November 9 & 10, 2024 • Seattle, WA
Written by Guest blogger Adrienne Roerich.
Summertime is a time for vacations and relaxing, at least for the kids. At my house, it means more time to play games. A couple years ago, I posted about the games my kids were playing, but this year, my husband and I are also playing some new games.
Written by GeekGirlCon Manager of Editorial Services Winter Downs.
Over the past few years, a thriving indie games scene has sprung up, which is challenging the standard tropes and narratives in all kinds of games—videogames, tabletop roleplaying games—you name it, people are designing it for themselves.
Rise of the Videogame Zinesters by Anna Anthropy
Image source: Google books
One aspect of this has come to be known as the queer games scene—games that center queer experiences and perspectives—and credit is due in particular to the trans women who are the pioneers of this movement. It began before Anna Anthropy’s 2012 book Rise of the Videogame Zinesters: How Freaks, Normals, Amateurs, Artists, Dreamers, Dropouts, Queers, Housewives, and People Like You Are Taking Back an Art Form, but that was definitely a turning point in awareness and momentum. The book is a call to action for everyone who considers themselves an outsider to mainstream culture, to use the tools at their disposal and tell their own stories.
Written by guest blogger and GeekGirlCon Social Media Manager Kristine Hassell
When you think about the Girl Scouts, what immediately pops into your head? Let’s be honest… you think cookies, right? I mean, who doesn’t love those decadent Samoas or addictive Thin Mints?
Image source: Daniel Kissinger
Hopefully when the Girl Scouts come to mind, you also think about their long tradition of confidence building and their efforts to help girls make the world into a better place. So an alliance between the Girl Scouts and GeekGirlCon makes total sense, right? That’s what we thought too. The Girl Scouts of Western Washington participated in previous GeekGirlCon conventions, both in our Exhibitor Hall and in the GeekGirlConnections room. Building on that, some smart folks had another idea…
Back in November of 2014, our Gaming Events Coordinator, Andy Munich, was invited to represent GeekGirlCon in a 24-hour D&D marathon hosted by Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast (WotC) to benefit Extra Life. During his eight-hour gaming stint, he struck up a conversation with Tammie Treibley Thompson, wife of WotC Senior Game Designer Rodney Thompson. During their conversation, Andy learned that Tammie was a troop leader and as they continued to talk, they quickly realized that there was some synchronicity in their ideas–and the GeekGirlScouts were born!
Written by GeekGirlCon Manager of Editorial Services Winter Downs.
Women in video games may seem like a relatively new phenomenon, given the coverage in recent years about girl gamers, “fake geek girls”, female representation in games and game development, and debates over what proportion of gamers are actually women. (According to some studies, as many as 52%.)
In fact, although it’s true that the industry has traditionally been dominated by men, women have always been involved, creating and co-creating some of the most influential games, game companies, and genres in the medium.
GeekGirlCon staffers rocking the punk Sailor Moon look.
It’s been an amazing day here at GeekGirlCon ‘14! I had so much fun playing “spot the cosplay,” especially with the sheer number of character remixes and cross-plays gracing our convention floor. A special shout-out goes to the Welcome to Night Vale fan who floated their Glow Cloud around all day long, and the baby dancing Groot everyone was buzzing about.
We have so much gaming at GeekGirlCon ‘14 that if you wanted, you could spend the whole weekend playing–or talking about–games!
Some of the new games in the GeekGirlCon library!
Image Source: Kristine Hassell
Hi everyone!
GeekGirlCon ‘13 has come to a close, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any geeky events around! Celebrate GeekGirlCon’s third year by attending these fabulous events!
Friday, November 1
Seattle and Eastside Nerds Collide!: Unnatural Redhead Productions Presents Boobs and the Bard: A Shakespeare Burlesque!
Friday, November 1 and Sunday, November 3
Seattle and Eastside Nerds Collide!: RPG at its best – Sports Support Team! Huskies Concessions – LLS Fundraiser
Friday, November 1
Seattle Browncoats: Geek Bingo at Wayward Coffee
Saturday, November 2
Jet City Comic Book Show
Saturday, November 2
Seattle Cosplayers: Jet City Comic Book Show
Sunday, November 3
Seattle Games Cooperative: Game Design Workshop
Sunday, November 3
Short Stories Live: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at Town Hall Seattle
Monday, November 4
Open Mic Science: The ecology, bioacoustics and natural history of whales and dolphins.
Tuesday, November 5
Rebecca Eaton of ‘Masterpiece’: Insider Secrets from ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Sherlock,’ & More at Town Hall Seattle
Tuesday, November 5
Queen Anne Science Cafe: Complexities & Controversy in Genome Sequencing
Thursday, November 7
Anna Holmes & Lindy West ‘The Book of Jezebel’ at Town Hall Seattle
Lindy West appeared on the GeekGirlCon ‘13 panel, “Laugh Riot.”
