Fear the Recap!
Fear the Con 2024 has come and gone and I thought I’d share some thoughts on it. It’s the internet and you have to keep shoveling content, but also I wanted to say some nice things.
I had a great time at Fear the Con. It’s a very small convention that’s dedicated primarily to playing games, unlike a lot of cons that are a lot of vendors and some games on the side. I was one of the only vendors there and there were only four others booths.
Now the sad part is that I didn’t get to play any games. Unfortunately, I was a little too afraid to leave my booth (I had no idea how dead it gets between games) and also if I’m playing with a convention game I like to have at least one other person I know at the table. If I’m able to return, I’d like to get into a game and play or run something.
The vendor’s room was fun because we did a lot of talking with each other between customers. There were some first timers (and I foolishly don’t think I got their cards) who we gave advice to, a vet Matt Davids from Dice Geeks who I really enjoyed talking 80s/90s tv shows with, and Josh who ran Cassi Mothwin’s booth. As always, Josh is a delight. Sadly, Cassi was unable attend due to illness, though she did manage to rally a little bit to stop by and say hi and sign my copy of Sticker Game which I purchased at the con.
All the people that stopped by our booths were very nice and I really enjoyed talking to them. Yes, even if they didn’t make a purchase! The organizers of Fear the Con were really cool and I liked talking to them as well.
If you’re someone just looking to play games, I really recommend checking Fear the Con out. They fund it through a Kickstarter every year, so even if you miss that you can show up and you don’t have to pay to attend.
As an out of towner vendor, I managed to squeak out a tiny profit, but it was close. Someone with a better variety of games or something may do better, but this one might be a bit better for local vendors. For more on my vendor lessons learned, go here.
Overall, its a fun con and a great experience. I’m hoping that if I’m able to go next year I can play and vend so it’s more of a hybrid event. Meaning hopefully I can fund a mini vacation by vending and not put pressure on myself to actually make a lot of money.