Dragon Egg Games began its first Fun Con at the Montana Pavilion of Metra Park on Friday, opening to approximately 600 online presale tickets and nearly 500 guests in the first few hours.
“I just really feel that there needs to be something that families can come to, kids can come to," said Fred Moormeier, the owner of the organizing game shop.
With an estimated 300 hours in coordination since October and $29,000 invested in the event, he said the concept of fun is one with longstanding roots in his life.
“At my home, we would eat dinner, we would do the dishes, and we’d sit at the table and play board games," said Moormeier.
This year's event is host to nearly 30 game, card, comic, art, and collectible vendors as well as half a dozen food trucks.
“We need more stuff like this," said Sean Osborne, owner of Keep It Alive, a Billings collectible store. "It makes people happy, and smile, and feel good.”
While vendors like Osborne, looking to make money from the event, invested a little over $500 for their booths, others said they were interested in providing spectacle.
“I’m embarrassed to say how much money I have spent on Lego," said David Huebner of Brickwood Builds.
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Huebner had his Lego amusement park collection on display, consisting of more than five years of collecting and more than 30,000 individual pieces.
“This is, at this point, not money generating," said Huebner, "That is the best part, hearing, ‘ooh,’ and ‘ah.'”
The convention will run through Sunday.
