TsunamiCon 2024 is on Kickstarter!

Our Kickstarter campaign for TsunamiCon 2024 is up and running, so it’s time to get serious about our fun and games.

TsunamiCon has always been a grass-roots, community-supported event. We’ve managed to keep it afloat for 10 years with sponsorships, contributions from the community, pre-sales via Kickstarter and other outlets, and the love and support of our fellow gamers helping us to spread the word and bring more folks to the table. My organization has never made a dime off of this event, and we haven’t the working the capital to support it any other way. Any additional funds are invariably rolled right back into the event to make it bigger, better, and more entertaining.

As always, this year brings us some new challenges. First, we’ve been obliged to move further into the year, placing us in a difficult position just after Thanksgiving and at the threshold of the holiday season. This will make our con a destination for holiday shopping for geeks and gamers this year, but may play havoc with availability amidst our regulars – particularly those who travel to Wichita for the event. It is important that we bring in new gamers, so spreading the word is more important than ever.

Second, we’ve had to change hotels. Again. This is largely a financial decision, but also influenced our scheduling options. The Broadview is a beautiful hotel with a nice ballroom, which turned out to be more than we needed during the one prior event at this location in 2022 (just back from the Pandemic, when attendee numbers were very low). We’ve taken a stab at redesigning the space to better accommodate vendors and gamers, and I’m optimistic, but if I could afford to pick up additional space I would. I might put together a poll to help us determine how best we would use that space, as well.

Costs are still high, but I was happy that I could set our Kickstarter goal a little lower this year. If we can bring in $7500, I am confident that our basic costs will be covered. In the days ahead, we’ll be highlighting some of the rewards and perks we have available on our Kickstarter page, with more to come if we can beat our funding goal and start working on stretch goals. Help us get the funds together now, and we’ll do everything in our power to provide you a first-class game con experience for the holdays.

Huzzah!!

Announcing TsunamiCon 2023!

It’s time once again, my friends, to gather together with dice firmly in hand and celebrate the tradition of the Wichita game con! TSUNAMICON 2023 is happening October 20th thru 22nd! This year we make our long overdue return to the hallowed halls of the Holiday Inn Wichita East I-35! So batten down the hatches, me hearties! We’re once again preparing to ship off for another year of grand adventure!

Early VIG tickets are currently available for those who want to get in early on the action, and we’ll have early vendor registration up soon as well. They’ll only be posted for a limited time, however! Soon we’ll launch this year’s crowdfunding campaign. This one’s gonna cost us more than a few dabloons, so get ready to spread the word far and wide and snatch up each and every one of your gamer friends to get in on the action!

Keep yer eyes locked on the horizon and our website and social media pages for updates, including our next GameDay event coming yer way soon!

Virtual Exhibitors

Virtual exhibitor booths are available at TsunamiCon 2020 Virtual Con.  To secure your space, submit an exhibitor application below. If you have any questions, please contact our marketing department at sales@tsunamicon.org.

As a pilot program for this year’s event, we are offering virtual vendor spaces for only $25:

Vendor and Artist Rules and Regulations

By purchasing a merchant space in the TsunamiCon Virtual Marketplace, the vendor agrees to the following terms and policies. Please read them carefully and contact us at sales@tsunamicon.org if you have any questions.

  • This year, exhibitor spaces be located via links and logos at INSERT LINK HERE.
  • Each space links to a personal page that can include information, images, linked video, and links to off-site resources. You may organize this information in any way you like, and our team may be able to assist with graphics and descriptors as available.
  • After your application is approved, you will be responsible for completing purchase of your exhibitor space before proceeding.
  • Exhibitors will also be provided a link to an assigned channel on our Discord server, wherein you can post more pictures and information regarding your products and services and interact with customers who have questions or want to discuss a sale.
  • This is not a juried event.
  • Exhibitor agrees to adhere to any and all laws involving online sales and distribution for their product and region. 
  • Sales are strictly between the vendor and the patron.  Dealers are responsible for their own taxes, licenses, and permits.

Applications will be processed on a case-by-case basis.  If you have any questions or concerns, contact our marketing department at sales@tsunamicon.org.

ANNOUNCING TSUNAMICON 2019!

