Thoughts on conventions

I really enjoy small one day conventions. The kind of thing with maybe 6-10 games going on with a morning and afternoon slot. Things like Concrete Cow and Spaghetti ConJunction, in fact. The only really big event I've ever been to is UK Games Expo, and I've never actually got involved in RPGs there beyond playing the Starfinder demos. Partly the sheer size of the thing intimidates me. Partly it's that there's also the massive trade hall, and since I'm also a board gamer I generally enjoy a good walk around that and a few demo games, and after that I'm too knackered for anything else. This could be alleviated if I went for both days instead of just one, but then you've got to either add an overnight hotel stay to the cost or else do the drive twice.

I'd like to do more of the smaller events. Unfortunately, as someone who does far too much larp, I don't have many free weekends (which is why I wasn't at the Dudley Bug Ball or Spaghetti ConJunction 3a this year). I've been lucky this autumn, with both CC and SCJ falling on non-larp weekends.

Whether I offer a game at an event depends on a number of factors, not least of which is 'am I really excited about anything right now?' Last time I ran a game I was really excited about Powered By The Apocalypse, hence the homebrew Firefly thing, and currently I'm really excited about Scum and Villainy, hence the totally game system supported Firefly thing. (I remain permanently pretty excited about Firefly.)

I think the previous time I ran a game it was Don't Rest Your Head, a game I remember chiefly because of a slight error of judgement on my part. DRYH is a horror game about insomniacs with superpowers born out of exhaustion and madness, taking on a city of nightmares. I came up with a few character concepts in advance, and they were pretty dark, involving homelessness, drug abuse, fraud and death.

The error is that I didn't put an age limit on the sign-up sheet, and a 12 year old boy signed up.
I ran with it, gave him the one character concept that wasn't too horrible, dialed down the horror and dialed up the whimsy. It wasn't quite the game I was planning on running, but it went OK in the end. I love DRYH, so should probably run it again some time, although next time I'll remember to be clearer that I'd rather not have any children playing.

When I do run a game, I also plan to play in the other session. These events are a great way to try out new games, or play things that my home group isn't interested in. I've had some really memorable gaming experiences at CC, including James Mullen's Excision game, in which we created a Suicide Squad-style team of supervillains and went out to reluctantly save the world, in a story that I only regret we will never see as a TV series.

The one thing I find a bit odd at these events is that some people seem to be seen almost as 'celebrity GMs'. For me, the name of the GM has never been as important as the game blurb. There are names I recognise, which could sway me a little in an 'all other things being equal' situation, but I don't think there's a GM on earth whose name could inspire me to sign up for a Vampire game if there's anything else on offer. (I will, and have, take a chance on an unknown game, but I already know Vampire is not for me.)

I play a lot more than I GM, and would like to GM a bit more. Making sure I offer a game when I go to events is a good start. And I'm debating creating some custom sign up sheets, to better sell what I'm offering.