Friday, February 18, 2011
SaltCON
Posted By Gavin Sheehan on February 18, 2011, 11:08 PM
Video
gaming may be the center of attention in most households for
interactive entertainment, but for many people (especially those with
families) there's still a place for table gaming. Whether it be the
traditional board with dice and a goal to reach, the constructive
that takes thirty minutes to build and fifteen minutes to play, the
card decks going from one-on-one to a dozen different players, or the
creative where all you need is paper and your imagination to conquer
new worlds. Surprisingly, in a world dominated by the electronic,
table gaming has been making a comeback in recent years, even
spawning off conventions that celebrate the form and highlight new
games coming out.
--- SaltCON got its start last year as a
replacement for another that was on the financial wain, bringing in
smaller and familiar gaming companies from around the country to show
off additions to current titles and highlight new games in various
stages from beta-testing to pre-release. The two day event was such a
success that they brought it back, kicking off today at The
Fort Douglas Officer's Club this afternoon, featuring tournaments and
demos for all to play and check out, plus a few unannounced surprises
from those at the tables. I
got a chance to chat with head organizer Dave Bailey about the event
this year and what people can expect to see, along with photos from
last year's convention for you to browse throughout.
Dave
Bailey
http://www.saltcon.com/
Gavin:
Hey Dave! First thing, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Dave:
Hi, Gavin. I'm a technical writer by profession and do freelance web
design on the side. I have three grown children and three wonderful
granddaughters. I grew up as the son of an Air Force officer and, as
such, lived in many different places. In fact, I graduated from
Berlin American High School in Berlin, Germany. It was there, in my
teenage years, that I first developed a love for playing board games.
I came to Salt Lake City after high school to attend the University
of Utah. I've been here since that time, except for a short foray out
of state in California and Nevada.
Gavin:
What first got you into gaming, and what were some early influences
on you?
Dave:
In my youth, I was very involved with Boy Scouting and, upon
reaching my high school years, I helped establish a Sea Explorer Ship
(Post) in Berlin when I was sixteen. The adult leader and the other guys
involved in the post (there were six of us) began playing "Risk"
every week after our meeting, taking turns going to each others'
houses for gaming and food. It was great fun! When I graduated and
went to college, I was introduced to Avalon Hill games, war games,
and fantasy role playing. I, along with others at the University of
Utah, formed a club called the Critical Mass, and we began playing
games every Friday night. It was then that I started collecting games
and playing many different games... eventually receiving the nickname
of "Mr. Games" from my friends in the club, because I would
always bring a new game to play. LOL!
Gavin:
For those who don't know, what is SaltCON?
Dave:
SaltCON is a convention for those interested in playing board games.
We also host a yearly game competition called the "Ion Award"
for unpublished and newly-published game designers. Those who attend
have the opportunity to find like-minded individuals and families who
enjoy learning games and sharing their passion for games together.
Many different game publishers attend, too, and those who come to
SaltCON have the opportunity to purchase (or win through one of our
many free drawings) the newest and most popular games. Also, we often
have designers of newly-published games in attendance who can
demonstrate their new games to interested people. SaltCON is, most
importantly, two days of FUN!
Gavin:
When did the idea for SaltCON come about, and who did you initially
bring on to make it happen?
Dave:
Another group of local gamers hosted a convention called "A
Gathering Of Strangers" a few years ago. It was a fun time for
all who attended, including myself and my other SaltCON partners. Two
years ago, the person behind "A Gathering of Strangers" was
unable to host the convention and allowed my partners and I to do so
in his stead, rather than have no convention that year. Steve
Poelzing, Phil Kilcrease, Dale Gifford, and I had our first
experience with hosting a convention then. We enjoyed ourselves so
much that we wanted to do it again! Thus was born SaltCON. We set up
a company to do so and held our first convention under the SaltCON
name last year. We tried some different things from what we did the
first year and the convention was a great success! This year, so far,
has been even better! After last year's convention, we invited Sean
MacDonald to join us as a fifth partner and he has been a great
addition to our group.
Gavin:
How did you go about getting different companies on board to display
their games for play?
Dave:
Our first main attraction was the "Ion Award" game design
competition. We invited publishers to come to SaltCON as judges for
our game competition and were pleasantly surprised at the support we
received. Publishers such as Fred Distribution, Out of the Box Games,
and Mayday Games are among a few of the many who agreed and sent
judges to the competition. We also had support from national
publishers, such as Rio Grande Games. Many other publishers chose to
attend and sell their games at the convention. We've also had
wonderful support from many local game stores, most significantly
"Game Night Games" for the past two years, "Boardgame
Revolution" last year, and "Hastur Games and Hobbies"
this year. Word of our success last year and the excellent job done
by Dale Gifford, our partner in charge of sponsorships, has caused
our sponsorship numbers to rise this year. We are very grateful to
ALL of our sponsors and I apologize for not having mentioned them all
here. But know that we appreciate them so, so much and encourage
everyone reading your blog to visit them by clicking on their logos
as found on every page of our website.
Gavin:
Last year was the first year for the convention, what was that event
like for everyone?
Dave:
It was great! The Fort Douglas Officer's Club was a fantastic venue
for us and everyone who attended had a fun time. We provided a
questionnaire to attendees about their experience at SaltCON and were
very pleased that they found it to be such a great success. As for
us, the organizers, we learned a lot of lessons and found ways to
make the convention better. We have done some of those things this
year and are very confident that it will be an even better experience
for those attending.
Gavin:
Did you have an idea that you'd be back this year or was it still in
question?
