Last weekend, I got a rare opportunity, to actually go to a convention that I wasn’t working or helping at in any official capacity. We shall not speak of the day before, when rain, accidents, and general malaise contributed to the worst trip to the north I’ve had since war was declared back in 2011, but I will speak of the days that followed, that made up for all that misery.
What I found was a well organised convention, two good trade halls, a bring and buy and a board games library, and plenty of open gaming space. What I also found was a good team running it, and a cheerful bunch of volunteers making sure that everything was good. This is the hardest part of any convention, getting people who are enthused, who love the hobby as you do, and who are willing to give their time so that others have a great time.
It’s difficult making comment on other conventions, particularly when you’re an organiser of conventions yourself. There are very few other people in this position in the country, and if I’m honest, most of us know each other well, so when we go to each other’s shows, we tend to keep quiet about it.
Not today…
Tabletop Scotland was superb in every way, a relaxed atmosphere despite having a lot of people there, a good separation between open gaming and dealers/bring and buy, and a good seminar track with entertainment late in the night. I didn’t get to play many games, but that’s because people noticed I was “Off Duty”, and therefore grabbed me to talk about things they needed to talk about. It’s all good, and I managed to organise a whole bunch of things that I could never have done while I was working a convention, all while catching up with loads of friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen since the before times. I did get to play Dune Imperium, which was excellent, and now I have to find a copy somehow, and I got to speak to David Wright about conventions, plans for the future, and how things are going to improve going forwards, for all the conventions out there.
The weekend went by quickly, and I have to thank Virginia, Garry, Marc “Capone” Farrimond, Sally, Ian, Naomi, Rachel, Flav, Reece, David, John, Richard, Jane, Cory, and many others for making one of my few weekends off an excellent time. I’ll be back next year, and I'd recommend this wholeheartedly to anyone who wants a good time.
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