Indie Game Alliance Announces Free, 100% Online Gaming Convention
ORLANDO, FL – The Indie Game Alliance (IGA), a service-oriented guild of more than 1,350 independent tabletop game designers and publishers, announced today that it will be hosting Play Unconventionally 2020, a fully online tabletop gaming convention experience, from May 23 – 25, 2020. The convention will be free for all exhibitors and attendees. Signups are open now at http://www.playunconventionally.com.
The Virtual Exhibit Hall will feature popular streamers running engaging, entertaining demo plays of exhibitor games in one of the Exhibit Hall streams. Purchases of game and accessories will be made through Play Unconventionally’s dedicated online store to facilitate order consolidation and reduce shipping costs. A portion of all exhibit hall purchases will benefit the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund, to assist those in the gaming community who are struggling.
Play Unconventionally 2020 will also feature events for unpublished designers, including virtual playtesting, a fully online publisher speed dating event, and interactive video panels. The show’s community track features an artists’ alley for linking Etsy, DeviantArt, and other such shops for handmade and one-off items, a cosplay contest, a diversity lounge, math trades, and a virtual flea market for game swaps.
Play Unconventionally’s community will be hosted primarily through its Discord server located at http://www.playunconventionally.com/discord. This server is open now, and prospective attendees or exhibitors are welcome to join now, familiarize themselves with plans, and ask questions. The Discord has dedicated lobbies for matchmaking for online play through Tabletopia, Tabletop Simulator, Board Game Arena, Vorpal Board, Roll20.net and Astral Tabletop, as well as mobile and PC ports and unstructured play-over-webcam. A print-and-play archive has also been established for those wishing to try out prototype games and offer feedback to the designers.
“In these challenging and uncertain times, it is critical that all of us in the tabletop community come together and support each other. It is our fervent hope that Play Unconventionally will give exhibitors, artists, and attendees alike the opportunity to recapture some of the joy — and in the case of game publishers, some of the revenue — of our favorite conventions,” said Matt Holden, executive director of the Indie Game Alliance.
