I think those are largely two-hour block Adventurers League games? So, maybe not quite as many as it may seem at first. I have not yet tried 5E, so maybe a two-hour block game is a good opportunity. Some guys I respect say it's not bad.
I counted 25, not 250. Orders of magnitude--pop pop! And like Chainsaw said, it looks like it's almost entirely Adventurers League and almost entirely in one room.
According to the latest spreadsheet supplied, there are 289 5e games of which 245 are 2 hours in duration (and thus, likely, Adventurer's League). ETA: 159 of them are for the series titled "Suites of the Mists" A through E...so I'm guessing a 5 part series. ETA Again - 253 of them have as the DM the Adventurer's League...so, that's likely the most accurate count.
Gary Con is about Gaming with a big G. I never wanted to be exclusionary even though I prefer mostly older editions of most RPGs personally. I see a huge opportunity to bring in newer gamers who have no idea about AD&D, Chainmail, Braunstein, Dungeon etc and the history of our hobby. SO I am hoping that those people come because they see Chris Perkins and AL, but walk away talking about a really great old game they got introduced to at Gary Con. Where else are they going to get to this kind of exposure to the roots. I am really excited to have Mike Mearls and company at Gary Con. They have been very supportive and are bringing premiers and unique events to Gary Con. So I welcome the 5e, PF, HMGS and my good friends in the Old Guard with equal pleasure. This is going to be the best Gary Con yet!
I have no problem with WOTC as a company. As the fortunes of WOTC go, so go the fortunes of all game companies since current edition D&D is what drives people to gaming stores. And 5E seems like a good system, more to my taste than 3.5/Pathfinder and 4 anyway. I have no interest in playing 5E myself, but I'm glad that it's out there and doing well. BUT I worry that the special feel of Gary Con will be lost with a massive influx of 5E and Pathfinder events. I am ambivalent about attending cons, but I went to Gary Con I think IV to see what it would be like and to honor the roots of my hobby. I have attended my share of cons, but I had never been to any convention anything like Gary Con. The focus on the TSR old guard and the old school games and spirit, the small attendance and intimate setting. I hadn't played AD&D in probably 25 years, but at Gary Con it was the main course. The games I played reminded me of what I enjoyed about roleplaying and what subsequent editions have lost. Gary Con is truly something special and I've come every year since. I'd hate to see the old school spirit get choked out by the weed-like growth of 5E and Pathfinder events. I don't know if there's a solution, since of course people should be allowed to run what they want. And WOTC shining a spotlight on Gary Con, that is awesome. Maybe a cap on the number of 3.5 and higher edition D&D games, with an exception for corporate events like WOTC? That way when people come, whether for 5E or OD&D, they are still seeing something special. Con founders will decide that, this is just the opinion of one attendee. --Kris
I always thought the table, or in this case convention, was big enough to let everyone pull up a chair.
I would add that it would be a disaster if Gary Con got overwhelmed by the hoard of Cosplayers and LARP events you see at Gen Con. It then is not about gaming, but about playing dress up and theater/laser tag.
I'm much more on the side on inclusivity. It lets me see things I may not have thought to check out on my own.
When I volunteered at an early Gen Con at UW Parkside (I had been attending since the mid-1970s), for which I received a Gen Con XI t-shirt and "flop space," many of us youngsters had an ongoing game of Killer: The Game of Assassination, much to the annoyance of older wargamers and others of an age I now am. I would be loathe to disallow youngsters to annoy me in the same manner in which I annoyed my predecessors in the hobby.
I considered running this at the con this year -- but logistically it annoys me. Maybe next year. I'll work it out... I'm sure a special CMG target could be had.
YES!! The event could be titled, "GOTCHA 2!", with the subtitle, "Old guys visit the emergency room."
I can just see the scene in the hospital now. Patient 1 "I broke my leg in a skiing accident, and you" Patient 2 "I fell off a scaffold at work..." Patient 3 "Me? GaryCon...." The first two giving a knowing nod....
Back in 1970s a young Turk named Gary Gygax, along with a fellow named Perren, came up with some rules about fantasy creatures in miniatures battles. The hardcore war gamers thought that was a load of malarkey..... Wouldn't it be cool to see the new idea that guys are playing 40 years from now start at Gary Con?
