Reflections on Gen Con 2017

Post date: Aug 31, 2017 10:04:27 PM

For the second year, I attended a huge convention in Indianapolis with my grown children, Jon and Mikki, and Jon’s sons, ages 4 and 6. We stayed with Mikki in her small condo, where her two cats regarded us with yowls if the food bowls were empty and jumped up on our beds in the middle of the night.

The convention is called Gen-Con and it’s been around for a few years: this was the 50^th anniversary. Over 200,000 people showed up and they were a very diverse group with one thing in common: they love to play board games. For someone who doesn’t play games, it might seem puzzling but hang around long enough and you will find a game you enjoy.

I went along for two reasons: time with my children and grandchildren and a chance to play Granny Nanny and help out, so that my two grown children can have some time together. However, we spent a lot of time all together which was wonderful. My daughter’s fiancé also joined us so that was a bonus!

How can such a big crowd of people gather in Indianapolis and be so polite? I have a lower back injury and used my bright red rollator to get around: at times the crowds made it difficult to navigate hallways and the various rooms. We had our own little parade, with a stroller and rollator but people were so kind, so helpful – opening doors, smiling, and stepping aside to let us pass. I was amazed, humbled, and smiled back to say thank you.

Another aspect of Gen Con is Cosplay: a small number of people come in costumes, often as recognizable characters from Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Avengers, or other Comic book characters. This year we had three or four people in huge inflated dinosaur suits and some people in strange garb that I could not connect with any specific movie, cartoon or genre. My son dressed up as Dr. Who one day and the Flash the next. My grandsons dressed up one day as The HULK and Captain America; they got to walk with Dad, as the Flash, in the costume parade on Saturday, and were quite a hit.

My daughter has dressed up as Princess Leia in the past and encouraged me to find something as well. So, last year I did some online shopping and found a long black dress with a picture of the Starship Enterprise on the lower skirt. I wore my new dress to Gen Con one day and had an amazing time. I posed with a man who was dressed up like Mr. Spock and a group of people in very cool Star Trek uniforms who looked like they had just stepped off the bridge for a coffee break. This year I decided to focus on helping with the boys, so the dress stayed home.

Gen Con lasts for four days in August and takes over downtown Indianapolis: food trucks line the streets in front of the big Convention Center, hotels fill up and convention goers wander around downtown, with their bright lanyards, backpacks and big smiles. I cannot imagine the financial impact of Gen Con, but it must be significant.

I referred to the diversity of the group earlier: many of them look like the stereotypical young men who you imagine sat in their parents’ basement and played computer games in high school. Some of them were walking around by themselves, but many were in small groups; I half expected to see the cast of The Big Bang Theory walk around the corner, with Howard, Raj, Leonard and Sheldon arguing about what to do first.

However, there were also a number of young families with strollers. The Conference set aside an area called the Training Grounds for families to hang out, play with the children, and let them run around a castle made of empty vendor boxes. It was located next to the restrooms, a food area and featured one small curtained off space for “crawlers,” and another curtained off area for breastfeeding mothers. We spent several hours each day there with the boys, and it was a wonderful retreat, as well as a handy place to eat lunch.

Lots of games were geared to kids and we played a number with the grandsons: one focused on categories of fruit and keeping them away from the crow. I liked it and then looked at the boxer close-- it was geared for two years old and up. Another game had players trying to avoid zombies as they made their way to an evacuation place. Knowing Grandma Cherie was not a big gamer, the boys tried to encourage me and give me helpful tips for playing the games: my four year old grandson beat us all at one game, and the six year old won another one!

Not only were there a lot of teens, young adults and families, I was amazed at the number of older people in attendance, as well as people with mobility issues like me. We passed a number of people using wheelchairs and walkers or couples where one pushed the other’s wheelchair. People also stopped me to admire my cool wheels (a red Nitro rollator with big tires that folds easily) and ask where I found it (Mike found it on Amazon, of course).

We also saw lots of attractive young people who might have been the jocks, Theater geeks, or cool kids in high school. Some were dressed up in costumes, many had tattoos, and all of them were excited to be there. Strangely enough, I recognized at least a couple of dozen people from last year, mostly due to their costumes. Many cosplayers were professional level with attention to detail: all were cordial to requests for photos, especially with children.

Gen Con relies on a great deal of volunteer labor and it was evident that they do training. Volunteers wore bright colored t-shirts and were knowledgeable and helpful. Of course many of them had attended a number of previous conventions, or cons.

Lots of money gets made at Gen Con with several areas for vendors. People can sit down and try out a new game before they buy it, and I saw people doing this for games geared to adults and children alike. An amazing array of products are there for sale, ranging from jewelry, art, clothing, cosplay gear, games, books, toys, blankets, and some stuff I could not even identify as we walked by the booths. For a second year I resisted buying my husband a cargo skirt with pleats: they looked comfy, had lots of pockets, but were too pricey for my comfort zone.

While we were in Indianapolis, we ate at what is one of the best delis ever: Shapiros has an old fashioned cafeteria style line, with a separate area for take-out. They have wonderful sandwiches, meat loaf, salads, and bakery. The original store is near downtown and we’ve eaten at another location at a mall on a previous trip. (Mikki also got donuts from a local bakery called Long’s and they were fabulous).

All in all, it was a wonderful and hectic five days: we made memories, played a lot of games, and had fun watching all of the people in costumes. I’m even thinking about putting together a costume for next year!

Last updated August 31, 2017

Also posted on my Blogger, https://bloggingbasicswithcherie.blogspot.com/2017/08/reflections-on-gen-con-2017.html