Everyone is getting amped up for GenCon which I am, sadly, not attending. Whether you will or will not be at GenCon next weekend, for those folks who live in the southwestern USA, there is a smaller convention coming up in August that I will be attending and it looks like it is going to be a lot of fun.

STGCON—the first annual board game convention in St. George, Utah—is taking place August 21 – 23. Running from Noon on Friday to 6pm on Sunday, this convention will have open gaming for both board games and RPGs, scheduled events, tournaments, and more than 40 play-to-win games including Alchemists, Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Dead of Winter, Panamax, Aquasphere and many more. Hotel rooms in the hotel where the convention is being held are only $70 a night.

The event has a number of sponsors/vendors who will be in attendance or contributing to the games that will be available during the convention including Rio Grande Games, iello, Stonemaier Games, greater/than/games, TMG, Asmadi, Calliope Games and others.

In addition to the retail games available, there will be a space set aside each day for a flea market for gamers wishing to sell or trade games from their own collection.

I dipped my toe in the board game convention waters with MeepleCon in Las Vegas earlier this year and am very much looking forward to attending STGCON as my second board game convention.

I’m trying to formulate a game plan for what I’m going to do while I’m there. While I’m sure I’ll end up deviating from my plan a little (or entirely…) here are the things I’d like to do during my time in St. George.

1) Get a semi-large group of people together to play Two Rooms and a Boom

I have a print-and-play version of this game that I threw together rather haphazardly, but the biggest game I’ve gotten to play in was with 10 or 11 people at my weekly meetup. I’d love to play this game with 20 or 25 people (at least) to see how crazy it can get.

2) Play the hot, new game Spyfall

I haven’t gotten to play Spyfall yet (I just heard about the online version not long ago, so I want to check that out) and I’m hoping there will be a copy or two of the physical game floating around the con that I can weasel my way into. I’m DYING to play this game and I think it will be a ton of fun.

3) Play at least 10 games I’ve never played before

When I’m in a group of people I am unfamiliar with, I think I tend to gravitate toward games I AM familiar with. I want to make sure I step outside my comfort zone and try some new games. When I was at MeepleCon, I played a lot of new-to-me games, and while not all of them were a hit—I’m apparently the only person who doesn’t like “Concordia”—I think it’s good as a gamer to expand my game palate to help me discover new things.

4) Take part in at least one RPG Session

Considering all the nerdy hobbies I have, I’m surprised I’ve never gotten into RPGing. I got to participate in a couple sessions of D&D 5th Edition at MeepleCon and really loved it, but haven’t worked a regular RPG into my schedule. I want to make sure I jump into something, possibly non-D&D, to expand my knowledge of and experience with RPGs.

5) Have fun

This is a given. You put me around a bunch of board games and a bunch of people who also love board games and I’m basically in heaven. That being said, it’s still worth mentioning because for me, having fun is the most important thing and will trump all the goals above depending on the situation!

I’d love to hear from you about what board game conventions you have already attended this year or any upcoming conventions you’re planning on visiting. If you will be at STGCON, please try to seek me out and say hello!

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