2020: The Pandemic That Killed the Cons

What a year! While we are halfway through 2020, I think we can make the call that for our hobby this year is not one we wish to remember. Every week we hear about yet another convention being canceled, “indefinitely” delayed, or moved to a virtual setting. How will this effect our hobby? What will our hobby look like when things get better and how long will this last?

Cons
GENCON, Historicon, Adeptacon, Fall-in, Hurricon and many others have been canceled so far this year and the list just grows. While many bash organizers for canceling these events, I feel they have made the correct call. These decisions were made primarily for business reasons (insurance, contracts with venues, Etc.) they also were made to protect our community.

We all know about the post-con crud; in fact, we had a local gamer pass away from something he likely caught at a con a few years ago. For those who are regulars at cons can attest that we are packed into tight spaces and some gamers are just not the handwashing type. So, the risk of spread at a con has always been a real thing.

Now, with a disease that is a serious threat those who are not in the best health, as well as those with risk factors such as those older, or with conditions such as asthma, shutting down large gathering is a smart move. The risk to our community is perhaps greater than the average population due to factors such as the greying of the Historical Gamer community.

While I miss the cons, I would miss the gamers I see at them even more, if Covid-19 were to spread at one of our conventions and take some of them from us.

From my conversations with organizers, vendors, and developers the lack of cons in 2020 is hurting their bottom line. For the most part, the gaming industry works on a thin fiscal margin and they need to have a revenue stream to continue and these cancelations directly affect that.

Even if a con organizer recovers their deposits on the venue, they still spent time and money in advertising and producing badges and swag for an event. Some of this money is not recoverable and little of it can be re-purposed for the next event. With that said I would still like to get an Adeptacon 2020 t-shirt.

What the cons mean to a lot of game companies and vendors is the chance to sell directly to the community and often at a slightly lower price because some of the overhead costs are eliminated. We have all been in a vendor hall and we have all walked out with loads of merchandise.

For smaller developers and new games, the cons represent an opportunity to expose their games to the public. I have spoken to some indie developers and they are now left with fewer opportunities to market their games and grow a community to play them.

Some companies also use cons to announce or sell a brand-new release; GENCON was known for this where the news of a new release is spread fast by gamers via social media. Now that this is gone some gamers may not have been informed in what is coming out next for a game.

Conventions also bring our community together and generate excitement for the games we play. Some gamers I only see at cons. Thanks to 2020, I will have to wait another year to watch a chair attack Tom Mullane. I do miss the social aspect of our hobby and even the crustiest gamer yearns to argue with old nemeses at an event.

The loss of these cons is already having a profound impact on our community, I am more motivated to purchase and paint models when I know I need them for an upcoming event. I placed a wad of cash in my sock drawer just to spend at Adeptacon 2020, an event I was finally going to attend.

Perhaps thousands of us were just like me in this case and think of all of the revenue that was lost (not seeing Jon Russell in-person always saves me money).

The effect of canceled cons goes well beyond the examples I explained above and despite these issues, I still feel that shutting down the cons was a smart move. No organizer wants to have an outbreak named after their convention.

The few who remain

To be fair, there are a few organizers who feel safe enough to open their doors and host an event based on loosening of their local restrictions.

in Oklahoma City, OK, USA, is still planning to open its doors July 24-26.

, in Nashville TN, USA is also still going ahead if their region continues on its path to reopening.

There are other conventions that have postponed to later in the year, with a wait and see approach.

Gamers have raised questions in forums and social media about what precautions for social distancing, mask-wearing requirements, and additional space between tables are being planned. Be sure to contact the convention organizers if you are thinking of attending an event.

When will “normal” return to gaming events?
How long will this last is a question many gamers have asked me on social media and my response is that I really do not know. We are not even through with the first wave of the pandemic and now with spikes happening as we re-open few can accurately predict when large gatherings will return. It is not as if the organizers do not want their cons to return, they just want to do it safely and not to place a large number of gamers in a risky position.

As I said before, tabletop gamers are not the world’s most healthy nor the youngest crowd. An outbreak at an event could be affect many gamers and take several weeks to become apparent.

Many may wonder why cons are being canceled several months in advance, as we saw with the cancellation to the HMGS Fall-In event held in early November. This is often based on a business decision: the sooner they cancel the event the lower the sunk-cost they incur. There are just too many unknowns to realistically plan for an event into the winter so this situation may last well into 2021.

The Future
Another question that is hard to answer, however it will be different when cons come back. Some gamers have reached out to me and told me candidly that with their pre-existing health conditions that cons may be a thing of the past with them. One gamer told me that the players who will refuse to wear a mask are the ones we need to watch out for, and I found it hard to disagree. It may take some time until the crowds feel comfortable enough for them to come back in droves.

Your Hobby Needs You
I am not one prone to worry or a true pessimist (despite being from NYC), but I do feel that we are at a critical juncture for our hobby. Cons play a major role in supporting our hobby. Some gamers only get to play at a major convention because they do not have an LGS they can go to. Gamers are also not being exposed to new games, nor to additions for the games they play and most of all they are not playing the games they love.

Do they run a risk of losing interest in the game? Perhaps, is the best answer I can come up with. I think of how motivated cons make me collect, paint, and play with my models and how without an event to motivate me, my interest in painting has waned. Others have told me about the same malaise during this period without cons.

If you live in a region where you have an LGS available you need to speak with them and support them in any way you can. See what they are allowing as far as gaming at their location and plan some games amongst the regulars at the store. I do not mean hold a major event, but you and one other person meeting up for a 2-hour game go a long way in bringing back our hobby.

One thing I do whenever I go to an LGS is to make a purchase, even a small one. This is how we can ensure these stores stay around.

Right Now
Recently we have covered all sorts of ways you can game virtually and perhaps some conventions that have been canceled may move to hold a . This would go a long way to keep our focus on the games we play and inform us of all the latest happenings in the community. NDNG is supporting our own Dave Garvin who plans to run his annual Advanced Squad Leader  I am excited to see how it turns out. Board gamers have always had an easier time when it comes to virtual play and many ASL vets play all the time on programs such as

So as 2020 hits its midpoint we are faced with challenges that we never expected to see in our lifetimes. We need to figure ways out to stay engaged in our hobby and help it along during these tough times.