Jul 21, 20183 min read

Road to Gen Con - ConQuest Journals

I am a planner. If you know nothing else about me, other than my love of games, you should know I like to have a plan, schedule, to-do list… any indication of what is going on at any given moment. Sure, I enjoy being in the moment and taking in my surroundings. But I need to have a plan to get to my surroundings. I am terrible with last minute decisions. So the more time I have to plan things, the better. I need a system to fall back on. Now, I may not always stick to the plan. I can throw a schedule out the window as well as the next person. If I decide I’d rather do something else in the moment, or if my friends would rather do something and I’m only half excited about what I already have planned… I’ll ditch my own plans. But I always have my schedule to fall back on.

I also have a passion for notebooks and office supplies. It goes right along with planning and lists. I should not be allowed in an OfficeMax or Staples unsupervised. The back-to-school section of Walmart is particularly dangerous for me and I haven’t needed “school supplies” in 10 years. Nevertheless, I have countless notebooks and journals laying around. Each one for something different.

From the moment I buy my Gen Con passes, I stalk the website for the dates the events are announced. Then from that moment until the time we get to purchase tickets I am planning. I start by making a list of everything I want to play and try and the times and days available. Then I narrow that down to fit the most things in without overlapping time, giving time to get from event to event, and maybe eat.

In 2017, when I was prepping my schedule for Gen Con, I saw a post in the Facebook group, “Fans of Gen Con”, about this journal designed for Gen Con goers to keep track of their events and games they played. That was when I was introduced to ConQuest Journals. In 2017, for Gen Con 50, I ordered 3 journals. For myself, Shaun, and a friend of ours. I was actually surprised Shaun used his as much as he did. But it was perfect. We had our own schedules, we had games we checked out and wanted to tell each other about, and we’d meet up and talk about them. The friend ended up not going, so I still have an extra one. This year, I only ordered 1. Shaun took a pass on his this year, but I bet he’ll regret it when we get there and go buy one from their booth (#2304).

The Gen Con journal is one of my first convention purchases every year. As soon as they are announced, I pre-order.

Here’s a breakdown:

This is the cover from 2017

Perfect for the 50th Anniversary of Gen Con

And this is the cover for this year:

2018 ConQuest Journal — I love that it looks like a Settlers of Catan game

There is a designated space for your schedule for all 4 days. Fill it in yourself. I color-coded the times and games I’m playing so I know what I’m looking for at a glance.

If you look real close, you'll know where to find me.

There is a page for games you want to demo and the “gold reserve” section is a fun way to track your spending. I haven’t gotten there yet. ;)

..... what budget? hahahaaa! just kidding.

There are 40 pages for descriptions of games you’ve played. Make notes of the game mechanics, number of players, themes, expansions, your opinions, and rate them. We made great use of these pages in the past.

30 lined notebook pages for notes, lists, people you meet, or whatever else you can think to put there. 30 pages of graph paper for your RPGs and anything else you want to use it for. Also, a place to keep a pen, and front and back pockets in the last page. Who doesn’t love pockets!?