REPORT: DragonCon 2014

by Yehuda Broderick | Jul 3, 2014 | 2014, report

DragonCon 2014(דרקוניקון 2014)

Website: http://www.dragoncon.co.il/index.html
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1437694359803755/
Date: August 7th
Location: Ramat Aviv Community Center, Haim Levanon St 37, Tel Aviv
Convention type: Gaming
Hours: 8:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Entrance fee: See below
Registration for events: Yes
Pre-registration for events: Yes

DragonCon started in 2007 with a mere 40 attendees; last year it had around 280! It’s come far from its humble beginnings, and it has plenty of events for you to enjoy! Roleplaying games, card games, board games, LARP, and miniatures, plus a showcasing of Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. They’ve also got this cool thing going known as “The Board Game Libaray”; a place filled with all sorts of board games that you can borrow and play! A small sampling of these games includes: The Settlers of Catan, Netrunner, Monty Python Fluxx, Illuminati, and various Munchkin games.

It’s not quite clear if entrance to the convention itself is free or not (I haven’t received a reply yet from the organizers at this time of writing). Certainly all the events themselves require money. The prices are as follows:

Full Day Ticket – 60 NIS. This will net you free reign to join all of the convention’s activities.
Single Activity Ticket – 40 NIS. This will allow you to participate in a single activity
Library Ticket – 20 NIS. This allows you to enter the Board Game Library, and participate in the convention’s lectures.
Note: All tickets allow you to enter the Board Game Library and play the games therein. You must have a ticket in order to enter it.

If you are aware of any convention taking place here in Israel, please notify me, and I will do my best to report on it!

REPORT: Myth, Yume-Con, Gryphon 10: Resurrection, CAMI

by Yehuda Broderick | Jul 1, 2014 | 2014, report

I’ve decided to put this blog up for one reason, namely to compile a list of conventions happening in Israel, and report of and on them. It’s quite frustrating when you WANT to go to all these wonderful gaming, science fiction and fantasy, or anime conventions when you don’t KNOW of their existence. Thus I will do my best to report to all those interested in these wonderful gatherings.

For starters, we have the following:
Myth – gaming convention
Yume-Con – anime convention
Gryphon 10: Resurrection – gaming convention
CAMI – anime convention

Before we begin, I’d like to point out that just about everything will be in Hebrew, so if you’re having trouble with it, you might want to work on it a bit before coming (unless you’re coming just to buy stuff. In that case, no worries).

Myth (מיתוס)

Website: http://www.myth.co.il/index.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/314717155352899/
Date: July 22-24(Moved to August 17-19)
Location: The Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center (Ganei Hata’arucha), Rokeach Blvd, Tel Aviv
Entrance fee: 10 NIS (see below)
Registration for events: Yes

We’ve got Myth, a gaming convention that boasts of it being, “the first of its kind”. This is its first incarnation, so only time will tell if it lives up to the standards it is setting for itself. Those of you who enjoy D&D, Magic: The Gathering, The Settlers of Catan, and the like will be most interested in this con. It’s a shame that they don’t have exhibition tables set up to introduce new players into tabletop games like they did in Giborim (a gaming convention held every Passover), but they will have exhibition tables set up for various board and card games. Depends on your shtick. Also, many of the tabletop games seem to be Pathfinder Society games, so if you’re familiar with the Pathfinder rules and setting, go check it out! And don’t forget to register for the events you want: each one has limited space!

About the entrance fee: In Myth, the entrance fee and events are paid for with special coins specifically made for the convention; each day you will need to spend 1 coin in order to enter the convention hall (one coin is 10 NIS, but there are different sales depending on the amount of coins you want to order). The coins can be pre-ordered by way of PayPal or a credit card; you must show your teudat zehut at the ticket desk to receive them.

Yume-Con (יומה-קון)

Website: http://www.yumecon.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/225959510935917/
Date: July 24
Location: Wohl Center, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv
Entrance fee: 40 NIS – limited
Registration for events: No

I’ve only heard of one anime convention being held in Israel before (HaruCon, during Purim), but due to someone having the foresight to put up a flyer on my campus, I now know of Yume-Con! (And others too!)  Like Myth, it also is in its first incarnation; let’s hope that it becomes a yearly convention!

It features such things as:
Lectures – tips on improving your cosplay, kendo, the earthquake in Japan, and more
Workshops – on getting started on drawing manga, makeup, among others
A gaming room – fighting games only
LARP
A cosplay competition
The Studio Ghibli take on The Borrowers
Karaoke
And more!

But best of all, a Maid Cafe! Seriously, A MAID CAFE! This is what you’ve really been waiting for, am I right? And get this: the food will be kosher! You can finally enjoy that folded omlete with gusto and not worry about a thing!

But be warned! Entrance to this convention requires an entrance card – and the amount of entrance cards are limited! Cards will be sold at the convention, but you might make it there and find there are none left. So per-order it from the site!

An entrance card costs 40 NIS, and gets you into the convention. All the events are free, so no need to worry about how you can only go to one or two events (you will need to bring money for the maid cafe though). There is an option to buy a 50 NIS entrance card, which includes transportation to and from the convention.

The aforementioned transportation (buses) to and from the convention runs approximately every 20 minutes, from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. One way is 5 NIS, with a 12-17 minute ride (depending on traffic conditions). The buses leave from Savidor Merkaz/Arlozorov to the Wohl Center and back. First preference will go towards those who have the 50 NIS cards.

Gryphon 10: Resurrection (גריפון 10: התחיה)

Website: http://gryphon.roleplay.org.il/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1463405333904894/
Date: July 31
Location: Henrietta Soald School, 29th of November St 6, Jerusalem
Entrance fee: Free
Registration for events: Yes

Gryphon is an older gaming convention that is finally back after a 4 year hiatus (hence the ‘Resurrection’ bit) in its tenth incarnation. It’s focus seems to be solely on role-playing games, but some of those games are intended for people with no prior knowledge of them. So go check it out!

The prices for the games are fairly decent, considering what I’ve seen in other conventions.  There will be an option to sign up for some sort of membership. DO THIS, since signing up is free, and as a member, you will receive tickets at a discount.

CAMI (כאמ”י)

Website: http://cami.org.il/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1478241665749115/
Date: August 21
Location: Haifa International Convention Center, Kdoshei Jassy St 2
Entrance fee: 45 NIS, 40 NIS for AMAI members
Registration for events: Yes

CAMI (Convention of Anime and Manga in Israel) is another anime convention, organized by AMAI (the Association of Manga and Anime in Israel) taking place in Haifa in August. There isn’t much information yet about this convention, so I’m going to post an update later when I get more info.