24 Days Remain

This morning I decided to hop onto the old Gencon forums page and peek around a bit, and something nuts happened. I finally allowed myself to get excited about the con, rather than just worrying about the money. Gencon is what Christmas used to be for me. It's my holiday where I get to slack off, be nuts, hang out with friends and be a kid for a couple of days.

I got to thinking about gaming and how I don't do so nearly as much as I'd like. Big kudos to Couch and Stacey for organizing a monthly D&D session. I also don't see friends as much as I'd like. Gencon is a big deal for me. I'm sorry that my wife can't make it, but there will be future Gencons. I plan on being a regular at the con indefinitely. I find that even as I game less, I don't necessarily enjoy it less. Gencon keeps my gamer gene alive and healthy. This year's show will be my 12th consecutive Gencon. Here are some of my favorite memories of Gencons past (yes, this is going to be long-winded.)

Couch and Preacher Man.

I will always fondly recall my first Gencon in '95. I had managed to get into a room with someone I met at the comic book store in town. My parents funded Alright Guy Tom to come along with me, as they didn't want their 17-year old son staying alone in some stranger's room in Milwaukee. We stayed at the Hilton which was about a block from MECCA where the con was. Being at my first Gencon was simply amazing. A massive gathering of gamers in one place. Back home, gamers were few and far between. At Gencon, I was surrounded by my people (well, most of them) and there was round the clock gaming of all varieties, a huge dealers hall chock full of nuts things and GWAR. We had just gotten into Magic: The Gathering at the time, and spent much of the show getting our cards autographed by the many artists there. I also got one of my most prized possessions there: a felt playing mat which I had signed by the Magic artists, many of whom also drew a sketch on it. It's one of a kind. Tom got one of his own too.

The next couple of years, it was Couch and I making the journey to Gencon. We stayed in the university dorms both years, which were less nice and less close than the Hilton had been. '96 was Couch's first con. Shortly after arriving, we headed down to the lobby area to play Magic. We were approached by a being known as Shoebox Man. He had a box of Magic cards he was selling. Couch and I bought many things from him at, uh, discount prices. I sold many of these at the show. Phase Three: Profit. We also nabbed one of the numbered rolly sleds and kept it in our room. Rolly Sled 69 became our Gencon mascot that year. We also had our first experience with public transportation. Blech. I don't recall much about the following year, except that Couch and I bought boxes of Mirage and Visions and we trashed our room. And got stuck in the elevator. Oh yeah...and Bryon Wackywitz wasn't very nuts.

Gencon '98 (I think)

This brings us to Gencon '98, a year of many firsts. This was Jimbob's first con. It was also the first time Billy joined us. It was the first time we brought the Alright Guy Flag. It was also the show's first year in a new venue, moving from MECCA to the Midwest Express Center. This year was one of my favorites. We drove around Milwaukee for a while looking for the Park East hotel and learned some valuable lessons about what to do when certain members of the Alright Guys are driving in a crowded city area. I don't remember anything specific from this year, other than it was a fucking blast. And that we learned not to give Billy the AG flag. This was also the year that we decapitated some stuffed animals, left the bodies in the room and made the cleaning staff cry.

1999 was just me and Jimbob, again staying in the Marquette University dorms a few doors down from nuts people Carl and Terry. This was the year that The Rule of Two was born. This is where the timeline gets a bit foggy for me. I believe 2000 was the year Couch, Jimbob and I stayed in Davison (?) and had to drive to the con. This was the year that we were pitching and smashing oranges with a baseball bat inside our hotel room. I thought Couch was going to keel over and die from laughter. We learned some things that year: Old IBM laptops are remarkably durable, even when accidently struck with a wooden ball bat; Also, if you ever should find yourself smashing fruit in a hotel room, do NOT wait 3 days to clean it off the walls and ceiling.

Viva la Alright Guys!

I believe 2001 was the year of the Preacher Man. We got to witness (and get pictures of) an evangalist in front of the shopping mall making a scene, getting cuffed and arrested by the local police. Good times. 2002 was Gencon's last year in Milwaukee, this was the year of Jimbob's triumph at the Gencon Poker Tournament. He won the whole damn thing, which earned him a free pass to the next year's convention and a free hotel room for us. Fantastic. I believe this is the first year that BC joined up, improving our NUTS rating as well as providing a human map.

2003 was Gencon's first year in Indianapolis, a big improvement over Milwaukee. It's closer, nicer, better suited to the huge crowd and the businesses are more gamer-friendly. We had an awesome hotel across the street from the convention hall (which is attatched to the RCA Dome.) What I remember most here is ordering pizza and playing D&D down by the pool in the evening hours. 2004 was Kat's first and only journey to Gencon, which included smashing a TV to kick off the vacation. This year also marked our first visit to the Gencon auction hall, which is awesome. Last year we (Jimbob) broke one of the picture frames in the hotel room. We also wrote the greatest story ever told.

Gencon '05. A bit dark, but nuts none the less.

I can't afford to go to Gencon, but I don't care. I'm going. I'm a gamer. I'm an Alright Guy. These are key parts of who I am. Gencon allows me to catch up on both. 24 days remain.