A National Games Convention

The Border Mail reports that the 2nd Australian Games Expo will soon be held in Albury, New South Wales. Click here to read the article. It looks like the organisers are aiming at making this a regular feature on the gaming festival calander.

The link, which I obtained from Yehuda's Jerusalem Games blog (thanks again, Yehuda) brought a real smile to my face. I used to live about 40 km from Albury, which lies on the New South Wales side of the Murray River. Ironically, that period of my life was that which followed those years outlined in my previous post, History of a Gamer (Pt1).

Not classic redneck countryside, but not far from it. Not really the cultural background you'd associate with serious gamers. But, you'd be wrong. Because even in the mid-eighties there were gamers there, playing Squad Leader and Dungeons and Dragons at school (there's a whole series of posts in these reminiscences - soon there'll be a link here), and borrowing a church hall once a week in Lavington and then Wodonga to put on a games night for the AWHGS (Albury Wodonga Historical Gaming Society). I remember attending a meeting or two of theirs - everyone seemed a bit nutso or neurotic to me so I stopped going - have since learnt that that is probably 'normal' for gamers (if there is such a thing).

But this post isn't meant to be simply another chapter in my bio - there's something important about the fact that even in rural Australia there are gamers keen enough to put on a national convention and expect thousands to attend. Our hobby is alive and well.

And, significantly, you can see the real world result of what one or two committed gamers can achieve. An inspiration to all of us who feel at times isolated and alone...