Over the last 4 days, a few thousand people gathered in a convention center in St. Louis to play games. Geekway to the West 2023 is one of the true highlights of my year so far, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Geekway team for creating such a festive, welcoming, and exciting event.
When you picture a game convention, you might envision the throngs of booths and crowds at exhibitions like Gen Con or Essen Spiel. But many conventions–including Geekway–are local/regional, and they feel much more like an extended day of gaming.
In today’s post I’m going to bounce around between a few different perspectives in relation to Geekway and other local/regional conventions: my own (game design, content creation, community building), Stonemaier Games (publishing), convention coordinators, and gamers/attendees.
- Play-and-Win: I’ve raved about play-and-win systems many times (including recently), so I’ll keep this brief. Geekway is a testament to the compelling power of play-and-win, which is when a convention provides/coordinates a robust section of games that people can check out to play, and near the end of the convention 1 person who played each game will win it (ideally with any given attendee winning a max of 1 game). I checked into the play-and-win room a few times to see nearly every game checked out from the shelves. I regularly saw people checking out games that they weren’t planning to try simply because that’s what was available–it’s an incredible way to reach people who haven’t even heard of your game. With Expeditions production completing just in time for Geekway, we air-mailed a few copies for Geekway’s play-and-win, and I think they were checked out pretty much constantly.
Go with the flow: My experience with Geekway is that if you try to schedule specific games with specific people at specific times, you end up either (a) rushing to finish games to stay on schedule or (b) waiting around for others to finish their games. As a result, I try not to schedule anything at Geekway–my goal and how I accomplish it is to simply wander around the main hall looking for any published game to play (or for people to help if I saw them learning or playing a Stonemaier game). When the game ends, I get up and wander around some more. In this way, I played almost 20 different games with over 50 people this year. The one small exception that can work is to schedule the very first game of the day in the morning, then leave the rest of the day open for flexible gaming.- Say hi to people you want to meet: One of my favorite things about Geekway is meeting and playing games with a vast variety of people. If you go to a convention, you might see someone you recognize from the gaming industry (designer, publisher, artist, content creator, etc). Every person is different, but I can say for me–and probably others–that I genuinely want to meet you if you want to meet me. It was a joy to talk to everyone who came over to say hi at Geekway, and I’m glad I got to play games with many of you as well. Also, it was special to have the full team for The Mill at Geekway this year–Dusty, Carol, and Molly are amazing!
- Doing business at the convention: While my approach to Geekway is driven by my desire to connect with my fellow gamers over new-to-me published games, conventions are also a good time to meet face-to-face with people in the industry. I highly recommend scheduling these meetings in advance, though. And whether you’re planning in advance or chatting impromptu at the event, I recommend first asking the person about their priorities. For example, instead of putting someone on the spot by asking, “Will you playtest my prototype now?”, ask “Are there any times during the convention when you’re playtesting prototypes?” I’m using playtesting as one example here largely because playtesting is work–you’re asking someone else to do you a favor, and maybe they just want to play games that have already been playtested (i.e., published games). I did playtest one prototype at Geekway, and it was an on-the-spot decision for me to ask the designer (who dropped in to say hi) if he was open to playing it with me. He was, and I had a lot of fun playing Kraken Skulls with Chris, and I look forward to seeing it on Kickstarter soon.
- Shorten your nametag: Geekway offers great nametags (names on both sides, pronouns, non-scratch clips, etc). The one small catch is that if you’re sitting at a table with people, your nametag hangs below the surface of the table–other people can’t see your name while you’re playing. So I recommend tying your nametag to make it a little shorter and thus easier to see.
- Find your ideal space and time: Geekway offers a variety of halls where you can play games, ranging from the grand hall that can fit around 1000 people to smaller halls for 50-300 people. There’s even a quiet room if you just need to chill for a bit. Feel free to try playing in several different places on the first day, then anchor in the hall/room that fits best. Also, feel free to play as much or as little as you like. I have friends who stayed up until 2:00 am playing games at Geekway, while I usually went home around 7:00 or 8:00 to work for a few hours before getting some much-needed sleep.
