GenCon 2015, Part Three

Living local to Indianapolis, I had the opportunity most of last week to travel to GenCon, self-described as "the original, longest-running, best-attended, gaming convention in the world!" Over the course of three days, I played a variety of different tabletop games, attended some writing seminars, and got to participate in several sessions of the Dungeon and Dragons Adventurers League. So all this week, I'll be blogging about my experience at GenCon this year. Today, I'll finish off with some thoughts about all the gaming I did this year.

It should go without saying that if you're going to GenCon, you should probably play some games. So that's what I did this year. I played more than my fair share of board games in the main hall, and even watched other people play games that were so popular that I never could get a seat at the table to play them. But my big discovery this year came at MayFair Games (publisher of the hit game Settlers of Catan), where I learned that they have a deal in place that you can earn different colored ribbons for demoing different games within their section of the exhibit hall, and once you have a set of all five, you can redeem them for a one-time 50% discount off any one game sold at the convention. So I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning not only earned my five ribbons, but also helping my wife and friends earn theirs as well.

And with this achievement unlocked, I proceeded to buy what turned out to be the most expensive game in Mayfair's lineup of games - a game that debuted last year called Caverna: The Cave Farmers (which I will be sure to review soon). Caverna retails for nearly $100, so my 50% off discount was quite nice. I also ended up purchasing a fun game called Evolution, which I will also be reviewing soon. As they say, to the victor goes the spoils:

Overall it was a great experience, and one that I can't wait to repeat next year. If you've never been to GenCon, believe me you're missing out. It truly was the best four days in gaming!