AndoCon is an annual convention focused on gaming and the geeky life. Whether you enjoy board, card, video, or role-playing games, you will find plenty to enjoy at AndoCon! We caught up with Ando Poore, one of the founders of AndoCon, for a quick interview.

 

 

 

Tell us a little about AndoCon.

AndoCon is an open gaming convention. It grew out of gaming parties that my wife and I threw after I graduated from college. At first, it was intended to be a bit of a parody of geeky Atlanta conventions. We would have a weekend-long party and pretend to make a big deal about it, but we still just hosted them at our house, with only our circle of friends. Obviously, we’re moving past that now. As far as content goes, we embrace RPGs as well as other tabletop board and card games, and we hope to attract adventurous gamers who are not afraid to play games they’ve never played before. We also seek to engage the gaming design community as well, giving them a place they can feel comfortable bringing their games for playtesting and feedback.

What made you decide to expand to share with the rest of Atlanta?

My wife Katie Mae and I staffed MomoCon for the first time last year, and after seeing how much fun geeky conventions can be, not just for the attendees but for the staff as well, we decided to take our little AndoCon parody concept and turn it into a real convention. We told our friends at 2012’s event that we would be expanding into a public venue and inviting the general public to attend. I’m not sure how seriously my friends took me then, but I’m sure they see how serious I was now.

What is your favorite game?

That is a loaded question! It also changes as I find new games. But for the moment, I’m hooked on Sentinels of the Multiverse. I also have a real soft spot for Panic Station.

We’ve interviewed actors that would love to raise horses and writers who dreamed of waiting tables, if you weren’t working on this project, what project would you most like to do?

Well, considering this is already not how I’m making my living, it’s more like I’d be working on AndoCon full time if I didn’t have to work my “day job”. At this moment in time, I’m not sure there’s much I’d rather do. I’ve got a few other interests, and I guess if it wasn’t AndoCon, I’d probably be trying harder to form a band and grow my music, as I am a singer/songwriter.

This is our signature question, everyone geeks out about something, what do you geek out about?

So, so, SO many things. As I mentioned before, I love music, and I geek out about certain acts, like Barenaked Ladies and “Weird Al” Yankovic. Other than that, I’d say my biggest geek-out factor is Star Trek. I’ve been watching Star Trek literally my entire life. My dad had me watching the original series before Next Generation was even on the air, and I’ve watched everything since then. Right now, in fact, Katie Mae and I are working on a project to watch every episode of every incarnation and every movie in the Star Trek universe, in air date order (including when some of the shows overlapped), and writing a blog about our impressions. If anyone’s interested to hear what we have to say, you can read the blog at http://pooretrek.wordpress.com. Shameless plug, I know.

AndoCon 2013 will be held July 19^th-21^st, at the Cobb Conference Center, adjacent to the Quality Inn and Days Inn in Kennesaw (behind the Wingate hotel). Check out AndoCon’s page for more information!