2024 in the Mirror

Another annum has come and gone, and so here is the list of cut-and-pasted events which have slipped from the tomorrow into the yesterday.

OrcaCon, Seattle WA Jan 5-7: James has a special place in his heart for this tiny Seattle con. He was there again this year, quietly testing Shipwrights, Cold Comfort, and the newest version of the Island Deck. Read the blog post soon!

DunDraCon, Santa Clara, February 16-19: “The West Coast’s Premier Game Convention,” happens once again on President’s Day Weekend. James Ernest was there, and you can read about it here.

JoCo Cruise, the Ocean, March 9-16: James Ernest and family traveled once again on this excellent gaming, music, and all-around geekery cruise, sailing in March from Fort Lauderdale into the salty Caribbean Sea. Watch the video here.

Game Storm, Portland, March 21-24: A must-attend Northwest favorite, Game Storm is home to the world’s greatest game development club (sorry, Seattle) and James Ernest was there playing, teaching, learning, and creating. Blog post coming soon; watch the video here.

Kawaii Kon, Honolulu March 29-31: March looked busy already, you say? Trip to Hawaii, you say? You don’t say! James Ernest made a surprise visit to the Aloha State, demoing the heck out of his games at Kawaii Kon.

Intergalactic ConQuest, Sacramento, April 13-15: James Ernest attended this humble con in 2023 and invented The Harvest, and this year he went back for more gaming and more inspiration. Read all about it here.

Evergreen Tabletop Expo (ETX), Seattle, June 1-2: James contracted a scorching case of Covid during his valiant return to the poker rooms of Las Vegas, and was sick in bed and unable to attend ETX. He’s all better now, really, and perhaps he can make this happen next year.

Brass Screw Consortium, Port Townsend, June 14-16: Crab Fragment Labs was once again a sponsor of the Brass Screw Consortium, a steampunk event in historic Port Townsend. We provide their exclusive version of Sophisticuffs, and they provide the steam and the punks. James Ernest wore leather hat with goggles. You wish you had been there!

Origins Game Fair, Columbus, June 19-23: As a member of GAMA’s Origins Awards Hall of Fame, James Ernest was a special guest at Origins this summer, signing yearbooks and playing games. Read the blog post here.

GenCon, Indianapolis, August 1-4: “Every time I think I’m out, they drag me back in!” The Best Four Days in Gaming is the busiest time of the year for new game releases, exciting industry news, and meeting with publishers about what they want to publish next. James Ernest has been all three of these things, and this year he had a rollicking good time catching up with the mayhem. Read all about it here.

Dragonflight, Seattle, August 16-18: James doesn’t have much of a plan for Dragonflight besides showing up and playing games. Look for him in open gaming, testing things you’ve never seen before.

Pacificon, Santa Clara, Aug 30-Sept 2: James Ernest returned to Pacificon as their perpetual International Guest of Mystery, camping out in the Protospiel room and creating majestic new inventions in the relative safety of a soup of game designers. He also ran several demos and gave away nice prizes.

RinCon, Tucson, November 15-17: A gaming convention in a casino? James Ernest will always be there. RinCon is one of his favorite conventions, no matter when and where it migrates. Read the blog post here.

GobbleCon, San Francisco, November 28-December 1: This once-small board gaming convention has made the leap to “even smaller,” eschewing scheduled events and a giant gaming library in favor of free admission and less stress. Look for the details at gobblecon.com.

PAX Unplugged, Philadelphia, December 6-8: As this final and possibly most important convention of the year, James Ernest worked harder than ever to find publishers for some of his brightest new games. Will it work? Stay tuned.

2023 Events In Review

So many memories! Here are the conventions James attended in 2023, with links to the recaps.

OrcaCon Seattle, January 6-8: A Seattle favorite where James tests new games and meets good friends. Read all about it here.

DunDraCon Santa Clara, February 17-20: “The West Coast’s Premier Game Convention,” was another chance for James Ernest to meet new people and test new games. We played Bitin’ Off Hedz and Shipwrights of Marino, among many others. Read all about it here.

JoCo Cruise, The Ocean, March 5-12: The Jonathan Coulton cruise is a floating oasis of games, music, and geekdom, a gathering of 1500 people who can tell you who Paul and Storm are. This year we are feeling slightly more normal, after missing 2021 entirely and feeling really weird about it in 2022. One year James and family actually splurged on a really expensive suite, and here’s the video to prove it.

ConQuest Avalon, Sacramento, March 17-19: A tiny little gaming convention in Sacramento, because March wasn’t busy enough already. James was a “stealth guest” with a handwritten badge, playing games and makin’ up new ones. Blog post here!

