CAR-PGa NEWSLETTER Vol. 28, No. 8, August 2019

CAR-PGa Chair

David Millians, Editor

Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA

millians.david@paideiaschool.org

ARTICLES

Letter from the Chair

Hi All,

The CAR-PGA isn’t often in the news, but thanks to CAR-PGA member Hawke Robinson we’re affiliated with a worthy cause — discussing the value of tabletop role-playing games as part of prisoner rehabilitation. Hawke will serve as an on-camera expert and advisor to the currently Kickstarted documentary, Let’s Play: Dungeons & Dragons Behind Bars:

LET’S PLAY tells the little-known stories of inmates and former inmates who go to great lengths to play tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons behind bars. They handcraft twenty-sided dice, build their own campaigns from scratch, even wage legal battles against the United States prison system to assert their right to play.

Hawke and M. Alan Thomas II have both discussed why access to tabletop role-playing games are critical for prisoners (here and here). And this is a current issue for a vulnerable population, as we saw just a few months ago when certain prisons began banning used books (and thus used RPGs) for flimsy excuses like contraband.  Hawke goes into the personal details of his involvement with the Kickstarter and his personal connection to the topic below. Please give it a read.

I interviewed the producer of the documentary, Elisabeth de Kleer, on EN World but that’s just the start. I backed the Kickstarter and I hope you will too. You can help by sharing on your social media channels and with your friends — the documentary has a long way to go to reach its $60K goal.

I believe this is why the CAR-PGA exists, to help spread the word about the value of gaming for everybody, including those in prison. I hope we can do our part to bring attention to this important topic.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Mike

Committee Chair

Role-playing Gaming for Incarcerated Populations

Personal Experience From the “Grandfather of Therapeutic [Role-playing] Gaming”

By Hawke Robinson

July 23, 2019.

With the recent Kickstarter for the documentary Let’s Play: D&D Behind Bars by producer Elisabeth de Kleer launching, our efforts related to researching the effects of RPGs in Prison have once again come to light. RPG Research’s founder, W.A. Hawkes-Robinson (aka Hawke Robinson), called by professional peers the “grandfather of therapeutic gaming,” is directly involved with this documentary as a behind-the-scenes consultant and on-camera advisor for the film. Mr. Robinson’s personal involvement with this topic spans decades.

***

If you missed the news, there is an exceptional Kickstarter, “Let’s Play: Dungeons & Dragons Behind Bars” currently running to help fund the final stages of a documentary on the battle to allow role-playing games in USA prisons, created by veteran documentary producer Elisabeth de Kleer.

It includes very specific examples in California, with specific individuals, spanning years of legal battles, innovative approaches to gaming while incarcerated, illustrating the long-term outcomes from prisoners allowed to participate in this recreational activity with the potential to greatly reduce in-facility violence, improve social and communication skills, develop empathy and behavior self-management skills, overcome many dangerous segregation barriers, and reduce recidivism up to 80%! This improves the safety and security of prison workers and inmates, increases safety for the general public, and reduces the overall burden to taxpayers. See the “References” section at the end of this document for examples from government and other sources supporting these statements. You can track the growing body of research on this topic in the dedicated RPGs in Prison section of the non-profit RPG Research website. You can learn more about the producer’s background and development of this film through the excellent interview by Michael Tresca, from EN World and the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Game Advocacy (CAR-PGA). During Hawke Robinson‘s 2018 “RPG Tour” raising awareness about accessibility & inclusiveness in games and music across eight western states in the USA using the wheelchair accessible RPG Bus & RPG Trailer, he was contacted by Elisabeth de Kleer, the producer of this documentary, and spent some hours on the phone and Skype answering extensive questions and is now an official adviser for the film.

Robinson’s involvement with role-playing games (RPGs) goes back to almost the dawn of RPGs in the mid 1970s, including beginning research on the effects of RPGs in 1983, being a paid game master since around the same time, running games in educational settings since 1985 and in therapeutic settings since 2004. And among many other populations, he also has been involved working with at-risk and incarcerated populations since 1989.

But Robinson has a very personal connection to this topic, which he has been hesitant to elaborate on publicly for obvious personal and professional reasons, which helps further inform his expertise on this topic. With the development of this documentary, while not a secret to friends, family, and coworkers, he is opening up more about his personal experiences related to this topic.

