{"id":30622,"date":"2025-04-13T16:34:50","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T20:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/?p=30622"},"modified":"2025-04-13T16:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T20:36:25","slug":"community-members-tusculum-university-students-and-professors-have-fun-fuel-competitive-fire-at-pioneer-con","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/community-members-tusculum-university-students-and-professors-have-fun-fuel-competitive-fire-at-pioneer-con\/","title":{"rendered":"Community members, Tusculum University students and professors have fun, fuel competitive fire at Pioneer CON"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 Whether they were contemplating their next move, moving their hands furiously on a console or rolling dice, people of all ages enjoyed the camaraderie with each other during the latest edition of Pioneer CON at Tusculum University<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
\"Tusculum

Tusculum students Trinity Upton, left, and Isabella Gall, enjoy Dungeons & Dragons.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Some

Some of the competitors play chess during Pioneer CON.<\/p><\/div>\n

The university hosted this opportunity in the morning and afternoon Saturday, April 12, for adults and children to fuel their competitive juices or learn something new with a wide variety of games. Participants played chess, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and Super Smash Brothers in the Meen Center. They also purchased items from vendors, watched movies and were part of cosplay.<\/p>\n

\u201cPioneer CON was a big success, and we are already excited about holding it again in 2026,\u201d said Dr. Harold Branstrator, associate professor of management, who organized the event. \u201cWe love serving as an outlet for people who play these games on a regular basis and seek another venue where they can pursue their hobby in a friendly but competitive atmosphere. It was also nice to see several people who explored a game for the first time, and we are confident that will spur interest in playing further in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perspectives from players<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Competitors

Competitors play Magic: The Gathering.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Joseph

Joseph Medeck, who oversaw the chess tournament stands with the two winners, who tied. They are Evan Patrick in the middle and David Fischler on the right.<\/p><\/div>\n

David Fischler of Johnson City, learned about Pioneer CON from a friend in Jonesborough. He has played chess since he was 6 years old and has participated in tournaments since he was a teenager. He had a great time Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cChess is exercise for the mind and requires strategic thinking and serious concentration,\u201d Fischler said. \u201cIt also contains an aesthetic aspect that enables players to see the beauty in the patterns of the games. This chess tournament is more casual than the typical tournament because it is not rated, so no one is on edge about losing rating points. I didn\u2019t know anyone who attended this tournament, so I was able to learn more about my opponents a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexander Ebrahimi of Greeneville participated in the Magic: The Gathering tournament. He likes the game\u2019s complexity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a normal card game, but when you get into it, you have so many triggers, so many abilities and so many other things that go into it,\u201d Ebrahimi said. \u201cIt\u2019s requiring you to actually think about it. You\u2019re playing cards for a reason. You\u2019re calculating, you\u2019re mapping it and you\u2019re doing the math. I\u2019m enjoying the socialization at this tournament. I love hanging out with everyone. It\u2019s a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebrahimi\u2019s father, Isaac, is owner of House of Games, and he partnered with Dr. Nick Davidson, assistant dean of Tusculum\u2019s Sport Studies Division, on the Warhammer 40K tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Vendors

Vendors were on hand to sell products.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Melinda

Melinda Kern plays Warhammer 40K. She won the tournament.<\/p><\/div>\n

Melinda Kern of Kingsport has played Warhammer 40K for two or three years, and her inspiration dates to her youth when she would go to the card shop with her brother. She would see boxes of bug guys from the Warhammer game, and she wanted to have them but could not because she did not have the money at the time. Now that she is an adult, she has the disposable income to purchase them.<\/p>\n

Kern\u2019s favorite part of the game is painting her models.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they look so cool, and playing the game is a secondary bonus,\u201d she said. \u201cThe game is strategic, but it\u2019s also so tactile. You have your little guys, and you are able to send them out there. It\u2019s fun because everyone cares so much about their army. They will tell you about theirs and how they painted them and all the time they spent. It\u2019s a really social game, which is a lot of fun. I\u2019ve seen people go to tournaments who have never played before just to hang out. I feel like you don\u2019t see that in a lot of other games.\u201d<\/p>\n

She came at Dr. Davidson\u2019s invitation through an online group for the game\u2019s players. So did Alex Allen from Big Stone Gap, Virginia, who has also played the game for about two years. He took the day off to come to the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"Here

Here are some of the Warhammer 40K competitors.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI really like playing this game and have a lot of money invested in it,\u201d Allen said. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice hobby to have. I already had some of the models, and I wanted to get into the game. I convinced a friend to buy into it with me. We started playing together, and then we met other people in the community. I\u2019ve been sticking with it since. I like putting the models together and the painting and have enjoyed today seeing what other people have. The game has a lot of story books around, too, and I like to read them. There is something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Davidson said everything went well with the Warhammer 40K tournament. This time, he spent the day putting together models for him to play in future games while ensuring the tournament ran smoothly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is having a really great time,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had another excellent turnout today. We\u2019re enjoying ourselves and loving the view of the mountains from our venue in the Meen boardroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dungeons & Dragons attracted some new players for the one-shots, including Tusculum sophomore Trinity Upton, who is seeking a bachelor\u2019s degree in biology<\/a>, with a pre-medical, dental and veterinary concentration. She thought it would be fun to try the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always fascinated me,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to see what it was like. It\u2019s very versatile. You get to pick different things that happen if you are the dungeon master. It was just really fun to play. Every time, it could be something different. I already have someone I know that wants to play, so I guess I will try to teach what I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tusculum

Tusculum students Emme Foster, left, and Haylee Miller participate in Dungeons & Dragons.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dakota

Dakota Hammonds, front, a Tusculum University alumnus, plays Super Smash Bros. He won that tournament.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shannon Elliott, instructor of biology at the university, who has played the game for about a year, came to Dungeons & Dragons with her son, Keldan. She decided to play Dungeons & Dragons because he plays the game. Mother and son adopted a Viking theme for their cosplay outfit as well to play Dungeons & Dragons Saturday. She was excited to play with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoyed the game \u2013 the silliness and the random, wild shenanigans,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n

Keldan has also played for a year, drawn to Dungeons & Dragons through events held at the Johnson City Public Library. The library hosts Dungeons & Dragons one-shots for teenagers every month, and he was immediately hooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been wanting to find a new role play game that was not online,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted a board game, and D&D appealed to me. It provides an excuse for me to do math over the weekends, too. I also like doing whatever you want in this game instead of having to follow certain rules \u2013 you do this or you do that. Instead, you can be like, \u2018There are a thousand different possibilities. What can I do here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Tournament results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tournament results were:<\/p>\n