I'm bringing 2,000 custom art cards with me to Fanfest and every attendee will be getting one. In addition, as always, my Wife and I will have other swag to hand out - so be sure to find us.
We leave for Fanfest on Saturday. We're going early so we have a few days to travel around with our friend Bessi and see some new areas of the country. When we can we like to go early or stay later and try to mix in some travel and sightseeing on every trip. Once Fanfest gets going it is all you have time for and those days are jam-packed with stuff to do. Presentations, meetings, charity dinners, keynotes, laughing, drinking, and lots more of that drinking. It really is a blur of activity. It is hard to believe this will be our seventh trip to Iceland. And our sixth Fanfest. Or maybe it is our eighth trip? To be honest I don't remember. We snuck some non-Fanfest trips in there during the Covid lockdown.
I learned a very valuable lesson from my very first Fanfest back in 2015. On top of it being my first Fanfest, first trip to Iceland, first time meeting other players, and all of those stresses (not to mention barely being able to afford the trip in the first place and watching every dime) - I also had a player presentation to deliver, a roundtable to be part of, posters to sell and autograph in the store, dinners to plan, and business meetings to attend. It was too much frankly and not only was I stressed and tired, I wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I should have. It takes a lot of energy for a non-social person to generate social engagement in high stress environments. Trust me. I'm sure most of you reading this understand what I mean.
This year feels different. A big part of that is the excitement of the Board Game Project and meeting some of the people I've been working with at Titan Forge for the first time. Sadly the main person I work with there, my good friend Jed who is the project manager, won't be attending. Which is a bummer. But there will be plenty of other peeps there and I'm excited to finally get the chance to meet them in person. And also see the game in real life for the first time. I'm not privy to all the plans but I know there will be demo versions, live-streams, and play-testing going on. Which is very exciting.
After that I don't have much of an agenda this year. I'm anxious to hear about Eve[Redacted] and all the plans for the next decade, just like everyone else. I'm excited to be promoting the store with the art cards, handing out swag, and the most important thing of all - catching up with all of our friends. Fanfest isn't really about agendas and plans or pushing narratives - Fanfest is really about connecting with people and seeing old friends again. It feels like forever since last May and the last Fanfest. And this damn event has become such an important part of our lives - that missing it now seems like a huge missed opportunity. Which is why we still find ourselves going.
We are incredibly excited and ready to go. Still lots to do in order to get ready.
Hope to see you there.