In the late 1980s, he was all too intimately part of this subject of study. Now in his late 40s, he is the father of three adult children, a successful businessman, and heavily engaged with helping improve the lives of others through extensive volunteering and other efforts, but it was a long and tumultuous road to turning his life around, definitely qualifying by today’s standards as “at-risk youth” and growing up initially with a physically abusive father until his parents divorced in the mid-70s. In the late 70s he was diagnosed with ADHD (later also PTSD, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia). In part because of the abuse he witnessed by his father to his mother (and himself), he early on developed a “white knight complex.” This, backed by extensive martial arts training, his exceptional height, peaking at just over 6’8 “, he was repeatedly involved “defensively” in hundreds of physical fights from first grade until his late teens, intervening against bullies that were picking on others and as an individual fighting against gangs or attacks by others many years older than he. Robinson struggled academically and was repeatedly in trouble with the authorities, even though most of his teachers and others still repeatedly said he was “really bright” and “a good boy,” who “meant well but keeps getting into trouble.”

Robinson states that role-playing gaming often helped considerably to keep him out of trouble. He found the “better” peer group in most gamers he played with, and the cooperative nature of the activity was very helpful in the short run to divert his high-energy “hyperactivity” into productive and non-destructive activities, including tabletop, live-action, computer-based, solo adventures, miniatures painting, adventure module writing, drawing, software development, historical and scientific research, and many other endeavors triggered directly because of RPGs. He stated, “it was during long periods away from gaming that things would get worse.”

In the long-run, Robinson developed many critical skills over time that eventually lead to directly helping turn life around and taking on leadership roles. Robinson states that, “being at board meetings with Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Microsoft, and others was so similar to GMing, it was amazing how helpful those skills were in direct application to these meetings.”

In his teens, though, as a mechanic at the time involved with “souping up” muscle cars and racing and impulsively making many “bad choices,” Robinson dropped out of school in eleventh grade (getting his GED), not sleeping for increasingly long periods spanning days, even as much as three and a half weeks, and ended up getting into repeated run-ins during a two-year long fight with some local “lumpers gang” and trouble with law enforcement, which lead to his ending up “in the system” for several years. He lost his driver’s license for six years, was in and out of jail half a dozen times, performed hundreds of hours of court-ordered community service, paid nearly $50,000 USD in fines and restitution (nearly $100,000 in today’s money), and endured years of probation. Due to employers’ understandable resistance to hiring someone with such a record, this also led to his being completely homeless several times, barely surviving starvation and exposure, making it increasingly difficult to work to pay the fines to stay out of prison.

During these rocky times Robinson had the opportunity to introduce role-playing games to inmates in the Salt Lake City/County jail. The facilities were over twice their capacity and a powder keg that was already exploding. To help calm the situation in a “quarantine cell” meant for only sixteen inmates but holding over thirty, with half the inmates having to sleep on the stone floors, in a metal and stone cell with only a few dim bulbs for light, with the phones and television shut off, and other privileges suspended for all inmates, he implemented, with nothing but pencils and notepaper, two of the few allowed items during this lock down period, a light version of the Middle Earth Role Playing game system created by Iron Crown Enterprises.

Not only were the inmates directly involved with the game helped by this – crossing gang, racial, and other boundaries to work together – but the rest of the inmates watching and listening found even the observation of the sessions very helpful, especially those going through extreme drug withdrawal. The narrative discussion helped them “hang on to themselves” and kept the cell from “blowing up.” During this ten day lock down period nobody was allowed phone calls, access to medication, or anything of the like It should be noted, nobody else in that facility had prior RPG experience.

Indeed research shows that role-playing gamers generally have much higher levels of empathy and are far less likely to be involved in violent or criminal behavior than their non-gaming peers. Role-playing gamers are shown to have much higher levels of meaning in their lives than their peers (lower levels of meaningless) and lower levels of psychoticism.

Every component of “The System” – from law enforcement, judges, probation officers, lawyers, counselors, to employers, & general public – repeatedly said to Mr. Robinson over the years, “You’ll never get out of the [revolving door] system,” “Once a criminal always a criminal,” and unfortunately for most people, this is all too true. Most of the people that Robinson knew from that time period are either still in the system or dead. He was one of the few to survive, get out of the system, and eventually thrive and once again, eventually, becoming a powerfully contributing member of society.

