Gaming Camp?

Okay, here's something a bit crazy but fun.

Camp Nerdly

This is their second one, and what these guys are doing is basically a long weekend of gaming (and other nerdy stuff) at a campground. It's a place big enough to have a mess hall and central kitchen, and they use the mess for gaming, as well as using individual cabins.

It's different from a gaming convention, because everyone is responsible for chores... all the meals are provided in the registration cost and are prepared by volunteer teams. (Other volunteer teams clean up the kitchen, bathrooms, etc.)

The first Camp Nerdly (CN0, this is CN1 coming up) had 18 attendees... this one has 64 registered. They're very organized, but open... you get to assign yourself a bunk, list the games you want to run or play in, etc, all online. It's a different experience from the "sign up and show up" of a regular con.

Could we do something like this around here?

We'd make it more than just Wichita... heck, we'd invite everyone within driving distance, Hutch, Pittsburg, Kansas City, Omaha, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and so on. Whoever wants to make the drive.

We'd do everything... roleplaying, boardgaming, wargaming, LARP if we can find it. (Camp Nerdly goes further... talent show, improv class, knitting class, hiking, etc.)

We'd look for a place with similar facilities... real cabins (showers, etc) and a mess hall with a real kitchen. Space to do the stuff we want. It'd mean bunking together in multi-cot cabins. Meal planning, hauling in supplies for cooking and cleaning, all that kind of thing.

If you look at CN1's price for the weekend, keep in mind that they're throwing a lot of money at swag... they're spending more money on commemorative swag (custom poker chips and t-shirts) than they are on rental of the campground for three days... $12.50 a person for swag. So think we ought to be able to do it for under the $50 a head they're charging.

Don't have a good idea what it'd cost... I'd have to find out what we can get a campground for and approximately how many people we can expect to attend. But even at $50... that's lodging and meals for a weekend, and Gorilla Con certainly cost me more than that for a single night in the hotel.

What say ye? If we build it, will they come?