Con on the Cob 2019 - Part I

This past weekend I attended my first Con on the Cob. The small convention is the brainchild of artist, Andy Hopp. His unique art style and kind spirit can be felt throughout the con. It's definitely different than a big convention like Origins or mega con like Gen Con. The badges for CotC are only 45 at the door. Unlike other conventions, the price of admission gets you free access to all non-charity games and events. In addition there is a room with soda and snacks throughout the entire con. Also, while I didn't partake because I had my 10 year old with me, this also gets you free booze after 9:00 pm. That actually leads me into my next observation. This is a gaming and partying convention. After nine o'clock things get crazy. There's drinking, drag and burlesque shows, drunken drawing, and parties galore (this year there was a Cthuluau and Spellhammer'd). Honestly, I think this really contributes to the general good atmosphere at the con. Folks are just there to have a good time and enjoy that with other people.

If you go with your family there are still things to do. The hotel has an indoor pool, playground, putput golf, and there are Children of the Cob events scheduled every hour of the day. My boy had quite a bit of fun. Kids can also participate in other games as long as they meet the GM's age requirement. They also have access to the vendor's hall. The hall wasn't big and I'd say there were less than 50 vendors total. Indie Press Revolution had a booth, as did a few other small game publishers. Most of the vendors were artists and crafters. I saw some really cool stuff and my son bought some art.

The convention isn't the most organized. Seems that there are still things being done day of. Because of the folks involved and the size of the con, that didn't seem to bother me much.

If you want to earn credit for your following year's con or get extra money in the vendor's hall you can sign up to run games. For every hour you run you get a Cob Coin. If you register your events early you get a bonus coin if you run a 4 hour session. At one point Andy would let you attend free for running games, but after year's of abuse of that system, the Cob Coin system has been implemented.

The hotel itself wasn't exactly the nicest, but for 100 bucks a night, it wasn't bad. I will let folks in on a little insider knowledge I gained from a friend. While Andy and folks want you to book a room at the hotel itself, if you book at the Super 8 Motel diagonally access the street you can stay for half the price. My friend said that hotel was even a bit nicer, to be honest.