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*NOT* Just a Game Con...or maybe...

Greg Dewar
The Commuter

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

“It’s just a game; you’re supposed to have fun with it.” says Matt of Matt’s Cavalcade of comics standing amidst boxes of boardgames and tabletop rulebooks. This is his explanation for the nomenclature of his gaming convention, called “Just A Game Con”. The hot dog he’s been trying to find time to eat for the last few hours has grown cold by now and appears lonely on a table not far away. I appear to be the latest in what I imagine is a steady stream of distractions.

For Matt this is the 9th gaming convention that he’s hosted at the Benton County fairgrounds. Once a year, this year on April 18 and 19 from 10 a.m. Saturday until 6 p.m. Sunday, Matt packs up inventory from his store, lays out tables and starts helping people schedule events for “32 hours of straight gaming.”

The main event that took place during the local convention this year, which drew players from as far away as Canada to compete in, is the Legend of the Five Rings, which is a storyline game that is affected by players, or a Kotei tournament. It takes place on a national level of which this convention is one of the stops. A variety of tabletop experiences took place in addition to the Kotei tournament ranging from the fan favorite Dungeons and Dragons to lesser known games such as Silverton, a game set in the historic mining areas of the west that includes railroading and market management.

Other experiences to be partaken of were: the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) events that were mostly LARPING (Live-Action Role Playing), CCGs (Collectible Card Games) such as Magic: The Gathering, Anime being constantly played on a variety of TVs, console games that ranged from Halo 3 to Rock Band, and a Computer LAN (Local Area Network) that consisted of 90% Commuter staff. We rocked Battlefield 1942, but got sidetracked when an Unknown Armies game was hosted, and didn’t make it back to our computers to leave until it was time to pass out.

The entry fee was $6 for one day and $10 for both days, children 10-years-old and under got in for free. At the end of the event, door prizes were offered.

When asked why Matt goes through it all every year, hosting what can only be considered a chaotic event, he replies: “I like getting people together and I like gaming”, which is obvious, I don’t know why I even asked that. Matt flew back just in time to make the event from Las Vegas, where he was demoing a new game line called Bucephalus. According to Matt there are generally 30-35 people who stay all 32 hours of the event.
I noticed that “Seeth” owner of Fantasy Knights in Albany had a table at the convention with his wares. I asked Matt about competition and their relationship: “We call each other if one of us doesn’t have something.” He described their working relationship as good: they schedule tournaments for the same game on different days so as not to compete.

Biggest challenge to the convention? Finding adequate help to setup, tear down, and to moderate the event. Matt’s “perennial favorite is Munchkin, it’s always fun to watch people play Munchkin” he says, though he wholeheartedly recommends a game entitled “Puerto Rico” which was game of the year last year. The stable of games that Matt brings to the con are made available for checkout with an Oregon Drivers License; a library of 50-60, meaning if you get bored of what you bought or wanted to try that one you’ve seen sitting on the shelf for awhile, it’s a great chance to do it amidst an ample player base.

Pick-up games ran all night, and when I left around 5 a.m. with the rest of The Commuter’s staff, I could still hear dice rolling, a lone guitarist was playing Rock Band, and on couches, under tables, and on the floor, nerds slumbered peacefully, awaiting the startup of Sunday gaming at 8:00 a.m.

Matt’s Cavalcade of comics is located at 2075 NW Buchanan Ave. in Corvallis. The phone number is 541-752-6757. The convention’s website can be found at http://home.centurytel.net/GOMC/JAGC.htm.

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