Booth presence: Geekway has a vendor hall, and this year for the first time we had a booth thanks to my coworker Dave (and helpers Henry, Sloane, and Kale)! The goal wasn’t to sell, but rather to have fun and inform. Anyone could stop by the booth to learn any of our games or just hang out. We also offered some of our webstore-only products (Rolling Realms promo packs and disc golf discs), as people don’t need to pay shipping when buying at the booth.- Food/water: I typically eat an early lunch before heading over to Geekway, then I leave in the evening before eating a late dinner. I want to maximize the time I spend with people and games. There were a few days when I headed over to the convention much earlier, though, and for those I think it’s helpful to keep a Clif Bar in my pocket so I can eat while playing. We had a few shareholders in town for Geekway, and we took a lunch break at Mission Taco on Saturday, which was nice. Also, I always keep a water bottle on me, and Geekway is also great at providing water stations in every hall.
Disc golf: One fun thing I tried this year is inviting anyone and everyone to play a round of disc golf with me early on Sunday morning at a park fairly close to the convention center. Over a dozen people showed up–some regular golfing buddies and some new folks wanting to try it–and I thought it was a lot of fun.- What I played: I always have a list of games I want to try at Geekway that I share publicly in case anyone wants to play with me, and I’m grateful for everyone who joined me for those games (especially everyone who taught). I also tried to go with the flow and play some games that were off my radar, as well as some games I already knew (sometimes it’s nice to give your brain a break from learning/teaching). Games I already knew and still had fun playing were Boop, Red Rising, Libertalia, Race for the Galaxy, and disc golf. I’ll delve into these new-to-me games on YouTube soon: Kraken Skulls, Broken & Beautiful, Honga, Bug Council of Backyardia, Revive, Mosaic, Horrified, Trekking Through History, HerStory, Challengers, My City: Roll & Build, Nimalia, and Spots. I genuinely enjoyed every game I played!
If you attended Geekway this year or have attended a local/regional convention, how was your experience? What would you recommend to others looking to try or revisit this type of play-focused convention?
Also, if you want to attend Geekway next year, sign up here! I have no stake in Geekway itself other than my love of the convention and the people who attend.
Also read:
- The Current State of Play-and-Win
- 2 Ways to Take Care of Yourself at Conventions
- Top 10 Things You Should Know About Gen Con
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20 Comments on “10 Highlights and Insights from Geekway to the West 2023”
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Oh! Excited to read you may cover Trekking through History and HerStory, both of which I was involved in. Danielle mentioned you’d taken a crack at both. If you cover them, don’t feel shy about being critical. We learn how to be better from good criticism.
Thanks Nick! My videos aren’t reviews–I only highlight things I enjoy (I don’t criticize). Really, the only thing that stood out strongly is that I think the designer(s) and artist deserve to have their names on the front of the box.
Yeah I know you’re very kind to games. If you ever made an exception and got critical, I nominate us as the target :) – Danielle also mentioned your argument for the names on the box, and I was persuaded. I don’t know if my colleagues will be, but I’ll make the same argument to them to see if they go for it.
Thanks! Just to note, it was me who brought up the box–I didn’t mean to put Danielle on the spot. She was incredibly kind and gracious to teach us the game, and I’m really impressed by her work in the game.
It’s all good. I don’t think she felt on the spot at all. She seems to have had a great time. And yeah, she’s a special person.
Jamey, I’m glad we got to chat briefly on Sunday, and bummed neither of us were able to find an open game of Heat this weekend!
This was my first Geekway, and like others have said, I scheduled too much the first couple days. I had to rush from the end of a game of Rolling Heights (one of my favorite new games this weekend) to a scheduled event, and that took a little bit of fun out of what was an incredible experience.
I will say, something worth scheduling is a Geek Guide shift or two! The conference has a stellar staff working around the clock to make sure everyone has a great time. Extra special kudos to the IT team who navigated servers and computers breaking down in the Play & Win and Library this year. That said, Geekway staff leans heavily on volunteers to keep the flow of the conference focused on getting games in peoples’ hands. I felt honored to work shifts this year alongside joyful people with good hearts, thinking on our feet while the internet was giving us issues. I would encourage people to volunteer next year as Geek Guides if they have the desire and energy – shifts are scheduled, but well worth it.
And YES to shortening your name badges haha!
It was great to meet you, Johnny! What you said that day (and here) about scheduling vs going with the flow really resonated with me. And that’s a great tip about working as a Geek Guide for a few shifts!
This was our first trip to Geekway and I agree with your assessment of this Con. I did not know what to expect and so I signed up for a number of things ahead of time. I love the friendly, unstructured gaming that was happening. The things that I signed up for, a couple tournaments and several demos, I would’ve been able to easily join without signing up ahead of time. I know I’ll be back, but next time I will not sign up for much ahead of time.
