GameCon will return for its fourth year on Saturday, Nov. 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Camp Verde Community Library.
The all-ages event has something for every game lover and will convert the entire library into a family-friendly convention hall. Each room will offer a different gaming experience.
One room will have trading card games like Pokemon, while another will host video games including “Mario Kart” and “Super Smash Bros.,” Dungeons and Dragons and Minecraft. Board games old and new and giant games such as Jenga, Connect 4, tic-tac-toe and cornhole will be available.
The Cottonwood Public Library is bringing a green screen to allow participants to have their photos taken in video game-like settings. Cartoonist Jan Marc Quisumbing will be doing drawing workshops at 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m.
The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society will be presenting two games throughout the day based on historical battles, a new addition from last year’s event. Wings of Glory uses 1:144-scale planes and Cruel Seas uses 1:300-scale patrol boats. Each game will run twice, first to show how a historical battle really happened, and then as fun games with new scenarios.
Food vendors will be on site throughout the day.
The event evolved out of teen library specialist Zack Garcia’s weekly game night held every Thursday. Garcia said that kids look forward to game night as the start of their weekend, as they don’t have school on Fridays.
“Something I’m excited about is introducing younger generations and younger kids to some of these games,” Garcia said. “Most of them are familiar with video games, but it’s really cool when you get somebody who has never played Magic: the Gathering before and they’re like, ‘Oh, can you show me how?’ ‘Yes, let me teach you.’ That’s always a super cool thing.”
Garcia had participated in the Verde Valley Comic Expo in Cottonwood and had wanted to bring a convention-style event to Camp Verde. While the comic expo was similar to Comic-Con in that it was more about dressing up as characters, the GameCon is more about actually interacting with and playing games.
The event is held in November to coincide with International Games Month and is typically held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Last year’s event drew around 600 people and Garcia hopes for just as many, if not more, this year.
“I’m excited to be here and see the event continue to evolve,” Garcia said.
