Weeks before Gen Con, the message was sent as far and wide as possible: construction was going to cause headaches for the tens of thousands of visitors to the heartland. The main thoroughfare that connects Indianapolis to its international airport was closed, which meant board game tourists were scrambling to find the easiest and fastest routes downtown. When it’s Gen Con, everyone wants to squeeze every minute out of their gaming vacation. Detours will always crop up, but some of those delays may yield a brand-new perspective.
This is just the first phase of big changes coming to Indianapolis, all for the glory of Gen Con. Two of the surrounding hotels and the Indianapolis Convention Center itself will be expanding in the upcoming years. Two new hotels are also set to begin construction in the next year or two with all of these changes coming to a head by 2023.
Yet the construction of Gen Con’s host city also reflects the gaming industry that Gen Con celebrates. The continued swelling and expansion of the exhibit hall is not only being tested by the growing behemoth of Asmodee who owns, represents, or distributes for nearly 50 publishers across the globe, but the continued growth of Entrepreneur’s Avenue where publishers get their first official booths at Gen Con. What was once the domain for niche publishers is now the home for international giants making their Gen Con debut (Fruerland, Hobby World) as well as publishers that are primed as up-and-coming (Weird Giraffe, Orange Nebula).
This story is from the Fall 2019 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Fall 2019 edition of Casual Game Insider.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
GAME REVIEWS
This little card game takes only a couple of minutes to teach, but is surprisingly engaging and full of fun.
Fun Is No Mystery with: Scorpion masqué
Scorpion Masqué is a Montreal-based board game publisher founded in 2006 by former literature teacher and game enthusiast Christian Lemay
PAGE TURNERS: Games Unfurl Their Majestic Pages
Have you picked up a good book lately? Perhaps you've struggled to find inspirational reading material
Josh Cappel: A Man of Many Hats
The name Josh Cappel is synonymous with variety. If you have a shelf of board games, it's likely that at least one of them has been touched by Cappel
PLAY FUNKOVERSE LIKE A PRO
Have you ever heard about the Funkoverse board game series? If not, then you are in for a real treat
PASSPORT TO FUN: This Summer's Sizzling New Casual Games
From a quaint festival in Portugal to impending doom in ancient China, or from the peaceful tranquility of a Japanese garden to the tarmac of the Montréal airport, the new casual board games of the summer of 2023 read like a captivating travel brochure
Scram! CRITTERS VS. CAMPERS
One team faces another in Bezier Games' latest card-shedding gam
Hand-to-Hand Wombat is Major Fun!
The Concept - No one knows why wombats enjoy architecture. A desire to build towers is buried deep in their bones. But there are exceptions: wicked wombats, born to make trouble.
A Part-Time Venture Creating Full-Time Fun
hawn Stankewich, along with co-founders Robb Melvin and Molly Johnson, started Seattle-based Flatout Games in 2017. Robb and Shawn lived in the same dorm in college and developed a friendship through playing board games. Molly was already into games when she met Shawn and Robb in 2013. After four years of friendship and playing games, they decided to design their own.
THE KULTURE OF GAMES:
How Board Games Continue to Reflect Growing & Emergent Communities