It was years of getting into troublesome situations before adulthood and his first time in jail that lead him to finally re-question his own inexplicable behavior that was so “opposite the person I thought I was.” Finally reaching out seeking help, eventually receiving a formal diagnosis of manic-depressive (now the term is bipolar type II) and gaining access to treatment and medication that helped him start the long road toward putting his life back together, with the long-term goal of once again being an employed, healthy, contributing member of society.

W.A. Hawkes-Robinson (publishing name) known by most as “Hawke Robinson” is founder and creator of many organizations including:

Hawke Robinson was interviewed by Michael Tresca years ago in a three-part series of articles.

Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

Mr. Robinson is a Washington State Department of Health Registered Recreational Therapist with an incredibly diverse background in recreation and music therapy, computer science, cognitive neuropsychology, and research psychology. He has been called by professional peers the “grandfather of therapeutic gaming.”

Over the decades, Hawke Robinson has personally introduced thousands of people to the joy of role-playing gaming. He states that very few existing gamers he has known well had a criminal history, “by far the majority did not,” but he has introduced many of those “at risk” or actually in the criminal system to role-playing games and seen great results.

Robinson states he had repeatedly seen the power of role-playing games (RPGs) over the years greatly improve quality of life for many populations, as supported in Kohei Kato’s recent research. Robinson has researched their effects and used them in educational settings. The example with incarcerated populations is yet another example of the potential power for this unique cooperative activity to help greatly improve participants’ functioning and overall life outcome.

Robinson is founder & president of the non-profit 501(c)3 research & human services organization RPG Research, beginning as the RPG Research Project in 2004. The organization now consists of scores of volunteers spanning five continents. He is also the president of the for-profit RPG Therapeutics LLC which includes professional, paid game masters providing a wide range of programs.

References

NEW MATERIAL

FROM DAVID MILLIANS

FROM MIKE TRESCA

CONVENTIONS

New listings this month were provided by Paul Cardwell and Lou Zocchi. Others are urged to submit information. If you attend a convention, be sure and check the conventions table and let us have a copy of the fliers (or at very least the when, what, where, and contact information) for upcoming conventions available there. CAR-PGa is international, so this includes anywhere in the world.  

Dates, precise venue, contacts’ URLs or phone numbers, and other information, where missing from this list, would be particularly appreciated.  If we have missed any, send the information to plcardwell@gmail.com Convention reviews should be sent to millians.david@paideiaschool.org

“[LARP]” means only LARP events as many RPG cons include at least some LARP, as likewise applies to the mention of specific game systems. The same bracketed information applies as well to game systems when the con will have only those games present.

In an attempt to get more face-to-face meetings of the membership, we list who will be going to what convention, if they will tell us.  Get this type of information in at least two months before the convention itself, so we can run it at least once.

David Millians will be attending Gen Con, August 1-4, and presenting at Gen Con Trade Day on Wednesday, July 31.

Support your local cons by helping in the staff. It is a good way to promote RPG and you generally get in free for the brief time spent helping.  

A review of any attended convention afterwards for the Newsletter would be appreciated too. These reviews should include demographic data such as attendance, percentage male/female, white/ethnic minorities (or whatever is the majority/white/others), games in addition to tabletop RPG, and more subjective matters such as unusual events, quality of games and dealers’ room, encouragement of new gamers, and whatever seems worth reporting. We need to work to restore CAR-PGa’s reputation as the media’s go-to on gamer demographics, especially since the media are still citing a study that cut off all those over 35 – at a time when that was the median age of gamers – it is closer to 40 now – which indicates we also need to work on recruiting younger players, although some increase in college age players at conventions has been noted.

