TokenCon 2: Electric Boogaloo

A couple of weeks ago was the second installment of Oklahoma's first and (so far) only board game convention: TokenCon! As should be no surprise to anyone, I had to attend. This year, it has expanded, both in terms of size and in duration; it was three days this time! Sadly, I wasn't able to attend on Friday, as there was a special event at work that day which lasted well into the evening... still, I was there for a good chunk of both Saturday and Sunday.

I am pleased by the overall direction of the convention. It is definitely growing; there were more people there this year. It took up more space. The gaming hall seemed more full than last year. I had a good time, and I don't regret the money I spent. Granted, I bought one of the 'early bird' tickets, so it wasn't quite as expensive for me this time. Still, I don't feel as though the ticket cost was too high this time around, as I did last year.

So let's talk about what I saw and did there.

TokenCon: Oklahoma's First Board Game Convention

The Oklahoma Board Game Community recently hosted TokenCon. This two-day event was the first board game convention in Oklahoma. So of course I had to attend. I will now share my thoughts on that event with you.

As a first-year event, this convention was obviously very small. I'm sure that it also makes a difference that we are in Oklahoma, which is not known for being a very cosmopolitan location. In areas closer to the coast, or to heavily populated areas like Chicago or Detroit, there would be a much larger population interested in such events.

Obviously, even with these factors, a new event would still have a ways to go before being able to rival more established events like GenCon or Geekway to the West. But all told, I wanted to ensure that I support this new event. Being able to help grow the local gaming community was too important a goal for me to pass up. So although I felt the entrance cost was perhaps a little higher than I felt may have been justified, I went ahead and registered.