When I pushed open the door to the gaming hall at Bubonicon I felt as if I had stepped into a warm, crowded harbor where every table was a small ship and every player a captain setting sail. Bubonicon is a large science fiction conference in Albuquerque. The room was full of the gentle noise that only happy concentration makes, the soft clack of pieces, and the quiet, excited talk that comes before a round begins. I spent several hours each day at those tables and each hour stitched itself into the weekend like a bright patch on a well-loved cloak.

Some tables hosted long, patient campaigns of roleplaying that smelled faintly of candles and careful notes. Other tables were for card and tile games where turns came quick and laughter came quicker. Gameplay itself felt like ritual and riffing at once. In some rounds we were quietly plotting, keeping our faces even while our plans braided behind our eyes. In other rounds we let loose and celebrated ridiculous moves that should not have worked but did, because luck sometimes prefers grand gestures.

What made the gaming feel special was how quickly strangers became companions. The etiquette of a good table mattered: explain a rule kindly, keep an eye on the new player, laugh when plans go sideways, and applaud the cleverness of the person who found a path no one saw coming.

If you go next year and want to sink into the games as I did, bring a small tote for purchases, a pad of paper for notes and stray ideas, and a readiness to say yes to a seat at a table you do not know. I managed to purchase 8 games in the Dealer’s Room. By the end of the weekend I carried home not only a bag heavy with games and prints but a pocket full of small moments. Bubonicon’s gaming hall is a place of soft obsession and generous play, and if you love games you will find, as I did, that an afternoon at a table can be its own kind of pilgrimage.

You can get more information about this amazing conference here: https://www.bubonicon.com/