Heyo everyone! Hope you’re having a wonderful week so far! This week I’ll be providing a recap of ArcaneCon 2025!
Wow, so first of all: the convention was a huge success, even more so than last year! Over the course of two days, we had 275-280 people pass through! That includes volunteers, vendors, people running games, etc. I’m going to break down a few things worth noting!
Space: We definitely pushed the space capacity to its limits for sure! First Churches is a fantastic venue, and while there is some room to grow there, there are also scheduling limitations for the additional spaces in the church. Having said that, i’m looking at a few options for next year
Option 1) Not having a dedicated War gaming space: I know I know, many of you are already throwing your phone in protest but there is a major reason! The Dice Fest (a primary influence for ArcaneCon) will be happening a month ahead of ArcaneCon next year and is also a 30-40 minute drive away from Northampton. So many of the folks who travelled for wargaming at ArcaneCon will most likely prioritize UTDfest first. I also Dont want to step on the toes of Steve and the rest of the crew who organize it. This will then make the chapel space an open place where I can fit EIGHT open tables. This is Important because there was a lot of demand for Open tables, and I want to meet that demand (I was able to add three this year!). Having said that, I still want there to be wargaming and such, but I think it would be fun to include scheduled wargames in the main hall with everyone instead of sending them to the dungeon.
Option 2) Find a Larger Space: there are limited options for downtown Northampton and I don’t really want to move the conventional way from a central location because of the convenience of being downtown for food, coffee, etc. to support local businesses. The benefit of larger spaces is allowing not only more space for games but also more space for vendors!
Games: We had a great variety of games being run at this convention, and I’m hoping to continue this trend next year. The focus on OSR and other older games while encouraging new games or playtesting games has really made a fun selection and allowed people to try out something you can’t normally find at a convention.
I tried something new with sign ups by pulling a couple seats from games to allow for in-person sign ups or schedule changes. In practice it worked out great, allowing us to fit in players and provide a live document for people to change their schedule as needed, allowing to pump people up from the waitlist. This also allowed me to personalize suggestions for people looking for games to play based on their preferences.
On top of this, people could create sign ups for open table games they want to run and having a central location to allow that made it easy for people to check in over the course of the day to see what was available to play. Moving forward, I’ll iron out the in-person sign up windows while also providing possibly two rounds of sign ups. Special Thanks to the folks who ran pick up games, Liam who ran Troika for eleven people and special thanks to Jay who ran barrows & Borderlands WITHOUT a play cap!! Heroes of the hobby!
The Vendors: This year I was lucky enough to have a fantastic lineup of vendors and sponsors spreading the fun of the hobby to new people. It was a good mix of cool creators, indie geniuses, and fantastic artists! Special thanks to the sponsors Solarian Games, The Arcane Library, Phantom Mill, and Under The Dice, Tunic Coffee, and A2Z for the kind support to help me make this convention possible! The success of the vendors at ArcaneCon was only possible to the attendees who showed their support to them!
The Vibe: My goal with ArcaneCon is to create a positive and supportive environment for folks who love tabletop games. It’s really nice to see an inclusive community building around it that encourages friendship and inspires each other to create their own games or adventures.
The amount of people who have told me that this convention is their first is very flattering! On top of that, the amount of people who I met last year that returned this year is very high (which makes checking in easy because I recognize them!). What really throws me off is the amount of people who travelled to come here.
People flew in from Oregon, Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida, in addition to folks driving or taking the train from NYC, Boston, Portland Maine, Vermont, New Haven, and more. The Discord I made for the event has really been popping off, and it’s great to see people continue to make those connections after the convention ends!
This recap is getting long so I’ll cut it short! Thanks to fellow union members Jayson, Joey, and Saltheart for running games and being vendors, showing support for my growing convention! Arcane Comrades Eon and Ben, Michael from The Arcane Library, Steve from Under The Dice, Jed & Andy from Phantom Mill, Yochai for telling the world about ArcaneCon, the Hive Scum Podcast, The heroes who hosted open tables for folks, The New England War Council for coming through and running games inside AND outside, All of volunteers for dealing with me, and everyone that came! Here is to next year!!!!
Action Shot of Saturday Morning taken by Carl during Pirate Borg *ARRRRR*