By now many of you are wondering what to expect from TsunamiCon this year, and why the long silence. With the deepest apologies for our lack of communication, I will now be addressing that question as completely as possible.

For the past three years, our convention has called the Wichita Scottish Rite in downtown Wichita our home. The Scottish Rite is a beautiful venue with a great deal of available space, and we had long hoped to continue growing into the nooks and crannies of the building as the convention grew from year to year. Alas, this was not to be. As you may or may not have heard, the building changed hands this year, and it is this event that lies at the heart of our delay in announcing this year’s convention.

A change of ownership of such a massive and expensive piece of property inevitably required some patience on our part as we attempted to negotiate a contract for 2019. I have every confidence that the new owners will find great success in the utilization of their event space in the years ahead, but after a few months of semi-regular discourse on the matter we were simply unable to negotiate an agreement that would serve their needs in the use of their property and the needs of the convention and our attendees. Ultimately, remaining at the property would have increased our costs considerably, and we had no guarantee that we could meet their requirements in the time frame available. With a heavy heart, I resigned myself to the idea that we would need to shop the convention around to other venues once again.

In the five years since our first convention, of course, the landscape for local events has flourished and shifted. Inevitably, this created new challenges in attempting to book an alternative venue at such a late date. I proceeded with two basic priorities: that I could retain the services of a sufficient venue in early to mid-October, and that I could negotiate a fee structure that would allow us to best serve our community and still throw one hell of an event at the 11th hour. Local bookings on our priority weekends were understandably scarce, and costs varied wildly from venue to venue.

I am pleased to announce that a community very close to our recent efforts has kindly opened its doors and offered a solution that meets both needs. With the quirky sense of irony that often seems to follow us around, we will be moving this year’s event across the street to the Midian Shrine Center and scheduling the event for October 18th thru 20th. Much like when we moved to the Scottish Rite, the layout of their venue provides some different challenges and new opportunities, and I am excited to see how it comes together and grateful for their enthusiastic hospitality.

Again, I apologize for the long delay. The wait is over, and it’s time to plan our event in earnest. Now we need to make up for lost time. I do intend to run a short Kickstarter campaign, as I’ve received numerous questions about it and it’s always proven to be a good venue for spreading the word about our con, so keep your eye out for that announcement and please help spread the word.  Also, as I need capital to help build materials for upcoming events and begin the process of updating our signage and promotional tools, I will offer a limited discount price on early VIGs if you’d like to pick them up now.

For everyone who has continued to echo their support for the con and kept reaching out to me for updates, I can’t thank you enough for helping keep TsunamiCon alive in our hearts. Sometimes these kinds of challenges can seem a little overwhelming, and I always seemed to find a kind word or anxious query at exactly the moment I needed it to keep focused on the event. I appreciate your faith, and I hope you’ll help me make this year’s event as fun and fulfilling as possible.

Sincerely and with the utmost humility,

THREE WEEKS To Go!

In three weeks time, the curtain rises once again on Wichita’s premiere tabletop gaming event! With more than a hundred games on the schedule – plus special programs, panels, cosplay, live entertainment, and lots of prizes to be given away – TsunamiCon 2017 promises to be our best convention yet! As we barrel down on TsunamiCon weekend, I encourage you to grab your tickets in advance, sign up for some games, and plot your course for three solid days of gaming goodness! Here’s a few of the highlights:

Thanks to Envoy, our Play-To-Win program has now grown to around 30 titles, all of which are up for grabs! Just check out one or more of the games on the list and give them a spin, then sign up for your chance to win a copy of the game. Games are free to sample from the TsunamiCon Game Library, and you’ll even find a handful of Play-To-Win demos on the schedule, so feel free to sign up! We have some fantastic selections from a variety of publishers! Enjoy community favorites like Betrayal at House on the Hill and Pandemic, or sign up to win a copy of the infamous Sheriff of NottinghamStarfall from Pandasaurus Games, KOSMOS’s mind-bending puzzle game Dimension, or Grail Games’ abstract treasure One Zero One.