August 2019 

  • 1-4: Gen Con, Indiana Convention Center, 100 S Capitol Ave, Indianapolis, IN; gencon.com 
  • 1-4: Quad Cities Anime-zing!, River Center, Davenport, IA; qcanimezing.com 
  • 2-4: Comic Con Honolulu, Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, HI; comicconhonoluulu.com 
  • 2-4: Glitch Con, Springdale Holiday Inn, 1500 S 48th, Springdale, AR; glitch con.com
  • 2-4: PaizoCon, Asto Conference Centre, Bourneville College, Birmingham, W.Mid; ukroleplayers.com 
  • 2-4: Starfleet International Conference, Marriott St. Louis Airport, St. Louis, MO; starfleetidic2019.com
  • 3-4: Gamma.Com, Exhibition Park, Flemington Rd & Northbourne Ave, Canberra, ACT; gammacon.org.au
  • 3-4: UniCon Latvia, Riga, Latvia; unicon.lv 
  • 8-11: PolCon, Bialymstoku; polcon.fandom.art.pl 
  • 9-11: Anime Festival Orlando, Wyndham Orlando Resort, Orlando, FL; animefestivalorlando.com 
  • 9-11: Dragonfire, Kramer Law Bldg, University of Capetown, Capetown, SA; claws.za.net 
  • 9-11: Game On Expo, Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix, AZ gameonexpoaz.com
  • 9-11: Löwenherz Con und Spiele, Landheim der Sophienschule, Nienburger Str 15, Hamburg; diophant.de 
  • 9-11: Malcon, Ramada Plaza Denver North, 10 E 120th Ave, Denver, CO; malcondenver.org
  • 9-11: SpoCon, Davenport Hotel, 10 Post St, Spokane, WA; spocon.org 
  • 10: Ettin Con, Blackheath Community Centre, Katoomba, NSW; ettincon.org 
  • 12-14: Con Gregate, Red Lion High Point NC; 10times.com/con-gregate 
  • 15-17: Icon, Eshkol Pais, 4 Shprintzak St, Tel Aviv; iconfestival.org.il 
  • 15-17: Mycon, Cache County Fairgrounds, Logan, UT; myron.me
  • 15-18: Alter Paradox, Polidepoirxtivo des Ugarrandia, Pamplona: umbrasdeparadox.es
  • 15-19: Worldcon, Convention Centre, Dublin; dublin2019.com 
  • 16-18: Coulee Con, La Crosse Center, La Crosse, WI; couleecon.com  
  • 16-18: Dragonflight, Bellevue Hilton, 300 112th Ave. SE, Bellevue, WA; dragonflight.org 
  • 16-18: Matsuricon, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH; matsuricon.org 
  • 17-18: NewCon, Cardiff RSL, 45 Macquarie Rd, Cardiff, NSW; newconoz.co
  • 17-18: DeweyCon, Palm Beach County Library, 3650 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL; pbclibrary.org
  • 22-25: Fan Expo Canada, Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON; fanexpocanada.com 
  • 22-25: NecronomiCon, Providence Biltmore, Providence, RI; necronimicon-providence.con.com  [Lovecraft] 
  • 22-25: Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, Stevens Convention Center, 5555 N. River Rd, Chicago, IL; wizardworld.com 
  • 23-25: Bubonicon, Albuquerque Marriott Uptown, 2101 Louisiana Blvd NE (at I-40), Albuquerque, NM; bubonicon.com 
  • 23-25: 2D Con, Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN; 2dcon.net 
  • 22-25: Fan Expo Canada, Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, ON; fanexpocanada.com 
  • 23-25: Hub Con, Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, Lubbock, TX; facebook.com/hubcitycomiccom
  • 23-25: Nashcon, Franklin Marriott at Cool Springs, Franklin, TN; nashcon.org  [miniature wargame] 
  • 24: AlderCon, Hale Institute, Wings Rd, Farnham, Surrey; aldercon.uk 
  • 24: Meggacon, Commonwealth Commerce Center, Jackson, MI; meggacon.com 
  • 24-25: Animaga, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton, NSW: animaga.com.au 
  • 24-25: HoGS Winter Gamefest, Lenah Valley Community Hall, 22 Creek Rd, Hobart, Tas; hogs.com.au
  • 24-25: Shadow Con, Northfields Community Centre, Northfields, West London; ukroleplayers.com
  • 24-25: Tabletop Scotland, Dewars Centre, Perth; tabletopscotland.co.uk 
  • 28-29: PA Dev, Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA; penny-arcade.com
  • 29-September 1: ReaperCon, Denton Convention Center, Denton, TX; reapercon.com [trade show, art exhibit]
  • 29-September 1: Tacticon, Denver Marriott South, Park Meadows Dr, Denver, CO; denvergamers.org 
  • 29-September 2: Dragoncon, Hyatt Regency, 265 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA; dragoncon.org 
  • 30-31: Polcon, Bialystok; pollen.fandom.art.pl 
  • 30-31: SaltCon End of Summer,  Davis Conference Center, Layton, UT; saltcon.com
  • 30-September 1 GrandCon, DeVos Place, 303 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI; grand-con.com 
  • 30-September 1: Meta Con, Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN: metaconvention.com
  • 30-September 1: Q-Con, Queen’s University Belfast, Elmwood Hall, Belfast, Northern Ireland; q-con.org.uk 
  • 30-September 2: Pacificon, Santa Clara Marriott, 2700 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA; pacificonngameexpo.com 
  • 30-September 2: PAX West, Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Seattle, WA; penny-arcade.com 
  • 30-September 2: Strategicon Gateway, Hilton LAX, 5711 W Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA; strategicon.net 
  • 31: Games Con, Emsworth Community Centre, Emsworth, Hamps; gamescon.co.uk 
  • 31-September 2: Gamers of Summer, Paxtonia Fire Hall, 125 S Johnson St, Harrisburg, PA; gamersofsummer.net

