Magpie Games at Gen Con
Since 2018, we fought the undead, saw aliens crash landing on Earth, and sailed the stormy seas. Now we’re getting geared up for an even more thrilling adventure: Gen Con 2019!
This year we’re back and bigger than ever, with a booth, a game room, new games, and even a few panels. We’re thrilled to tell you all about it!
New Products at our Booth
This year at Gen Con we’re at Booth #1348 in Exhibit Hall I of the Indianapolis Convention Center. We’re manning the booth so stop by to say hello!
We’ll be running demos of Zombie World -- our newest game -- right in the booth. You can check out what it's like in action, but if you want to look at our other games, no worries, we’re bringing all the usual suspects—Bluebeard’s Bride, Masks, Urban Shadows, Epyllion, and Undying— along with our newer products like Zombie World and our ashcans.
Zombie World is our first ever card-based rpg, designed by Brendan Conway and Mark Diaz Truman. Kickstarted last summer during Gen Con, Zombie World tells the story of the survivors of the zombie apocalypse. The cards simplify the process of building a setting and your characters. Together your group chooses the location for your survivor enclave, and then goes into character creation where you each get a Past, Present, and Trauma. We’re also releasing two additional setting supplements: The Mall and The Farm, to give you more places to hide out when the undead come clawing at your door.
In addition to Zombie World, we’re releasing two new ashcan games at Gen Con: Passing and Rapscallion. Our ashcan program is designed to highlight new designers and we’re excited to have the chance to introduce these games to you.
Passing is a Powered by the Apocalypse game designed by Sarah "Sam" Saltiel. It mixes alien fiction with all the tension and suspense of an undercover spy set up. You play shape shifting aliens trapped on Earth, trying to remain undetected in a 1950’s suburb. As the world becomes increasingly hostile, you must undergo dangerous covert missions to secure safety for yourself and the other members of your alien Cell. Is there anyone you can really trust?
Not only is Passing being released for the first time, it's also playable in our game room! There are still a few slots left, so sign up before they sell out.
Rapscallion is also a Powered by the Apocalypse game, designed by Evanleigh Davis. You play sea-faring pirates in a world of monsters, magic, and mystery. What dangerous secrets are your crewmates hiding and how long can you stay on the same ship before they start to come out? Perfect for stories about plundering treasure, fighting the royal navy, and the sudden shifts of the beautiful and tempestuous ocean. Just be sure the gold you’re looting isn’t from the nest of many-eyed sea monsters, then you might run into some real problems!
We’re selling all these games at our booth, so you can be among the first to have access to them!
Magpie Games Panels
For the first time, we are holding our own panels at Gen Con! There are two of them, so write them on your calendars so you're sure not to miss them.
Name: “Powered By the Apocalypse: System Design and Mastery”
Time: Friday, August 2 at 2pm
Location: Hyatt, Studio 1
Speakers: Brendan, Mark, Sarah, and Marissa (our core design staff)
The panel will feature an in-depth conversation with the designers about the Powered by the Apocalypse system -- an analytical breakdown of how it works, as well as its relative drawbacks and strengths. If you’ve ever thought about wanting to design a PbtA game, or you just want to get to know the system better as a player, our design staff will answer your questions and share their hard-earned expertise.
Name: “Magpie Games: 2019 Sneak Peek!”
Time: Friday, August 2 at 5pm
Location: Hyatt, Studio 1
Speakers: Brendan, Mark, Sarah, Marissa, and Sam
We’ve been working on a lot of cool new things that we want to share with all of you. Come and be the first one to hear about our newest projects coming out in 2019 and 2020.
Magpie Game Room
Our game room this year is our biggest yet! You can find us on the second floor of the Indianapolis Convention Center in room #245, running two hundred sessions of our games, including Masks, Urban Shadows, Bluebeard’s Bride, and more. We’re so thankful for our game room organizer, Kate Bullock, for making this year our best year to date.
While nearly all of our games are sold out, we still have spots open in Cartel, Undying, Epyllion, The Ward, Zombie World, Passing, and Pasion de las Pasiones. You can sign up here to make sure you get a chance to play a game run by one of our amazing volunteers.
The game room is open and running from 10am-10pm. Drop by and you might just catch an open seat.
We can barely wait to see everyone there!
Locations
Booth: #1348, Exhibit Hall I, first floor in the back of the Indianapolis Convention Center
Game Room: #245, second floor of the Indianapolis Convention Center
Panels: The Hyatt, Studio 1
(The GenCon map can help guide the way!)