Game Con is free to attend and no registration is required!
AADL Game Con combines two popular AADL events from the past few years: Role Playing Game Fest and the 2023 Game Designer Expo.
Game Con is a super-charged gaming extravaganza featuring gaming sessions, presentations, and a Vendor Hall. Gaming sessions will be run all day long, while a schedule of presentations on a variety of topics related to RPGs, game design, and more will be available for attendees to participate in. Check out our Vendor Hall to meet local game designers presenting their work, or find the perfect accessory for your next game night.
AADL’s Call for Vendors is closed. Stay tuned for a list of vendors coming soon!
GAME CON PROGRAMMING
GM Like a Pro
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM • 4th Floor Meeting Room
Local Game Masters Chris Salzman, Andy Rau, and Phill Cameron will reveal their tried and true tips for running games. Stop by with your questions!
How to Run a Successful Kickstarter Campaign
1:00 – 2:00 PM • 4th Floor Meeting Room
Interested in funding your game? Local Game Designers Donn Stroud, Gordie Garwood, Al McWilliams, and Brian Beal discuss the ins and outs of running a Kickstarter Campaign for games. There will be time for questions!
Politicizing and Queering Game Dynamics
2:30 – 3:30 PM • 4th Floor Meeting Room
Game designer Avery Alder opens this talk with a question: Whose politics and experiences are we building our games around? After examining the importance of queer representation in games, this keynote will take a critical look at why representation isn’t enough. From there, Avery will explore how game mechanics and systems can be queered, subverting common structural assumptions in order to reflect a greater range of lived experiences. Examples will be drawn from the past two decades of independent tabletop roleplaying game design.
Avery Alder (she/her) is a queer game designer visiting from Amiskwaciwâskahikan. Her work includes Monsterhearts, The Quiet Year, Dream Askew, Ribbon Drive, and a host of smaller, scrappier projects. She designs games that tug at the heartstrings, challenging the ways we look at relationships and community. Click here for Avery’s website.
Worldbuilding for Gamers
4:00 – 5:00 PM • 4th Floor Meeting Room
Join us for a rich discussion of how to make your created world come alive for players. Featuring panelists Avery Alder, Jim Hall, and Kevin Siembieda.
GAMING SESSIONS
Game Con features 60 and 90-minute gaming sessions throughout the day, each run by local Game Masters. The 60-minute gaming sessions take place in AADL’s Secret Lab and the 90-minute sessions take place in the Multi-Purpose Room—both located in the lower level of the Downtown Library.
AADL has partnered with local GMs to offer a variety of gaming sessions throughout the day. Gaming sessions are first come, first served. Sign up sheets will be provided the day of Game Con so participants can reserve a spot at one game. Due to limited capacity, we ask participants to only sign up for a single session.
Gaming Sessions will feature a range of tabletop RPGS, including Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeon Crawl Classic, Wick and Wander, Root the RPG, and For the Queen.
60-Minute Gaming Sessions (Secret Lab)
Gaming Session: 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Gaming Session: 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Gaming Session: 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Gaming Session : 4:00 – 5:00 PM
90-Minute Gaming Sessions (Multi-Purpose Room)
Gaming Session: 12:30 – 2:00 PM
Gaming Session: 3:00 – 4:30 PM