Pat: I’m glad you mentioned this, as the sign-up element is completely off my radar based on my approach to Geekway, but there are some fun things for people to sign up for in advance.
OBTW- I’m one of the organizers for our local convention in Des Moines, called Cardboard Caucus. We’re about the same size as Geekway Mini. It’s October 27-29 this year, and we’d love to see you or anybody else who wants to attend!
Thanks for letting my wife and I play through your group. I stopped by the booth afterwards and bought a new driver, as I put several new dents in the one I was using on that hole.
Nice! It was fun to see some fellow Geekway attendees on the course. :)
This was my 4th time going to Geekway and it was a blast! There were 7 people (myself included) from my gaming group in KC that went and 1 friend from out of town. This is our second year where I thought our organization was impeccable for maximizing gaming and fun. Here are some of the things we did:
1. Each person pursued the play and win and Geekway Library early in April for games they were interested. We found a tool that allows you to compare your “want to play” games with someone else’s (the Geekway Library) “Owned” games to help with this process.
2. Each person then came up with a list of 4-9 games they’d learn in advance (I went a little overboard by learning 9 games 🤣 ) and teach at the con.
3. For those with access and time, we printed out player aids for games, particularly for the more complex ones to ease the burden of teaching and learning. Teotihuican and Golem would have taken easily an extra hour each without them!
4. We got up early each day, ate breakfast at the hotel, gamed until dinner for a break to try somewhere local (the Argentinian empanada place “Tango” has been our favorite the last 2 years), and then come back to continue gaming until usually 11 pm where we’d cap things off with a party game.
5. Each person brought snacks to share, so we didn’t get too hungry between breakfast and dinner.
6. We prioritized games we haven’t played before and games that are not owned by someone in the game group. This helps us to make informed decisions in purchases and leaves us tons of options throughout the year to play each other’s games that we’re interested in.
7. We didn’t really sign up for games outside of 1 or 2, so we didn’t have commitments to be anywhere. I played Heat this way, and that was it for me.
Overall, it has led to a ton of fun the last few years! Heat was my favorite game of the con and then it’s a toss up after that. I think I’ve played 20-25 new to me games each year and I sure do love playing new games 😁
Jesse: That’s a brilliant system, and I applaud your discipline! Did you mostly stick to your group at the convention, or did various other people join in? I discovered Tango Argentina last year too (and got it again this year)–it’s so good! :)
Just attended my local convention Cangames which is small volunteer run and organized. They had a play test area where designers could set up and run their games and a pick up area where they had a selection of games you could try with out having to book a session. I like the idea of play and win might suggest it for next year. Cangames also have three slots a day 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10 allowing plenty of time to play even the longest game and still grab something to eat before the next one. It was a fun weekend.
That sounds great! I like that conventions allow for the flexibility of playing longer games or lots of short games.
That all sounds awesome Jamey – unfortunately we don’t have as many gaming conventions in Australia – the number or size of those in America/Europe – and I’d love to one day get across to one or a few of them to immerse myself in the experience. However this weekend in Melbourne there is the first/inaugural Melbourne board game market event being run for local publishers/designers to show off/play test their games, as well as a flea/buy and sell market for games and accessories – which I’m looking forward to and then PAX later this year (October) – but hopefully more conventions will start to spring up here and around the country.
That’s great about the inaugural board game market! I think Geekway started as a gaming weekend in someone’s basement and just grew and grew–sometimes it’s just a matter of starting small and seeing what happens. :)
Just returned from Geekway & recently attended The Gaming Hoopla (NW suburb of Chicago). I like to PLAY games so these conventions focused on playing are what I gravitate towards. Nothing wrong with the commerce happening at Origins/Gen Con/PAX huge vendor areas – it’s just not for me at this point. One resource to locate these cons – is the website tabletop.events
Once you find these events – do schedule some events, but also leave some open time to try and play some pick up games – especially if you see the con has a game library, play & win and / or uses the players wanted/teachers wanted signs. Pay it forward – teach a game, ask someone in the library if they are looking for a plus one to play a game, etc. Have fun!
Thank you for sharing that resource, Chris! I especially like the tip about welcoming others in ways like teaching, clarifying rules, or just sharing your love of a game that someone is carrying around.