Dave:
No, it was never in question. We have great hopes of making SaltCON
a destination convention, meaning a convention that people will
travel to even from out of state. This will take a few years to
accomplish so we knew that we'd be back this year. We are hoping to
grow each year until we truly live up to our moniker of "the
Sundance of gaming."
Gavin:
Venue-wise, what made you choose the Fort Douglas Officer's Club at
the U?
Dave:
"A Gathering of Strangers" had been held in the Union
Building at the University of Utah in its years before the year we
hosted it. In fact, it was due to the renovations taking place at the
Union Building that made the location unavailable the year we hosted
and led to the opportunity for us to do so. When we went out
searching for a replacement location, we found that the local hotels
were a bit out of our price range and the number of attendees
expected from them were beyond what "A Gathering of Strangers"
had done in previous years. So we were pleased to find that the
Officer's Club was just the right size for us, as well as priced
right, too. It has been a great venue for us.
Gavin:
This year, who will you have on board for game demos, and are there
any particular games you're looking forward to seeing?
Dave:
This year, we have Sean MacDonald presenting his game "Pastiche"
(published by FRED Distribution) and Alf Seegert sharing his game
"Trollhalla" (published by Z-Man Games) with us. In fact,
the president of FRED Distribution is personally attending the
convention so as to be present for the world-wide release of
"Pastiche" at SaltCON! Other games being demonstrated
include, "Bellicose Fantasy Battles" (Sanity Studios), "Crokinole" (Mayday Games), "Feast & Famine" (Good Knight Games), and "Magic: The Gathering" (Hastur Games & Hobbies).
Gavin:
Tell us a bit about the events you have planned and what people can
expect to see at the event?
Dave:
We have a full range of events scheduled for SaltCON, including 28
hours of open gaming, seven different game tournaments ("Conquest of
the Empire", "Small World", "Dominion", 1-on-1 "Crokinole", "Pastiche", "Word
on the Street", and "Magic: The Gathering"), game demos, game concierges
available to teach games, hourly giveaways of popular games donated
by sponsors, trade tables ("Math Trade" and "Garage Sale"), and a game
library of hundreds of titles available for attendees to play! Most
importantly, people coming to SaltCON can expect to have FUN!
Gavin:
What's the Ion Award and how people are able to compete for
that?
Dave:
The "Ion Award" is a game design competition for any game
designer with an unpublished and completed prototype. The designer
first submits a picture of his/her prototype with a game abstract to
SaltCON, which is then reviewed by judges according to preset judging
areas. The designers of those games with the highest cumulative
rankings are then invited to attend SaltCON to present their designs
to the judges personally. Winners are then chosen in the strategy
game category and the family/party game category. However, publishers
have the option of indicating those games they wish to see personally
even if the game does not qualify for the finals of the competition.
It is our hope that the competition process results in providing new
game designers the possibility and means to have their games
published.
Gavin:
Are you still looking for volunteers to help? And how can someone
volunteer?
Dave:
We are so fortunate that we have all of our volunteer slots filled
for this year's convention. However, if we continue to grow as we
fully expect, next year we will need even more volunteers. It's a
great opportunity for people to be a part of a great convention and
also get a reduced rate on attending for their volunteer service.
Simply e-mail us at volunteer@saltcon.com
and we'll be happy to provide more information.
Gavin:
Going into the industry for a bit, what's your take on board and
strategy games these days, and how they're holding up in a tech savvy
world?
Dave:
I believe they're holding up very well. The shared experience of
playing a board game with other people sitting with you is still
something people very much enjoy. The number of games being published
in local game stores and over the internet is a booming business. And
even in the tech-savvy world, people are playing board games with
each other online. Some of the most popular titles are available for
online play at any time. Some of the biggest game conventions in the
world, such as Essen, GenCon, and BGG Con, regularly attract
thousands of attendees each year. I don't see there ever being a time
when board games will not be popular!
Gavin:
Do you feel gaming of this formation will continue growing with new
fans and creators, or is it slowly becoming a dying art?
Dave:
I believe it will continue to grow and prosper. A very good local
example of this is the Board Game Designers Guild of Utah. This year
alone, six designers from that local club will have their game
designs published. Similar to the game design competition we hold at
SaltCON, other conventions are doing the same thing--on a national
level, publisher Rio Grande Games is backing an annual competition at
another convention to encourage new game designs. In Germany, the
game design competition Hippodice is going strong. There is no lack
of new designers and designs out there. Rather than decreasing, it is
doing just the opposite--increasing in numbers and interest.
Gavin:
Are there any games out there right now that you believe people
should be checking out?
Dave:
First and foremost, I'd like to encourage your readers to come try
out "Pastiche" and "Trollhalla" at SaltCON. Some
of the most popular games continue to be "Ticket to Ride,"
"Settlers of Catan," "Carcassone," and
"Dominion." Other newer titles that I personally enjoy are
"Small World," "Founding Fathers," "Cosmic
Encounter," and "Thunderstone." There are so many
games to try that it's impossible to list them all here. Come to
SaltCON and you'll find these games and many more that you'll have
fun playing!
Gavin:
Aside the obvious, is there anything you'd like to plug or
promote?
Dave:
Just that we are so pleased to be able to present SaltCON to the
Salt Lake City community. Board gaming is a great match to our local
community and its emphasis on families. Playing board games together
is a great way to spend family time and to learn and bond with each
other. We're so glad that we can be a part of encouraging such a
positive and rewarding activity in today's complicated world!
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