September 2019 

  • 1-2: ISU-Con, Hulman Student Union, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN; indstate.edu/rpguild 
  • 5-8: Buckeye Game Fest, Hyatt Regency downtown, Columbus, OH; buckeyegamefest.com
  • 6-8: Alcon, DeMonfort University, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK; alcon.org.uk 
  • 6-8: Furry Migration, Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, 1300 Nicolet Mall, Minneapolis, MN; furrymigration.org
  • 6-8: Rustycon, Bellevue Hilton, 300 1122th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA; rustycon.com 
  • 6-9: Tracon, Tampere Hall, Tampere, Finland; tracon.fi 
  • 7-8: Retro World Expo, Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT; retroworldexpo.com
  • 7-8: Space Coast Comic Con, Space Coast Convention Center, 301 Tucker Ln, Cocoa, FL; www.spacecoastcomiccon.com
  • 7-8: Washingcon, Georgetown University Conference Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, Washington, DC; washingcon.com
  • 9: Impossible Realities, InterAction School of Performing Arts, 228 Germain Street, Saint John, NB; impossiblerealities.com  
  • 12-14: HawaiiCon, Sheraton Kona, Kona, HI; hawaiicon.com 
  • 12-15: Scarefest, Lexington Convention Center, Lexington, KY; thescarefest.com 
  • 13-15: Albacon, Ramada Plaza, Albany, NY; albacon.org 
  • 14: Concrete Cow, Old Bath House, 205 Stratford Rd, Wolverton, Milton Keynes; mk-rpg.org.uk 
  • 14-15: ConCentric Games, Fullarton Park Community Centre, Adelaide, SA, Australia; con-centric.com.au 
  • 14-15: Retro Con, Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, Philadelphia, PA; retrocons.com
  • 14-15: World RPG Fest, Clube da Bola, Rua Francisco Nunes, 110, Curitiba, PR, Brasil; worldrpgfest.com.br 
  • 18: Ducosim, Deflint, Amersoorth, NL; ducosim.nl
  • 20-22: Council, Proctors Conference Center, Schenectady, NY; swa-gaming.org
  • 20-22: Edmonton Expo, Edmonton Centre, 7515 118 Ave, Edmonton, AB; edmontonexpo.com
  • 20-22: SIBCon, Vagabonds Hall, Butler, PA; circleofswords.com 
  • 20-22: Southern Front, Four Points, Raleigh-Durham Airport, NC; trianglesimsociety.org [miniature wargames] 
  • 20-23: Tokyo Game Show, Makuhari Messe, Tokyo; showsbee.com 
  • 21: Owlbear and Wizard’s Staff, Bond Factory unit 13, Althorpe St, Leanington Spa, Warwicks; asakosoh.wordsmith.com
  • 21: TolkienMoot, Lawrence House, 1432 W. Lawrence Dr, Spokane, WA; tolkienmoot.org 
  • 21-22: TopCon, Agriculture Hall, Kansas Expocentre, Topeka, KS; topconppop.com
  • 27-29: Falcon, Sheraton Stamford, 700 Main, Stamford, CT; conncon.com
  • 27-29: Fallcon, SAIT – Campus Center, 1301 126 Ave NW, Calgary, AB; fallcon.com
  • 27-29: Monsterama, Marriott Alpharetta, GA 400 & Windward Pkwy, Atlanta GA; monsteramacon.com
  • 28: Hall of Fame City Comic Con, Canton Civic Center,  1101 N. Market Ave, Canton OH; hofcitycomiccon.com
  • 28: Raiders of the Game Cupboard, Waterside Community Centre, Heath Rd, Stapenhill, Burton on Trent; raidersofthegamecupboard.co.uk
  • 28-29: Lil-Con, American Legion Stephen Sikora Post, North Tonawanda, NY; lilconconvention.com 
  • 28-29: Monster-Con, Wonderland of the Americas Mall, 4522 Fredericksburg Rd, San Antonio, TX; monstercon.com 
  • 28-29: Schweinfurter Fantasy-Festival, Jugendhaus, Franz-Schubert-Str, Schweinfurt; fantasy-festival.de 
  • 28-29: Tabletop Gaming Live, Alexandra Palace, London; www.tabletopgaming.co.uk/shows/show/tabletop-gaming-live
  • 28-29: WynterCon, Princes Park, Eastbourne, E Sussex, UK; wyntercon.com 

