Board Game Convention in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is going to have some gaming goodness in just a few weeks. SaltCON is February 18-19 and is full of board game and card game fun for everyone. One of the things we love about SaltCON is that it’s very family friendly.

If you love to play board games or card games, but have never been to a board game convention, you really ought to give one a try. And if you live in or near Salt Lake City, Utah, then we’d highly recommend you put SaltCON on your calendar. And if you’re amongst the majority of our readers and live elsewhere, then we’d suggest you see what board game gathering there may be in your area. BoardGameGeek.com would be a good place to check to find one you could attend.

Trevor and I went to SaltCON last year and it was our first game convention. Now, it’s nowhere near the size of some other game conventions around the world, but that was fine with us because we loved the intimate feel of it and had a great time. So this years SaltCON has been on our radar since then.

What can you expect at a game convention?
You can expect a lot of game playing – hours and hours of games. At least that’s the part that we love. Most board game or hobby game conventions have a Game Library where you can check out games to play. You simply take a look at what games they have available, pick one you’d like to try, find a table and sit down and play. And chances are, there are many others around that would like to try it out as well. And just like that you’re meeting new people as well.

SaltCON is where Trevor and I played Dominion for the first time. We had heard about Dominion for a long time, but hadn’t had a chance to play it. So the first game we checked out was Dominion. And lucky enough for us, someone walked by that knew how to play it and he taught it to us. It was a great first experience that we’ll always remember whenever we play Dominion. And since then, we’ve taught it to many people (including co-workers that are now hooked on it).

So if you’re looking for a great way to try out some games and see if you’d like to buy them, open gaming at a board game convention is a great way to get in a lot of playing.

Other things you’ll probably find at a board game convention are Tournaments, Contests, and Game Trades. For example, tournaments at SaltCON will include Dominion, Small World, Crokinole, Pastiche, Conquest of the Empire, Magic: The Gathering, and more. So if you think you’re the best, now’s the chance to prove it.

This year, I’ve been invited to be a judge in the Game Design Competition. Each year, game designers can submit new games to be played and judged. Prior to the convention, these game submissions are narrowed down until it’s down to 4 in a category (I’ll be a judge in the Family Game category). Then the judges play those 4 games on the first day of the convention and the awards are presented on the second day. I’m really looking forward to playing these submitted games and helping crown one the best Family Game.

And if you do happen to make it to SaltCON this year, we’d love to meet you and sit down to a few games.