Ottawa Geek Market and Capital Gaming Expo

A couple of years ago, we were vendors at the Geek Market Ottawa and we were introduced to the world of gaming – as in board games – because we were able to check out the other event that was happening at the same time.

Needless to say we had a busy day and we grabbed a game that we didn’t know about: Marvel Heroes.

Fast forward in 2015 where we took the game out and played for the first time.   When we initially purchased this game we still had kids who were a bit young.  But last fall, we felt that everyone could play even if our youngest would have to team up with someone.   So we played and loved it.   Turns out that the 8 years old daughter remind us the rules when we forget something.    

Somehow we were introduced to deck building games and we discovered Marvel Legendary and DC Deck Building which we are enjoying very much. Since then we are checking various board games (nothing like Monopoly or Risk) to see which one we would prefer…

 

Last week, I decided to participate to a contest in order to win tickets to the upcoming Ottawa Geek Market and the Capital Gaming Expo.   Turns out I won the tickets!   So I told my husband about it and we are planning to go with our four kids to the event.

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What is Ottawa Geek Market and Capital Gaming Expo?

The Ottawa Geek Market is a festival of all things geeky.  It provides an opportunity fr patrons to celebrate their favourite geeky fandoms through shopping, entertainment, video, and board gaming, and family-friendly activities such as a scavenger hunts, crafts, and cosplay (wearing costumes).   Focus is essentially on sci-fi, fantasy, comics, anime, steampunk, horror and gaming.

You can also shop for art, accessories, apparel, books, collectible toys and action figures, comics, costumes, games of all kinds, household items, jewelry, movies and props. 

This year, there will also be a masquerade which is a division-based amateur costuming competition for all geek-related costumes as well as costumes inspired by such works.  This will include anime, manga, gaming, movies, TV shows, comics and much more.   The masquerade is a great way to see cosplayers show off their superb costumes, craftsmanship and creativity.

The Capital Gaming Expo is a gaming convention which offers a large variety of types of games.  At this convention, you will be able to participate to activities like video games, board games, tabletop RPGs, collectible card games, living card games, miniatures, traditional card games, LARPing, and escape rooms.

There will be special guests, workshops, panels as well as tournaments.

As you can see there is a lot that you can do during an event like this.  If you purchase tickets for the Capital Gaming Expo, you have access to the Ottawa Geek Market.  However, the reverse is not true.  People who desire to access the Ottawa Geek Market only can purchase tickets for this.  

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So as you can see there will be plenty to see and experience during the week-end.   Our kids are getting excited to the possibility to try new games and maybe participate to tournaments.    We are newbies in these kind of board games but we can see the possibilities they can bring for us.   Since last fall we have been spending more time as a family in playing games on Saturday morning and these kind of board games can be challenging, competitive, and sometimes cooperative.   So far we have played Marvel Heroes, Marvel Legendary, DC Deck Building, Pandemic, and Ticket to Ride.   We also have Carcassonne, Crown & Kingdom, another version of Pandemic and a few other games we need to discover.  We also have a few that we don’t own but look forward to discover at the Capital Gaming Expo.   Our week-end in indeed booked for it!

The event of Ottawa Geek Market and Capital Gaming Expo will be happening on April 8 to 10, 2016.   Hours are 4pm-9pm on Friday, 10am-6pm on Saturday, and 10am – 5pm on Sunday.  It will be held at the Nepean Sportsplex on Woodroffe Avenue in Ottawa

Tickets for the Capital Gaming Expo are available for purchase directly from the website - http://cgexpo.ca/en/registration/.   Tickets for Friday are 10$ in advance and 15$ at the door.   Tickets for Saturday are 20$ in advance and 25$ at the door.  Tickets for Sunday are 15$ in advance and 20$ at the door.  Week-end pass is 35$ in advance or 45$ at the door.  The VIP pass is only available in advance and will cost 55$.  The VIP pass includes week0end access tot he event, Capital Gaming Expo tote bag, t-shirt, a deck of playing cards, a coaster, a notepad, and a collectible lanyard.

Tickets are also available at

• Comic Book Shoppe 2 at 228 Bank St.
• Myths, Legends and Heroes at 240 Montreal Road
• Comic Book Shoppe at 1400 Clyde Ave.
• Kobold’s Corner at 430 Hazeldean Road in Kanata
• Boutique FDB at 114 St-Raymond Blvd in Gatineay
• MultiZone Aylmer at 181 Principale St.
• MultiZone Gatineau at 140 Greber Blvd.

For the Ottawa Geek Market only, tickets will be 10$ or 15$ for the whole week-end.   Note that on Friday you can enjoy a two-for-one deal which mean that if you bring a friend you will pay only 5$ each.   On Sunday if you come in costume, the price to enter will be 8$.  Finally, admission will only cost 5$ for the last hour of each day.  For this specific event only tickets will be available at the door and the only method of payment accepted will be cash.

Also for both events, you need to be aware that children 12 and under can be admitted for free when accompanied by an adult.