GenCon 2023

When I first began playing tabletop role-playing games in the mid-1980's, I read about GenCon.  It seemed a faraway and magical gathering where attendees played games for hours with their fellow enthusiastic fans, and vendors offered previews of upcoming releases while also giving away swag.  GenCon was officially started in 1968 by Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax and had humble beginnings in legion halls and university campuses; it took several years for it to become a multi-day event that topped 1000 attendees.  By 1985, GenCon made its first move to a Milwaukee convention center and had around 5,000 participate, but that was just the start of its runaway train of growth.  GenCon moved to its current home in Indianapolis in 2003 with a pre-pandemic high watermark record of around 70,000 attendees in 2019.   That's a long winded way of saying that GenCon is a big deal that earns its moniker of "The Best Four Days in Gaming."  But like many things of youth, attending GenCon seemed to be a fever dream that faded over time.  I convinced myself that I needed a practical, pragmatic, or professional reason to go, which seemed unlikely.

Then in early spring of 2022, I heard for the first time about Trade Day. Considering that I had just started KyEdRPG last summer, it felt like fate. 

Trade Day is GenCon's "day zero" on the Wednesday before its official four day launch on Thursday.  It is open only to vendors, educators, and librarians, and includes hourly sessions on the intersection of education and gaming.  (Your Trade Day badge also gives you a pass for the rest of the four day convention.)  Trade Day was my opportunity to fulfill a long-delayed quest, a way to learn from other educators who are using game-based learning, and a unique chance to celebrate KyEdRPG's first year anniversary.  

To say that GenCon filled me with knowledge, ideas and joy would be an understatement.   I wanted to capture here some highlights.

Trade Day Sessions

Like many education conferences, I got some golden nuggets throughout Trade Day, but I wanted to mention three memorable sessions in particular. 

Playful Learning: How Board Game Stores, Schools and Libraries Can Collaborate to Benefit Children

Jamie Mathy -- owner of Red Raccoon Games in Bloomington, IL and married to a fourth grade teacher! -- gave an excellent keynote address.  He is clearly passionate about issues of equity, starting with his belief that "Everyone should have a safe place to play games."   He sees the fastest growing segment of gamers is high school girls playing D & D, which as a father of two daughters, makes me happy! Mathy had many ideas for how a game store can work better with a school, including:

• As educators reach out to a store and need to purchase games for extracurricular clubs or events, have ready some pre-packaged "tiers" of starter sets at various price levels, depending on the school's budget.
• Coordinate with event schedulers as far in advance as possible, especially for public libraries.
• Have small giveaways for students who complete reading programs.  Mathy talked about having an aquarium full of inexpensive polyhedron dice where students are allowed to pull out two.  Costwise, it is a modest investment for him: barely .15 a student.
• Offer staff as volunteers to help run gaming events.
• Create coupons that a school can give away for a percentage off a single item, with a small percentage of the coupon sales going back to the school.  (A variation of this is a percentage of sales on a certain night or weekend going back to the school for those that mention the school's name, similar to how schools use "pizza nights" as fundraisers.)  Of course, this is good promotion for the store as well.
• Have a social media partnership.  A store can repost the gaming events/opportunities at the school to help it spread the word, with the hope that the educators can do the same for the special events of their game store community partner.
• Host in-store opportunities to "teach the teacher" how to play popular and just released games.
• Mathy fairly pointed out that while stores may occasionally be able to donate materials or offer significant discounts, they are still a business and can't give everything away for free all of the time.  It's a reminder that educators need to respectfully consider the type and amount of requests they make, not assume generosity is a blank check that lasts indefinitely, and to honor their side of developing an ongoing relationship with a store in finding ways to pay it forward.
• Try to create legacy programs with schools that deepen and enrich (in both learning and financial ways!) over time.  Having a relationship with a "teacher champion" of game-based learning is likely the key to start, but teachers also can come and go.  Find ways to keep in touch with multiple levels of school leadership and community (the admin, the PTA, etc.) and keep telling the story of your mutually beneficial partnership.

Gaming in Libraries:  Bridging the Gap

Clare O'Tsuji is a public librarian with the Kent District in Michigan.   Her presentation was chock full of statistics and research on the power of game-based learning, particularly on literacy. Firstly, she reminded me about Marc Prensky's work on the positive impact of games and play on learning -- namely, that playing games reduces stress and increase productivity.  O'Tsuji emphasized that effective gaming program in libraries -- and connected learning in general -- need to build relationships (teacher-student as well as peer to peer), incorporate student interests, and provide opportunities where educators can enrich and deepen learning via those interests and relationships.  (One relationship-building tip: sit beside students and learn a new game together.)  Lastly, I loved how O'Tsuji framed key literacy elements as "discussion, joy, and cooperation," all of which gaming naturally integrates. 

