Jaden PngTableCon Quest 2024 took place from 22-23 June 2024, at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Center Hall 403. The event was organised by Eliphant, the organiser of GameStart Asia, and Genesis Frontier, the official distributor for popular card games such as Cardfight!! Vanguard. TableCon Quest 2024 aims to celebrate the history and future of tabletop gaming, and welcome the various communities of the gaming industry as well as new players interested in the hobby.
Tabletop gaming is defined as a broad term that refers to almost every kind of physical game played on a table. This includes card games such as Uno, board games like Monopoly, wargames that recreate historical conflicts such as Halls of Hegra and even role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).
SGGA Industry Day 2024
The event featured SGGA Industry Day 2024, an opportunity for event-goers to learn from industry experts and try games made by local publishers. There were talks and panels by local industry experts in the gaming industry such as Tinker Tales Studios and Trueworld Studios. Attendees were able to learn the processes, opportunities and challenges of creating games in Singapore as well as hear individual experiences from speakers. The event aimed to bridge the gap between students and those looking for a career in the gaming industry.
TableCon Quest 2024 also featured international special guests such as Satoshi Nakamura, President of Yuhodo, designer of the smash hit games – Cardfight!! Vanguard and Weiß Schwarz. The General Producer for the ULTRAMAN CARD GAME, Eiji Shishido, was present as well. Both shared their experience and insights into the gaming industry as well as answered questions from the audience.
Indie Zone
TableCon Quest 2024 also had an Indie Zone, where 6 local developers and game studios were showcasing their games. We spoke to Xeo Lye, one of the co-founders of Capital Gains Studios. He shared that: “Before Covid, there were almost no dedicated tabletop conventions in Singapore, a lot of them were in small community centres. But this year alone, we are seeing a lot of interest in tabletop gaming, quite a number of conventions popping up here and there. So it is very encouraging to see that because the tabletop community in Singapore is growing and it has grown to such a scale that it has a convention dedicated to it.”
Activities and Demos
Similar to the Indie Zone, Origame hosted game demos for their titles, and attendees were also able to purchase games they liked on the spot. They also presented two of their latest games – Chock-A-Block and CubeMelt: Getting Dicey, during the event.
Neo Tokyo Project, the folks behind Doujima, hosted D&D beginner sessions and painting sessions for attendees. The painting sessions were extremely popular among event-goers, with participants being able to take home a painted TableCon Quest Cat miniature upon completion.
BlitzMinis was showcasing a range of products and miniatures at TableCon Quest 2024. They featured Conquest, a wargame produced by Para Bellum Games. Conquest: Last Argument of Kings Asian Regional tournament took place during the event. The winner of the tournament got an all expenses paid trip to Chios, Greece, to compete in the World Championship 2024.
We also managed to speak to Darryl Mckay, the Head of Global Sales and Marketing for Para Bellum Games, who was at the event to support the BlitzMinis booth. Mr Mckay shared that: “(The tabletop community here) really enjoys what they are doing. There’s not only the gaming aspect of it, but also the true artistry that each person brings with their (painted) army as well”.
We learned a lot of things about the tabletop community in Singapore and managed to check out some really cool games at the event. Unfortunately, we couldn’t cover all the activities within this article, so check out the highlights of the event on their Instagram page and the details of the next TableCon Quest at their website.
Until then, may the dice be ever in your favour!