I started writing an article to rant about how a couple of people were condescending when they heard I was going to a tabletop gaming convention. It was full of great witticisms and comebacks to their arguments with the thought that you could have ammunition to use when others put you down for enjoying this great hobby of playing tabletop games. When I came back to it to edit it for this week's Sunday article I realized I didn't want to say those things because, for me, gaming has been a way of bringing people together. Instead, I present these thoughts, published and unedited.Gaming is a way to share a social event with others who have a common interest. Conventions are an extension of the social event with a larger group. We go to our choice of convention, or other shows, because there is something there we are interested in. I know people who go to car shows and boat shows every year. Others go electronic fairs, or music festivals. There are events for every taste and hobby. Sporting events do the same thing by bringing people with a common interest together.
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| The game library a couple of years ago |
I like to keep an open mind about letting people join my gaming table. Not everyone is going to do it. I know the people who I had recent conversations with would not sit down for a night of playing tabletop games. It is their loss. Our gaming group is a good group and even those who don't show up regularly, some haven't sat in on a game for years, are still friends. That is because of the shared experiences we have had.
Other events create shared experiences, but many of them don't have the same level of depth. Games, all games, provide a level of personal interaction. If you are into sports, there is the level of competition that is naturally built in. The push to win by overcoming your opponent or through personal perfection. Tabletop games have that also, there just not usually as physical. What makes tabletop games different is they create a wide variety of experiences.
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| One of Eight shelves of RPG books |
Yes, I hear the people who have told me before they remember the soccer game when something special happened. I am not denying that. Tabletop games allow for a wider range. Role-playing games (RPGs) allow the players to do more. Over the years I have played RPGs that have allowed me to go on epic fantasy adventures, have shootouts in the old west, perform espionage, fly a spaceship, hunt vampires, and be a gangster, mutant, and mouse. This also applies to other games.
Conventions kick this up a level. Our small group becomes part of the larger community at the convention.
This week I will be attending SaltCon 2017 where there will be over a thousand gamers in attendance. It is like going to a sporting event except all of us will be playing instead of watching. We won't be playing the same game, but we will be sharing in the experience of the convention. An experience that becomes part of the social conscious that can be drawn on in other settings.When you see the people from a convention in another location it provides a bond. It might be because of a game you played together, or from the general event. One thing I like is the fact of acceptance that even if you were opponents across the board you can be friends. There is no us versus them and I have never heard a player get booed at a gaming convention.
Thursday, March 2 through Sunday, March 5, 2017 is SaltCon in Layton, Utah. I'll be there all four days, Every day I am running an official RPG for the convention, but I may also be running pick-up games. If I am not in that area I will be around playing games, talking with gamers, developers, and others who share an interest.
If you are in the area, stop by. Feel free to look me up and say hello. We all are part of the gaming community and for me that can be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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