Thursday, November 7
Simon Singh ‘The Simpsons & Their Mathematical Secrets’ at Town Hall Seattle
Thursday, November 7 – Sunday, November 10
BurlyCon
Thursday, November 7 and Thursday, November 14
Ballard Board Games
Thursday, November 7, Thursday, November 14, and Thursday, November 21
Seattle Browncoats: Creative Geeks Society
Thursday, November 7 and Thursday, November 14
Story Games Seattle: Thursday Gaming @ Phoenix
Friday, November 8
GeekGirlCon: Board Game Night At Wayward Coffee
Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9
KRAMimprov: Krav’s BINGOmatic Improv Machine
Friday, November 8
Seattle Sci-Fi Cinema: The Last Man on Earth
Saturday, November 9
Seattle Astronomical Society: Star Parties at Green Lake and Paramount Park
Saturday, November 9 and Saturday, November 22
Seattle Shakespeare (Etc!) Readthrough Group: Read A Shakespeare Play (Location TBD)
Sunday, November 10 and Sunday, November 24
Seattle Browncoats: Every 2nd and 4th Dominoes and Such
Wednesday, November 13
Eastside Gamers: Eastside Gaming
Wednesday, November 13
Allie Brosh of Hyperbole and a Half Reading and Book-Signing
Thursday, November 14
ScienceOnlineSeattle: #16:: Engaging the Invisible Americans: Science communication for Spanish-speaking audiences
Tuesday, November 19
Redmond Sci-Fi Fantasy Book Club: November Meetup
Wednesday, November 20
GeekGirlCon and Central Cinema Presents: Scott Pilgrim VS. The World
Wednesday, November 20
Ignite Seattle! at Town Hall Seattle
Thursday, November 21
Seattle Browncoats: GeekBingo @ Raygun Lounge
What are you excited for in November? Let us know in our comments!
Do you have a geeky event to plug? Email Shubz Blalack. We are happy to feature events outside of the Seattle Metro area!
Please Note: GeekGirlCon reserves the right to approve or deny any event submissions. All submissions must be in alignment with GeekGirlCon’s Mission Statement.
photo by Danny Ngan
Dear GeekGirlCon Community,
What an amazing weekend! While we must part ways for the time being, we had such a good time at our third annual convention. Thank you to all those who participated by attending, presenting panels and workshops, volunteering, through Facebook and Twitter, and reading our blog posts. We sold out online prior to doors open and of physical passes at the door and in stores during the convention. All weekend we trended at the top of the local Seattle Twitter!
photo by Danny Ngan
photo by Sayed Alamy
We enjoyed your cosplay and the Costume Contest was made fantastic through your contributions! Choosing the top contestants was a difficult decision, but it came down to the Snow White for True-To-Form, Best Group included the Hook characters, and Nariko received the Best Use of Materials. And those of you who went out of the box for the cosplay were a marvelous addition, such as Gears of War Kitty, who was selected as Best Individual Cosplay. The children really stole the show! I saw Darth McKenna roving the floor this year and being the star of many photos. As always, we are appreciative of the 501st Legion attending for attendees’ photographs.
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Danny Ngan
photo by Danny Ngan
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Danny Ngan
Our gaming floor and DIY Science Zone were both huge hits! The DIY Science Zone had so many cool things to do for kids of all ages. We hope you were able to discuss acids and bases or make your own slime or complete any of the other of the activities in the Zone that attendees said MUST RETURN!
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Danny Ngan
The GeekGirlConnections room enjoyed a lot of visitors, the Artist Alley was constantly doing business, and the Exhibitors Hall flowed with people. The Gaming floor was hopping!
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Danny Ngan
photo by Danny Ngan
photo by Ryan Roehrich
In case anybody thinks those of us stuck in the Agents room to man the internets and provide behind-the-scenes support don’t have any fun, never fear! We are privy to such statements as “There’s someone stuck in a Dalek!? Do we need a giraffe?!” Our Reaction Team was attired in giraffe ears. They were there to help you have a safe con. If you didn’t notice them or need them, that was great, but if you did feel their presence, thank you for using the resource we provided. If you needed a place to decompress for a bit, the Introvert Alley was the place for you, and many took advantage of this room.
photo by Sayed Alamy
To support you during the con, the staff drank gallons upon gallons of coffee and consumed pounds upon pounds of kale.
photo by Sayed Alamy
If I say so myself (I’m in Marketing not in Programming, so I should be absolved of self-interest), all of our panels were super unique and wonderful. Attendees expressed excitement about our panels. The time flew by and so many could have easily gone on another hour! It ranged from the very academic ‘The Study of Fandom’ to the fun ‘Craft Wars’. Rob Salkowitz appeared on a panel ‘Changing Culture in Mainstream and Alternative Spaces’ which got a lot of chatter. #1ReasonWhy panel also made trending in Seattle. I was “simultaneously heartbroken and radically inspired by these stories” said @suizilla. Keep your eye on the blog in the coming months to learn more about panels presented at GeekGirlCon ‘13.
