The +2 Comedy Tour Diaries: MAGFest

Hi, everybody!

We thought it would be rad to talk a little bit more about the conventions we go to and what we do there. Welcome to part the first: MAGFest Super.

Name of Con: MAGFest Super
City: National Harbor, Maryland
Dates: January 5-8
Prior Attendance: Noah- Yes; Laura-No
Diarist: Laura Prince

Prologue:

First things first. Noah and I anticipated leaving at 9am sharp Thursday morning. Game the Gamer was set to be at 3:30pm, and this would set our arrival time at a nice crisp 12pm-1pm, granting plenty of time to get badges, set up, and all of the other things you need to do before you put on a show at a convention. All Wednesday, the forecast became more and more severe. This resulted in Noah and I calling an audible during a live comedy show that we would need to leave Wednesday night. Panic ensued, and one Wawa trip and a hastily packed bag later, Noah and I were on the faintly snowy roads, pulling into our Virginia hotel at roughly 3am.

Thursday:

Mid-afternoon, we arrived at MAGFest. It had been built up as the most incredible convention one could ever attend. Noah had only gotten to go for an evening last year to host the inaugural MAGLaughs, and I hadn’t gotten to go at all. When we arrived, Game the Gamer suitcase in tow, we were quickly and efficiently directed to registration. Our badges were given to us quickly and with no fuss, It was wonderful! Overall, I have to commend MAG on their organization. They were pushing the Guidebook app, and frankly, it was a good choice to download it. You could even get real-time notifications of events you chose to attend, which was fun when I woke up Friday to realize I had slept clear-through Yoga for Gamers.

At 3:30pm, we ran Game the Gamer to a near-packed panel room. Not too shabby for 3:30pm on a Thursday, which isn’t the busiest day at MAG, or even the second busiest! We had a small tech snafu with DiveKick, but who should save us but our beloved Mooch! The contestants fought hard, but our victor took home 21 MPoints! MPoints are nifty, adorable little tokens used by MAGFest when one wins a contest. They’re really, really cool. I kind of wanted to get one as a souvenir, but I’m not going to win any tournaments unless they put in one for Dr. Mario.

We’ve been so proud of our game show, and it was incredible to deliver it to one of the most popular cons on the east coast. (Shameless plug: if you want to see us at your local convention, ask for us by name!) After Game the Gamer, we got to see Squarepainter and TinyNeenja in the Dealer’s Room, while I tried to remind myself of my crippling student debt and not try to buy the gigantic Star Wars painting that decorates Adam’s booth. We didn’t partake in the tradition of MAGFest partying- we’d only gotten about four or five hours of sleep.

Live from the Use Your Words panel. We sat towards the back because it was PACKED.

Friday

We woke up considerably fresher for the fight, with an actual seven or so hours of sleep. Guys, look, I know MAG is a party con, but get your sleep, drink lots of water. +2 Comedy will no longer go to a con without a case of water in the car. You gotta hydrate, kids. Friday, we had no obligations, so we just enjoyed the con and explored. We watched MC Lars and Phil Moore play Brentalfloss’s Use Your Words, a really fun party game for those of you who need a break from Jackbox and Cards Against Humanity. The panel was fun and funny, and a true delight to attend. We saw tons of old friends, from Cardboard Fortress Games to PXLPLZ to our favorite smol wrestler, Catie.

We tried to explore National Harbor a bit- it’s a beautiful town, but it was bitter, bitter cold. We ended up at the Brass Tap for literally the best tater tots I’ve ever had. It was an amazing day, but we needed to get ready for the next day.

The cosplay at MAGFest is amazing- we found these Bright cosplayers, and the movie had only been out for about a week or so!

Saturday

This was it, kids. The big one. We got to the Gaylord at 11am sharp, and got coffee and a King Donut before I had to go off and do Improv. The show was amazing. Like, literally one of the best shows I have been in in my entire life. Noah and I caught some meal at Cadillac Ranch, a very touristy Mechanical bull bar. Unfortunately, with how cold it was this weekend, you found yourself eating in these kinds of tourist traps, but the food was pretty decent.

Then it was time for MAGLaughs. I was coming down from the improv high, and was now scared to death again. The first comics were absolute delights, and I turned in a decent set. Noah did nearly an hour of comedy, which was amazing. He crushed it. He done good. We have some plans for next year’s MAGLaughs already in the works. Get hype. We are hoping to expand comedy programming at MAGFest next year. We’d consider this convention 100% successful. We had an amazing time, and we can’t wait to come back in January 2019- or September 2018 for MAGLabs.