October 2019 

  • 3-6: Con on the Cob, Days Inn, 4742 Wrecksville Rd, Richfield, OH; cononthecob.com
  • 3-6: New York Comic Con, Jacob Javetts Center, New York City, NY; newyorkcomiccon.com 
  • 4-6: Archon, Gateway Center, Collinsville, MO; archonstl.org
  • 4-6: NEWGamepalooza, Alumni Center, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, WI; newgamepalooza.com
  • 4-6: Nuke-Con, Ramada Plaza, 3321 S 72nd St, Omaha, NE; nuke-con.com 
  • 4-6: OctoGones, l’Espace Double Mixte, Lyon/Villeurbanne. France; octogones.org
  • 4-6: Realms Con, Emerald Beach Hotel, 11092 S Shoreline Blvd, Corpus Christi, TX; realmscon.com 
  • 4-6: RinCon, Sheraton, 5151 E Grant Rd, Tucson, AZ; rincongames.com 
  • 4-6: SHUX, Vancouver Convention Centre Vancouver, BC; www.shutupandsitdown.com/shux19
  • 4-6: SparrenCon, Kinder- und Jugendhaus Brake, Glückstädter Str 25, Bielefeld; sparrencon.de
  • 4-6: TokenCon, Wyndham Garden Oklahoma City Airport, 2101 S Meridian Ave, Oklahoma City, OK; 
  • 5: Dragondaze, Newport Centre, 1 Kingsway, Newport, S Wales: dragondaze.com
  • 5-7: MOAB, Sylvania Heights Community Club, Box Rd, Sylvania, NSW; motherofallbattles.org [mostly wargame including fantasy]
  • 5-7: Sydcon, St. Scholastica’s College, Glebe, NSW; sydcon.info
  • 10-13: Big Bad Con, Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA; bigbadcon.com  [18+] 
  • 10-13: Brasil Game Show, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, SP; brasilgameshow.com.br
  • 10-13: Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous, Holiday Inn, 1100 5th St S, Great Falls, MT; gfgr.org
  • 11-12: Fear the Con, Riverbend Event Center, 1085 Winding River Cove W, Salt Lake City, UT; fear con.com; fearcon.com 
  • 11-13 Conapalooza, Meadowview Convention Center, Kingsport, TN; conapalooza.com
  • 11-13: CinCityCon, Sharonville Convention Center 11355 Chester Rd, Sharonville, OIH; cincitycon.com
  • 11-13: Con Plus, 35 Duncan Close, Moulton Park, Northampton, UK; conplus.live
  • 11-13: Festivalinternacionaldejuegascordoba.es, Palacio de los Merced, Cordoba; festivaldejuegascordoba.es
  • 11-13: FlatCon, Interstate Center, 1106 Interstate Dr, Bloomington, IL; flatcon.com 
  • 11-13: G.A.M.E., Springfield Expo Center, Springfield, MO; springfieldgame.com
  • 11-13: OddConUK, Park Inn, Forge Gate, Telford; oddconuk.org.uk
  • 11-13: PAX Aus, Melbourne Convention Centre, 1 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf, Vic; aus.paxsite.com
  • 11-13: Save Against Fear. Harrisburg Mall, 3501 Paxton, Harrisburg, PA; thebodhanagroup.org
  • 11-13: Travellercon, Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster, PA; travellercon-usa.com  [primarily Traveller] 
  • 11-13: Tsubasacon, Charleston Coliseum, Charleston, WV;  tsubasacon.org 
  • 11-13: VCon, Sheraton Vancouver Airport, Richmond, BC; vcon.ca 
