Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why another gaming con?
A: Nikki and Billy love BGGCON, which is an open boardgame-focused con in Dallas; there is a massive games library and very few scheduled events. They have been wanting to do a convention in the same style in Denver for a number of years wanted something. For HexaCon, what we are doing is a hybrid between open playing and what the long-time game con attendees of Denver is used to, which is scheduled gaming (boardgames, rpgs, etc). Nikki also likes giving things away so we’re also doing Play to Win and a Saturday night giveaway.
Q: Why January?
A: Multiple reasons. We were looking for a month with little con activity in the region, in fandom events and gaming events, and not too close to other events we, Shiny Garden, are already doing (one in August and one in March). As far as I’m aware, aside from COSine, there are no other cons in January. Also, hotel space is cheaper.
Q: Why is the cost of hotel space a factor?
A: It’s a longer answer. Shiny Garden is focusing on creating a more diverse event than is generally seen at many gaming and fandom conventions. Generally, under-served populations are also socioeconomically disadvantaged, and don’t necessarily have the resources for quality of life opportunities. Or to say shortly, we don’t ever want money to be a barrier to someone coming to one of our events. If the cost of the event is less, we can make the entry costs less, making it easier for people to attend.
Q: Apart from additional opportunities to game, are you offering anything different from other local conventions?
A: Our nonprofit’s focus is on increasing the diversity at events, so from the beginning, our focus is different. Also, some local cons follow a different format of all scheduled games, and a menu of items to purchase; we are more open gaming focused and are doing a single badge for everything. Our interest is in community and education, so we plan to have lots of “how to” opportunities for gamers, from What is a Strategy Game to Learn Terraforming Mars. Our large ballroom is the open gaming and vendor area, encouraging people to mingle and meet new people. The Saturday night giveaway will also hopefully encourage people to gather as one, for just a few minutes, and see their wider community. We’re not competing with other cons; we’re offering options and opportunity. We’re not doing HexaCon to make money; we’re doing it to build community.
Q: Open gaming doesn’t work as well for RPGs as it does for boardgames. Are there advanced signups?
A: Yes! We are using tabletop.events for pre-event scheduling, and new things are being added regularly. Any games with space left will be available for joining on site as well, as space allows.
Q: I’m submitting an event. What does Max Tickets mean?
A: Tabletop.Events has two terms: a badge lets someone into the convention (e.g. HexaCon). A ticket lets someone into an organized event at the convention (e.g. your session). If you are submitting an RPG session that supports 2-6 players, then you would set Max Tickets to 6, as the host of the event is already accounted for.