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Danny Ngan
Not only did we have the awesomeness of four opportunities to gather with geeks on Friday night, we had our annual GeekGirlCONcert with Unwoman, Bri Pruett, and Marian Call. The Doubleclicks and Molly Lewis set up ninja concerts on the first floor of the conference center on Sunday. The activity continued on Sunday with Unwoman and a number of other musicians.
photo by Sayed Alamy
photo by Sayed Alamy
photo by Sayed Alamy
photo by Ryan Roehrich
photo by Ryan Roehrich
Did you get to attend the Spotlight on Karen Prell and Red Fraggle? The photo op with them on the 2nd floor on Sunday was a fan favorite. Laughs and ‘awws’ were heard all around the floor.
Sunday evening closed out with the Ladies of the 80s Sing-A-Long. Clinton McClung, a program programmer who plans film and event screenings for SIFF Cinema and has worked with GeekGirlCon events in the past, planned an hour long We Got the Beat event for us! We started out strong with Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. Eleven songs later, a dance party started in the room to Dee-Lite’s Groove is in the Heart, and the last song played was Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler.
Our closing celebration was simple – Jennifer K. Stuller, Director of Programming and Events, introduced our Executive Director, Amanda Powter, who spoke briefly, thanking our community for your support. Then, the Double Clicks played Nothing to Prove.
photo by Adrienne Roehrich
We are thrilled you enjoyed our convention. We will have another one next year.
Please share your experience at GeekGirlCon ‘13. Use #GGC13 on Twitter and Instagram, on Facebook tag photos with GeekGirlCon, and peruse our flickr group to post your photos and share your thoughts and experiences here in the comments section.
What were your favorite parts of our convention? What did you like, and what can we improve? Don’t forget to complete the post-con survey because we want to hear from you!
Written by Adrienne M. Roehrich, Manager of Editorial Services
by GeekGirlCon Staff Copy Writer AJ Dent
It’s official: GeekGirlCon ’13 is on like Donkey Kong! Feeling lucky? Traverse down to the lower level of the Seattle Conference Center. There you’ll find a den of gaming wonder all weekend.
Are you exploring GeekGirlCon with a child or two? Family favorites like Connect Four and Jenga can be found here. Bring the little ones on by for endless entertainment.
Do tabletops littered with cards make your competitive streak come out? From Munchkin to Revolution! to Magic: The Gathering, you can shuffle, play, and deal all day.
Of course, no gaming section is complete without Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons. Classic role-playing games will bring longtime fans and new learners together for optimal fun.
Geeks needing a video game fix can kick back for a bit with controllers in hand, too. Who wouldn’t like a minute of Peggle to top off this nerdtastic event?
Whether you had to miss Saturday’s sessions or you’ll be returning on Sunday for more, be sure to hit up GeekGirlCon’s awesome game-related panels tomorrow! Starting at 10:00 a.m., “Writing for Role-Playing Games” will get you in touch with your inner author.
Next up at 11:00 a.m. is “How to Build Inclusive and Welcoming Game Communities,” where you can learn tips on expanding your gaming circle.
The “Gaming and Comics Panel” at noon is sure to be bursting with color and comedy as panelists discuss connecting role-playing techniques with cartoon story building.
Multi-generational gamer families will appreciate the 2:00 p.m. panel, “The Family Who Games Together.” Parents and their offspring of all ages can share their passion for playing games, and discuss the triumphs and tribulations of growing together through these unique bonding experiences.
Round out your weekend at 4:00 p.m. by catching “QUEER GEEK!: Women in Gaymer Communities.” This important discussion will touch on establishing, growing, and keeping gamer communities safe for queer girls, women, and more. Anyone interested in fostering a respectful, safe, and fantastic community for gay gamers should be sure to attend!
We hope your first day at GeekGirlCon ’13 has been filled with laughter, learning, and lots of playtime! If you haven’t been able to join us yet, we hope to see you tomorrow, at GeekGirlCon ‘14, or at any of our geeky events throughout the next year. Game on!
by Adrienne M. Roehrich, Manager of Editorial Services
I am often asked, “But is GeekGirlCon okay for kids?” As an involved member of the GeekGirlCon community, and a mom, I always answer with an enthusiastic “YES!”