  • 11-13: Viking-Con, Tårnby Gymnasiuum, Tejin Allé 5, Kastrup, Denmark; viking-con.dk
  • 12-13: Furnace, Garrison Hotel, 635 Penistone Rd, Sheffield, SYorks; furnace.org.uk
  • 16-20: NordlichtCon, Seminarhof Proitzer Mühle, Proitze 3, Schnega; nordlichtcon.de 
  • 17-20: EGX, ExCeL Center, London; egx.net 
  • 18-19: Timp Con, Utah Valley Convention Center, 220 W. Center St., Provo, UT; utahvalley.com/timp-con
  • 18-20: CastleCon, Best Western Plus, 559 Bloor St W, Oshawa, ON; castlecon.net
  • 18-20: Mile Hi Con, Hyatt Regency, 7800 E. Tufts Ave, Denver, CO; milehicon.org
  • 18-20: NEA Game Fest, Hilton Garden Inn, Jonesboro, AR; tabletop.events/conventions/nea-game-fest-2019
  • 18-20: Necronomicon, Holiday Inn Tampa Westshore, 700 N Westshore Blvd, Tampa, FL; stonehill.org 
  • 18-20: Texas Broadside, USS Texas, La Porte, TX; texasbroadside.webs.com  [primarily historical wargaming]
  • 18-20: ValleyCon, Ramada Fargo, Fargo, ND; valleycon.com 
  • 18-20: Wizard World Comic Con, Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N High St, Columbus, OH; wizardworld.com 
  • 18-21: Kraken, Schloss Neuhausen, Bradenburg, Germany; the-kraken.de
  • 19: Kogata Daycon, Davison 4H, 3200 W Havens Ave, Mitchel, SD; kogatadaycon.com 
  • 19-20: Memphis Comic Expo, Agricenter International, 7777 Walnut Grove Rd, Memphis, TN; memphiscomicexpo.com
  • 19-20: MiniCon III, University of Canterbury, Christchurch; saga.org.nz
  • 19-20: Oddmall: Hallowondrous, Lakewood Masonic Temple, 15300 Detroit Ave, Lakewood, OH; oddmall.info/hallowondrous  [Free admission] 
  • 19-20: WasabiCon, Lexington Hotel Riverwalk, Jacksonville, FL; wasabicon.com 
  • 24-26: Spiel, Messe Essen, Essen; spiel-messe.com
  • 24-27: Atlanta Game Fest, Marriott Alpharetta, Atlanta, GA; atlantagamefest.com 
  • 25-27: Central Canada Comic Con, Winnipeg Convention Centre, Winnipeg, MB; c4con.org
  • 25-27: Gamealot, Kinsmen Banquet Center, 47 Reil Dr, St. Albert, AB; gamealot.ca
  • 25-27: Hal-Con, Halifax World Convention Centre, Halifax, NS; hal-con.com 
  • 25-27: Hallowcon, Econolodge, 1507 N Tibb Rd, Dalton, GA; hallocon.com  [horror]
  • 25-27: Rock-Con, Tebala Event Center, 7910 Newburg Rd, Rockford, IL, rock-con.com
  • 25-28: Gaelcon, Ballbridge Hotel, Pembroke Rd, Dublin: gaelcon.com
  • 30-November 3: Lucca Comics and Games, Palazzo Ducale, Lucca; luccacomicsandgames.com
  • 30-November 3: Lucca Comics & Games, Lucca Fiere, via della Chiesa, Trav.1, 237, Lucca, Italy; europecomics.com 
  • 31-November 3: AmberCon NW, McMehamins Edgefield Bed & Breakfast Resort, Troutsdale, OR; amberconnw.org  [Amber diceless and indie games]
  • 31-November 3: Anime Weekend Atlanta, Renaissance Waverley, Atlanta, GA; aaa-con.com 
  • 31-November 3: Gamehole Con, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, WI; gameholecon.com

