HELP! Looking for a gaming convention

R

RedDawn

New member
Well, our summer plans just got messed up. Airhead and Tab. & Co. talked us into going to GrailQuest (St. Augustine, FL) last summer and we all had a great time. We gave the boys (10 & 11) a choice of two trips - one to CA and very expensive (and only one kid wants to do it), and the other to GrailQuest. They both picked GQ so we promised them we would go again this summer. Just found out today that GrailQuest changed the *%&^&$* date of the con and it conflicts with other plans (with family) we\'ve already made.

SO, I\'m trying to find another convention that\'s kid-friendly (i.e. not huge), within reasonable driving distance and occurs this summer (schedule too complicated to mention dates). Does ANYONE out there know of any cons that we could take the kids since we PROMISED to take them to one?

We\'d really prefer to find one that a CMONer would be attending, but I\'m willing to hear about any at this point. *insert desperate smiley here!*

Thanks everyone!

P.S. Cities/States we\'re willing to travel to: Kansas City, MO / Pennsylvania / Indiana / Georgia / Florida / Mississippi / Alabama / S. Carolina / N. Carolina / Washington, D.C. / Austin or San Antonio, Texas / Tennessee
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
Well GD UK is in September (I think ) and is pretty \"Kids friendly\", if not wallet or \"Purse\" friendly. :D

Accomodation might not be a problem if you could take the crowding in our house. The ony issue would be the flying to the UK.
 
M

marineboy

New member
And, of course, there\'s the Fantask SpilleFestival (GameFestival) in Valby, 5 minutes outside downtown Copenhagen, this coming Saturday.

SpilleFestival

We could all crowd together in the new apartment, Dawn, you and Grumb could sleep in my paint room!:D
 
Wren

Wren

Member
Well GenCon is huge, but I think it also aims to be family friendly. I know they have a room with activities for kids (not sure what ages, that room may be for younger ones), and all events indicate whether or not younger and/or inexperienced people are welcome. I\'ve certainly seen families there the past three years I\'ve attended.

There will be CMoNers there, I always run into a few in painting classes. The painting track run by Sue/PaintMinion and crew is very solid, and there are also miniature gaming events.

GenCon Indy runs over the weekend of August 13, and registration at http://www.gencon.com has already started. You can get passes even at the door, but prereg opens up hotel discounts, and rooms that are within walking distance are going fast.

DragonCon runs in Atlanta, I think on Labour Day weekend, which may be too late to count as summer. It\'s not a gaming only con, rather an SF/fantasy/fandom con, but does have a gaming track. I haven\'t been yet, so I couldn\'t say how good that track is. And I guess it\'s on the big side, also.

This page is down right now saying it\'s exceeded bandwidth, but when it\'s up it\'s a master list of gaming/fandom conventions all over the country.

http://www.geocities.com/jengacons/
 
D

darthfoley

Active member
Originally posted by Wren
DragonCon runs in Atlanta, I think on Labour Day weekend, which may be too late to count as summer. It\'s not a gaming only con, rather an SF/fantasy/fandom con, but does have a gaming track. I haven\'t been yet, so I couldn\'t say how good that track is. And I guess it\'s on the big side, also.
Click to expand...

Way too big, a touch family unfriendly, and not a whole lot of kid stuff. My favorite con by far, but that\'s because I\'m also into costuming/comics/sci-fi/etc which is much more the focus of DCon.

Isn\'t ReaperCon in May-ish?
 
P

Patrick

New member
Originally posted by darthfoleyIsn\'t ReaperCon in May-ish?
Click to expand...

Yep, and it is very mini-centric with mainly painting/sculpting workshops and Warlord tourneys. Unless the kiddos are avid miniaturists too, they will likely be bored.

My recommendation would be GenCon. I\'ve been there twice and it hosts tons of stuff to appeal to a wider range of gaming interests while not as overblown as DragonCon tends to be.
 
R

RedDawn

New member
Thanks for all the info!

Thanks everybody for all your help and info. Unfortunately, we won\'t be able to attend GenCon because the kids have already gone back to school and seeing how this next year will be our oldest son\'s first year in middle school I don\'t want to pull him out within the first two weeks of school.

GenCon would be great b/c we have family there - if only it were earlier!

I found a VERY small con in Chattanooga, TN which I\'m investigating, but...we\'ll see.

Again, thanks for all your help everyone!
 
V

vincegamer

Active member
There\'s always the World Boardgaming Championship in Lancaster Pennsylvania.
Pretty sure that\'s near Duende, and near enough I might consider going.
I don\'t know the dates you\'re looking at but this is August 1-6.

I don\'t really do cons, but 1000 people doesn\'t sound too huge, and their webiste shows a considerable amount of kid-stuff.

http://www.boardgamers.org/
 
airhead

airhead

Coffin Dodger / Keymaster
Dawn, we have Oasis here in May 26-28. May be too soon as the kids still in school?

Real big, they expect to exceed 300 people this year. :rolleyes:

http://www.oasfis.org/oasis/

Very similar to Grail in size, with smaller gaming and more dealer and panels.
 
R

RedDawn

New member
Well, we\'ve just decided to go to Origins in Columbus, OH.

@Vincegamer - unfortunately that\'s too late in the year for us - kids are going back to school

@Airhead - Oasis would\'ve worked for us IF we hadn\'t already made plans. Scott\'s Mom is coming in that weekend and we\'re leaving for our beach trip June 1st.

Origins works out well b/c we were headed to Indiana July 1st/2nd anyway for a week of working on the cabin with some other family members. It\'s almost a straight shot from Columbus to Louisville then over to the cabin.

So, anybody else going to Origins? (I started a thread in \"Conventions\" but I don\'t know if anyone will see it.)
 
L

LavronYor

Member
I went last year and it was pretty nice. Columbus does a nice fireworks display that weekend. King\'s Island in Cincinatti might be a good filler on the way or back if they get too bored. I got to meet and watch Jen Haley, Marike Reimer and Chris Fitzpatrick and that made it so cool. They were all laid back there and very helpful to a mid range painter. I want to go again, but missing the 4th with my Inlaws might not go over two years in a row.

Good luck.
 
R

RedDawn

New member
Originally posted by leopardpixie
Nooooooooooo and I\'m planing on going to Grail Quest too :(
Click to expand...

Nooooooooooo :( - really wish we were going to GrailQuest now! If they hadn\'t changed the date we\'d be there. Oh well, maybe next year...

Of course, as Becca says, there\'s always HerseyCon! :D
 
R

Ratcals

New member
Originally posted by Dragonsreach
Well GD UK is in September (I think ) and is pretty \"Kids friendly\", if not wallet or \"Purse\" friendly. :D

Accomodation might not be a problem if you could take the crowding in our house. The ony issue would be the flying to the UK.
Click to expand...

Surely the UK has something to offer before then?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back To Top
Top