YORKTON - If you are looking to experience some new games and meet some like-minded board gamers, then a trip to Brandon at month end for PrairieCon should be up for consideration.
PrairieCon was first started over 30 years ago by a gaming club at Brandon University.
It used to be a much smaller event, and it used to take place multiple times per year.
Now it's grown to become a non-profit with a board of volunteers that hosts one main weekend event with a few smaller individual Games Days.
In correspondence with the events board, it was noted the pandemic has been a barrier to a live show the last couple of years.
“COVID has been a huge challenge and for tabletop gamers it's meant we've had to pause on our favourite hobby,” they noted. “While many folks were able to move their gaming to the various tools online, it just wasn't the same as being in person with your friends and family.”
How COVID in 2022 may impact the upcoming event remains an unknown.
“We don't know yet how our total attendance will be affected by COVID this year, but we've heard from so many that they're happy we're back,” they noted.
One new change for this year is PrairieCon will now be at the Keystone Centre.
“The Keystone is an event centre, and is a much larger space, so we still need to see how we will use it and grow into it,” noted the Board. “The Keystone is also located in the middle of Brandon, much closer to hotels and other restaurants, so we're hoping that works out well.”
There is a fee for PrairieCon; $50 at the door for a full weekend pass, and you save a few dollars if you register online ahead of the event.
Badge sales started on May 7, when you pay your admission for PrairieCon, and on May 14, we opened up the tickets for game selection, which allow attendees to ensure a seat at the table to play games being hosted.
“There are so many new games this year and gaming is hard to keep up with as so many great new games come out each year,” reported the board. “We encourage folks who are curious about PrairieCon to check out our website (www.prairiecon.com), where you can find out about the con, and you can also get to our tabletop.events page where people can view the games listings and purchase their badges online.”