Our annual TsunamiCon Cosplay Contest is a source of endless wonder and excitement, a beautiful and imaginative spectacle starring some of the area’s most brilliant cosplayers, and we could ask for no more fabulous venue that the Wichita Scottish Rite. Join us this year for a chance at cash and prizes in one of several categories, or just plan to show up and enjoy the show! Prize contributors include this year’s sponsor Epic Cosplay Wigs, and Tahnee Lane Photography.

Also, be sure to check out one of our feature cosplay themed panels scheduled for early in the day on Saturday!

Don’t miss out on your chance to board the Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator. Bring your friends or join a crew as a bridge officer aboard the Artemis and immerse yourself in a unique gaming experience. The simulator runs throughout the convention, and attendees are welcome to participate as often as you like.

So, all hands on deck, maties! It’s going to be a wild ride!

Announcing TsunamiCon 2017!

Yesterday afternoon at our Tsunami GameDay at the Burrow, a lovely geekworthy gift shop on the east side of town that hosts our quarterly and pulls out all the stops to make us feel at home, Liz and I posted a video via Facebook Live announcing the dates for TsunamiCon 2017.  We couldn’t be more excited to be getting a chance to do this again, now launching our fourth consecutive year celebrating tabletop gaming here in America’s heartland.

When and where?  TsunamiCon 2017 is happening October 6th, 7th and 8th.  As always, we’ll be bringing you three days of gaming goodness with all the class and level of service you’ve come to expect.  And best of all, we’ve been invited back to the amazing Wichita Scottish Rite Center!  Ask anyone who attended last year’s festivities… the venue was as immersive and powerful as the staff was wondrously committed to making sure everyone had a great time.

What will it cost?  We’ve worked hard to keep prices manageable, and I’m happy to say that we will not see any increase in ticket prices this year. Advance VIG tickets are now available.  You can expect to pay $40 at the door for a weekend pass, less if you pre-order tickets online or pick them up during our Kickstarter campaign.

Another Kickstarter?  Seriously?  Yes.  We take pride in bringing you a quality event at a great venue, and it’s costly.  I am happy to say, however, that we are positioned better than we ever have been, and we will not need near the amount of money we tried to raise in previous years.  Be watching for the Kickstarter in March or April.  It’s your chance to get the best price available on ticket packages, convention swag, vendor space, and advertising.  Every dollar goes to making the event great.

Fantastic!  What can I do now?  To start with, pick up your VIG ticket if you are so inclined.  Then spread the word.  Let the gamers in your life know that you’re coming to TsunamiCon.  Get everyone on board.  The bigger and better the event, the more fun it will be for everyone involved, and the easier it will be to grow on in the years ahead.

Thanks for checking in.  And game on!

T-Minus Six Weeks to the Con!

romanhelmavatarWith less than six weeks to go, the waters recede ahead of the oncoming storm.  A wave appears on the distant horizon, and excitement builds as we prepare ourselves for the inevitable strike… TsunamiCon is coming.

This week it’s finally time to start shifting gears.  We’ve been hard at work planning the events that your convention organizers, volunteers, special guests, and local GMs have in store, and the schedule has started taking shape.  In the coming weeks, you can expect to see us highlighting specific events, telling you more about them and inviting you to take part.  You expect to see some video promotion, audio features through our podcasting network, blogs and social media posts, and so forth.  In fact, if you skate on over to event registration now, you’ll find a collection of different RPG offerings, some miniature gaming and other tabletop games, LARPing sessions, and more!

Also, swag has been ordered, and we’ll only be able to sell a few more VIG tickets, so if you’re interested it’s time to make your selection.  Some of the swag has already shown up… *grins*

We also have even more prizes coming in from companies such as Atlas Games, Czech Games Edition, Looney Labs, Cheapass Games, and more!  As always, if you have a question that you can’t find an answer to on the website, you can check our FAQ or drop me a line at info@tsunamicon.org.

 

T-Minus Nine Weeks to the Con!

metanonhelm2With TsunamiCon clearly on the horizon, it’s time to take a moment to inhale sharply the sense of excitement and apprehension.  What adventures await the unwashed masses as we descend upon the hallowed halls of the historic Scottish Rite in downtown Wichita?  What stories will we have to tell our children and our grandchildren?

