CompassCon 2024
Table of Contents
ABOUT COMPASSCON 2024
Join us for a day to gather and play tabletop games with other regional gamers, complete with play2win contests, door prizes, a gamer flea market for new and used games, and concessions. We want to help people meet other gamers, learn and play new games, and have a great day of fun. Good for experienced gamers, complete noobs/novices, and everyone in between. All proceeds from the day will benefit the Compass Food Pantry.
ACTIVITIES
CompassCon 2024 comes jam-packed with activities for tabletop gamers. The day starts with check-in. I am greeted by some friendly folks who give me the day’s rundown and hand me some materials to help me get around. From there, I scope out the gaming area and find a large open area with plenty of tables with seating. There are games to play and contests to enter.
These are the available events and my experience with CompassCon 2024.
OPEN GAMING
This is where you can start a game on your own or join a game someone else is running. What I like about CompassCon is there are tall table stands you can grab from a table that notifies other players that you are open to accepting other players. This makes it easy for gamers to come together and play a game that doesn’t have enough players.
SCHEDULED GAMING
I did not sign up for any scheduled games therefore I did not keep an eye on scheduled gaming. However, I do remember at least one tabletop RPG session featuring Dungeons and Dragons that started at 1:30 pm. I would have loved to play some Dungeons and Dragons but my friends kept me busy enough with board games.
PLAY-2-WIN
My favorite event at CompassCon 2024. I have not been to a tabletop gaming event that had such an event as play-2-win so this is my first time seeing this carry out. How it works is there are 13 games to choose from. Each game has a signup sheet. You take a game, play it, and then sign the sheet with your name and phone number if you like it. Signing the sheet gives you a chance to win the game.
Play-2-win gave me the motivation to try new games that I may glance over in a pile of board games. I wound up trying two games that I’ve never played before. The first was Saboteur and the second was New York Slice. I liked both games but I liked Saboteur more. I may be biased though because I’ve been playing a lot of Deep Rock Galactic lately.
I signed the play-2-win sheet for both games. My friends did, too. I couldn’t stay for the entire event but they have my phone number. As of the time I am writing this article, none of us have received a phone call so I guess none of us won.
TABLETOP GAMING FLEA MARKET
In a different section of the CompassCon 2024 event location, the tabletop gaming flea market allowed attendees to bring in their used board games and sell them. The selection was decent with games for all levels of experience and preference. I found something as simple as a deck of playing cards for $1.00. There were also a few large strategy games for sale.
I made a few trips to the tabletop gaming flea market. On my first trip, I simply took a look around and made some mental notes. After taking a walk back to my gaming table and a brief chat with my wife, I immediately went back and bought Dice Forge which has been on my list for years. I got the game for $15.00 which I found to be a good deal.
That’s two trips down. The final trip I took with my wife. She wanted to see what was available. By this time, the day is coming to an end for the tabletop gaming flea market and quite a few games have been sold. However, my wife does pick up Beacon Patrol which is a game that has been on her list.
DOOR AND RAFFLE PRIZES
I tried to warn my friends about my bad luck. If you sit at a table with me, you are not going to win anything. That’s just how the world works for me. Between the six of us, we did not win anything but that is okay because what we did win is a great day with each other playing board games.
That said, the event did a fantastic of staying on schedule. You are automatically entered into the raffle when you register. Someone from the CompassCon 2024 event staff picks a raffle from a bowl every hour and announces the winner. The winner chooses a board game from a table of available games. The table does not get restocked so if there is a game you are hoping to win, you hope no one else picks it first.
FOOD, DRINKS, AND SNACKS
The kitchen sits conveniently to the side of the gaming area. I am at CompassCon 2024 during lunch time so I grab myself some grub and a drink. The kitchen provides pizza from Papa John’s. I got myself two slices. I grabbed a bottle of water, too. Stickboy provided the treats and as always, they do not disappoint. I got myself a Stickboy iced sticky bun. The only thing missing was 20 seconds in the microwave but still so good.
STAFF
The interactions with staff were pleasant. I was greeted at the door and directed to the registration table. The registration process was simple and enough instructions were given to get the day going without hesitation. I was also given a couple of handouts that included an event program and sponsor information. The event program was helpful and I appreciated CompassCon 2024 for providing it.
I had one staff member come up to me when I was browsing the play-2-win games. She gave suggestions with simple gameplay mechanics for a couple of games I was eyeing up. Because of her input, I wound up picking Saboteur first.
The person running the tabletop gaming flea market was super friendly. As I was browsing, I listened in on a conversation she was having with someone else about the pictures on the wall that I found entertaining. Checking out was a simple process and came with a smile.
THE FACILITY
CompassCon 2024 was held at Compass Christian Church in Fuquay-Varina, NC. When I arrived, the event was already going full swing and I showed up only an hour after kickoff. That said, there was still plenty of parking. I found a spot with ease.
The entire facility was clean, the bathrooms included. I found plenty of signage to point me in the right direction so I had no problem getting around. The event area was big with plenty of room between tables and walkways.
AS I SEE IT
CompassCon 2024 is a fantastic event. The combination of activities, staff, and facility creates a welcoming environment with plenty to do and all within a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. I believe CompassCon 2024 is the first CompassCon so I do hope that the event did well enough to encourage future events. I would go again and so would my friends. I’d also recommend checking out the event to anyone who enjoys tabletop gaming.
PHOTO GALLERY OF COMPASSCON 2024
