Playcrafting Present: Play NYC 2023

On the weekend of August 5, we attended Play NYC 2023. Play NYC is a two-day gaming convention hosted by Playcrafting, to celebrate gaming culture by bringing together gamers and the people who make them!  This year’s sponsors include Rockstar Games, NYC Media & Entertainment, RedBull, Coca-Cola, Postmates and many more! 

The Metropolitan Pavilion was a great space to host an event like this because it’s spacious and could accommodate exhibitors (Devs), convention staff, and congoers alike. There was hella leg room and even with so much space there was still some level of intimacy. With well over 50 developers, some local but others from out of town. it was a nice little turnout! Something that I really love about Play NYC is that there is something for every type of gamer. I’m talkin’ board games, card games, interactive games, mobile games, AR (augmented reality) games, and video games.

One of the first things we did on Saturday was check out the Atari Booth. There were two, maybe three games at their booth. All retro with 8-bit style designs. We also got the chance to play The World of Grimm. It’s a free-to-play indie card game based on Grimm Fairy Tales. Platform: PC. As someone who loves a good card game. It was fun and easy to navigate. Was given’ Marvel Snap vibes and enjoyed the familiarity. Add in the possibility of Collectible designs and you got me!  So much so that I signed up for beta. After talking about a bit with the Developers, we learned about their Kickstarter which should be coming down the pipeline this fall. So stay tuned! 

Since we’re on the subject of card games. We came across a really cool one called Gem Blenders.  It’s a collectible card game like Pokemon or Yu Gi Oh where each player begins with a team of four.  The goal of the game is to outwit your opponent and get their HP down to Zero.  Using different combinations of gems and characters to create powerful attacks. Definitely seems like something that I would give a whirl. After talking to the team, we were able to snag two limited edition cards, for being members of the press.

Tons of Games at Play NYC 2023

Drey and I also stopped by the Gamey booth. Gamey is a Brooklyn-based gaming publisher that produces tabletop/ board games. One in particular, that caught my attention was called RayRacers- It gave off heavy Tron vibes. RayRacers is a fast-paced survival game for 2 – 4 players. Each player places their cards on the game grid and uses strategy to knock out the other players. The last person left standing wins the game. As a token of our time, we got a copy of their self-published comic book. 

We also visited VGNY Soft Booth. VGNY Soft is an indie video game publisher for titles such as Yuppie Psycho, Demoniaca, Androz Dunos, Crisis Wing, and more. With both games to play and purchase. At another booth, we stumbled across a mobile word game called Addgrams. Which I really enjoyed and admittedly added onto my phone. Another game I was able to enjoy was called Neon Inferno. It was a retro-styled beat ’em-up game. If you know anything about me, ya girl low a good brawler. 

We also got to talk with the reps at IThrive Games.  IThrive Games is a company that uses games to protect and promote mental health. On display was a visual novel called Cadence. What’s interesting about this game is that it was created by teens. The theme of the game was how to address tough conversations with friends. 

Last but not least, we have Tontachi. Tontachi is an AR game, similar to Pokemon Go in PlayStyle. Funny enough, this game has received funding from Niantic which is the same company behind Pokemon Go. In TT, instead of catching and raising Pokemon, we get little pigs. On top of being a pig wrangler, you get to race them!  Using AR technology to analyze the room and the app will generate a race track. Then you can race against friends in real time. 

Lastly, introducing the Brooklyn Games Booth. Their game was called Museum of Multiverse. But what I found most cool about this particular vendor was that incorporated some AR stuff into an exhibit. Using Instagram-made filters and physical artwork that are present at the event. It was really cool. All and all, I had a dope time at Play NYC 2023. I was able to meet some really cool people and experience some really interesting games.  Thank you Playcrafting for allowing me to come through. Hope to see you again in the future.

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