game industry. CoLab creators choose a flat fee for their work or track hours worked, where all work is weighted equally towards earned royalties on games. “We’re just really interested in people having more equity in the product and the game,” says Molly.
Sandra Priddy, Co-owner of Family Time Games: Swiss-native Sandra Priddy, along with her husband Shane, own Family Time Games (8796 Michigan Rd., Indianapolis). What began as a concept store to create a welcoming space that encourages non-electronic fun for friends and families has become one of the city’s most popular gaming destinations. Family Time Games (booth #460) builds community by sponsoring local gaming groups, hosting meet-ups, and donating to local charities and fundraisers. Sandra’s best tip for learning a new game is to watch online video tutorials. Look for “La Fleur” (Dux Somnium Games)– Sandra translated the game for the French market.
Game On: If you are considering attending Gen Con, here are seven things you need to know.
- Badges may sell out before the event. On July 15, Gen Con announced that 4-day and 2024 Saturday-only badges were almost sold out. Check gencon.com for the latest info on badge availability. Last year, four-day badges sold out on Thursday. Badges cannot be re-sold or transferred. Try to pick up your badge on Wednesday. During peak periods, the line to pick up badges can be long—like out the door on West Street.
- It’s huge! The event covers practically all downtown Indy, including the Indiana Convention Center (ICC), Lucas Oil Stadium, connected hotels, nearby hotels, several downtown restaurants, and businesses. Last year, Gen Con and its 72,000 attendees added $75 million to the local economy. Although Gen Con officially starts on Thursday, many attendees arrive a day or two before. Some events are held on Wednesday, such as Sun King Brewery’s keg tapping party to introduce this year’s limited production Gen Con brew and “The Stink”—a kick-off party at Union Station (badge and event/generic tickets required).
- Gen Con is more than gaming. Eligible professionals can attend Wednesday’s Trade Day and earn continuing education credits. Thursday through Sunday, there are writing and editing seminars, game industry seminars, a film festival, comedy shows, city tours, escape rooms, and other events to appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Peruse the online program guide to get an overview of the breadth of activities.
- Gamers tend to be a welcoming and helpful group. Check out the Fans of Gen Con Facebook group and forums and Gen Con’s social media channels for a wealth of first-timer information. And, of course, there’s Reddit for those who wish to go down the rabbit hole.
- You should have both a badge AND event tickets. This is probably the most frequent first-timer misunderstanding. Although badges give attendees access to Gen Con and the vendor hall, tickets are required to participate in over 22,000 official events. Ticket prices vary by the type of event, but most are a few dollars each. Buy badges and tickets through Gen Con, but use Jonathan Schultz’s Gen Con Mobile Friendly Event App to search for events, track added events and returned tickets, and add event information to your Google calendar. You may still be able to get into a sold-out event by showing up with “generic tickets” if someone is a no-show. However, there’s plenty of gaming in the vendor hall, at the gaming library in Lucas Oil Stadium, or in the open gaming area at the JW Mariott. Pickup games are played 24/7 in most hotel lobbies.
- Pin trading is a thing, much like Disney World. Start with a beginner set from a Gen Con merchandise booth and participate in the Pin Bazaar by purchasing participating pins at various vendor booths to earn a rare pin. Attendees, vendors, and Gen Con staff join in the fun.
- If the thought of Gen Con is overwhelming, you can start small and return next year. Gen Con will be in Indy until at least 2030.
- Gen Con sells Sunday-only passes for $18. While there are fewer events and inventory may be low, crowds are typically smaller on Sunday, and badge holders can access the vendor hall until 4 p.m.
- On Tuesday, July 30, from 6-9 p.m., the Garage Food Hall in the Bottleworks District (906 Carrollton Ave., Indianapolis) will host its second annual pre-Gen Con Game Night Social. Game company representatives will demo new games and offer them as prizes for participants. Local author and board game enthusiast Lou Harry will be on hand to guide players in picking a game to play or clarify the rules.
- Many local game stores plan smaller Gen Con celebrations and specials. The “Dice Tower” crew, which does reviews, videos, and podcasts, will be at Family Time Games on Friday, August 2.
- Try a smaller con first! Who’s Yer Gamers hosts Who’s Yer Con, a smaller annual convention held each spring in Indianapolis.
Indy resident Natalie Rodriguez attended her first Gen Con in 2018. She usually has several games in her car and at least one in her “bag of holding” (a.k.a. purse) at all times.
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