2024 Long Island Tabletop Expo in Garden City continues this weekend
Staffer Chris Ganshaw assisting in the board game, Too Many Bones, by Chip Theory Games, during the Gaming Expo at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City Saturday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
A line of people stretched around the Cradle of Aviation Museum early Saturday morning ahead of the start of the 2024 Long Island Tabletop Expo — a two-day event expected to draw thousands to Garden City.
The expo transformed the museum with a carousel-style setup of over 60 vendor tables that ran the gamut: custom card and board games, homemade dice, hand-painted figures and many Long Island-based gaming businesses.
On the second floor, board gamers rolled dice, flipped cards and moved miniatures across tabletop fantasy landscapes and geometric maps as part of an area designated to test out new games.
“This show is all about tabletop gaming — that’s board games, that’s role-playing games, that’s card games, that’s miniature games,” said Jesse Harchack, 33, of West Hempstead, an organizer of the event. “It’s all about that social gaming aspect.”
Harchack said tabletop gaming has been on a boom recently, and hundreds already passed through the doors of the museum by noon Saturday. Thousands were expected to attend during the all-weekend event.
Cody Pelz, 39, from Buffalo, was there with his son, Eamon, 6.
“We are total geeks,” Pelz said with a laugh.
He said his friends play board game nights every month. “None of us know how to play any of them, so it’s great cause we’re all on even ground,” Pelz quipped.
The expo drew a wide range of age groups — from children taking photos with Star Wars cosplayers to older attendees with decades of board gaming experience. Other sections of the museum featured live experiences like an escape room and expert discussion panels.
Standing in front of a banner that read “Estate: Raise the Realm,” Kathy Hahn, 31, from Florida, was chatting with gamers looking to raise awareness about the new game, which she said will be launched on Kickstarter in June.
The 2- to 4-player game, which takes about 60 minutes to complete, was a passion project during the pandemic that has been featured at the expo over the past four years, Hahn said. The event allowed the creators to get feedback from gamers to help hone it to its current iteration.
Cathy Gruber, 58, from Queens, was among the attendees trying out games upstairs. She said she enjoys giving feedback to the game makers and seeing them make adjustments for the next time she plays.
One of the creators at the expo was David Miller, who designed a Mario Kart variant of the 1986 board game Thunder Road. Classic Mario Kart characters, like Peach, Luigi, Mario and Yoshi, move down a constantly-evolving road toward a finish line, encountering obstacles and power-ups along the way
Jonas Tintenseher, left, of Annapolis, Maryland, playing Larry Epstein, of Roslyn Heights, during the Gaming Expo at the Cradle of Aviation in Garden City Saturday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Miller, from Kentucky, a science fiction artist, said he’s been to dozens of conventions and tweaked the game over time. After years at the expo, his table has become a mainstay.
“I love gaming. It’s social, you meet people,” he said.
The expo, located at 1 Charles Lindbergh Blvd., will be open Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for children.
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Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
