Something was off.
GenCon 2025 is now in the rear view and I can’t help thinking the biggest takeaway is that something was off. Maybe “off” is the wrong word. Yeah, definitely. “Off” has bad connotations and this was not a bad vibe – “different” is a better description.
Posters on the Fans of GenCon Facebook page said the same thing. And I think I know what it is: younger people. But I’m not talking about families with kids – although they seemed a bit more as well.
I’m talking about people in their 20s. People that looked like they were in college or just out. Groups of girls that could be on a friends-day-out anywhere. Young guys with girlfriends (real ones!) just hanging out. Groups of young friends that were not all wearing cosplay.
It seems like GenCon was “normalizing.” Now, to me, board gaming and seeing people (some my age) dressed as fantasy or gaming characters or sitting at a table with six other beer guts as big as mine is perfectly normal. But to be joined at a table by 3 young, fit, and fashionable guys and girls is decidedly less so.
And I think this is great!
How could it not be? The future of any hobby or industry relies on the next generation taking over and growing it. Pretty much everyone in Indianapolis, IN we talked to agreed the board game industry is reeling right now from economic and political games being played in Washington, DC. The gaming designers, publishers and retailers now more than ever need to be rescued by a new hero – in this case it’s younger players with jobs and (some) disposable income.
This year I definitely felt a ripple. I hope it becomes a wave.
And to all the young, energetic, cool players that are now joining our beloved community, I say:
ONE OF US!