The three mandatory board games conventions – On the end of February 24 and 25, 2018, we had the opportunity to attend the Mega XP at the Expo Reform in Mexico City. Convention specially dedicated to board games, cards, and role in our country. Without a doubt, it was an exciting experience and left us with a good taste of mouth here in the main offices of the caravan. We will soon publish the full review, but early we will issue you three more conventions expected this year for you to do your little pig, and once you have it, know which one to go to.
It’s the biggest convention in America. It presents the first batch of novelties of the year and is undoubtedly the most produced. If you want to go to space, fantasy, or role-playing Mega-Game, this is your place. If you’re going to see a city made from pure magic letters, this is your place. If you want to attend the biggest Horoscope tournament in the world, again, this is your place. It seems that the modus operandi of the Con gene is to be more significant, showier, and noisy than anyone and clear, since with 60,000 attendees each year, all the attending companies have to excel. There are dedicated spaces to play 24 hours a day (although people play on the ground, restaurants or where you can).
The most traditional, though not the oldest, is the German. It began in 1983 and has gradually become the benchmark of table games in the world. Even if all stands are much soberer than those of the Con gene, it presents many more titles. Every respectable publishing house in the world (even as part of the public) is present. Over 180,000 people attended last year, making it the world’s busiest gaming convention. In Essen, you won’t find anything but a lot of games to buy, but isn’t that the most crucial thing about conventions?
This convention is organized by the members of the Board Game Geek page, and that gives it a very particular flavor. The BGG Con has nothing spectacular, it is not the one most people attend, and few games are presented. However, it is one of the friendliest, as there are many scheduled meetings, many times months in advance, from the BGG forums. The attending companies are much more relaxed because they do not have to compete voraciously with everyone, and above all, they have already presented their reliable products in Gen Con and Essen. This is an advantage for attendees as they can try and buy the novelties of both fairs in one place even if it is a couple of months late.
PlayCon Costa Rica is regularly held in December, and with its more than 5000 attendees, it is the largest board games convention in Latin America (in addition to being the first and oldest after five editions). The highlight of this convention is the number of boards available to play; you can find room in one of the 120 demos that are performed simultaneously!
We know there are many more, but time does not give us to list all. For the time being, those are the conventions that we’re most excited about this year, which ones are you most interested in?