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"Mankind will reach maturity on the day it learns to value diversity—of life and ideas. To be different is not necessarily to be ugly; to have a different idea is not necessarily to be wrong. The worst thing that could happen is for all of us to look and think and act alike." Gene Roddenberry

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Friday, November 8
 

5:00pm CST

ARCS! - Learn to Play
Friday November 8, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Long ago, the Reach thrived. But our ancestors failed us, and I fear we’re no better. As we wrestle over the galaxy’s edge, can we break the cycle? Can we build something new?

Arcs is a sharp sci-fi strategy game for 2–4 players, set in a dark yet silly universe. Ready yourself for dramatic twists and turns as you launch into this galactic struggle.

  • One of the most anticipated games of 2024
  • Seize the initiative: Take actions with multi-use cards. Copy the leader, pivot to new tactics, or take the initiative for next round. Timing is everything.
  • Declare ambitions: In each game, you define the objectives that everyone competes over to win.
  • Crush your foes: Amass your navy for battle, plan your strategy with three kinds of dice, then roll them all at once to resolve the battle in a flash.

Speakers

Friday November 8, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Spring Room

5:00pm CST

Heat: Pedal to the Metal
Friday November 8, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm CST
The countdown begins and sudden deep roars cut through the air as all the cars leap away from their starting lines; the Grand Prix is underway. Dust and wind rush past your helmet as you enter the first corner. Pushing your engine to the limit, you almost spin out but tightening your grip on the steering wheel you slide through the corner apex still in first. You got this!

To stay at the front of the pack, you’ll need to push your car to the limit. Will your car endure the long straightaways or will your engine fail in the last curve because you’ve taken too much HEAT?

Based on simple and intuitive hand management, Heat: Pedal to the Metal puts you in the driver’s seat of intense car races. You are jockeying for position to cross the finish line first, while managing your car’s speed if you don’t want to overheat.

Learn to Play with an instructor ready to teach this simple yet fun game!
 
Speakers
avatar for Tiffany Voltz

Tiffany Voltz

Fandom additict. Fanfiction connoisseur. Professional napper. 

Friday November 8, 2024 5:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Spring Room

8:00pm CST

Mysterium
Friday November 8, 2024 8:00pm - 10:00pm CST
In the 1920s, Mr. MacDowell, a gifted astrologer, immediately detected a supernatural being upon entering his new house in Scotland. He gathered eminent mediums of his time for an extraordinary séance, and they have seven hours to make contact with the ghost and investigate any clues that it can provide to unlock an old mystery.

Unable to talk, the amnesiac ghost communicates with the mediums through visions, which are represented in the game by illustrated cards. The mediums must decipher the images to help the ghost remember how he was murdered: Who did the crime? Where did it take place? Which weapon caused the death? The more the mediums cooperate and guess well, the easier it is to catch the right culprit.

In Mysterium, a reworking of the game system present in Tajemnicze Domostwo, one player takes the role of ghost while everyone else represents a medium. To solve the crime, the ghost must first recall (with the aid of the mediums) all of the suspects present on the night of the murder. A number of suspect, location and murder weapon cards are placed on the table, and the ghost randomly assigns one of each of these in secret to a medium.

Each hour (i.e., game turn), the ghost hands one or more vision cards face up to each medium, refilling their hand to seven each time they share vision cards. These vision cards present dreamlike images to the mediums, with each medium first needing to deduce which suspect corresponds to the vision cards received. Once the ghost has handed cards to the final medium, they start a two-minute sandtimer. Once a medium has placed their token on a suspect, they may also place clairvoyancy tokens on the guesses made by other mediums to show whether they agree or disagree with those guesses.

After time runs out, the ghost reveals to each medium whether the guesses were correct or not. Mediums who guessed correctly move on to guess the location of the crime (and then the murder weapon), while those who didn't keep their vision cards and receive new ones next hour corresponding to the same suspect. Once a medium has correctly guessed the suspect, location and weapon, they move their token to the epilogue board and receive one clairvoyancy point for each hour remaining on the clock. They can still use their remaining clairvoyancy tokens to score additional points.
If one or more mediums fail to identify their proper suspect, location and weapon before the end of the seventh hour, then the ghost has failed and dissipates, leaving the mystery unsolved. If, however, they have all succeeded, then the ghost has recovered enough of its memory to identify the culprit.

