I enthusiastically follow ButtonShy and I was surprised when I saw a BGG listing for a game series called ShyCon that I’d never heard of. I wondered if it was designed to be a convention you could hold in your living room or by yourself.
Spoiler: it’s none of those things. It’s the goodie bag for ShyCon, Button Shy’s convention. That, despite paying so much attention to the company, I didn’t know existed lol
My intitial impressions have still stuck with me. Including wondering how they would even work as a concept.
I mean, how would a convention in your living room be any different than a regular game night? Have a computer set up in the corner to simulate the dealer hall by people shopping online in between games?
Now, a solitaire convention. That’s actually something I’ve participated in. Gen Can’t was essentially that.
I first found out about GenCan’t from its 2017 Roll and Write contest where every game had to have a solitaire option or even just be a solitaire. I also participated one year in the mass Karuba game. And I’m sure there have been plenty of online conventions I’ve never heard of.
Honestly, when I first discovered BSW many years ago, it felt like I had discovered an online convention.
So, what would a physical product look like that was designed to be some kind of solitaire convention?
First of all, it would need some kind of online connection. A way for everyone to be able to plug-in, albeit possibly not at the same time. It would need solitaire games that have scores, so people could compare how well they did with other people. And I think it would be also good to have a Take It Easy style-game so the developers could post a series of moves and attendance could have an experience like the Karuba one mentioned earlier.
Honest, I think a collection of three to five games would be a good number to keep it manageable. I don’t want to actually organize anything but it would be an interesting thought experiment.
And I’m sure it’s already been done.
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