GameStorm, Portland, March 23-26: Another local favorite, GameStorm brings out the best in gamers and game designers. Gather ‘round the table with James Ernest and friends, and play something that is nowhere near good, much less done! Blog post here!

Verne & Wells, Seattle April 16: James Ernest visited Kirkland’s “social venue for geeks” for demos of Shipwrights of Marino and Tomb of the Ancients. This will likely be a semi-regular thing. If you would like to sign up for the next one, find details at Verne & Wells.

GAMA, Reno NV April 24-27: The Game Manufacturer’s Association’s annual trade show is the perfect place for aging game designers to remind the industry that they still exist. The show enjoyed one last hurrah in Reno before moving east, and James Ernest was there with a briefcase of games to sell.

KublaCon, San Francisco May 26-29: A favorite convention since forever ago, KublaCon is the origin of many of James’ best games. Last year he invented Holdout. What about this year? Read all about it in the KublaCon recap.

Brass Screw Consortium, Port Townsend WA June 16-18: Across the bay from Seattle is a sleepy little olde-timey city called Port Townsend, the perfect place for a summer Steampunk festival. James and family wandered the event and the city with no schedule, looking cool and playing Sophisticuffs.

RinCon, Tucson AZ June 23-25: A perennial favorite that has been viciously whipsawed by Covid, RinCon gathered their flock on a slightly earlier date this year. Read the full report here!

Dragonflight, Seattle WA, August 18-20: James had no scheduled duties at this excellent local game convention, so he played many pickup games, and tested his newest secret stuff. Read about it here.

Pacificon, Santa Clara CA September 10-4: James returned as a perennial international guest of mystery to this delightful gathering in the Bay Area. There were panel discussions, demo games, and secret playtests throughout the weekend.

Tabletop Network / BGG Con Dallas TX Nov 12-19: Tabletop Network is a tabletop game designer’s networking show, where James was once a keynote speaker. This year he became a pinch-hitter for an absent guest, which was entertaining in many ways. This event dovetails with BGG Con, the con about BGGs, also in Dallas.

GobbleCon, San Francisco CA Nov 24-26: A great little show in the same hotel as KublaCon, but on the opposite side of the calendar, GobbleCon is intimate and pleasant. Sadly this was the last official GobbleCon, as the organizers opted to throw in the towel after eight wonderful years. You can read more about it here.

Got James? Do you have a local area convention that wants to pay for a humble game inventor’s flight and room? Then you might just have found your next gaming guest of honor. Contact James Ernest, care of this website, and let him know how much you need him.

2022 Historical Notes

OrcaCon, Seattle, Jan 7-9: We did it! A friendly local convention, OrcaCon has always been a delight, and a trial space for new games like Vines, After the Fog, Capital City and many more. Read all about it here.

JoCo Cruise, The Ocean, March 5-12: Slowly but surely, the CDC and the rest of the world are giving up on trying to keep us safe at home. This exclusive excursion for the world’s most travel-ready nerds is the best thing that happens on the ocean. Read the blog post about it here.

Game Storm, Portland March 24-27: GameStorm is one of our most favoritest game conventions. Now it’s in the past, many games having been played and stormed. You can read about it here.

KublaCon, San Francisco May 27-30: James was a special guest of Kublacon, the most awesomest convention on the Left Coast, Memorial Day Weekend. James has been a regular at Kubla since before they were Kubla. Read the blog post here.

ETX (Evergreen Tabletop Expo), Seattle June 4-5: James was a featured speaker at ETX, a small game convention in Redmond, WA. James gave a spirited talk on randomness in games, and the article based on that lecture will appear shortly at the Lecture Hall.

Brass Screw Consortium, Port Townsend WA June 17-19: James was wandering in the periphery of this post-apocalyptic steampunk festival, his presence most keenly felt through the collection of new “Sophisticuffs” cards that will be in the hands of all who would face off. Port Townsend was cool. Like, literally the last cool weekend before summer.

BGG@SEA The Ocean, July 17-24: Another cruise? Why not? Sailing from Galveston to Costa Maya, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel, this tiny group of board gamers hiding in the basement of a giant cruise ship will be twice as fun as it sounds. But don’t take our word for it, watch the video from 2019! (Update: James spent most of this cruise in Covid quarantine. Dangit.)

Pacificon Game Expo San Francisco, September 2-5: James Ernest was pleased to share his gaming knowledge with dozens of aspiring designers, and invented most of a new game at the show. Read all about it here.

GobbleCon San Francisco, November 25-28: It’s a perennial favorite! The folks from KublaCon run a tiny gaming convention in the same hotel over Thanksgiving weekend, and James Ernest is always there! This year was amazing, and there is a blog post, as always.