Mediums then group their suspect, location and weapon cards on the table and place a number by each group. The ghost then selects one group, places the matching culprit number face down on the epilogue board, picks three vision cards — one for the suspect, one for the location, and one for the weapon — then shuffles these cards. Players who have achieved few clairvoyancy points flip over one vision card at random, then secretly vote on which suspect they think is guilty; players with more points then flip over a second vision card and vote; then those with the most points see the final card and vote.

If a majority of the mediums have identified the proper suspect, with ties being broken by the vote of the most clairvoyant medium, then the killer has been identified and the ghost can now rest peacefully. If not, well, perhaps you can try again...

Speakers
P

Pickles

Owner, Gen Con Library
Friday November 8, 2024 8:00pm - 10:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome
 
Saturday, November 9
 

9:00am CST

Forges of Ravenshire
Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00am - 11:00am CST
Grab a hammer and some steel, it’s time to forge! The Blacksmiths Guild of Ravenshire is in need of a new Forgemaster. You and your fellow smiths are competing to see who can make the most money and become the new Forgemaster.

Forges of Ravenshire is played over 4 seasons or rounds. Each season starts with the gathering phase where players will acquire contracts, recruit guild members, and gather resources. Players roll their dice workers and place one of them on an available location to gather resources. Then retrieve a different dice worker to gather even more resources. However, the various workers are from different guilds and when retrieved will activate the guilds you have invested in. All players will take turns placing one of their workers and retrieving another worker 3 times.

After the gathering phase is the production phase. Take those 3 dice workers you have taken and now place them on different areas of your forge to gather more resources, make charcoal or steel, and forge contracts to make money.
At the end of every season, check to see if any special titles have been earned. Titles bring prestige and hard-earned money.

Finally, roll your 3 dice workers again and prepare the county of Ravenshire for the next season.

Speakers
J

JJ

Gen Con Library
Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00am - 11:00am CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

9:00am CST

Return to the Dark Tower
Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CST
For an age, the tower lay in ruins. Unbeknownst to the people of the realm, a great evil stirred in its bowels. It started with strange sightings: a flock of crows flying in circles until they dropped from the sky, the lake frozen solid in the height of summer. In time, they could not deny that which they most feared.

The evil had not been vanquished. The darkness would soon fall again. The tower will rise.
A “sequel” to the 1981 grail game, Return to Dark Tower is a game for 1-4 players who take the role of heroes. Together, they gather resources, cleanse buildings, defeat monsters, and undertake quests to build up their strength and discern what foe ultimately awaits them.

When the heroes face the tower, the game shifts into its dramatic second act, where the players have one chance to defeat the enemy once and for all.
Speakers

Saturday November 9, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

10:00am CST

Cribbage Tournament
Saturday November 9, 2024 10:00am - 1:00pm CST
Challenge your cribbage skills against all comers, including the current and former Bosuns of the HMS Demon. The ringer from Ireland will be here this year. All level of players are welcome, this will be a single elimination tournament.
Moderators
Saturday November 9, 2024 10:00am - 1:00pm CST
Kent

2:00pm CST

Flamecraft
Saturday November 9, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Artisan dragons, the smaller and magically talented versions of their larger (and destructive) cousins, are sought by shopkeepers so that they may delight customers with their flamecraft. You are a Flamekeeper, skilled in the art of conversing with dragons, placing them in their ideal home and using enchantments to entice them to produce wondrous things. Your reputation will grow as you aid the dragons and shopkeepers, and the Flamekeeper with the most reputation will be known as the Master of Flamecraft.

In Flamecraft, 1-5 players take on the role of Flamekeepers, gathering items, placing dragons and casting enchantments to enhance the shops of the town. Dragons are specialized (bread, meat, iron, crystal, plant and potion) and the Flamekeepers know which shops are the best home for each. Visit a shop to gain items and a favor from one of the dragons there. Gathered items can be used to enchant a shop, gaining reputation and the favors of all the dragons in the shop. If you are fortunate enough to attract fancy dragons then you will have opportunities to secure even more reputation.

Speakers
Saturday November 9, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

2:00pm CST

TKO Boxing Charity Tournament
Saturday November 9, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Instead of arguing if Superman could lift Thor's Hammer, fight about it! Sign up for the TKO boxing game tournament, outsmart your opponent, and go home a champion! The game will be taught at the start of the tournament, with rounds expected to be fifteen minutes or less.

