Gen Con: a blur of aching feet, bleeding cash, and unforgettable experiences that make the whole thing worthwhile. Whether you’re having an up close and personal brush with nerd celebrities, trying new games, chatting with strangers that “get” you, or exploring a True Dungeon (we survived this year!), Gen Con never fails to delight and overwhelm. Here are some of my favorites from Gen Con 50!
Favorite New Game: Custom Heroes
We got down and dirty playing Custom Heroes at AEG Big Game Night. This is a “trick collecting game” where the only thing that matters is who goes out fastest each round. Think Uno on steroids. This is the first “Card Crafting” game I’ve played, which means every card is a transparent plastic sleeve that can be altered by slotting more and more transparent mod cards to the original sleeve. This game has a sense of humor, great art, and simple rules, so it’s a winner in my book. We got pretty rowdy in our four player game; plenty of opportunities for underhanded deeds and bloody vengeance.
Exhibition Hall Swag: Polyhedral Dice
The exhibition hall was as amazing as ever, and this year I laser-focused my spending on Polyhedral Dice. Some may say spending hard earned money on tiny pieces of molded plastic is an unwise investment… but I have found ordering interesting dice online is a dicey (sorry) undertaking at best. Where else besides Gen Con could you find such an unparalleled selection? I made sure to get my Vitamin Dice allotment every day at the Hall and ended up doubling my addiction collection! These came in handy playing D&D with Greyhawk Reborn, which was probably my true highlight of the weekend.
The Good, the Best and the Random
The Good: True Dungeon was incredible this year! Our “NPC’s” injected tons of humor and the difficulty seemed a little kinder as well.
The Best: People are the best part of Gen Con. We went out on a limb and played D&D with a group of strangers, and were rewarded with a DM who peppered our adventure with Hunter S Thompson quotes. We had brushes with greatness (Scott Kurtz, Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman, and the cast of Critical Role). Even interacting with people who’d join us at a table or chat us up while waiting in line, the camaraderie of being nerds enjoying nerdy stuff was heartwarming and legendary.
The Random: Thank God I actually brought my Nintendo DS. There are new Streetpass games and we were passing left and right. Never change, Gen Con.
Lark and Shell 
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