This past weekend I was able to spend two full days at CincyCon, which has moved from Cincinnati to a new location a good 30-45 minutes from Cincinnati to the Butler County Fairgrounds. To be honest, this was only my second CincyCon, the first being at the rec center location in northern Cincinnati a few years ago. I was concerned that moving the convention to such a distant location might have an adverse outcome on attendance, but from what I could see the convention was well attended and the new location seems to be within reach of most folks who may have attended CincyCon in the past.
I pulled up to the fairgrounds around 11:00 a.m. on Friday and saw a smattering of cars parked in the grassy fields used for fair parking. The parking is not far from the building used for gaming, so even if one had to carry some items it was not that far of a trek.
I was greeted by a friendly staff who took my admission fee and hooked me up with a very affordable flea market table. I was able to pull my car up to an unloading area and was helped rather nicely by the staff by putting my items on a cart and taking it to my table. The flea market was held in the miniatures gaming area, which is also where the dealers were. The gaming areas are huge…two large rooms, well lit, with insulation that really keeps the noise level under control.
CincyCon is an "all genre" affair, with boardgames, RPGs, and minis. I never did make it to the other large room where tourneys, boardgames, and RPGs were taking place, as I was busy enough with the activity in the minis gaming area, but I understand that area was hopping all weekend. I made a few good bucks at my flea market table, and proceeded to play in a Check Your 6! event Friday night. There were about eight minis games going on at that time (after 6:00 p.m.) and the noise level was so low (and being in a corner of the room) we really could enjoy a quiet talking level. I headed home after the game, looking forward to returning Saturday.
The next day I arrived around 9:15, only to see numerous cars already in the grassy parking area! I bought a flea market table for the morning session, made a few more bucks, and enjoyed surveying the now filled minis area. After a trip out for lunch with The G Dog and svsavory, I ran my Wings of Glory open game at 3:30. At one point we had three Capronis and seven Austro-Hungarian fighters on the table, and the players seemed to enjoy the event. However, I was smack dab in the middle of the room, and the noise, being a more crowded day, was a bit loud…but still manageable!
The dealers were a decent mix of folks (Nafziger, I-94, Recreational Conflicts, Dayton Painting Consortium, Outland Games, Gettysburg Soldiers, and others), and I picked up a few items, along with some well painted 28mm Western figures from the flea market guy next to me. To be honest, I spent s much time chatting that I barely made it to the dealers, something I will have to rectify in future outings!
The convention has reasonably priced gamer food that can be grabbed fairly quickly. It was a nice treat to have a cart come around with drinks and snacks as well.
I would say, based on what I could see, that CincyCon was very well attended, had plenty of nice historical events going on, had a decent selection of historical vendors, a friendly and helpful staff, and a pretty nice location.
All in all a grand time…I just hope they will use the same facility next year!
worries about not losing his rules stuff.
