Loader image
Loader image
Back to Top

Conventions

Nerdarchy > Events  > Conventions

8D6 San Diego Gaming Convention Focusing on Eight Disciplines of Gaming

2020 marks the first year of an epic new gaming experience for the Southern California gamer and geek community with 8d6, San Diego’s newest gaming convention, to be held at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, April 24-26. Created by gaming and event management veterans 8d6 is designed to spotlight eight principles of gaming. PC games, console games, VR/AR/MR games, board games, card games, roleplaying games, miniatures games, and arts and education of games take the forefront at the 32,000 sq ft. space over 48 hours to deliver as much gaming as possible. And these event organizers mean it — 8D6 will remain open and active for 48 hours of continuous play to allow gamers to capture the nostalgia of old school LAN parties, all night game design jam sessions, miniatures battles and marathon RPG sessions, all in one place.

Nerdarchy the Convention

Nerdarchy the Convention Prep in Full Swing — and YOU Can Help!

Planning and preparation for Nerdarchy the Convention is in full swing! We are putting everything we’ve got into this event and we want to make sure your experience exceeds any and all your expectations. Thanks to the incredible backers for Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition we hit our ultimate stretch goal of creating Nerdarchy the Convention. Hosting events to celebrate nerdy culture and gaming was a dream of ours for quite a while and we cannot wait to share this experience with everyone Halloween weekend 2020. A few months ago we shared an overview of what we’d planned so far at that point and we’ve been charging ahead ever since. But we can only prognosticate so much and we need your help to make Nerdarchy the Convention an unforgettable experience for everyone in attendance.

An Olde Gaming Story

Gaming was far different in the era before the internet. A person needed to actually be in the same room to play an roleplaying game or card game. There were play by mail games (Diplomacy was huge for this) but many players didn’t want to wait a week to hear the result of a move.

The gaming business was also vastly different. When I joined the gaming industry in 1991 there was a three-tier distribution system (I think it still sort of is, but I don’t know). Manufacturers would sell their games to distributors and the distributors would then sell them to the retail shops as well as the few mail order outlets. The stores would call distributors who would ship them their orders. When I started with Chessex Game Distributors in ’91, there were also still traveling reps who would go from store to store selling games on behalf of a distributor, but they were becoming a dying breed.

pax unplugged arcknight al game

Out of the Box Partner ArcKnight Hosting Free Game at PAX Unplugged

Hello gamers! Will you be attending PAX Unplugged this year? If you do you will have a chance to check out some amazing things. Nerdarchy will be in attendance walking around. You might catch us at a panel or two. And we’re guest hosts for the live Nolzur’s Marvelous Tutorials event with RealmSmithtv. We’re looking forward to meeting up with our Out of the Box partners like Norse Foundry and ArcKnight too. They’ll both have booths on the floor and it will be great to visit with them.

Nerdarchy the Convention

Nerdarchy the Convention is the Ultimate Way to Stay Nerdy

Have you been keeping up with Out of the Box: Encounters for 5th Edition? We experienced phenomenal success with our first Kickstarter, and because of that we were able to grow as an entity in so many ways. Not the least of these is hiring me as a full-time Nerdarchy content director, at least in my opinion! We’re incredibly excited about the book we’re putting together. Seeing all the extraordinary art being created to bring all 55 encounters to vivid life on the pages, the evocative maps and all the bells and whistles like custom Nerdarchy dice really make us proud of this project and we cannot wait to get these things into your hands and on your gaming tables. But we’d be lying if we didn’t say we’re overjoyed about our ultimate stretch goal — Nerdarchy the Convention!

Get Badges for Nerdarchy the Convention at Presale Pricing

So, we’re doing Nerdarchy the Convention. That’s a thing, that’s happening. Nerdarchy the Convention rolls into the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center for Halloween weekend 2020 and we are beyond excited for this inaugural event. We’re celebrating our core philosophy of for nerds, by nerds with everything we love about the culture and community surrounding tabletop roleplaying games at one of the largest suburban exposition centers on the East Coast of the United States.