Well… for that matter, you could just bring them along.  *grins*

TsunamiCon planning is in full swing, and we’ve had some very exciting developments in the past week or so.  So let’s get to it:

TC16VIGADMITONGAs per our agreement with the venue, Venue 332 at Wichita Scottish Rite is an official corporate sponsor of TsunamiCon 2016.  They’re easily as excited about this event as we are, and they’ve taken additional measures to try and elevate our event.  We now have access to pretty much the entire facility… and that means more than enough space to suit everyone’s needs.  To keep the noise levels under a bit more control.  To move our entertainments and cosplay contest into the auditorium and our VIG Lounge into one of the coolest rooms in the house…

… Which brings us to our VIGs.  If you have ever considered taking part in our VIG program, now is an excellent time.  These specialty tickets are still available for a short while, and they are a fantastic way to get the most out of the convention.  You get all the swag, you get to hang out in the lounge and graze on the victuals and hobnob with the other VIGs, and more, depending on your level of involvement.  It’s a great way to show support for your local convention, and it’s a fun way for us to show you how much we appreciate your patronage.

Artemis-52Innovative gaming experiences!  Sounds cool when I say it like that, doesn’t it?  We have some very cool things happening this year, including the reappearance of Allan Grohe’s phenomenal ALIENS tactical miniatures RPG.  We also have some original LARP-like events happening this year, like Shaun Duncan’s original scenario The Purge, which plays out throughout the day on Saturday, and a hilarious live-action event based loosely on Monty Python’s eponymous Arthurian reenactment.  And finally, we’ve added the extraordinary Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator to our schedule for this year’s convention, which allows you and your friends (or you and a group of complete strangers, for that matter!) to take over the bridge of a starship for a unique and very personal gaming experience.

And all of this if FREE with your TsunamiCon badge!

So let’s get started, shall we?

The TsunamiCon Experience

A few years ago, our convention was one of a handful of newly-minted localized gaming conventions popping up across the country that were being run – not by independently wealthy entrepreneurs who could afford to throw $10,000 into a black hole on a whim – but by ordinary folks living paycheck to paycheck who had a clever idea and a will to persevere.  We saw a hole in our local hobby community that we desperately wanted to fill, and we found an opportunity to fund our convention in an as-yet unconventional way.  We crowdsourced it.

ShaunVIGWith a collective holding of breath, the local and regional gaming community took to Kickstarter to help fund our tabletop gaming convention here in Wichita, by purchasing tickets and swag ahead of time and providing us the necessary startup capital to make it work.  By the time November rolled around, we had a working model for a local gaming con and were ready to greet the masses.  And we were pleasantly surprised to find that our premiere event blew the doors off of our immediate expectations.  In fact, compared to many other Midwestern gaming cons that had launched in the previous handful of years, our first event was a virtual barnburner.

TsunamiCon is a tabletop gaming convention designed to provide local and regional casual and dedicated gamers alike to ruminate with like-minded folk and enjoy the labors of their hobby for three days straight.  Our management team is comprised largely of dedicated RPG enthusiasts, but we owe much of our success to a rabid enthusiasm from the local hobby boardgaming community, which had virtually exploded overnight in the previous two years.  Local game masters and demo teams brought a variety of gaming opportunities to the con, and we watched in awe as peoples young and old, from here in town and far away, streamed into the building over the course of the weekend and sat in on the fun.

scottisritecollageAt TsunamiCon, it’s easy to find gamers interested in sharing the joy of their favorite games.  Some involve elaborate tabletop displays, some little more than books and dice, some are played with cards or meeples, and some with little more than your imagination – we even have live action experiences that give you an opportunity to more fully immerse yourself in a role for a couple hours.  To round out the weekend, we’ll have party games, live comedy entertainment, a diverse marketplace, fantastic on-site concessions, geeky panels and cosplay events, and more!  It’s a way to step out of everyday life for a couple days and become drenched in the pomposity of fun and positive vibes.

To elevate the experience further in Year Three, we selected a venue that will take your breath away and leave your head spinning.  Join us this October 7th, 8th and 9th at the beautiful and historic Wichita Scottish Rite Center in downtown Wichita.  Advance discount tickets are available now.