The Full Convention Experience Game
Found myself thinking this weekend about the last comic convention and when we might be able to travel to see friends and gather again. So in honor of my resolution to be more optimistic, here’s a silly little game in honor of convention gatherings.
Have you had the full 100% convention experience? (Most of my experience is comic cons, but I’ve tried to make this more inclusive for other kinds of media conventions.) Give yourself the following points for anything you’ve done:
Attendance
Went to a con – 5 points
Had a great time and got others to attend! – 5 points
Shopping
Bought merchandise for a favorite character – 5 points
Bought art with a favorite character – 5 points
Tried something completely new to you after seeing it on display – 5 points
Panels
Went to a panel – 5 points
Asked a question at a panel – 5 points
Your question was reported on in convention coverage – 5 points
Guest Appearances
Got a signature from a favorite actor/creator – 5 points
Got a sketch from a favorite creator – 5 points
Said something embarrassing to them – 5 points
Got a phone number / email address from a favorite creator – 5 points
Friends
Made friends with a fellow fan from another part of the country – 5 points
Made friends with a fellow fan from another country – 5 points
Met online friends in person – 5 points
Hooked up at a convention – 5 points (or, for those who don’t, drank too much and did something embarrassing, or got totally lost, or whatever else you blush to recall but will make a great story in a few years)
Costumes
Cosplayed – 5 points
Met someone who worked on the character you were cosplaying while in costume – 5 points
Creation
Created art or a story inspired by your convention experience – 5 points
While at the convention – 5 points
What’d you score? Anything I’ve forgotten that you like about going to conventions?
1:18 pm
I got 70; not sure where that will fall on the average. I really wish I was more gregarious; making friends is where I feel I fell down. Had lots of good conversations with fellow fans but didn’t stay in touch… or if I did, they were local.
1:31 pm
Only 40! Not enough cosplay at the cons I attend.
I’m giving myself 15 more for these:
volunteered on concom – 5
recruited new concom volunteers – 5
hosted a party – 5
1:56 pm
Eric, I think 70 sounds great! And while that might be harder for some than others, I fondly recall randomly learning about rainbow lanterns from someone I happened to be line next to at a show a while back. It’s those little encounters, of whatever kind or however they’re comfortable for someone, that make a show, I think. Or maybe even just being in the panel room and sharing the excitement when something’s announced.
Jesse, those are great ideas! Agreed!
3:46 pm
I got 50, though I changed one question slightly and took the 5 points. I wrote about my convention visits, which got published on a couple of comic news sites at the time.
I’d have 55, if I added Jesse’s volunteer 1 since I did so at SPX my one visit.
I hope to make another convention one day, I’m more mature and self reliant than I was back then. My first conventions were first time I was away from my hometown, on my own, in my life.
8:35 pm
My score was partly ran up because I’ve been attending ECCC for over a decade, and several things I only did once in that whole time, like cosplay or having a question show up in coverage. Here’s hoping we get the shows back soon; I’m skeptical we’ll have ECCC in 2021 at this point, honestly… but I’ve got the time off work scheduled already, just in case!
The show always exhausts me; I normally take the whole week off to recover. But I missed it terribly this year.
8:47 pm
I’m hoping that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and we come to appreciate the good stuff about fan gatherings more when we can do them again. But Eric, you’re right, I probably slanted things towards longer or more frequent attendees.
James, good for you! People should change this up however they want, since it’s meant to be fun. Just like going to shows.