Minimum Donation: $5.00
Prizes: All participants will receive a pin. First, second, and third place will receive additional prize.



Speakers
Saturday November 9, 2024 2:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

3:00pm CST

Dead by Daylight
Saturday November 9, 2024 3:00pm - 5:00pm CST
In Dead by Daylight: The Board Game, a team of four resourceful Survivors face off against a single supernatural Killer in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.

As one of four Survivors, explore the trial grounds, discover props, and utilize your unique perks as you work to uncover and repair generators. Repair four generators and open the exit games to escape and win! As a Killer, hunt down the survivors, wound them, and place them on sacrificial hooks to summon a sinister force. With enough sacrifices, you are able to appease The Entity and win!

Each turn, players will plan their moves by secretly selecting paths on the board to move along. Each time a player moves, they will reveal new features of the board, called props, which they can interact with to further their objectives or to hinder their opponents.

Survivors are able to utilize many different props to aid in their survival and navigation of the trial. Killers can make use of fewer props—instead, they interact with the Survivors using their attack or their unique power. Each Killer has a different power that will completely change the way the game plays. Both Killers and Survivors have perks which grant them special abilities. Experienced players can customize their characters with various perk configurations, offering even more replayability.

Speakers
Saturday November 9, 2024 3:00pm - 5:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

6:00pm CST

The Search for Planet X
Saturday November 9, 2024 6:00pm - 8:00pm CST
At the edge of our solar system, a dark planet may lurk. In 2015, astronomers estimated a large distant planet could explain the unique orbits of dwarf planets and other objects. Since then, astronomers have been scanning the sky, hoping to find this planet.

In The Search for Planet X, players take on the role of astronomers who use observations and logical deductions to search for this hypothetical planet. Each game, the companion app randomly selects an arrangement of objects and a location for Planet X following predefined logic rules.

Each round, as the earth travels around the sun, players use the app to perform scans and attend conferences. As they gain information about the location of the objects, they mark that information on their deduction sheets. As players learn the locations of the various objects, they can start publishing theories, which is how players score points.

As more and more objects are found, players narrow down the possible locations for Planet X. Once a player believes they know its location and the objects on either side of it, they use the app to conduct a search. The game ends when a player successfully locates Planet X, and all players have a final chance to score some additional points.

The Search for Planet X captures the thrill of discovery, the puzzle-y nature of astronomical investigation, and the competition inherent in the scientific process. Can you be the first to find Planet X?

Speakers
Saturday November 9, 2024 6:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome

7:00pm CST

Mysterium
Saturday November 9, 2024 7:00pm - 9:00pm CST
In the 1920s, Mr. MacDowell, a gifted astrologer, immediately detected a supernatural being upon entering his new house in Scotland. He gathered eminent mediums of his time for an extraordinary séance, and they have seven hours to make contact with the ghost and investigate any clues that it can provide to unlock an old mystery.

Unable to talk, the amnesiac ghost communicates with the mediums through visions, which are represented in the game by illustrated cards. The mediums must decipher the images to help the ghost remember how he was murdered: Who did the crime? Where did it take place? Which weapon caused the death? The more the mediums cooperate and guess well, the easier it is to catch the right culprit.

In Mysterium, a reworking of the game system present in Tajemnicze Domostwo, one player takes the role of ghost while everyone else represents a medium. To solve the crime, the ghost must first recall (with the aid of the mediums) all of the suspects present on the night of the murder. A number of suspect, location and murder weapon cards are placed on the table, and the ghost randomly assigns one of each of these in secret to a medium.

Each hour (i.e., game turn), the ghost hands one or more vision cards face up to each medium, refilling their hand to seven each time they share vision cards. These vision cards present dreamlike images to the mediums, with each medium first needing to deduce which suspect corresponds to the vision cards received. Once the ghost has handed cards to the final medium, they start a two-minute sandtimer. Once a medium has placed their token on a suspect, they may also place clairvoyancy tokens on the guesses made by other mediums to show whether they agree or disagree with those guesses.

