This review was originally published in Watch The Skies – October 2019 issue.
The Bodhana Group is a nonprofit organization that advocates the use of tabletop gaming as a directed therapeutic and clinical practice that can benefit personal growth as well as enhance social and educational services to individuals and families. Over the weekend of October 11 through 13th they also ran their annual convention “Save Against Fear”. IF you’re in the Central Pennsylvania area and enjoy playing games, I would highly recommend putting this event on your calendar.
This year was the ninth year for the event and the third time I had attended. I was not alone. The con this year brought in about 450 people from all across the area and nearby states. The convention took over a large space in a local mall and used it all. There were literally dozens of games running at any given time all weekend long. Role playing games, computer simulation games, board games, card games – even beta test games. There were at least six game design groups set up and showing off their latest creations. Massive miniatures displays and games took up the rear section of the game floor covering everything from the Civil War to Star Wars. The miniatures on display were painted in myriad colors and stood out against all sorts of terrain. Some folks took the opportunity to learn how to paint the minis and add spectacular bases to them. In short, if you like to game this was the place to be.
Registration was right up front. It was fast, clearly marked and a breeze to get through. In fact, all the aspects of the convention were super smooth. There was a bake sale if you needed a snack. Vendors took over a section of the floor and brought a wide variety of items in for sale, from art to books to the next set of dice that you clearly need. The game designers had a lot of interesting things to play test and just have plain fun with.
The single biggest part of the con was the game library. It’s massive. It was overwhelming. When I say those thing it feels a bit like hyperbole, but there were hundreds of games to chose from. The games were all laid out along a huge set of tables and roughly divided into sections based on how long it would take to play the game. If you can name the game, I’d wager it was there. I know there are some skeptics out there but when I saw Gnip Gnop, Payday, and Canasta next to the Mork and Mindy board game I began to have trouble choosing what to play. If there’s any criticism of the con it would be that. The game selection was too much if you were even a tiny bit unsure what to play. The best part would be the fine folks working all the tables. All the people working were gamers and fans of the work they do. They were happy to come up with a recommendation based on what you were thinking and even an explanation of how to play if somebody in your crowd didn’t know how to play.
The convention had easy parking, easy access via the mall and was just down from the food court. The staff was fantastic, the games and programs were smooth as could be. I know I’m missing some of the things that were going on (Oh yeah! There were raffles and a silent auction too) but I think that’s what’s going to recommend this con the most. There was a ton to do all weekend long. If you’re in the area next October I would highly recommend you make your way there. I know I’m looking forward to it already.