10 events to catch at Gen Con Online 2020

Gen Con is gearing up for its first major digital event with Gen Con Online. Taking place from July 30 through August 2, over 6,000 events will take place through various Zoom, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook Live channels. Out of that massive batch, we’re showcasing 10 grand events taking place during the online convention. More information on Gen Con Online, including how to get your free badge, can be found here. All times listed below are EST.

The First Quest: An Improv Comedy D&D Adventure
Date: Thursday, July 30
Time: 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

A group of improv players from Nerdprov will take part of a normal game of D&D. There's one problem: none of them have ever played D&D before. With DM Matt Kerkhoff on their side, this group will embark on an unforgettable journey, and they're doing it in front of audiences worldwide.

Aetherhaus Academy: Kids on Brooms Tabletop LIVE STREAM
Date: Friday, July 31
Time: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

The Scabby Rooster LARP Tavern will bring their Aetherhaus Academy LARP for a special Gen Con session. For this session, a slew of new school kids tries to discover the secrets of their magic school. Those with tickets will take part in this massive event. The Aetherhaus Academy LARP will use the Kids on Brooms system.

Shoot Your (One-) Shot: Exploring the Versatility of TTRPGs
Date: Friday, July 31
Time: 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

One-shot TTRPGs are a great way for new people to get into the form of gaming. The cast and crew of Threeflings will be on hand to discuss why how they turned a series of one-shot TTRPGs into a successful campaign. The panel will feature Gwen Bassett, Haley "Ink" Kugler, Jasmine "Jazz" Eisinger, Jessica Marcrum, and Jessica Washburn.

Dungeons & (Blank) - An Audience-Driven Adventure
Date: Friday, July 31
Time: 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

If you're looking to get interactive with a D&D game, Dungeons & (Blank) - An Audience-Driven Adventure is perfect for you. Throughout the game, registered viewers can alter everything from plot points to punishment for bad rolls. Hosted by RPG University & Irrational Passions, Jessica Lynn Verdi (Hyper RPG, Easy Allies) and Isla Hinck (Easy Allies) are among those set to play. You can head here to contribute ideas for the game

Celebrate the 25th Anniversary of CATAN
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Catan Studio will celebrate their 25th anniversary with a special Gen Con panel. This event will have the crew looking back on how the company started and check out where it's heading next. During this panel, the crew will also run a demo of their forthcoming game Legend of the Conquerors, which will be available in August.

Miniature Painting & Storytelling with Noxweiler Berf
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.

After a long time in the store, you walk away with a slew of miniatures. When it comes to painting them, things might be a bit much to handle. The Scabby Rooster LARP Tavern's Noxweiler Berf will show viewers how to get the most fun out of painting miniatures.

Hero Forge Q&A
Date: Saturday, August 1
Time: 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Hero Forge has been the premier 3D-printing company for tabletop miniatures and statuettes. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014, Hero Forge has seen praise from Critical Role and Wyrmwood. This panel will be a Q&A session with members of the Hero Forge team. Exciting news about the future of Hero Forge will also be shared.

How To Run Your Gaming Content Online
Date: Sunday, August 2
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

While the coronavirus kept people indoors, many people have continued their TTRPG adventures online. With online gaming, people from around the world can join on a stream. The Geek Initiative will give out hints on how to have the perfect stream for your next campaign.

Fireside with Peter Adkison
Date: Sunday, August 2
Time: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Fireside with Peter Adkison arrives at Gen Con for a special episode. The subject of this episode will be Dungeons and Dragons 3E, which was unveiled in 2000. Joining Adkison for this occasion are Forgotten Realms authors R. A. Salvatore and Mary Kirchoff.

What's In A Name: Naming Kids (& Other Things in Your Life) the Geek Way
Date: Sunday, August 2
Time: 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Are you a geek having trouble naming your upcoming child or a new laptop? Well, Scott Rubin (Hyper RPG) has a plethora of names perfect for the occasion. On August 4th, Rubin will unveil Naming Your Little Geek: The Complete List of Comic Book, Video Games, Sci-Fi, & Fantasy Names. This panel will find Rubin discussing his upcoming book, which is available for pre-order now.

Los Angeles' Pack Theater raising money with tonight's Pack-A-Thon

Los Angeles’ alternative comedy venue The Pack Theater will be raising money to keep the lights on with the Pack-A-Thon.

Beginning tonight (Saturday, March 28) at 6 p.m. PST/9 PM EST, this six hour event will feature some of the best in improv, sketch, and variety programs, including The Happy Sappy Grown-Up Hour, Dark Matters, and Wolfman Pack Late Night Radio Hour. Some special guests set to appear during this event include Iliza Shlesinger, David Raphael Moscow, Andrew Howard, Jessica Lynn Verdi, Maria Bamford, Cameron Rice, and Jamie Loftus. “We, the artists and members of this amazing community, love this theater so much. We’re doing everything in our power to keep it alive, and make sure there is a space, a home, for all of us to return to when this is over,” Pack Theater Artistic Director Elyssa Phillips said in a statement.

The full schedule can be seen below. The event will be streaming live on The Pack Theater’s Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook pages. If you can’t attend and would like to donate, Venmo them at @pack-theater.

