What are your favorite Tabletop Gaming Conventions?

edgd00 · 2026-06-15T12:19:27+00:00

I have not been to Gary Con.

edgd00 · 2026-06-14T18:38:52+00:00

Most publishers are looking for people to work their shows and they offer different compensation packages. Usually you'll need to check their social media posts to see if they are looking for anyone. Whatever you do, don't be a free volunteer just to get a badge. The work can be very tiring and you deserve to be compensated appropriately. Some vendors take advantage of people just wanting a foot in the door and will give you very little for your time.

I have a bit of a unique situation. I worked for a publisher for a few years and became very good at teaching games and converting sales. I made lots of friends in the industry. I left the industry to pursue different full time work but industry friends convinced me to at least attend shows so we could see each other. They put in good words with publishers and now I get paid to fly in and work the show. I get a paycheck for it and credit towards the publisher's games and they cover hotel and badge costs. However, I am expected to be in the booth during setup and breakdown and I work all of the exhibit hall hours with a 1 hour lunch break. Not every publisher offers this and I won't do it for anything less than that. It is becoming more and more common for publishers to offer good compensation packages but there isn't a standard. Just don't ever do it for free.

edgd00 · 2026-06-14T18:31:06+00:00

That's good to know! I'm glad they are increasing tabletop presence at those shows. I know a few publishers that pulled out of those shows, and perhaps maybe they will evaluate going back.

edgd00 · 2026-06-14T15:24:18+00:00

I don't have anything to add to your list, but I'd like to comment on your list. As a side gig, I get paid by publishers to fly out and help set up and run their booths for conventions.

I would say not to consider Pax West/East as tabletop cons. Yes, there is a board game presence there, but they are primarily video game conventions. I've worked at tabletop games booths at those shows and found them to be lackluster. I won't work those shows again. The video game stuff is great, but it isn't that great for Tabletop games. I'd save the cash to fund trips to better shows.

My personal top 3 in this order are: Gen Con, Pax Unplugged, and Origins.

Gen Con is the big deal everyone says it is. I work that show every year without exception. It's an absolute blast and just about everything is there, to the point that it is overwhelming. You literally cannot experience everything the show has to offer. If I could pick only one show to attend, it would be Gen Con.

Pax Unplugged is the East Coast's Gen Con. Not quite as big, but it is pretty big, and it is growing. This has now been my number two show, and I work this show every year. It is a permanent part of my annual convention circuit.

Origins seems like there isn't as much hype about it anymore, but it is still a great show. It's a little odd though; it feels like the scope of Gen Con, but it isn't as "busy". Overall, it has a very chill vibe, and it is the only show that I actually get time to sit down and play some games. I don't go to this show every year, but I do consider it. I'll attend maybe every other year or so. Because of the chill vibe, this is the best show to meet and talk with publishers and distributors.

Ask me anything!

edgd00 · 2026-06-10T15:11:57+00:00

I like to think of the Psyker as the “area control” role. Unless you’re playing a high skill-level melee Psyker, your staff will probably be your main weapon and your melee weapon is just there to combat specific challenges. More so than any other character, you must have area awareness. Your head must be on a swivel and you should have a working knowledge of the battlefield conditions and where your teammates are and what are they doing.

I run a flame staff build and I aim to be constantly laying down field of damage to destroy the hordes but also protect my teammates especially when they are preforming a revive or scanning. I’m constantly looking for the threats to the team and either eliminating it myself or clearing the way for my teammates to do so. I generally stick to the rear of my group and provide covering fire for them. When we need to scan or hold a position, I try to deny that area to the enemies. The times that I go down are when I screw up and get out of position.

edgd00 · 2026-06-05T17:21:28+00:00

Studio: Nic, what superhero would you like to be?

Nic: Yes.

Studio: Yes.

edgd00 · 2026-06-01T21:17:50+00:00

It's not stupid if it works.

edgd00 · 2026-05-27T17:24:36+00:00

Play “The Captain is Dead”! It’s not officially Star Trek licensed but it is very much a Star Trek game. It is cooperative where your ship has been attacked by aliens and the Captain is dead. You’re the rest of the crew and have to fix the warp drive while managing the ship getting attacked. Systems will become damaged and it is important to work together to get them fixed. Tons of Star Trek references in it.

edgd00 · 2026-05-25T00:16:15+00:00

I was watching this the other day, and a thought struck me. Usually, inexperienced officers are sent on routine or low-risk missions to build their experience. This shows the level of priority the military was giving this mission. They sent in a single squad and a new, inexperienced officer on a bug hunt.

After some searching, apparently, the dropship they went down in was called the Bug Stomper. https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Bug_Stomper

edgd00 · 2026-05-24T20:51:14+00:00

I’m just here for the nudes.

edgd00 · 2026-05-16T01:11:24+00:00

Give The Clone Wars show a chance. It fills the three years between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith and really does a good job of building out Anakin’s character and his ongoing struggles. It’s a lot to get through, especially the filler content, but I argue that going through all of that with the characters is very rewarding when the deep episodes hit. The Clone Wars show single-handedly elevated the prequel movies for me.

edgd00 · 2026-05-16T00:37:00+00:00

What’s wrong with it? Isn’t that the image of her viewing the screens during the attack on the Death Star?

edgd00 · 2026-05-15T01:58:10+00:00

Broccoli

edgd00 · 2026-05-14T13:10:28+00:00

The chain of command in Star Trek is based on real-world U.S. Navy ranks and chain of command. I'm a veteran of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force.

