GREENEVILLE – Whether participants played a card, rolled dice, made a move on the computer, dressed in costume or battled with swords, they highlighted the growth and enjoyment of the multiple activities that encompassed Pioneer Con at Tusculum University.
Dr. Nick Davidson, left, one of Pioneer Con’s organizers, plays a fellow competitor in Warhammer 40K.
Dr. Harold Branstrator, right, one of the organizers, sits at the registration table. Helping him at Pioneer Con are his wife, Janet, middle, and student Joseph Cole.
The event, held Saturday, April 13, at multiple locations around campus, brought more than 100 people to the grounds for a wide array of gaming and esports tournaments as well as a cosplay contest. Pioneer Con also incorporated many other social elements, including medieval fight demonstrations, medieval barding and abundant opportunities to mingle with and purchase items from vendors.
Dr. Harold Branstrator, associate professor of management, and Dr. Nick Davidson, chair of the Sport Management Department, led the university side of Pioneer Con and were thrilled with the outcome. They are already talking about plans to hold another Pioneer Con in the fall with expanded activities.
“Pioneer Con went extremely well, and we greatly enjoyed having our fellow Tusculum family members and residents from throughout the region join us,” Dr. Branstrator said. “Everybody wants to come back. People liked it because it was quiet and not crowded and was reasonably priced for admission and the tournaments. They were also able to find items they needed from vendors, all in one setting.”
Dr. Davidson, who spent the day playing in the Warhammer 40K tournament, had similar thoughts.
“It was really exciting to have this many people come in our initial offering of this full-fledged event,” he said. “People had a great time. It’s something different we have been able to provide on campus, and Pioneer Con can definitely become bigger from this terrific start. I anticipate continued growth in the numbers of participants in the tournaments, social activities and interaction with our great vendor partners.”
Participants compete in the chess tournament.
A vendor interacts with customers.
Pioneer Con organizers expressed their gratitude to the event’s sponsors: House of Games, On the Stax, Playmore Games, Greene County Makers, The Pink Cauldron and Artificer Alley. Dr. Branstrator and Dr. Davidson said these businesses and organizations were essential in building campus, community and business support for the event.
The tournaments included Warhammer 40K, Magic: The Gathering, chess, Rocket League and Madden. In addition, the event featured Dungeons and Dragons quests throughout the day. Dr. Branstrator said he picked the games and activities for Pioneer Con based on what is popular in the area and on campus.
The chess tournament was in the rapid format, with matches being completed in 10 minutes. The winner was Aaron Gouge from Johnson City, with Evan Patrick of Greeneville finishing second and Tusculum student Keelen Lester coming in third.
Gouge learned to play this game from his mother when he was young and became serious about it when was a member of the chess club at Happy Valley High School. He plays chess frequently, participates in the many versions of this game and would love to see more East Tennessee tournaments. He enjoys the tournament atmosphere, saying it can produce adrenaline for those who play. He also notes players make a lot decisions during a match.
A group plays Dungeons and Dragons.
A participant plays Rocket League.
Lester, a sophomore majoring in pre-athletic training at Tusculum, began playing chess a year ago as a way to find something else to occupy his time and discovered he was having fun. He plays in person and online.
“It’s competitive,” Lester said. “I think the better man is going to win at the end of the day. It’s fun to learn. Not a lot of people know chess or have played it. It’s nice to do something that not a lot of people know about.”
Matthew Palazzo, a junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sport management at Tusculum, began playing the game when he joined the chess club in middle school. He later took a few years off from chess until COVID-19 started. He has been on hiatus from the game since last summer but decided to play in the Pioneer Con tournament.
“I love playing chess,” Palazzo said. “It’s strategy. You have to think multiple moves ahead, and I think that visualization part of it is challenging and fun. You have to have a mental battle with your opponent, and that aspect is really cool.”
Other participants in Pioneer Con talked about additional games and contests. Cosplay participant Aaron Eidson, a Tusculum freshman majoring in art and design, was drawn to that activity by the opportunity to pretend to be someone else.
One of the cosplay competitors came fully dressed for the contest.
Aaron Eidson is dressed for cosplay.
“It can show characters that are usually two dimensional in a three-dimensional format,” Eidson said. “It is fun, and I get to dress up and feel pretty.”
Hunter Ward from Greeneville played in the Warhammer tournament, a continuation of a four-year journey with the game. He began playing when his father returned to the game and now is part of a group that has formed to play. The ability to play with friends and relax over a match for three or four hours of a weekend and the game’s tactics are appealing.
Joshua Price has played Magic: The Gathering for a couple of a decades and said the game can be modified to whatever play style or strategy desired and remain viable. He became interested in the game through his best friend, who joined him for Pioneer Con. They started playing in high school.
“It’s a great way to express yourself, but you can also fulfill your competitive needs,” he said. “You can do fun stuff. Even though the game is more than 30 years old, there are still so many cards that you can literally do whatever you want almost – depending on the format.”
Anyone interested in helping with Pioneer Con in the future can email Dr. Branstrator at hbranstrator@tusculum.edu or Dr. Davidson at ndavidson@tusculum.edu. To learn more about the university, please visit www.tusculum.edu.