BASHCon 40 is On

Written By: DC

Edited By: Aidden Johnson

UToledo Bashcon Logo

BASHCon 40 storms the University of Toledo Student Union this weekend—Friday through

Sunday—celebrating 40 years of pure student-run gaming chaos that's drawn over a thousand

nerds in past years and could double that this time around with a vendor boom, retro consoles, and RPG marathons galore. Free for UT students and staff flashing Rocket IDs, the con sprawls across the second and third floors, from the packed auditorium vendors' hall to event rooms buzzing with Pathfinder dice rolls and Battletech stomps.

UT BASH president Tom Mason laid it out plain: "It's like Comic Con or Galaxy Con, but it's entirely student run, so it's entirely put together by the people of UT BASH here on campus, all student members, everyone pitches in, helps out, and puts together a convention."

Packed Schedule

Doors crack open Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday blasts from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (with a vendor dinner break), and Sunday wraps from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendee tickets stop selling an hour before close each day.

Head Coordinator, Katie Loger, is a fourth-year Music Ed major. "This is my fourth Bashcon. It's my second one as a coordinator, and it's my first one as the head

coordinator.”

She confirmed the hours while buzzing around early setups: "We do have a small

break built in for our vendors tomorrow, just because it is such a long day." Free console gaming lights up SU 2591 all weekend on club-owned Switches, Xboxes, and

PlayStations—"Instead of doing an arcade game, we have a lot of consoles as a club ourselves... that have gone unused," Loger said. Karaoke BASH cranks in SU 3020 Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m.—"Come on out and sing your heart out in a judgment free zone!"—while foam LARP fighting swings in the Ingman Room Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for medieval elf-Hobbit brawls.

Milestone Vibes

Hitting 40 years since UT BASH launched in 1985—"Super exciting to be kind of a part of

history," Tom Mason said, "the company's eyes growth past last year's 1,000-plus toward 2,000. and because of the advertising, we've been able to do online ticket sales this year, we are already predicting more," Loger hopes, via the new website UTBashcon.com. Food's Union-standard like Phoenicia's Mediterranean upstairs, open all weekend. Loger added, "If you're looking for something to do this weekend, come stop by. We'll be here basically the entire weekend. Just hang out a bunch of nerds in a room having a good time." Santa’s Toy Box anchors family fun with 150 boards for $1—"From Candy Land... on up... a huge spread"—and Minis Paint and Take lets you customize minis to keep. Whether you're dorm-bound or a local gamer, BASHCon 40 delivers a winter weekend escape.

Vendor Explosion

Over 30 vendors cram 42 tables into the auditorium's dual squares and T-section—doubled

from last year—forcing a layout shakeup. "Because of our influx of vendors this year... we had to change the layout of our con a little bit... We're trying something new this year," Loger said,

naming early birds: "Em by Marissa is the first booth. We've got Loading Crew Crafts. We have

Dice N Slice... Kopi Kandiko... Jester Tastic... Mystik Waboose." Highlights span Alley Cat Art's

pop culture stickers, Blackswamp 3D's fantasy terrain, Electric Abyss' "glitter, gay, and bad puns." resin pins, Pleasantly Strange's hand-sewn plushies, and Moonrover Games' cozy "Backyard Butterfly." Local spots like Checkmate Games mingle with custom dice from Peddler Potoo and Pixel Perler art from Pixel Bump. Student Green Fund is handing out free Emotional Support Plants in the hall—"To promote the importance of self-care"—and Trimble Lounge hosts Ewok Village photos all Saturday.

Bazaar and Swag

Saturday's BASHCon Bazaar in SU 2592 turns used games into cash: Drop off by noon at the info desk, bids kick at 1 p.m., 10% to UT BASH. "People will come in, you sign a little form, and you give us your games... Most of it goes back to whoever's selling their stuff," Tom explained. "It's put on by two old BASH members, Kelson and Laura,... Kelson was a former main convention coordinator."

BASHCon 40 will also have nostalgic, arcade-style dice and mascot tees merchandise.

"We have a Bashcon 40 branded dice... It looks like an arcade game... very nostalgic coloring," Loger said. Tom got specific on the tabletop frenzy: "A lot of our events are tabletop RPG games... We have Pathfinder Society... they bring their group, and they play a bunch of Pathfinder and Starfinder games the whole weekend." The pamphlet details packed Pathfinder/Starfinder slates in SU 2582 ($2-$4 tickets), like Friday's "Invasion’s Edge" where Starfinders defend a crashed alien ship from First Ones, or Saturday's "Shipyard Sabotage" pitting Pathfinders against Cheliax pirates raiding Andoran docks. Free RPG drops-ins fill the Ingman Room, including Nightmare Enemy—"Zombies in this world are not the slow-moving... kind; they are capable of doing what they did in life... if the person knew how to fire a gun... they can pick it up and fire it, but once the gun is empty they can’t reload it"—and 3rd Age medieval fantasy: "Ever wanted to play as a Minotaur? A Dragonite? A Catminion? You can here." Battletech Grinder lets you pilot mechs—"When your 'mech is destroyed, you get a new, bigger and stronger one... the only thing you need to join is the want to fight with big stompy robots!"—and Brick Battles minis hit SU 2579 with themed skirmishes like "DC: Escape from Arkham" or "Firefly: Old Friends."