BGG Con/Essen

[newboardnewme]

Hey there gamers!

My husband and I are getting excited about attending BGG Con in November again this year. (Board/Card)Gaming is my husband's passion - he listens to an incredible number of gaming podcasts, reads and contributes to lots of discussion forums, etc. and is active on boardgamegeek.com. He has had a LOT of time to think about the con already and has come up with a GeekList of 35 mostly brand new games to try out at BGG Con, many of which are due out at Essen.

I usually wait to start thinking about the games we'll see at the Con until after Essen, and after H has refined his list to a more manageable number for me to wrap my head around - in part because this time of year is a really intense time of year for me work-wise and I just don't have the time. I think he would love it if I went into the Con knowing more about the games, but truthfully, I just enjoy playing new games with new people and don't feel like I need to know in advance what they will be.

Just wondering:

1) Are any of you going to Essen or BGG Con this fall?

2) Are there any new board or card games coming out this fall that you are really excited to play?

3) Have you ever attended other gaming Cons? And, if so, do you generally do any research on the new games before you go?

TIA for your thoughts

[doctorwho]

I don't go to any gaming cons specifically, but I go to ICon in NY, which has a gaming track. We get a schedule a bit in advance of what demos are going to be there. Sometimes there's a pro contingent, and there's usually some independents there beta testing, which is cool.

I don't research anything in advance, since I find that having a structure at a con never works out. Well, ok - I have a structure. I obsessively highlight the panels and games I want to go to. I'm usually triple booked, so clearly that's never going to work out. But I always have lots of options.