November 2019 

  • 1-2: Carnage, Killington Grand Resort, Killington, VT; carnagecon.com
  • 1-3: ICON, Cedar Rapids Marriott Cedar Rapids, IA; iowa-icon.com 
  • 2-3: Confuzion, 1000 Gattman Park Dr, Mussel Shoals, AL; confuzion.net
  • 6-10: Euroquest, Doubletree Pikesville, 1726 Reisterstown Rd, Pikesville, MD; euroquestcon.com
  • 7-10: Metatopia, Morristown Hyatt, Morristown, NJ; dexposure.com  [game design]
  • 8-10: AcadeCon, Dayton Convention Center, 22 E 5th St, Dayton, OH; theacadecon.com
  • 8-10: Gamer Comic Expo, Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL; gamercomicexpo.com
  • 8-10: Mace, Hilton Charlotte University Place, Charlotte, NC; justusproductions.com
  • 8-10: Mepacon, Mount Laurel Resort, 81 Treetops Cir, White Haven, PA; mepacon.com
  • 8-10: Orycon, Red Lion, Jantzen Beach, Portland, OR: orycon.org 
  • 8-10: Philcon, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2349 W. Marlton Pike, Cherry Hill, NJ; philcon.org
  • 8-10: Wizard World Comic Con Austin, Austin Convention Center, Austin TX; wizardworld.com
  • 9: Grogmeet, FanBoy 3, 25 Hilton St Manchester; grognardfiles.com 
  • 9-10: Spellenspektakel, Beursgebouw, Eindhoven; spellenspektakel.nl
  • 14-17: Midwest GameFest, Stoney Creek Conference Center, Kansas City, MO; midwestgamefest.org 
  • 15-17: ComiConway, Faulkner County Library, 900 Tyler St, Conway, AR; comiconway.com
  • 15-17: Conjuration, Hilton Atlanta Airport, Atlanta, GA; conjurationcon.com
  • 15-17: Contraflow, New Orleans Airport Hilton, Kenner, LA; contraflowscifi.org
  • 15-17: Konsplosion, Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. 7th, Fort Smith, AR; konsplosion.com
  • 15-17: Kumoricon, Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR; kumoricon.org 
  • 15-17: Memphis Comic & Fantasy Convention, Memphis Marriott East, 5795 Poplar Ave, East Memphis, TN; memphiscfc.com
  • 15-17: SNAFUCon, Grand Sierra Resort, 2500 2nd St, Reno, NV; snafucon.com
  • 15-19: Windy Con, Westin Yorktown Center, Lombard, IL; windycon.org
  • 16-17: Dreieich Con, Bürgerhaus, Dreieich-Sperndingen, Fichtestr. 50, Dreieich, Germany; dreieichcon.de
  • 16-17: Geek Girl Con, Washington State Conference Center, 800 Pike, Seattle, WA; geekgirlcon.com
  • 21-24: Chicago Toy and Game Fair, Navy Pier, Hall A, Chicago, IL; chitag.com
  • 22-24: ConQuest Avalon, McClellan Conference Center, Sacramento, CA; conquestavalon.com
  • 22-24: Stuffed COWS, College of Du Page Student Resource Center, 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL; coldironconventions.com
  • 22-24: U-Con, Marriott Ann Arbor at Eagle Crest, 1275 S Huron St, Ypsilanti, MI; ucon-gaming.org 
  • 23-24: Darmstadt Spielt, Wissenschafts-und Kongresszentrum darmstadtium, Darmstadt; darmstadt-spielt.de
  • 29-December 1: LosCon, LAX Marriott, 3855 W. Century Blvd, Los Angeles, CA; loscon.org
  • 29-December 1: Northeast Comic Con, Regency Hotel, Boxboro, MA; necomiccon.net

© Copyright 2019 by the Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games (CAR-PGa), ISSN 1071 7129. The CAR-PGa Newsletter is a monthly publication. For more information contact David Millians, Editor, Paideia School, 1509 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia 30307 USA, phone (404) 808-1070, fax (404) 377-3491, e-mail millians.david@paideiaschool.org. Back issues are available. Contributions of material from the membership are urged, and the byline is responsible for content. Deadline is the last weekday of the month, email preferred. Permission is granted to copy anything in the Newsletter, provided we get a credit line in the publication copying it, and it doesn’t have someone else’s copyright on it. Information, including details on joining CAR-PGa, can be obtained on the Internet at car-pga.org.

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