Creating a RPG Summer Camp

I admit I have bias when I say that my favorite session came from Tom Gross and Dan Reem, high school educators from Illinois.  (Tom and Dan host the Teachers in the Dungeon podcast of which I was a recent guest, and this GenCon was our first opportunity to meet face to face!)  But Dan and Tom's session on their annual summer roleplaying game camp was full of pragmatic advice, as well as generous resources (including an example day-by-day schedule!) of how to effectively start up and facilitate such a camp at your own school.  Dan and Tom's camp now runs four days long with the number of participants almost doubling every year.  Here are some highlights from what they shared:

• Understand your "why" of having a RPG camp, and create a list of your camp non-negotiables.  Dan and Tom's non-negotiables include using recent alumni and game club members to help facilitate camp attendee groups as their "dungeon masters," giving students time to learn and develop skills as well as play a multi-day continuous story, and introducing students to hobbies and careers adjacent to roleplaying games (such as dice making, comic book art creation, and miniature figure painting).
• Invite other educator colleagues to come by the camp, especially from the school admin and your district central office.  Seeing in person the positive learning culture, the development of literacy, and the students' practicing of durable skills will go a long way to earn support against skeptics who may think roleplaying games are frivolous and non-educational.
• Catch a student "doing good" (for example, being helpful and inclusive to another student) and reward them with a ticket that can be used in drawings for door prizes at the end of each day and/or the whole camp.
• Reach out to community partners early, to better ensure their ability to participate or donate.
• Reciprocate in your partnership with community members, particularly those that donate materials, volunteer time, or offer something at a discount.  Help publicize and celebrate their willingness to help. (This is a great echo of what Jamie Mathy said in his keynote!)
• A student registration fee can help a student put "skin in the game" and be more likely to honor their camp commitment (Dan and Tom ask for $30), as well as help offset your expenses. But don't let fees be a barrier to students who might have a financial hardship.  Offer camp scholarships.
• Reflect on how the camp went as soon as it is over in order to find ways to improve it for next time, as well as celebrate your well-earned success stories -- in particular, capturing anecdotes about students who may have surprised you with how much they matured or rose to leadership levels.  (On that very subject, Dan and Tom published a podcast episode after every day of this year's summer camp; the first episode of the series is here [15:38]).

Among many delights and tips that Dan (right, standing) and Tom (left at podium) shared was a highlight reel of students reflecting on their RPG camp experience.  If there is any doubt in the power of TTRPGs on learning, these student voices would convince you otherwise.

GenCon Vendors

From the Trade Day Demo Night to the massive exhibit hall itself, I marveled at many a game, accessory and piece of art.  For the sake of this blog entry, I'll limit myself to highlighting some items that have educational potential, both as extracurricular and in-classroom opportunities.

• 9th Level Games has a "Polymorph" TTRPG (tabletop roleplaying game) system that is significantly simplified and socially inclusive. This, combined with their various thin pocket rulebooks, makes for compelling game options for younger students.  For example, The Excellents is a princess-themed RPG that could work well with upper elementary and middle school students.
• Alexandria RPG Library is based in Seattle and is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  They have amassed a collection of thousands of RPG rulebooks and boxsets going back decades, which they often curate and exhibit around the country.  Their online database may serve as a resource for teachers or students researching the history of tabletop roleplaying games, but their website may also be the start of some inquiry-based learning: What can the history of role-playing games tell us about a culture over time?  How do various gaming systems create mathematical balance to ensure fair playability?  In what ways are RPGs inclusive and exclusive (lack of translated materials, accessibility concerns, cultural insensitivities, etc.), and how can we make RPGs more inclusive?  How can a roleplaying game charity positively impact a local or global community, and how can we help increase that impact?
• Columbia Games has (among other historical options) The Last Spike, a board game about the expansion of railroads across the United States in the 1800's.   Even more helpful is their teacher resources to go with the game.
• Metal Weave Games probably deserves a shoutout just for their adorable Owlbear plushes, but for educational purposes, I want to highlight their Baby Bestiary Companion Rules supplement.  The book uses D&D fifth edition rules, and shows how to incorporate a character rescuing and raising a newborn fantasy monster.  This could be a way to bring in younger players into a roleplaying game experience that doesn't necessarily involve fighting and battles.
• Nations & Cannons is a newer TTRPG that would be perfect for a secondary social studies class.  Using the D&D fifth edition rules, players can create characters set during the American Revolutionary War.  From a local standpoint, I was particularly excited to hear they are working on a supplement that includes Kentucky's Fort Boonesborough!  There's plenty of game material to peruse on their website, as well as some educator opportunities to explore.  
• Oddfish Games has some items that are just plain fun, including a guidebook on How to RPG with Your Cat.  But they also have products that could inspire some educational integration.  Their line of Adventure Scents could not only add to the ambiance of a roleplaying game journey, but could also increase the immersive experiences during a readaloud of a story, be the kickoff (whiff-off??) of a descriptive writing piece, or amplify a "you are there" moment of history.  Oddfish also publishes Cooking with Dice: The Acid Test, which could gamify a culinary arts unit or even the entire course.
• Rowan, Rook and Decard, who describe their company as "strange games for curious people," have made dozens of one page RPGs.  These games obviously have very light rulesets which make them extremely playable when you have limited time or need something that won't overwhelm students with too much complexity, factors that are often the case in school settings.  While some of their RPGs lean toward darker themes with adult language, they do have a collection of ten one-page roleplaying games for younger players.
• Treasure Falls Games is about to release The Quest Kids: Giant Adventure.  In their words, it is a "life-sized fantasy game experience" with a simplified rule set geared toward students kindergarten age and up.  Large durable tiles are placed on the ground, and students are to choose a pathway from one tile to the next while overcoming challenges and collecting tokens along the way.  There is a kinesthetic aspect about the game I find intriguing!  This might be a good alternative activity for an elementary PE class, or even as a way to do a creative indoor recess.

In closing, I have to compliment the camaraderie I experienced at GenCon, which was truly moving.  From nearly every attendee and vendor I met or literally bumped shoulders with, I encountered endless permutations of kindness and generosity.  If by chance some of those new friends read this entry, thank you for your willingness to welcome me as a new member of the GenCon community.   I certainly hope to return!