A library of more than 300 tabletop games that guests can check out. “Playshops” for learning how to develop a game, and workshops about turning gameplay into podcasts, videos and livestreams. A game auction, a vendor market — a gamer’s paradise.
Northampton Open Media will host Next Turn, a new convention celebrating tabletop gaming, at 33 Hawley next weekend. Guests are welcome to bring their own games, but the festival will feature a library of options and volunteer gamemasters, or “GM”s, running games that guests can sign up to play. Workshops exploring the possibilities of gameplay are free and open to the non-badge-holding public.
The convention will also host several special guests: game designer Rob Daviau, co-founder of Restoration Games; tabletop RPG designer Joey Royale; computer/card/board game designer Jim DuBois; and designer and board game publisher Ian Brody.
Admission proceeds will support Northampton Open Media’s work, which includes covering all civic meetings in the city of Northampton, hosting free multimedia production classes, loaning out audiovisual equipment, producing public access television and more. In fact, since Northampton Open Media is a public access station, the convention will feature a livestreamed playthrough of Royale’s game “Weird Heroes of Public Access.”
P. Albert Williams, founder of Next Turn and executive director of Northampton Open Media, created the convention because he wanted to combine his longtime love of board gaming with a fundraiser to support the organization’s work.
“We’re facing some sustainability questions moving forward,” he said, “so we’re thinking outside the box and trying to figure out how to raise some revenue.”
An event celebrating tabletop gaming combined two of the organization’s priorities.
“Organizationally, we really like events that build community. We like events that intersect with the creative sector,” he said.
Personally, Williams likes tabletop gaming, a hobby he first got into 20 years ago, because it is a social pastime that activates his mind. “You’re gathered around a table like you would gather around for a meal. You’re not on a screen, and you’re engaged in play,” he said.
“I would design my own games when I was a kid, so I think I always had this predisposition towards it. I always have enjoyed play. I think that’s something we do in our work here as well. Play is something that’s very low-stakes and can be something experimental. It’s good for your mind. I just think those are all things that are really healthy for a human being,” he said.
His favorite tabletop game is called “Here I Stand,” a game about the Protestant Reformation. It’s very intense, he said — gameplay can last for 10 hours as players negotiate with one another.
Games like these can be intimidating, especially to people who have less experience with tabletop games or the surrounding culture, but Williams said that feeling underscores the need for a convention like this, where even beginners can find people willing to show them the ropes. It also helps that games like Dungeons & Dragons and Settlers of Catan have gotten more popular and mainstream in the past decade.
“There’s, weirdly, an amount of shame around it that existed before, and I think that’s gone away, too,” he said, “so it’s about welcoming people.”
Next Turn will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, from noon to 11 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is $60 for a weekend pass, $40 for a Friday or Saturday day pass, or $20 for a Sunday day pass. Gamemasters can get a discount of $20 off a festival pass for every four hours of games they run. Volunteers also can earn free day passes for the day, or days, of their shift.
To buy passes or for more information, visit nextturn.org.