After time runs out, the ghost reveals to each medium whether the guesses were correct or not. Mediums who guessed correctly move on to guess the location of the crime (and then the murder weapon), while those who didn't keep their vision cards and receive new ones next hour corresponding to the same suspect. Once a medium has correctly guessed the suspect, location and weapon, they move their token to the epilogue board and receive one clairvoyancy point for each hour remaining on the clock. They can still use their remaining clairvoyancy tokens to score additional points.
If one or more mediums fail to identify their proper suspect, location and weapon before the end of the seventh hour, then the ghost has failed and dissipates, leaving the mystery unsolved. If, however, they have all succeeded, then the ghost has recovered enough of its memory to identify the culprit.

Mediums then group their suspect, location and weapon cards on the table and place a number by each group. The ghost then selects one group, places the matching culprit number face down on the epilogue board, picks three vision cards — one for the suspect, one for the location, and one for the weapon — then shuffles these cards. Players who have achieved few clairvoyancy points flip over one vision card at random, then secretly vote on which suspect they think is guilty; players with more points then flip over a second vision card and vote; then those with the most points see the final card and vote.

If a majority of the mediums have identified the proper suspect, with ties being broken by the vote of the most clairvoyant medium, then the killer has been identified and the ghost can now rest peacefully. If not, well, perhaps you can try again...

Speakers
P

Pickles

Owner, Gen Con Library
Saturday November 9, 2024 7:00pm - 9:00pm CST
Spring Room

8:00pm CST

Fire Tower
Saturday November 9, 2024 8:00pm - 10:00pm CST
While manning your fire tower you notice smoke in the distance and pull out your radio to report a blaze growing somewhere in the forest. You must protect your tower with all the resources at your disposal: dispatch fire engines to combat the blaze, order air drops of water, and plan the building of firebreaks. Competing fire departments will complicate your work, using the unrelenting winds to their advantage in an attempt to safeguard their own towers and threaten yours. The chaotic Firestorm also stalks the deck and will dramatically swell the flames each time it is drawn. Will you effectively use your forces to outwit your opponents and survive the inferno? Can you be the last tower standing?
Fire Tower is a competitive game where players must fight fire with fire. Most fire fighting games have a cooperative aspect with players working together to beat back the flames, but in Fire Tower your only objectives are to protect your own tower and spread the blaze towards your opponents. The game plays 2-4 players, ages 12+, and takes 15+ minutes. Action cards allow players to alter the direction of the wind, and add varying patterns of fire, water, and defensive barriers to the board. The skill comes in effectively directing the resources in your hand and using sound spatial planning to deploy them.
The game incorporates an intuitive play structure that takes minutes to learn and requires negligible set-up. Each card includes a grid that visually explains the ways it can be used, saving new players from having to constantly refer to the rulebook. Although the core mechanics are easy to grasp, an ever shifting environment forces players to switch up their tactics and experiment with varied strategies, making Fire Tower a difficult game to master and each play through a fresh experience.Awards & Honors



Speakers
S

Swish

Gen Con Library
Saturday November 9, 2024 8:00pm - 10:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Everyone
  • Experience New Players Welcome
 
Sunday, November 10
 

10:00am CST

Captain Sonar
Sunday November 10, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST
At the bottom of the ocean, no one will hear you scream!

In Captain Sonar, you and your teammates control a state-of-the-art submarine and are trying to locate an enemy submarine in order to blow it out of the water before they can do the same to you. Every role is important, and the confrontation is merciless. Be organized and communicate because a captain is nothing without his crew: the Chief Mate, the Radio Operator, and the Engineer.

All the members of a team sit on one side of the table, and they each take a particular role on the submarine, with the division of labor for these roles being dependent on the number of players in the game. Roles include: the Captain, who is responsible for moving the submarine and announcing some details of this movement; the Radio Operator listening to the opposing captain's orders and try to decipher where that sub might be in the water; the Engineer working in the munitions room to prepare torpedoes, mines and other devices that will allow for combat.

Captain Sonar can be played in two modes: turn-by-turn or simultaneous. In the latter set-up, all the members of a team take their actions simultaneously while trying to track what the opponents are doing, too. When a captain is ready to launch an attack, the action pauses for a moment to see whether a hit has been recorded — then play resumes with the target having snuck away while the attacker paused or with bits of metal now scattered across the ocean floor.

Multiple maps are included with varying levels of difficulty.

Speakers
Sunday November 10, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST
Spring Room
  Gaming, Board Games
  • Age Teen 13+
  • Experience New Players Welcome