Game Conventions Moving Online Soon! *UPDATE*

UPDATE: We have removed all information regarding the Origins Online event in solidarity with the mass outpouring of support for POC and other marginalized voices, in the wake of GAMA’s lack of response to the recent protests.


san diego comic con

[Image courtesy of coolduder.]

Although some businesses and public spaces are beginning to open up, there’s no denying that the coronavirus is still having a devastating effect on large public gatherings.

For example, San Diego Comic Con, one of the premiere destination events for film, TV, and comic book fandom, is trying to figure out how to move the convention, or some significant aspect of it, online. But with so many participants and vendors to wrangle into some shared virtual space, things aren’t looking good for one of the biggest events on the entertainment calendar.

Maybe they can take a few pointers from the puzzle and game industry, because it seems like those fields are way ahead.

Not only did crossword fans get to enjoy Crossword Tournament From Your Couch back in March, but several gaming conventions are moving online in the hopes of bringing fans together and salvaging at least part of the year’s usual revelry and profit.

PaizoConOnline 2

Over Memorial Day weekend, the team at Paizo are hosting PaizoCon Online, a celebration of roleplaying games under the Paizo banner!

Six days of gaming — spanning May 26th through May 31st — allow for fans to stay safe at home as they play Pathfinder and Starfinder games.

If you’re looking to explore some D&D-style fun, either as an experienced player or a newcomer, click here to check out the full details on PaizoCon Online!

renegade con

And not long after that, the team at Renegade Game Studios is hosting Renegade Con: Virtual Edition.

Running from Friday, June 5th, to Sunday, June 7th, this free event (just sign up here!) brings together digital demos of new Renegade games, workshops, and panels featuring game designers and artists!

Everyone who signs up for a free ticket will have access to:

  • Shop the convention specials during the event
  • Get into free panels and workshops including The State of Renegade where we’ll talk about future projects on the horizon!
  • Demo upcoming and new games!

Several of these events are also serving as fundraisers for various companies and event organizers that have suffered losses during the pandemic — including the Con of Champions fundraiser this weekend for Tabletop Events — so if you want to support the games industry, be sure to sign up and check out one of these events.

Maybe the folks at San Diego Comic Con will do so as well and pick up a trick or two along the way.


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A Legends of the Hidden Temple movie!

A lot of cool news has come out of San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Teasers and trailers for dozens of movies and TV shows, surprise casting announcements, exciting new projects and more!

But one piece of news that might slipped under the radar was perhaps the puzzliest news of the convention: they’re making a Legends of the Hidden Temple movie!

In the mid-1990s, Legends of the Hidden Temple was a kids game show, a mix of puzzle-solving and Indiana Jones-esque adventure, an award-winning show that was all about cooperation, strategy, and outwitting foes rather than overpowering them.

Six teams of two would compete to see who would win the opportunity to enter the Temple and try to acquire the episode’s magical artifact (which changed from show to show). Host Kirk Fogg and a giant red-eyed stone head known as Olmec would challenge the players with trivia and physical challenges to see who would earn the right to test their speed and wits against the Temple.

I was a huge fan of the show because it didn’t rely solely on physical ability like so many other kids game shows did, and I’ve always been a sucker for Indiana Jones-style derring-do.

After crossing the moat, the members of the four teams that made it across first — be they the Purple Parrots, the Green Monkeys, the Red Jaguars, the Silver Snakes, the Blue Barracudas, or the Orange Iguanas — would find themselves on the Steps of Knowledge, answering questions about today’s artifact.

The first two teams to descend the steps would move on to the third round, where they would complete physical challenges to win the Pendants of Life, discs that would come in handy in the final round when the winning team braved the Temple.

The Temple itself was the puzzliest part of the show. As one team member tackled the labyrinthine Temple, hunting for the artifact, the other team member would wait in the wings, watching their performance. Moving from room to room by solving puzzles or accomplishing different tasks, the competitor would try to avoid the temple guards as they traversed the Temple.

(Those Pendants of Life could be exchanged for your freedom if you were captured by a temple guard. Get captured without one, and your turn is over, and the other member of the team would follow the path you’d made previously.)

The team as a whole had three minutes to find the artifact and escape the Temple in order to win the game.

And now, it’s going to be a TV movie!

It’s fun to see how much of the show they’ve worked into this trailer, and I hope the same adventuresome puzzle-solving spirit is an integral part of the storytelling.

After all, what good is a hidden temple without some Goonies-style puzzling?


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Solve this puzzle and you’re off to San Diego Comic-Con! UPDATE: *SOLVED*

Time is of the essence, so we’re doing a special Sunday post!

The biggest film, TV, comics, and geek culture convention in the world is undoubtedly San Diego Comic-Con, and as you’d expect, tickets can be pretty hard to come by.

But guess what, puzzle fans and PuzzleNationers! Two 2016 San Diego Comic-Con 4-day passes are up for grabs, and only puzzly types have a chance to win them!

You need to solve the following puzzle:

It’s certainly a challenge, but I have absolute faith in the PuzzleNation audience’s solving skills.

From the Geek and Sundry announcement:

Once you have it figured out, you’ll know what to do next. Everything you need to know is in the puzzle. The first person to follow the instructions encoded in the correct answer will win the badges and be the envy of their friends.

So get to work on cracking that code and we hope to see you in San Diego. In case you miss out on these tickets, make sure you check out their Facebook page in case any other puzzles drop out of the sky.

Good luck, fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers!


Well, it turns out I was late to the game with this post. It’s already been solved.

For anyone interested, here’s the solution:

The three digit numbers are zip code prefixes. The number before them corresponds to the position of the letter in the name of the zip code’s city. The message reads “send to prizesatcomicdashcondotorg the word fortyseven in the subject line to win.”

Pretty impressive solving right there. Congrats to whoever cracked it first!


Thanks for visiting PuzzleNation Blog today! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on everything PuzzleNation!

You can also share your pictures with us on Instagram, friend us on Facebook, check us out on TwitterPinterest, and Tumblr, and explore the always-expanding library of PuzzleNation apps and games on our website!