Board game lovers from Juneau and elsewhere descend on Platypus Con every January to try out new games and test their skills against other players.
Seated around a table in Centennial Hall, six players made their way through a dungeon in search of the “Heart of Wolover.” Suddenly, a zombie ogre appeared.
“I have seven health left, and I use my heavy crossbow to try to hit it in the face with a bolt,” said Keegan Ariail, 11, before rolling his 20-sided die.
The game is Dungeons & Dragons, the fantasy role-playing game that tests players’ ability to strategize and work together to overcome obstacles on their quests. The players at the table ranged in age from about 10 to 50. Most had never played before. One had played since 1978.
Tazio Rosenberg, 17, flew up from California for the weekend just to be there. His cousins live in Juneau.
“I like board games, I haven’t really played very much D&D, but I think it’s fun, so I’ve played a lot this weekend,” Rosenberg said. “I like playing with people that also don’t totally know what’s going on.”
Rosenberg was one of more than 300 players who stopped by the locally organized three-day gaming convention. Like Dungeons & Dragons, board games have been making a huge comeback, with massive conventions attended by enthusiasts around the world.
“I’ve been to Gen Con in Indianapolis,” said Joshua Warren, the founder of Platypus Con. “It’s expensive, it’s like a four-digit vacation to get there. So I just wanted to bring a similar type of experience to Juneau so people can, instead of spending thousands of dollars, can spend $30.”
Warren founded the event four years ago. He’s an avid board game player with a personal collection of over a thousand. He decided to share them with a wider group, beyond the friends he regularly plays with.
Today he’s the president of Platypus Gaming, a nonprofit created to keep the event going and help it grow. This year, Warren and his volunteers moved from the JACC to Centennial Hall.
That allowed them to expand the number of games being played and the level of competition. This year featured 10 tournaments, including a Settlers of Catan National Qualifier. The winner won an all-expense-paid trip to Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio, this June.
Platypus Con’s gaming library features more than 1,600 games from Warren’s personal collection and some that were donated over the years. They’re separated by difficulty so that players can choose based on their skill level.
“My favorite part is finding people who either look lost or don’t know what to play and either teach them the game they’re already sitting down with or find them a game they’re gonna enjoy,” Warren said. “Because one of the things we say is with 1,600 games, I can probably find a game you’ll enjoy, even if you don’t like board games.”
Peter Minick has attended Platypus Con from the start. He and his family tried out a new game his teenage daughter picked out called The Great Dinosaur Rush.
“I’ve got my daughter and my wife here, and we’ve got a friend playing with us. My two sons are around somewhere playing other games; Dungeons and Dragons, Secret Hitler.”
Volunteer John Foster ran the demo area, where players learned how to play the more intimidating games.
“Basically Platypus’ mission is largely to get people exposed to new games and exposed to new people,” Foster said. “Hopefully you’ve shown up here and you’ve played a game you’ve never played before, or you’ve played with people that maybe you get their number and you’ll play after the convention.”
Back at the D&D table, the campaign continued. Our heroes defeated the ogre only to find themselves battling a hydra. As Ariail’s turn to roll the dice came up again, things were not looking good for his character, a 135-year-old paladin named Sir Caldron.
“Now, you hear an almost ‘nomming’ sound, as it tries to eat the canned meal,” the dungeon master said.
“I’m not canned, I’m wearing armor,” Ariail replied, making his fellow players laugh.
He rolled and managed to escape unharmed.
The game would continue for hours, but none of the players showed any signs of slowing down. Neither does Platypus Con.
