Some came dressed in theme for the day and others showed their game faces, but the latest edition of Pioneer CON provided a positive vibe for all who attended.
Pioneer CON returned to Tusculum University Saturday, Oct. 19, with a day full of activities to enthrall gaming enthusiasts. The event included Warhammer 40K, Magic: The Gathering and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments as well as opportunities for participants to play Dungeons & Dragons, visit with vendors and speak with Walter Wimberly, the Tusculum faculty member who helped create the university’s new game design minor.
“We thoroughly enjoyed bringing Pioneer CON back to campus so gamers could feed their passion for this activity and enjoy themselves on our beautiful campus,” said Dr. Harold Branstrator, co-coach of Tusculum’s Gaming Club and Esports Club and the event’s organizer. “Gaming is a major outlet for many people, and Tusculum is focused on tapping into this interest and providing support for it.”
Tusculum launched Pioneer CON in fall 2023 and held the second one in the spring of 2024. The fall one tends to be more low-key, and the spring one incorporates multiple additional activities beyond the games.
The Warhammer 40K tournament was a big hit at this Pioneer CON, attracting 14 players and continuing the upward trajectory for this game. Dr. Nick Davidson, assistant dean of Tusculum’s Sport Studies Division and co-coach of the university’s Gaming Club and Esports Club, organized that tournament and was thrilled with the results.
“It has been an awesome success,” Dr. Davidson said as he prepared to play in another game. “This is a full-sized tournament, with the biggest size of games, and that is contributing significantly to this event’s strength. To run a tournament from 8 in the morning until 8 at night is pretty fantastic as well.”
He said the Warhammer 40K community in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia has grown together on the Discord platform, a communication chat app. That has opened the door to additional tournaments in which they can play. Dr. Davidson attributes that increased connection and growing recognition of Pioneer CON as a quality event to the success the Warhammer 40K tournament achieved Saturday.
The tournament winners, who received store credits at House of Games in Greeneville, were:
*First place – Wes Biggs, Johnson City
*Second place – Hunter Ward, Greeneville
*Third place – Nate McMahan, Morristown
*Best painted – Travis Taylor, Tri-Cities region
This was Biggs’ first tournament win, and he said he described his feeling as “stoked.”
“I like having a multi-pronged hobby – the painting, the building, the reading about it associated with Warhammer 40K,” he said. “I like all facets of it. I’m a big nerd for this stuff. I go to tournaments to test out favorite models, see what’s strong and look at people’s interesting armies. It’s a great time – a good chance to meet people I haven’t met before.”
Participants in the other games found many aspects that left them feeling happy about the experience. T.J. Thompson, a Greeneville resident, participated in Magic: The Gathering, a game he has played since about 2013. He becomes a better player as a result of participating in the game by observing how others approach it.
“I like the competitive aspect of it because it makes you think a bit,” he said. “I also love sitting down with all of the other players and getting to see what they have put together because that is another big element of this game. No person is going to have two of the same decks. There is always going to be something little that’s different no matter what the meta is.”
Trey Janson, a Greene County resident, won the Magic: The Gathering tournament. He said his victory was due to a lot of artifacts and constructs.
“It’s always fun to come together and play,” he said. “Magic is a big social club. I just came to have a good time and be with friends.”
Tusculum students Emme Foster, Isabella Gall and Haylee Miller not only participated in one of the two one-shots for Dungeons & Dragons but came to the event in costume. Gall finds many components of Dungeons & Dragons appealing.
“There are obviously the things that everybody likes – it’s a fantasy game except you’re running the story,” she said. “You’re put in a story and then you get to act out. The people actually respond to it, and it’s very interactive. It’s choose your own adventure times 1,000 because you have a real person there interacting with you and responding to your choices. Also, a lot of people like fantasy as a genre. I like role playing. It’s fun. I’ve always enjoyed making up characters and the like.”
Foster said writing a cohesive story on one’s own is challenging, but bouncing ideas off others and taking things as they come offers all of the fun of writing without having to think about what happens and ensuring things line up.
“Your job is just to be your character,” she said. “I also really enjoy pretending to be someone else, change my frame of reference or think of how the world would look like to someone completely different from me.”
The Pioneer CON sponsors for Saturday were House of Games and Playmore Games, which is also located in Greeneville. Dr. Davidson said House of Games has been extremely supportive in the organization and promotion of Pioneer CON and has greatly contributed to growing the hobby community in Greeneville.
Dr. Branstrator, an associate professor of management at Tusculum, said this Pioneer CON was also beneficial because he was able to establish further connections that will enable the next Pioneer CON in the spring to build on the success to date. Among the additions that are expected for the spring will be thespians demonstrating swordsmanship and archery as well as a full complement of cosplay. He anticipates more games and vendors.
Anyone who is interested in helping with Pioneer CON or being a partner should email Dr. Branstrator at [email protected]. More information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu.
