Indiana Convention Center

Game over?

As with movies, the best marketing can’t turn a dud into a treasure.

“It’s like learning what ice cream sundaes are, and then being told to go make yourself one using three million toppings.”

Move ahead one space to learn what you’ve been missing, regardless of your gaming experience.

“I’ve never seen this many people in one place.” My nephew, Chad, stood overlooking the grand hall of the Indianapolis Convention Center. An 11-year-old gamer and self-proclaimed nerd, this was his first Gen Con. His eyes gaped as he watched the sold-out crowd of 61,000 swarm below, pointing out people costumed as his favorite characters. […]

Gen Con will be held at the Indiana Convention Center August 4 to 7. This instruction manual to the multiverse of cosplay—dressing up as fictional characters—will help you tell an orc from a drow when they descend on downtown this month.

“I turned back to the guy and said, in a happy, triumphant voice, ‘It’s a fake!’ I was right, but he wasn’t too happy with me.”

In theory, pretty much anyone can do the weather. And back in Old Timey Times, pretty much anyone—including David Letterman—did.

And shows like this will keep coming, drawn not by magic but by the siren song of cash.

Question: How much do Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders get paid?

Some of the top bartenders in Indianapolis reached for their shakers to duel in a mixology competition on the final night of the 2014 Beer, Wine, and Spirits Trade Show.

In the early 2000s, I was a Pokemon addict. I carried my beloved cards in a Lisa Frank binder and built a shrine to Pikachu, the game’s most iconic character, on top of my dresser. I wasn’t alone—the country was so addicted to Pokemon that TIME had featured the characters on its cover in 1999. But as I grew up, Pokemania faded. I thought my childhood obsession was something children no longer cared about.