GF Gaming Rendezvous’ Triumphant Return. (PHOTOS)
The weekend of October 7th I went to the Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous. This being a special gathering as it was the 10th anniversary, and also the return of the convention after 2 years of dormancy due to COVID-19. This was very special for the staff and returning patrons, which had a great turn-out of 374 people. With 3 days and extended hours, this was a festival of gaming, LARPing, friendship and tradition.
With the help of sponsors, volunteers, and a returning staff of Die-Hards. This kicked off with a bang with lots of gaming including the first day, with The Iron GM. From what I gather, is a contest of Game Masters that construct a quest for a table of players with little time to prep or communicate with anyone, and are given 3 elements to construct with, usually being a monster, a place and a general Idea. This finds the cream of the crop of Game Masters, because it takes a lot to put something like that together. I still have more to learn about all of this. One of the main attractions was the Gaming troupe The Black Shield, these Game Masters had a ton of fun with people all weekend. They, from what I understand, have attended most if not all of the GF Gaming Rendezvous in the past ten years and have built tons of awesome memories from current and past cons.
Saturday had the Cos-Play Parade. This was a pretty awesome experience to behold as people gathered in their best to show off what they had for costume. First was the judging, and then the parade which had winners and runners-up. Throughout the weekend, there were also seminars about the future of gaming, Cos-Play costuming and confidence, tips for first time GM’s and other valuable info I personally couldn’t pack into a weekend, but I’m certain others took advantage. I’ll be returning next year for a more in-depth experience where I’ll get more out of it, playing more games, and mingling a bit more during the various social gatherings.
I attended the opening and closing ceremonies wanting to get info on what it’s all about. Attending these made me understand how tradition holds with people, how the future of the GF Gaming Rendezvous burns brighter than ever, and how thankful they are that it still remains. I also had the privilege of hearing what next year's theme is, which is SPACE QUEST, and I’m pretty excited.