GhengisCon battled its way to a 47th iteration this past weekend, and it was another absolute victory for the world-conquering event. Local gamer Andre'a Arnold has taken GhengisCon to new heights with each annual event, both ensuring and enabling the health and prosperity of the Colorado gaming community.
This year was the second to host gaming royal Luke Gygax, who now works with Gaxx Worx and whose father was one of the creators of Dungeons & Dragons. Also in attendance was gaming company Chaosium, perhaps most famous for its Call of Cthulhu and Runequest systems; and Steven Pokorny, designer for the Dwarven Forge miniature terrain, and subject of the 2016 documentary The Dwarvenaut.
We trekked out to the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center on Sunday, February 23, to stroll the battlements, taking in the various fields of tactical combat, the happy warriors therein contained and, of course, their dice. And as always, we saw some pretty epic stuff. Here are ten of our favorite things:
The Biggest 20-Sider We've Ever Rolled
Courtesy of Robin's Nerd Supplies comes a wide selection of dice and dice-related products, including full sets and big chonkin' 20-siders that weigh six pounds and would almost certainly do their own d6 of damage. Not all games require dice, but any gamer worth their character sheet has a small collection of them — including some favorites. Here's a store stock-full of potential game-savers and visual delights. Roll on.
The player with the tie-dye pushes his farmer—yes, his humble farmer—into the central cone.
Teague Bohlen
Okay, we admit it: We aren't certain this is the game invented on the NBC sitcom Parks & Rec, but with the cones and whatnot, it sure could be. "Oh, sure," you might reply. "And I'm the Alchemist of the Hinterlands." And then I'd respond by pointing out that you can't be the Alchemist of the Hinterlands because the Hinterlands is a shadow kingdom that can only sustain a Provost or a Denier. So I'm thinking that in this photo, the player with the tie-dye is pushing his farmer — yes, his humble farmer — into the central cone.
A Dice Tray for America in 2025
Are you gaming because you're filled with existential angst and want to escape for a short bit into a land in which one can and is able to take up arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them? Here's a way for you to celebrate the red-white-and-blue virtue of denial, that ability that we've all developed over the years to feel the flames licking at our feet and just think for as long as we can about how pretty the room is all aglow. Oh, and it will also keep your dice rolls from tumbling off the table and onto the floor. Local artist Jim Rinehart says he can put almost any image on these dice trays — so the mind boggles.
Where To Get All Those Incredible Toys
Since GhengisCon is a gaming convention and not so much a toy fair, there's only so much in the way of playthings that don't primarily exist in the theater of the mind. One exception: LEGO dudes like this army of Star Wars Troopers, painted up and ready to fight. Note that the Troopers here are backed by a couple of ghost Vaders and a lone Tusken Raider in the back ranks, along with other personalities. Plenty of options for massive battles on your own little single-environment planet in the Outer Rim.
It makes some sense that the creators of this game would bring it here to a gaming convention in Denver, since we're one of the most dog-loving cities in the nation.
Teague Bohlen
Move over, dragons — now there's something friendlier. It makes sense that the creators of this game would bring it to a gaming convention in Denver, since we're one of the most dog-loving cities in the nation. And who hasn't imagined their dog geared up for adventure and putting their talents to work at winning the day — and some juicy treats, too? Or maybe they're good boys and and girls and just do it for the love? Maybe only the Labradors do that. Pugs, for example, are going to want to know what's in it for them.
Miniatures, Miniatures, Miniatures!
Badger Games hails all the way from Wisconsin (not far from Lake Geneva, where D&D itself was born), but it makes its way to Denver for GhengisCon every year. It's a big drive, especially given the sheer numbers of blister packs full of lead-cast awesomeness, and for every game genre from fantasy to sci-fi to military to westerns — and many mash-ups in the middle. Where else can you find a female gnome illusionist on the same rack as a tavern full of zombie barmaids, a laser-soldier from the future, and a giant scorpion worthy of Clash of the Titans? Look no further.
Impressive Dioramas Galore
Speaking of minis, those little dudes need a place to stand. Maybe today's gamer artisans took a few cues from their hobbyist predecessors, the model-train enthusiasts, but these days, they've very much taken the art form over the top. Scale models have always been super-cool visuals, but these small, contained environments help the gaming process in small ways that are invisible to the casual viewer. Wondering if you have line of sight at the guy shooting at you from atop the Birdcage Saloon? Wonder no more. And slap leather, pardner.
Start the nerd training early, so the kids can grow up strong. It's sort of a Boy Named Sue situation.
Teague Bohlen
We suppose that these might fit on small hobbits, halflings or gnomes — or possibly very large pixie fairies. But they're really made for human children whose parents have high hopes for the nerd-facility of their offspring. (When you think about it, children under two are really just parental accessories.) Colorado Springs-based HenkelMade Nerdcrafts offers a wide range of ways that your children will roll their eyes at you when they're thirteen.
Gaming Doesn't Have to Stink
It's an old stereotype that not enough gamers pay attention to basic hygiene...which probably stems from the free-wheeling '70s when people didn't shower a lot and sometimes used rocks as deodorant. Wooded Meadows Gaming, based in Aurora, is a small company that specializes in making accessories and novelties for tabletop gaming, including these all-soy candles in various shades, each representing a different gaming purpose and including wax dice within the concoction. And bonus: founding brothers Will and Nick are as devoted to taking care of the world around us as they are the gaming they love: They use some of the profit from their company to plant trees, and have done so over 1,000 times so far. That's some real-world heroism, right there.
Oh. My. God. Becky. Look at Those Shelves.
Shall you play a game? Then the free-for-all board game room was meant for you and your friends. Whether you know the rules or not, it's time to grab a box, read those rules and get to playing. It's notable that these games weren't for sale (though you could find many of them on the vendor floor, if you were so inspired) — they were there just for the joy of playing. Much like GhengisCon itself.
