What’s FallCon365 you ask? Let us explain…
As most of you know, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the FallCon Gaming Convention. It is a very special year, and the FallCon team has many exciting things planned which will be introduced here over the coming weeks in the run up to the convention. We are very proud to say that the FallCon Convention is one of the longest running conventions of its kind in North America.
However, what you may not know is that two years ago the FallCon team spent some time clarifying its core purpose to help better align its activities and decisions around a compelling and overarching story. The result of that work was the formulation of the FallCon Core Purpose:
People + Games = Better Communities, Families and Relationships
Like any good Core Purpose, this statement created more energy and engagement for the team than simply planning and running a great convention. And it became clear that there was more that could (and should) be done to support and grow the tabletop gaming hobby. That was the birth of FallCon365: an initiative to expand our FallCon purpose beyond our convention walls, and the starting point for a variety of other activities.
- Meetups - The Calgary Boardgame Meetup Group was launched by Jasen Robillard in 2004 and has grown to 617 members. It has run over 600 events since its launch, and FallCon team members have been instrumental in promoting and growing this community. Today this Meetup Group hosts events every month which are being branded, “FallCon presents …” to give people a place to play, learn and bring their friends to introduce them to the hobby. Almost allof these events are free. If you are not a member of this group, what are you waiting for?
- The Canadian Game Design Award - The CGDA is now well established, and play-testing is underway currently in preparation to present the award for the 3rd year in a row. Many of you will be aware of the award and the past winners (Octopus’ Garden and Undermining), but what you may not know is that work is ongoing throughout the year thanks to the tireless efforts of rules reviewers, judges and organizers.
- FallCon Ambassadors - This year a new initiative has been launched to train and certify a group of individuals as “FallCon Ambassadors”. This initiative is based on the belief that when we are introducing newcomers to the hobby, their first experience is a “moment of truth” that can either make or break their opinion of tabletop gaming. With that in mind, FallCon is providing training and support for Ambassadors who we see as being evangelists for the hobby throughout the year.
- Convention Support - Throughout the year FallCon provides loaner games, hosts and support to a variety of other conventions around town. This includes the Calgary Entertainment Expo, one Calgary’s best known and most well attended convention where FallCon hosted a large boardgaming area in 2012.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget the Convention! Despite all the other things going on, the FallCon team is absolutely committed to running one of the best gaming conventions in the world. Some of the improvements made over the last few years include the website, registration system, the auction system, the game library and Open Gaming Area, as well as the venue and catering.
We hope you support the changes that are being made and we look forward to ongoing feedback and dialog with our growing community.
Stay young – keep playing games!
Tim O'Connor
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