One of the most family-friendly aspects of GeekGirlCon is the gaming floor. At GeekGirlCon ‘11, we spent hours at the Steve Jackson Games table playing Munchkin and learning new versions of the game. Steve Jackson games appeared at GeekGirlCon ‘12 and returns to GeekGirlCon ‘13. They produce over a hundred varieties of board, card, and dice games with geeky twists.
Look for Bhaloidam Adventure, a game designed to help you tell stories; Cheapass Games, a company that has been making affordable games for almost two decades; Green Ronin Publishing; Paizo, who will be running one-hour demos of The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game; Story Games, presenting several of their peer-to-peer tabletop RPGs; Valor, a game for those at least in their teens and older meant to increase performance in both combat and challenge for in-game characters; and Wizards of the Coast, to give your dungeon crawling skills a workout.
Game designer Keith Baker will be talking about games and running demos all weekend. So check out The Doom That Came To Atlantic City and get an early peek at his latest game, Phoenix: Nine Deaths. Kenny Owens will guide you through playing “staple” board games, such as Settlers of Catan, and helping you figure out other games you’ve always wanted to learn.
Want to have your own figurine for game play? You can attend the workshop to “Learn to Paint Miniatures and Take One Home!” Privateer Press is sponsoring this workshop in room LL1 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Stop on by to paint your own miniature to add as a part of your own tabletop and board game play, and you’ll have a fantastic GeekGirlCon ‘13 souvenir!
Other workshops include LARPing and designing a tabletop RPG in an hour! Don’t know how to LARP? First, attend the session to learn the basics of live action role-playing by LARP Master Shoshana Kessock, then spend a couple hours putting your new skills to use. Want to expand your RPG library? Andy Munich is there to help new players and seasoned campaigners learn and play a variety of games.
My family has also enjoyed the Game Lending Library. GeekGirlCon ‘13 has loads of board and card games for you to try. We found a bunch of new games we later added to our board game collection by playing some of these generously loaned games.
Don’t miss the EA/PopCap Games console game room, generously repeating their hosting the console room during GeekGirlCon ‘13. You and your family can enjoy EA and Popcap games on XBOX 360 and iPads. This year, a raffle benefiting a local Seattle charity with a mission to encourage girls to pursue STEM education and careers can benefit you with some marvelous prizes. Consult your Strategy Guide to learn more.
Not to mention all the panels on game-related topics, such as “Women in Gaming, Female Characters in Game Design,” “Let’s Make a Game Right Now,” “20 years of MYST,” “You Should Make Games!,” “Yuri Anime/Manga Battle!,” “Writing for Role-Playing Games,” “How to Build Inclusive & Welcoming Gaming Communities,” “Gaming and Comics Panel,” “The Family Who Games Together,” and “#1REASONWHY,” among others. Please note that not all the panels listed here are necessarily family-friendly.
But wait, there’s more! Gaming isn’t the only thing you can do with your family. While our science programming is for all ages (so a great spot for families), bring your kids to out “Edible Astronomy” panel, “Ask the Astronomers,” and “Making Science Fun: For girls, Boys, and Everyone.”
Finally, don’t miss stopping by the DIY Science Zone!
Other programming exists for your kids. Your teens may want to learn about strong female characters in young adult literature, or your cosplaying kid may want to get an intro to costume craft and cosplay, or your comic-enthusiast child may want to learn about keeping girls real in comics, or your Star Wars fan may want to learn about all the opportunities for all the ways to enjoy their favorite galaxy far, far away.
The EMP Museum is a fantastic place to take your family! Attend “Witches, Princesses, and Warrior Maidens,” a panel discussion about their exhibit “Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic.”
Want to connect with other parents—whether you, your kids, or all of you are geeks? We’ve got programming for you, too. Attend a workshop called “You and Your Connected Kid” about safety, privacy, identity, and plagiarism, while being media-positive and encouraging use of social media. “The Family Who Games Together” is a panel to talk with you about being a multi-generational gaming family.
Maybe your kids aren’t interested in panels. The Exhibitor Hall and Artist Alley offer fun and engagement. And your kids will not want to miss all the cosplay. In fact, the Zelda family will attest to the fun of cosplaying together! And your kids will not want to miss all the cosplay. At GeekGirlCon ’12, the Zelda Family, the Darth Vader Princess (Darth Makenna), the little Wonder Woman, the robot, and every other outfit left us “ooo”-ing and “aww”-ing. These young children are truly our future, so thank you for encouraging them to ask questions, think critically, and believe in themselves.
So come on out to GeekGirlCon ‘13 for your gaming interests, a safe place for your family, and all your geeky indulgences! Children under 5 are free and ages 6-10 are only $5! Get your passes now, pick them up Friday afternoon (so your children need not wait in line), and bring your family to a weekend of geekery they won’t want to miss!
