15th annual KantCon summons full convention center of mages, monsters, and Martian terraformers

Jay Carter and Annie Carter check out the games for sale at KantCon’s board game garage sale. // Photo by Beth Lipoff

Whatever your tabletop gaming passion is—Dungeons and Dragons, Ticket to Ride, or just the latest board game around—KantCon has it all. The annual convention celebrated its 15 anniversary in July, as it ran at the Overland Park Convention Center.

It’s come a long way from the original 30 people who once gathered at Johnson County Community College to celebrate their love of games.

Angela Robertson—director of communication for KantCon—estimates they get around 1,100 attendees now, with approximately 10 percent growth each year.

“Our focus is on allowing people to play games. So if you’re a board gamer, that means we have a big board game library where you can check out stuff to play with your friends,” she says.

Tables with all different games, such as Terraforming Mars, Scourge of the High Seas, and Dead Reckoning dotted the convention hall. Those who checked out a game automatically got entered to win a board game to take home.

Robertson says many small board game publishers get people to try their games this way.

“It’s always cool to see something you’ve never seen before and jump right in,” says attendee Ryan Jett.

One local game publisher at KantCon was Lenexa-based Allplay. The company had four different tables showcasing its games where people could try them out.

“We really like the vibe here. It’s friendly, open to newcomers,” Allplay Office Manager Chris Garbett says.

Attendees who checked out a game from the board game library at KantCon were automatically entered to win one of the many ‘play to win’ games. // Photo by Beth Lipoff

Other tables at KantCon had various sessions of role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons that attendees could sign up to play in a designated time slot.

“I’ve never played D&D before. It’s enthralling, i’s interesting, it’s captivating. It’s like reading books and creating your own world,” says attendee Jesa Sokol.

Robertson grew up playing Monopoly and Risk and always loved board games, but discovered Dungeons and Dragons in college. She’s been volunteering with KantCon since 2010.

Like any convention, there was plenty of merchandise for sale—dice, figurines, jewelry and more were all readily available.

Vendor Gabi Dyck of Gamer Girl Jewelry says she loves coming to KantCon because of the people.

“The whole vibe has been one big family coming together to play games. It’s great,” she says.

Volunteer Wesley Howard leads a Dungeons and Dragons game at KantCon as attendees Rachael Ulbricht, Jesa Sokol and Ryan Lohman get in on the action. // Photo by Beth Lipoff

In addition to traditional vendors, there were two opportunities at KantCon for people to get their hands on some used games. Anyone attending can contribute to the board game garage sale. Convention organizers sell your used games for you and take a 15 percent cut of the profit.

“It’s a great way to help the games you love but don’t play anymore to find a good home and use the proceeds to get something new. And if you don’t like it, you can just sell it next year,” says attendee Jay Carter.

For those who are able to get organized ahead of time, there’s the math trade, where you tell organizers in advance what games you’re offering to swap and choose which ones you want from the list of what others are bringing in proportion to what you gave. Then, all you have to do is deliver your old games and pick up your new ones when you get to the convention.

It’s a good way to try things out on a budget.

“The board game industry has kind of exploded in last decade, so there’s just a lot of really cool, fun games, but you might not want to invest. Especially the eye-catching ones are usually $50 or more,” Robertson says.

The convention gives people the opportunity to see what they’re getting and try it out before making such a big purchase, and the garage sale and math trade make it even more economical.

Ryan Jett, Anna Jett and Magenta Holbert try out one of the games at the Allplay booth at KantCon. // Photo by Beth Lipoff

“For role-playing people, the biggest draw is just we have a lot of events being run by a lot of different people. Again, it’s an opportunity to play with people you don’t normally get to play with, play different systems you may have heard about and not experienced, and get to do new things,” Robertson says.

If you’re someone wanting to stretch your artistic muscles, KantCon partners with Meeple-A-Thon to offer a booth where people can paint figurines and take them home.

KantCon, Meeple-A-Thon, and Midwest GameFest all happen in the metro area at different times of the year: summer, fall and spring respectively.

Although KantCon as a whole is geared toward adults, the last day had a few special games and events for kids. It’s only the second year KantCon has included this in its programming, and Robertson says she hopes it encourages the next generation of gamers.

“I just really love playing games. Some of my fondest memories are some of the funny things that have happened in different games we’ve played over the years,” Robertson says. “I’ve met and made new friends that are still friends with me to this day.”

Attendee Michelle Oakes paints a figurine at KantCon. // Photo by Beth Lipoff