RinCon 2016: Full Schedule

Online game signup for RinCon is now closed. Come visit the registration desk to sign-up in person

Pre-Registration for RinCon is now closed:
Come visit us at the event to register. Full Weekend and Friday/Saturday/Sunday Day passes still available.

5:00pm MST

Play Dirty: GM seminar

Want to learn the most underhanded, devious, dastardly, crooked, ruinous, monstrous and wicked GM techniques of all time? Guaranteed to make your players love to hate you! Join John Wick as he answers questions, solves problems and gives his infamous "play dirty" GM advice seminar.

GMs

John Wick

Special Guest, John Wick Presents

John Wick designs games. He also writes short stories, novels, scripts and plays, but mostly, John Wick designs games. He wrote the first edition of the Legend of the Five Rings RPG, 7th Sea, Orkworld, Houses of the Blooded, Wicked Fantasy and Galaxy XXX. He is also the author of... Read More →

Friday September 30, 2016 5:00pm - 6:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

6:00pm MST

How To Hook 'Em

How to introduce people to the hobby you love so well, gateway games of all genres, how to explain a game well, how to learn a new game well.

GMs

James Ernest

President, Cheapass Games

James Ernest is a prolific tabletop game designer, and the founder of Cheapass Games. His best-known games include Kill Doctor Lucky, Lords of Vegas, Unexploded Cow, and Tak: A Beautiful Game. He is over nine feet tall, celebrates three birthdays each year, and is made entirely of... Read More →

Ian Stedman

Co-Owner, Chief Creative Officer, Magic Meeple

Ian has been involved in the board gaming industry since 2007, currently he co-owns and operates Magic Meeple Games, LLC. His experience includes game design, game publishing, graphic design, retail sales, convention organization, Kickstarter project creation/management, community... Read More →

Ross Watson

Ross Watson is an award-winning game designer with more than 50 credited titles, including work as Lead Developer for the Warhammer 40K Roleplay line and on the Accursed setting for Savage Worlds, design work on Star Wars: Edge of the Empire, Shadowrun 5th Edition, and more. He is... Read More →

Friday September 30, 2016 6:00pm - 7:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

7:00pm MST

Steampunk 101

What is this steampunk thing, anyway? Let members of your local steampunk community take you on a guided tour of portrayals of all things neo-Victorian and retro-futuristic in games, literature, and pop culture. Get tips on how to ‘punk your cosplay, what to look for in your own wardrobe or in your local thrift store, and how to accessorize, accessorize, accesorize.

GMs

Jocelynne

Madame Askew

Tea Mistress Extraordinaire!

Kellie Springer

Creative Play and Podcast Network

Avid gamer and Steampunk!

Friday September 30, 2016 7:00pm - 8:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel, Steampunk | Steampunk, Steampunk

8:00pm MST

What Have You Been Playing Lately? (BG edition)

A discussion of current themes in the boardgames industry, what panelists enjoy or recommend, and what makes a Good Game™.

GMs

James Ernest

President, Cheapass Games

Seth Jaffee

Head of Development, Tasty Minstrel Games

Seth Jaffee is a published game designer and developer, but is probably best known for his affiliation with Michael Mindes and Tasty Minstrel Games. Seth was a behind the scenes supporter of TMG from the beginning and is now an official member of the TMG team, discovering games, developing... Read More →

Andy Looney

Creative Director, Looney Labs

I'm the game designer who created Fluxx and Looney Pyramids!

Ian Stedman

Co-Owner, Chief Creative Officer, Magic Meeple

Friday September 30, 2016 8:00pm - 9:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

9:00pm MST

RPG Design Workshop

Find out what works and what doesn't in the realm of RPG game design with special guest Ross Watson! From the basic idea to the mechanics to the design goals of the game, Ross takes you through his process for creating an engaging and memorable game experience.

GMs

Ross Watson

Friday September 30, 2016 9:00pm - 11:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

11:00pm MST

Victorian Secrets: Undressing the Victorian Lady

Led by the inimitable Madame Askew, this panel will demonstrate the components of a Victorian lady's garb and wardrobe accoutrements. Audiences 18 and over, please.

GMs

Jocelynne

Madame Askew

Tea Mistress Extraordinaire!

Friday September 30, 2016 11:00pm - 11:45pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel, Steampunk | Steampunk, Steampunk

10:00am MST

GMs' Conference

Come join some of our most illustrious local GMs for a series of short talks and discussions about roleplaying games and how to add that little extra something to your campaign!

Keynote (special guest Ross Watson): Engagement Anchors; a character's narrative hooks that help you draw the player into the story.

