MidWinter Gaming Convention rolls big, finds new home
Role Models
January is the month where fun goes to die. The New Year’s hangover stretches for weeks as people assess their lives, their bank accounts, and their jobs. So what better time to wander around a downtown hotel pretending to be an elf, a vampire, or a double-sexy vampire elf? The MidWinter Gaming Convention makes a bold move to a downtown venue Jan. 19-22 after being born in the strip of hotels near the airport. It also marks an expansion into other geek areas by the same crew that runs Milwaukee’s longest-running Vampire LARP.
“This is a year for major expansion at MGC,” says Anne Zellmer, one of the convention’s organizers. “Not only have we moved downtown to the Hyatt Regency, we have also added a wide assortment of games and organizations.”
The big draws at this convention are the LARP events. One World By Night covers vampires, werewolves, and mages. Brass & Steel offers an escape into steampunk. Elder Entertainment takes players on a trip through the Lovecraftian horrors of Call Of Cthulhu. For those who want to expand their repertoire beyond pretending a conference room is an ancient vampire salon to include pretend weaponry, NERO runs events more like the LARPs featured in Role Models. (KISS makeup is sold separately.)
The Milwaukee Company of Gamers runs a room for board gamers not quite ready to go into full “let’s pretend” mode. MilCog will have a massive library on hand as well as staff members ready to teach games like Arkham Horror and Last Night On Earth to those looking to move past gateway games like Catan and Ticket To Ride. New deck-building games such as Ascension offer all the fun of CCG without the crippling need to wheel around suitcases full of useless cards.
Bridging the gap between board games and LARP are tabletop RPGs, which have a small but expanding presence at the convention. D&D is always a favorite, but small indie games like Fiasco also have a place here. Yes, even D&D nerds have indie/mainstream arguments in their ranks.
Non-gaming events include a Lolita Goth fashion show, seminars on everything from how to get more people involved in gaming to how to get a small-press RPG printed, and screenings of indie nerd-related films. The convention is also sponsoring a clothing drive for St. Vincent de Paul for all those X-Files T-shirts and +1 Featherfall cloaks cluttering up the closet.
