This weekend, Covington’s Mainstrasse Village will be taken over by self-proclaimed tabletop “nerds” from across the region. Coined as CONington, this women-founded tabletop convention seeks to establish a new tradition, bringing together tabletop and role-playing game fanatics of all ages.
“[We] just want to create a weekend that everyone belongs to — one that everyone has a place at a table,” said CONington creator Shaun Smith.
Tabletop games are, as the name suggests, games played on a table. They can include board games, card games and games that feature other physical parts such as dice or miniature characters. The role-playing aspect comes from players dressing up as their gaming characters or popular fictional characters.
Smith came up with the idea for CONington last year as she walked the Mainstrasse Village with her family. They had just moved into the city after living in suburban Kentucky for 15 years.
“I just was just hoping someone would talk to me when I knocked on the door,” Smith said. “So I'm very fortunate for the businesses that have jumped on this crazy train with me.”
Traditional conventions happen in larger cities and typically inside a convention center. Smith wanted to use this opportunity to change the rules and spotlight local businesses.
“Community is a huge thing for me, so I want to just spin it and become more of an unconventional convention,” Smith said.
To participate in the tabletop game aspect of the convention, people must buy a badge that gives them access to a choose-your-own adventure, which they’re calling “Quest through the COV.” Members will journey through six different Mainstrasse Village businesses. The adventure depends on which character you select based on fantasy worlds.
“What makes it so personal to me and my team is that this is actually based on a campaign we've been playing for three years,” Smith said. “So it's our characters that you get to pick.”
But CONington also will feature an outdoor market event for those who want to explore vendors at no cost. Smith said the vendors are local artists, independent game designers and craftspeople from the Greater Cincinnati area, including one from Tennessee.
On Saturday, CONington also will give children of all ages an opportunity to participate in training circuits that, should they pass, bestows them as “Knights of Covington” — officially recognized in partnership with the Kenton County Public Library and the city of Covington’s Parks and Recreation Department.
CONington also will feature a concert and a cosplay contest. Larry Hastings, a local resident and the founder of popular cosplay and prop fabrication company Vulture Productions will be on the judge panel for the contest.
“[That’s] talent that's here,” Smith said. “I had no idea until I started this and then just started talking to people. That has been the most wonderful part of this entire year.”
Visit conington.org for more information.
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