You may have noticed the lack of post this past Friday. My apologies! I am shifting to a weekend posting schedule, which will be easier to balance with my job and other obligations. One of those obligations is the always delightful Dorkstock, which I’m having trouble believing was just last weekend at the amazing GameholeCon. It was a whirlwind of a week since then, with Monday as a recovery day, then a “quick” jaunt into the office that was going to be a two-day trip and turned into one, and I assure you, I am too old for what became a 19-hour travel & work day. (There’s nobody to blame but myself for that decision.)
Dorkstock is always a delight, with a fabulous crew of gamemasters and familiar faces playing in our games. In addition to some usual agenda items such as Life-sized Kill Doctor Lucky, many games of Munchkin (including 2nd edition!), and the reprise of last year’s Monster Island featuring the GameholeCon plush designed by John Kovalic, we celebrated Dork Tower’s 30th and Munchkin’s 25th birthdays with a huge cake.
A tasty looking cake – shockingly tall, which can’t be seen well in this photo – with the words “Happy Birthday Dork Tower and Munchkin” written on it, as well as the “30 Years of Dork Tower” logo for this year’s Dorkstock and some blue and yellow balloons. 
On the left side of the table, an assortment of small prizes at Dorkstock for participants with a sign instructing each participant to select 2, and a tiny glimpse of the right side with winners’ prizes, with instructions for each winner to select 1. There are many Munchkin bookmarks and promotional cards in the participation awards. 
A chaotic GameholeCon Plush Monster Island battle, one of four from the weekend, featuring a Gelatinous Cube (lying on its side, as evidenced by a sideways face), a Mimic, a Flumph (referred to as Flying Spaghetti Monster on the character sheet, which is just visible near the bottom next to some crocheted spaghetti sauce splatters), a Kobold, an Owl Bear (not the official GameholeCon one), and the Blink Dog just barely visible at the top right of the photo. Assorted objects litter the battleground, including crocheted trees and food trucks, a pond (that seems to have shifted location/size), gnome statues, and meeple, all of which are viable projectiles for the monsters.
We are, of course, already planning for next year’s Dorkstock, where we will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Dorkstock. Yes, we are expecting to have cake for that too. If you’d like to plan ahead for it, GameholeCon has announced their dates as October 14-17, 2027.