Amongst the bazaar of cons, Gamehole Con is a special convention. I first became aware of it when Caleb, more widely known as Mr. Fishy, ran some Mythworks games there 2023. Early this year he asked if I'd be attending this time. I said I'd see what I could do but I wasn't positive I'd make it. I'm So Glad I was Wrong.
Gamehole Con 2024 was filled with firsts. This is the first time Mythworks attended. This is The first Con for Mythworks without either of our founders attending. This was the first Con where I was running the show. I could not have done it without my Spectacular Team. Fishy, Harris and Graham (Gentz Who Loves to Playtest)
I heard more about Gamehole Con at GAMA 2024. While chatting with new friends, the Monte Cook Games executive team, their General Manager, Tammie Ryan, raved repeatedly about Gamehole Con. After hearing about the pace, the people, the play, and the pluck I knew I had to go. I started talking to Ray about Mythworks attending Gamehole Con that week. Thankfully, Ray agreed that it sounded awesome for us.
About 5000 people attend Gamehole Con. This was my first convention in the United States besides Gen Con or Alma Con (my Alma Mater's tiny yearly Con put on by students in PAGE). So I'm much more familiar with the other extremes of the spectrum. The dealer hall was loud, but not a deafening din that requires one practically shout to be heard. I managed to keep my voice all 4 days! People take their time meandering the hall. There isn't a constant flow of people. Though, the flow was quickly predictable. Attendees fill the dealer hall shortly after the top of the hour and shortly after half past.
That's when their scheduled games get out.
Gamehole Con boasted 2850 scheduled events over the 4 days. It seemed high, at first. When I stepped into the multitude of Organized Play spaces, it became clear it was no exaggeration. Free League gaming ran 28 scheduled events from 4p-8p on Thursday in a single room. It was a large room, lots of people, lots of Play. They had other planned events in other rooms running concurrently as well. Some events ran past midnight. I heard tell of people playing 40 hour campaigns within the 4 days, not from the players though. They were too busy playing.
People go to Gamehole Con to Play Games.
We only had four scheduled games for the whole convention. Due to the foot traffic rate and size of the booth we were concerned that we had brought too many people for the event. 4 men to a 10×10 can get a little cramped, especially when there are fewer people than expected to speak to at any given moment. Near midpoint of day 1 we realized we could run pickup games! Half-hour-ish taster sessions to give New Wildsailors, Greenlegs, an idea of the mechanics and flow of play. There were more than enough open gaming lounges, including one sponsored by our aforementioned Friends, Monte Cook Games. The length of play made it incredibly accessible to already packed schedules. Over sixty Greenlegs will confirm that there was definitely demand.
People go to Gamehole Con to play games.
We have been chasing the joy of running pickup games at Cons since GenCon 2021 when we had space to do them at the booth. We came back with a Sign up sheet day 2. Between Graham, Fishy, and myself, we ran 14 pickup games. (Harris was a valued booth warrior anticipating needs whenever possible and forging his own ways to generate interest, wonder, and whimsy in the minds of those perusing our works.)
I Love playing The Wildsea with new people, especially when using a beloved party trick of randomly selecting the session prompt by having the table tell me when to stop flipping through the reaches. Show, don't tell, how Incredibly flexible the system truly is.
Another first of Gamehole Con was my first interview as Mythworks Chief People Person! Tom and Brian of Guys Games and Beer invited me into their onsite studio for a walkthrough of our Wonders. We discussed my role, The Wildsea and PICO, Twists and Mysteries, and Mythworks' dedication to making beautiful things, among other topics during our fifteen minute conversation.
We helped Chimera Hobby Shop (Appleton / Fond du Lac) have a first of their own! Chimera Hobby Shop now carries many Mythworks delights in both locations. (Provided they haven't already sold out!) Chimera was our neighbor across the "street", their rack containing a vast and rotating array of plushies and myriad of discounted 'scratch and dent' games forming a wall. On Sunday I approached Bob of Chimera Hobby Shop about stocking his stores. He decided to buy a small stack of each product we had left, making sure he had enough for both locations! While we were discussing the details of the order he mentioned that he got some emails asking for The Wildsea some time ago. Mr. Fishy was the person that emailed Bob. (It's possible Mr. Fishy arranged all of this as an elaborate scheme to get his local store to carry The Wildsea as a prank.)
Gamehole Con 2024 was an incredible success and fantastic experience for Mythworks on countless fronts. The values that emerge from creating and deepening relationships is a dividend that pays off over the course of years. We are already planning on how to make next year better.
(It's More Games. [People go to Gamehole Con to play games.])
We Look forward to applying what we've learned at Pax Unplugged, December 6-8 in Philadelphia. Come see us if you can. We always love meeting and discovering Mythopoeians! You can also see Ray, one of our founders, at Big Bad Con Oct 24-27, he is running scheduled games, is on a panel (So, You Got a Vendor Booth, Now What?) Oct 27th at 12p, and scheduled open office hours Oct 25th starting 9Am in room 7052.
Ric Heise
- Mythworks Chief People Person