Pack-A-Thon schedule

6 pm: The Happy Sappy Grown-Up Hour

7 pm: Improv from Heather & Miles and Dingleberries

7:30 pm: Celebrity Risk w/ The Whitest Kids U’ Know

8 pm: Casting Call w/ Hollywood Casting Director Cara Chute Rosenbaum

8:30 pm: Very Special Guests w/ Gary Petersen

9 pm: Dark Matters

10 pm: Sketch That Tune

11 pm: Wolfman Pack Late Night Radio Hour

Five panels to catch at PAX East 2020

Gamers on the East Coast are counting down the minutes until PAX East 2020 opens its doors on Thursday. If you’re heading to the event and need some exciting things to see, we’ve listed five panels that are worth your time.

While Saturday tickets are sold out, there are still Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and four-day tickets available here. More information on PAX East can be found here. The convention will take place inside the Boston Convention and Expo Center in Boston, Massachusetts from February 27 through March 1.

The EZ Baking Challenge: Recipe for Disaster
Thursday, February 27
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Albatross Theatre

Remember the old days of using the Easy-Bake Oven? Well, a group of video game industry personalities (Pat Baer, Trin Garritano, Kate Gray, and David Galindo) will find themselves reliving their childhood during the biggest competition of PAX East. These individuals will be baking goods while dealing with random obstacles. Their finished creation will be eaten by judges, who will declare one person the winner. Finji's Harris Foster and Rebekah Saltsman will co-host the event.

Design a Board Game Live
Thursday, February 27
9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Condor Theatre

If you've always been interesting in creating the next big board game, this panel is for you. The design team of Lynnvander Studios (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek Alliance) will give attendees the scoop on how they made their popular games. Afterwards, you'll create a game from scratch. Later this year, Lynnvander Studios will release Divinity Original Sin: The Board Game, which gained $1.8 million through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

It's a 10/10, actually.
Friday, February 28
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Arachnid Theatre

Sometimes, a video game can be a perfect 10 despite harsh criticism. Evolve PR's social media manager Wout McDutch, Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail, Gameranx host Jake Baldino, Powerspike marketing director Reed Albers, and Ripley Improv's Jessica Lynn Verdi will discuss why their favorite games are a 10/10. After they’re done with their pitches, the audience decides if these games are actually among the best of the best.

Video Game Marketing Gone Right… and So *Very* Wrong
Saturday, February 29
8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Bobcat Theatre

From Dead Island's spectacular video game trailer to John Romero's appalling Daikatana ad, video game marketing has seen its ups and downs over the years. The GameDev Business Handbook author Michael Futter, journalist Amanda Farough, Kitfox Games communications director Victoria Tran, and Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail talk about some of the worst marketing campaigns ever released.

Marvel Mystery Panel
Sunday, March 1
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Albatross Theatre

Marvel and Netmarble have been cooking up a brand new game, and they'll ready to tell fans all about it during their PAX East panel. The two companies first joined forces in the 2015 mobile game Marvel: Future Fight, which has over 70 million players. Marvel: Future Fight’s recent update brought some Secret Empire content to the game.

"Mom And Dad Are Out Of Town" for today's Hyperdrive on Hyper RPG

With Zac and Malika Lim Eubank at TwitchCon, today's Hyperdrive on Hyper RPG is themed Mom and Dad Are Out Of Town. Starting at 12 p.m. PST/3 p.m. EST, a 12-hour marathon of TTRPGs will arrive for your viewing pleasure on their Twitch channel.

At 12:30 p.m. PST/3:30 p.m. EST, Brandon Winfrey (Grim Dark Dawn) will GM Everyone Is Kevin: A Home Alone RPG, which will use the Everyone Is John system. At 3 p.m. PST/6 p.m. EST, Bert Jennings (Pencils and Parsecs) will GM Goblin Quest, which uses the Goblin system.

At 6 p.m. PST/ 9 p.m. EST, two universes collide with Calvin and Hobb(e)s and Shaw, which will be GMed by Cameron Rice (Bloodcurdling Tales In Time). This game will use the All Outta Bubblegum system. At 9 p.m. PST/12 a.m. EST, Jessica Lynn Verdi (Ripley Improv, Rat Queens) will GM Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead. Following her unorthodox GM performances on the Clue RPGs, this isn't one to miss. This game will use the Tales From The Loop system.

Playing these games today are Aabria Iyengar (Kollok 1991), Amir Rakib (Hyper RPG), Andy Campbell (Bloodcurdling Tales In Time), Emma Fyffe (Collider), Janel SantaCruz (Bloodcurdling Tales In Time), Josh Jones (The Gauntlet), Kailey Bray (Damsels, Dice, and Everything Nice), Kyle Shire (Machinima's Body Count Fighting), Lucas Eubank (Kollok 1991), Naeem Stewart (Grim Dark Dawn), Riley Silverman (Rat Queens), and Shea Parker (Rosemary Thyme Fennel Mint).

Money raised during the Hyperdrive will help keep the lights on at the studio for another month. The viewer can change the course of each game by tipping. You can head here to watch it all go down.