Got back home yesterday from a trip to the Austin area — Round Rock, Texas, specifically, where I was a guest at ChupacabraCon.
I’ll cut right to the chase: This is, hands-down, the best local games convention I’ve ever attended.
A staff who is on top of every detail, a schedule full of interesting panels and entertaining games, and, unusual for a convention of this size, a guest list featuring three dozen game industry pros from all over the country. That’s a bigger featured speaker list than some of the largest shows I’ve attended. The result is a convivial atmosphere where attendees and guests mingle and hang out together, with the guests not feeling run ragged by the busier schedules and packed crowds of the larger shows.
Plus, the added bonus of not being able to swing a dead armadillo without hitting a source of Texas barbecue and Tex-Mex nearby. So, a win-win, really.
In short: It’s fucking AWESOME. (Feel free to use that as your pull-quote for next year, Chupa-folks.)
Now, after a couple of days on I-35, I’m back home, and back to work — and I have ChupacabraCon, the attendees, the staff, and my fellow guests to thank for my freshly re-charged batteries, which are affording me the newfound energy to dive into the work ahead.
I hope to make this a regular stop on my yearly schedule, and, if you’re reading this, I hope to see you there as well — I cannot recommend the convention strongly enough.