Phoenix ConGames, a new gaming convention, is looking to attract more than just the 20-sided-die and chain-mail crowd.

“We’re going to have everything from board games to role-playing games, and a kids’ gaming area,” says Mary Erickson, CEO of ConEvents.

Aside from the niche gaming fare of Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and kiddie-oriented card games like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, the event boasts appearances from luminaries in the role-playing-games arena, more traditional games such as Parcheesi and a poker tournament.

The event also features youth activities, including life-sized tic-tac-toe and a Harry Potter live-action role-playing game where kids adapt the persona of Hogwarts students honing their “magic,” sort of a highly organized game of pretend.

“I think that most gaming conventions don’t have the diversity that we do; we really wanted to bring a lot in,” Erickson says.

The convention provides an opportunity to dust off that copy of Pop-O-Matic Trouble that’s been languishing in a closet these last few years.

“People really enjoy playing board games; they just never take the time to sit down and do it,” Erickson says.

The camaraderie of gaming is also a vital part of the appeal.

“Board games really break down the barriers of communication,” Erickson says. “It helps you to communicate and joke around; it breaks the ice.”

Games can assist all sorts of social situations — Erickson herself cites gaming as helping her kids adjust to her second marriage, as playing games as a family helped stave off potential transitional awkwardness.

“I really think that had a big effect on the kids really being able to embrace our new family atmosphere,” Erickson says.

Despite the breadth of programming at the convention, Erickson is quick to defend the so-called geeky crowd.

“There’s a real misconception that gamers are loners. The truth is it’s a group sport — they play with their friends,” Erickson says. “It really does develop a lot of social and emotional skills, contrary to the stereotype.”

It’s like the old proverb says: It takes a village to slay a tribe of half-orc wizards.

Phoenix ConGames
What: Gamers convention bridging the gap between role-playing games, card games and board games
When: Continuously 9 a.m. Thursday through 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: Hilton Phoenix East, 1011 W. Holmes Ave., Mesa How Much: $15-$35
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