CUDO Plays, the local board game design competition that runs annually, has just posted a rundown of all the C-U natives who will be participating in the world-renowned gaming convention in Indianapolis next week (Aug.17-20).
If you are somehow unaware, Gen Con, the largest tabletop gaming convention in North America happens NEXT WEEK! This is the event’s historic 50th anniversary, and it is already set to have record-breaking attendance with 75,000 avid gamers all flocking to the Indianapolis Convention Center to take part in the best four days in gaming. In addition, this year marks the highest involvement to date of Champaign-Urbana game designers, filmmakers, and vendors at the con. Here’s the authoritative rundown of all the CUDO Plays competitors, sponsors, and friends who will have a presence at Gen Con.
Designer/Publisher Speed Dating is an exclusive event at Gen Con where a group of game designers get to pitch their games directly to a range of established game publishers. Of the 32 games selected for the Designer/Publisher Speed Dating event this year, three of them are CUDO Plays games!
- DemocraSea (CUDO Plays Season 3 — Patrick Watson, Natalie Mesnard)
- Factory Fortunes (Season 4 — Michael Kalmbach, Laura Cynkar)
- Isominoes (Season 4 — Zack Kiedysz)
Every Gen Con attendee can get in the First Exposure Playtest Hall for free, giving game designers the unparalleled opportunity to have their prototypes played by thousands of gamers from around the world. Three CUDO Plays games will be appearing in the Playtest Hall.
- Elf Creek Games with End of the Trail (Season 4 — Mike Hinson)
- Forced Perspective Entertainment showing Gimmicks and Grapplers (Season 4 — Andrew Stengele and Molly Cooper)
- Grizzly Forged Studios presenting Sabotile: Isles of Hexoté (Season 2 — Ben Moy, Mark Fuelle, Alex Corraro, Sehoon Park, Ervin Tsay)
In the exhibitor hall itself, BJ Gailey – Season 4 competitor, and new member of the CUDO Plays Committee – will be demoing his game Victoriana. Check it out in Entrepreneur’s Avenue, Booth 3060!
CUDO Plays sponsor Champaign-Urbana Adventures in Time and Space will be running three different mini escape rooms – The Cabin, Castle Dracula, and The Sword of Zaldor – during the weekend of Gen Con. All of these great escapes will be inside room 120 of the Convention Center.
Finally, Forced Perspective Entertainment and the CU Adventures crew both have films which will be shown as part of the Gen Con Film Festival. A number of other C-U filmmakers have submissions as well, including films featured locally in the 2017 Pens to Lens event!
And of course, many members of the CUDO Plays Committee and the C-U gaming community at large will be at Gen Con as attendees and volunteers. If you see a fellow C-U gamer while at Gen Con, make sure to give them a hearty hug, friendly wave, or just a knowing thumbs-up.
This is a huge amount of C-U representation at a massive con. Just goes to show how the Chambana design community is thriving and growing.
