INDIANAPOLIS, IN — What started as a loosely planned Saturday night get-together with games and snacks has spiraled into an unexpected predicament, befuddling state officials and citizens alike.
Area gamer Genevieve Tameran has accepted full responsibility for the situation. “I had originally invited Xingjuan [Qiao] and Larry [DiGello] for some hearts, maybe poker. Larry invited his boyfriend JP [Juan-Pablo Diazdeleon], and that made total sense; I felt bad that I’d forgotten Larry was seeing someone. JP invited Mel [Melinda Cinderen], which was fine, but Mel knows pretty much everyone, and then things kind of snowballed from there.”
Now dubbed “Gen Con” — in honor of the woman whose circle of friends inadvertently created this state of affairs — this social event has ballooned into a gathering of over 60,000 people in Indiana’s capital. With the increase in attendance, this game night has grown in other ways. Authorities generally agree that “Gen Con” began in earnest on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 31, as would-be participants started to arrive. The turnout quickly grew beyond the capacity of Gen’s modest two-bedroom apartment, even with her patio. Fortunately, an unnamed participant had a set of keys for the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. “We’re hoping to just hang out here until someone notices and they kick us out,” said DiGello as a motorized golf cart drove by.
Ongoing activities have now expanded beyond poker, with several other kinds of games represented. Some of the attendees have even created their own games, in hopes that others might purchase them. Snacks are in shorter supply than Gen originally envisioned — since most of the 60,000 visitors have neglected to bring a dish to share — but fortunately dozens of the guests arrived in fully loaded food trucks.
Mayor Joe Hogsett has expressed befuddlement at the whole situation. “Honestly, it’s really surprising that things have gotten to this level,” said Mayor Hogsett. “We haven’t been caught off-guard by something like this in Indianapolis since a few friends out for a ride spontaneously decided to see how fast they could drive 500 miles.”