Celebrate Nerd Culture at Gen Con 2018 — the Best Four Days in Gaming

Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects. Gen Con 2018 was an incredible experience for Nerdarchists Dave and Ted, Nerditor Doug and Intern Jake, and we wanted to share some of the highlights from our excursion to the Best Four Days in Gaming. Our favorite thing about conventions is meeting up with and hanging out with friends from all over the place; seeing all the awesome roleplaying games, art and other swag; and the incredible costumes and cosplay. But more than anything, the best part is hanging out with thousands of fantastic folks from around the world to celebrate nerd culture. Down below you’ll find links to a lot of the stuff mentioned in this recap, in case you’re interested, plus a photo gallery of our adventures at Gen Con 2018.

Kickstarter Korner for July 2018, Week 5

Each week during the Quests & Adventures live chat, Saturday at 2 p.m. eastern, Nerdarchists Dave and Ted and Nate the Nerdarch hang out live with fans from the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. It’s a chance to share announcements and news, answer questions from the live chat and generally just hang out and talk nerdy with the Nerdarchy community.

In the description of each weekly video, Nerdarchist Ted compiles a list and links to all the videos and website content from the week. But he also shares a selection of cool Kickstarter campaigns. As an avid Kickstarter supporter, he’s happy to share his favorite RPG and gaming-related Kickstarters with you, the Nerdarchy community. Enjoy!

Enjoying Origins Game Fair with My Nerd Adjacent Wife

This year it looked like I’d be attending Origins Game Fair 2018 solo. My fellow Nerdarchist and colleagues in Nerdarchy couldn’t get away from their muggle lives and jobs. It so happens my wife had been recently been laid off from work after being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease and wouldn’t have any obligations holding her at the home front. I invited her to come along rather than worry about things we have no control over. I was hoping she’d be able to take her mind off some of our troubles for a bit and treat it like a mini vacation. The only problem is the Origins Game Fair is a bit of a Nerd Mecca for tabletop gamers. It’s a whopping five days of tabletop card, board, and RPG games.

D&D Adventure

D&D Adventure in Real Life with True Dungeon

At Origins Game Fair 2018 I had the pleasure of running through True Dungeon alongside my wife Stephanie and Dan Dillon. My wife is more nerd adjacent than actually being a gamer herself. Dan on the other hand has written a ton of published material through Kobold Press as well as being on the latest Wizard of the Coast product D&D Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.

Congratulations to the Origins Game Fair 2018 Origins Award Winners

Origins Game Fair 2018 may be over, but the tabletop gaming fun continues onward and there’s plenty of awesome games to play before Origins 2019. A selection of those awesome games are winners of the 2018 Origins Award, presented June 16, 2018 at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio. The Origins Awards are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design for outstanding games in the industry. Winners in each category are voted on by members of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design and presented at the annual Origins Game Fair.

MisCon 32 – A Convention to Celebrate Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror

MisCon is my local convention here in Missoula, Montana. All of the common trappings of the small convention are present and, in some cases, exceptional. This is really the thing that not only differentiates MisCon from other small cons but makes it absolutely special among conventions. All of the advantages of a small convention (small crowds) with standout special guests and incredible panels, art shows, and much more.

Pathfinder Paizo PaizoCon

Get Your Paizo On At PaizoCon — Live or Live Streamed

 Never a dull moment in the roleplaying game industry, between streaming games, tentpole events like the Stream of Many Eyes and conventions running all year long one place or another. This Friday, May 25-28 in Seattle, PaizoCon 2018 is a celebration of all things Paizo. Pathfinder and Starfinder are the stars of the show. Fans have a chance to gather and play games together, attend seminars and workshops, meet and interact with each other and Paizo staff. And for those who can’t attend in person, Paizo will be live streaming select events on Twitch.
Pathfinder Paizo PaizoCon

PaizoCon Celebrates Pathfinder, Starfinder and All Things Paizo

Paizo continues making headlines in the RPG world. The publishing company got everyone talking with news on their Pathfinder Second Edition, and new programming on their Twitch channel. Gamers are eager for any new information they can find. On May 25-28, fans have a great opportunity to see firsthand the Pathfinder Playtest in action at PaizoCon in Seattle.