Everything Except The Game (Jason Corley): the influence of spaces, relationships, snacks and money on RPG play experience

Creating Mysteries for Games (Darrell Hayhurst)

Campaigning Beyond the Plot (Scott Sizemore): personalizing the game for your players and their characters

Moderators

Ron Blessing

Ron's been a gamer since 1984 and with his wife, Veronica, is proudly raising two more gamers for the next generation. He first delved into the game industry as a podcaster, beginning with The Game's the Thing in 2006, and working on others including the venerable Pulp Gamer. In 2008... Read More →

GMs

Jason Corley

Tracy Sizemore

Owner / Principal, Ede Sol Games

Tracy is a freelance RPG author and contributor who has written for Pinnacle Games (Savage Worlds) and for the Torg Eternity line from Ulysses North America. She is also the creator of the Han Cluster, a optimistic sci-fi setting for Savage Worlds (https://hancluster.com).Tracy is... Read More →

Guests

Ross Watson

Saturday October 1, 2016 10:00am - 1:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

1:00pm MST

What Have You Been Playing Lately? (RPG edition)

A discussion of current themes in the RPG industry, what panelists enjoy or recommend, and what makes a Good Game™.

GMs

Ross Watson

John Wick

Special Guest, John Wick Presents

Ben Woerner

Owner, Game Developer, Woerner's WunderWerks

Ben Woerner, by day, is a mild-mannered husband, father, and marketing manager for his family’s business. By night he’s a game designer. Having run games for over a quarter century he finally began to design them. In August of 2014, he published World of Dew, a samurai noir roleplaying... Read More →

Saturday October 1, 2016 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

2:00pm MST

Speed Boardgame Design

Kind of like Whose Line Is It, Anyway for game designers. Watch and participate as our team of famous game designers come up with a new game from scratch. The twist is that the audience gets to add to the fun by giving them words along the way that they must then incorporate into the final product. Hilarity will ensue, we feel certain.

GMs

James Ernest

President, Cheapass Games

Seth Jaffee

Head of Development, Tasty Minstrel Games

Andy Looney

Creative Director, Looney Labs

I'm the game designer who created Fluxx and Looney Pyramids!

Saturday October 1, 2016 2:00pm - 3:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

4:00pm MST

Cosplay: A Panel with Gentleman Robot and Lady Pepper

This will be a panel on creating cosplay, from concept to construction to accessorizing. Get tips from master costumers John (Gentleman Robot) and Sabrina (Lady Pepper) Floyd.

Guests

John Floyd

Sabrina Floyd

Saturday October 1, 2016 4:00pm - 5:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel, Steampunk | Special, Steampunk | Steampunk, Steampunk | w Creator, Steampunk

6:00pm MST

Games and Gamers in Pop Culture and the Media

Moderated by Mark McLemore, host of Arizona Spotlight, Reporter/Producer, NPR 89.1 In this panel, we take a hard look at how far the media portrayals of our tribe have come. And how far have they come, really?

Moderators

Mark McLemore

Producer / Host of Arizona Spotlight, Arizona Public Media

An old-school gamer who was swept up in the D&D craze of the late 70s, but hasn't played much since the late 8os. Also an avid classic gamer and collector. I love science fiction and fantasy fiction, movies, and games for their big ideas, great escapism from reality, and evil gazebos... Read More →

GMs

Tasha Cover

Lance Gharavi

Associate Professor, Arizona State University

I am an artist, scholar, and educator--in no particular order. Much of my research and creative work involves playing in the intersections of performance with technology, religion, and science.

Jonathan Perrine

Saturday October 1, 2016 6:00pm - 7:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

11:00pm MST

Eric and the Gazebo: An Audience Participation Roundtable

A dramatic reading of the classic story by Richard Aronson, with an audience-participation roundtable to follow, moderated by Mark McLemore, local radio personality from KUAZ 89.1 (Host of AZ Spotlight). Share stories of most ridiculous predicaments you’ve seen PCs get themselves into (getting back out not required). To be held… where else but at the poolside gazebo? We'll move to the Canyon Theater in case of inclement weather or if we need more seating.

GMs

Sean Patrick Fannon

Brand Manager, Savage Rifts, Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Sean Patrick Fannon (aka "Big Irish" or SPF) has been professionally involved in tabletop RPGs, computer games, and entertainment for over a quarter-century. His dozens of projects have included Hero Games' Champions product line; both West End's and Fantasy Flight's Star Wars RPGs... Read More →

Mark McLemore

Producer / Host of Arizona Spotlight, Arizona Public Media

Ross Watson

John Wick

Special Guest, John Wick Presents

Saturday October 1, 2016 11:00pm - Sunday October 2, 2016 1:00am MST
Gazebo, Canyon Theater

Panel Special

1:00pm MST

Worldbuilding: GM seminar

While rules may make a game work, it's the setting that really makes a good game come to life. Interested in creating a brand new campaign world or adding that extra kick to your existing one? Get some tips from John Wick, creator of 7th Sea, Houses of the Blooded, and Legend of the 5 Rings systems on creating your own worlds, whether in advance or on the fly.

GMs

Ross Watson

John Wick

Special Guest, John Wick Presents

Sunday October 2, 2016 1:00pm - 2:00pm MST
Canyon Theater

Panel

2:00pm MST

How to Bring Up Gamers

A discussion of how to foster the hobby in the next generation. How to teach and learn games, what appeals to the younger audiences, favorite games to play with kids.

GMs

Panel