Sorting Through Gen Con

It's been a few weeks since Gen Con came to Indy, but I'm just now sorting through all the business cards we picked up. It's always cheaper to ask for a business card and visit them online than fight the crowds waiting in line. So here's the list of personal favorites, in no apparent order:

• The Game Crafter - You have the game, they have the parts. Then they will even sell your game for you! This could be a great resource for a custom game used in class. Or if students make games as part of an assignment, they could go one to publish and sell their idea.
• Billiboards - Quality Carrom products from around the world. We spent the good part of an hour playing Carrom at the booth. Billy Stevens was very gracious in explaining the rules, techniques and history of the game. We have a Carrom board decorating the wall but never had the pieces. We'll be buying the pieces soon!
• Minion Games - Picked up a free deck of the game Sturgeon. The kids really enjoyed it, Nana had some difficulty following the rules but eventually got the hang of it. As my youngest pointed it, "It's the food chain." So she made the academic connection :-)
• WHO North America - I went back several times to this booth, even if to simply drool over the DVD sets and touch the life-size Tardis. I seriously debated about an Amy Pond poster, but eventually declined. Now if there would have been a Rose Tyler poster...
• Fat Dragon Games - Very cool use of paper folding artwork to create game spaces.
• Mantic Games - Probably the coolest calling card. These purveyors of plastic mini-figures gave us a small model sheet with two Elves Scouts upon request because it has their web address and info imprinted on the selvage.
• Flames of War - My son's great grandfather was wounded in WWII, so anything to do with The Great War has always fascinated him. They have some wonderful reproductions. As equally excited about historical accuracy as the fantasy role play.
• Fireside Games - One of the first booths we encountered, so the boy was still overwhelmed with the immensity of Gen Con. The gal quickly explained how to play Bears! and we played a few rounds. Very fun game, great for road trips. Coming in September!
• Geek Chic - These people are marriage savers. My wife loves quality furniture. What better way to store and play than with custom built furniture? They offer several accessories and innovative storage solutions for games, Legos, crafts, models...