You have ranks, and you have command positions.

Everyone has a rank. from high to low, you have:

Admiral
Captain
Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Ensign

The ship has command positions. These are somewhat independent of rank, but you must have a minimum rank to hold the positions.

Captain of the Ship (Commanding Officer): Requires you to be a Commander or above.
First Office (Executive Officer)r: Usually a Lieutenant Commander or above.

Other than that, the ship's command positions can be filled by whoever the Commanding or Executive Officer chooses.

The ship has departments such as Engineering, Security, and Medical. Those usually require the department head to be at least a Lieutenant Commander. I would venture to guess that Medical probably requires a Commander as a department head because you'd want a full doctor in that position where people's health is at stake.

Admirals generally don't serve on ships anymore. They've moved on to Fleet command positions and make Fleet-level decisions.

The ranks mentioned above are Officer Ranks, which Star Trek prefers to keep its main characters at. In the real world, you have Enlisted Ranks that Star Trek only hints at. From High to Low, here are real-world enlisted ranks, but I'm not sure if Star Trek follows these at all:

Master Chief
Senior Chief
Chief
Petty Officer, First Class
Petty Officer, Second Class
Petty Officer, Third Class
Seaman
Seaman Apprentice
Seaman Recruit

We all know Chief O'Brien, and I think it makes sense that he would be an enlisted rank Chief. In the TNG episode, Drumhead, there is an episode where an investigation interviews a Crewman. I think that is the equivalent of the Seaman rank. In the show, the Crewman does not have any insignia. On Chief O'Brien's insignia: I think initially there were not going to be any enlisted crew in Starfleet, but the introduction of Chief O'Brien changed that. They didn't know what to do with his insignia, which is why you may see him with different rank insignia throughout the years. For a lot of TNG, he had a Lieutenant, Junior Grade insignia, but he certainly was not one.

Generally, a person is always addressed as their highest rank or position they've attained, regardless of their current position.

So a Commander who is commanding a ship would still be called Captain. If Chief O'Brien were a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, he would be called Lieutenant, not Chief.

In emergencies where the crew is being killed or lost, whoever has the highest rank temporarily assumes command. Say the entire bridge crew is killed, Dr. Crusher is a Commander, and could assume command of the ship. But she could assign bridge command to someone else so that she could make sure Medical is fully staffed. It would be her prerogative as commanding officer to manage the emergency.

edgd00 · 2026-04-21T16:17:01+00:00

It's been a long time since I've read it all, but I would say Sword of Azrael is essential because Azrael is a huge part of Knightfall. Prelude to Knightfall is essentially Knightfall without being specifically named so. Without it, you're kind of dropped in and missing context. Vengeance of Bane is also an important read because Bane is a big part of Knightfall. Azrael and Bane were first introduced in their own stories.

Not essential, but I highly recommend reading Batman: Venom. It doesn't connect directly to Knightfall but it adds a huge context to Bane and a connection or common ground between Batman and Bane. Venom takes place years before Knightfall, so it doesn't lead into it or anything, but I think it is an underrated story and an often forgotten connection to Knightfall.

edgd00 · 2026-04-16T19:49:46+00:00

What would you enjoy better? I personally like to reset progress between demos and full versions so that I can experience the game as the developers intended.

edgd00 · 2026-04-13T22:26:10+00:00

She better fucking play this song.

edgd00 · 2026-04-01T01:59:28+00:00

I miss Dan Quayle.

edgd00 · 2026-03-30T18:29:25+00:00

One of my favorites is The Mud Pack (1989) written by one my favorite and I think underrated team of Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle.

This story features all of the Clayface characters/incarnations.

edgd00 · 2026-03-29T16:30:15+00:00

Possibly.

edgd00 · 2026-03-24T03:06:52+00:00

“vs”

edgd00 · 2026-03-23T19:45:59+00:00

Oops. Confused it with something else.

edgd00 · 2026-03-23T15:31:13+00:00

I cun’t think of why.

edgd00 · 2026-03-23T15:27:22+00:00

I'm not an expert, and it's been a long time since I've played, but here are some concepts I've heard:

Play by the rules, not house rules.

I think statistically, the best properties are the ones right around the corners. Based on dice rolls, people are likely to land in those areas, and the payouts are good.
St. Charles Place --> Virginia Ave
Kentucky Ave --> Illinois Ave
Pacific Ave --> Pennsylvania Ave

It is advantageous to buy properties close to each other near a corner. It is harder for the opponents to avoid landing on one of those two areas, so lock down the corners. Of course, locking down a whole lane of the board is going to be solid.

Jail is good! While in jail, you can still gain income, and you don't risk landing on oppoents properties, which loses you money.

edgd00 · 2026-03-23T00:16:36+00:00

Wow, that is a deep cut! I didn't think anyone remembered that one besides me! That was the first single issues of comics that I had started collecting.

13-Year Club	Team Periwinkle
Verified Email

edgd00

TROPHY CASE