Goodman Games World Tour 2022: Remind Us How This Works?
By Brendan LaSalle
Goodman Games came roaring back to the face-to-face convention scene in 2022. It was challenging, nerve-wracking, and glorious. It was fantastic to be back on the road again, sharing a table and hearing the tumble of dice and the shouts, gasps, and laughter of players. But we had to shake the dust off of our in-person skills, which was not easy after two years of online games, social distancing, and string cheese.
The challenge was not just to make it back to our first live shows since 2019, but to try to make everything bigger and better than ever before!
Goodman Games hit 14 live shows in 2022. It is my honor to share a few highlights:
- DunDraCon, the world’s oldest role-playing convention, was our first show back and it was fantastic! Congratulations to the survivors of Tomb of the Warhammer!
- At Gary Con XIV, the gang descended upon Lake Geneva in force. Erol Otus ran DCC Dying Earth for a bunch of extremely lucky fans!
- Origins saw the debut of the Goodman Games Ziggurat of Doom, the most ambitious booth build we have ever put together.
- Gen Con 2022 was our most elaborate design ever – just ask those chosen few who got to game in the Wizard Van! The Return to the Starless Sea tournament had a record 198 players. Huge shout out tournament champion team “I Haven’t Had Enough Coffee For This!” for their hard-fought win.
- RinCon saw the return of the iconic DCC for Charity Improv Game, which raised more than $500 for the Indie Game Developer Network .
And don’t forget our online conventions! Romance of the Cyclops Con was a blast, and this year was the world premiere of the Road Crew Game Day, a fantastic day of online fun for our Road Crew Judges. Online conventions have become a huge part of what we do and we love being able to get together with fans from all over the world to share fellowship and the love of FRPGs. See you all in Gather Town!
I myself made it to six conventions, which is way up from my 2021 total of zilch. But I also had to miss a few: I couldn’t make PAX Unplugged this year, which gave me deep regrets. I had to leave Gen Con early for a family issue, and a bout of Covid kept me from making Long Con. With those exceptions I had a fantastic convention season and learned some valuable lesions that I’d like to share with you here.
Number one – gaming in a mask is no big deal. Everyone wearing a mask actually cuts down on background noise, making it easier to hear what’s going on in a crowded room.
Number two – if you get overwhelmed by being around people for the first time in a while, take a deep breath, then continue speaking slower and louder. Everyone gets nervous, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
Number three – show the folks you love your love. You never know how many chances you are going to get.
So huge thanks to all the organizers and fans for making 2022 a wonderful return to the convention trail. Look for us in 2023 for even more fun, possibly . . . in a city . . . NEAR YOU!
Ande sure to check out our recently announced Goodman Games 2023 Convention Schedule to see if we will be in a town near you in the upcoming year — we’d love to see you in person!
