LI Tabletop Gaming Expo returns to Cradle of Aviation

Ten years ago, Steve Resk, 35, of Centereach, chased after his dream. He created a wrestling-based card game called Supershow where he designed original characters, made his own dice and packaged the game in a Chinese food container to give it a different look.

After pitching the idea to trading card company Topps, Resk was attracting interest but no commitment.

“They kept promising a contract, but I was never getting any traction,” recalls Resk. “I had to make a judgment call.”

Resk decided to take a risk. He put together a Kickstarter campaign raising $8,000 to independently print the first run of the game in 2014. Supershow was a hit and, this year, he’s celebrating its 10th anniversary at the Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo, which comes to the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale Saturday and Sunday.

“Human beings have a social need to interact and tabletop gaming provides that experience,” says operations coordinator Joel Albino. “Technology is great, but it isolates us more. Playing games face-to-face is more communal.”

Here’s a guide to gaming, live experiences and panels at the expo:

BOARD GAMES

The second floor of the Cradle is dedicated to board games of all types. There are current popular ones like Catan, Ticket to Ride, Splendor and Blood on the Clocktower, as well as old classics such as Clue, Yahtzee, Battleship and Stratego. Guests can sign out and play selections from the board game library, compete in a tournament or go the guided game route where a Game Master teaches games in a group setting.

“A vast majority of these games can be learned in 10 minutes and you can have fun right away with no experience,” says board gaming coordinator Dave VanderWerf. “Beginners should feel very comfortable coming to the board game room and playing something new. There’s no intimidation at all. We are very open and welcoming to teaching newcomers.”

ROLE-PLAYING GAMES

Hangar 3 is the hub for role playing games or RPGs as they are more widely known. These games provide a more narrative experience with an element of improvisation using genres like superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi and horror.

“The players are the main characters of the story the Game Master is trying to tell. You all work together to come up with the storyline,” says event coordinator Jesse Harchack.

Perhaps the most popular RPG is Dungeons & Dragons, which was revived in popularity by Netflix's “Stranger Things.” The game usually holds four-to-five players and can run four hours.

Other RPGs include Pathfinder, Dungeon of the Mad King, which has six players vs. six players and Wheel of Tarrasques that runs eight hours and holds up to 15 people.

CARD GAMES

In the back of the cafeteria, a series of card games will ensue, ranging from Pokémon to Yu-Gi-Oh! to Disney’s Lorcana to the ever-popular Magic the Gathering. Players go head-to-head in games that run 10-40 minutes.

Laura Erwin, 30, of West Hempstead, has created her own game, Potions Please, which is a two-to-four player light strategy game based on Go Fish where witches try to make potions of various colors. The first witch to make one potion of each color wins the game.

“It draws kids in and people who wouldn’t be considered gamers allowing them to feel smart and powerful,” says Erwin.

MINIATURE GAMES

Get ready to go into battle with miniature games in Hangar 2 where participants play with handmade physical pieces.

“Many miniature games are fighting based,” says event co-coordinator Courtney Tricarichi. “You have an army of miniatures and strategize against your opponents’ army of miniatures.”

The current hot miniature game is Warhammer 40,000, which is inspired by the film, “Dune,” featuring a grim dark version of the future where armies battle over control of different planets.

LIVE EXPERIENCES

Perhaps the most sought-after portion of the expo is the live experiences where players are not sitting down fanning through cards and rolling dice but rather physically getting active in a game. Three attractions are available this year including Live Dungeon (90 minutes) and two escape rooms (about 60 minutes), Packing Problems and Escape from Expo Island.

“In Live Dungeon, there are five rooms that are all connected to each other. The players, who are in groups of four, travel from room to room. Each room is themed with a specific task such as solving a riddle, doing a puzzle or taking on a physical challenge,” says Tricarichi. “At the end, you get into a battle with a monster.”

Entry to each experience costs $10 per person and pre-registration via the event website is strongly suggested.

PANELS AND WORKSHOPS

Workshops, which are held in Classrooms 1 and 2, teach various gaming skills and give gamers a set of tools.

“You can learn how to build a map, paint figurines and build the world for your story,” says workshop and panel organizer Rob Perez-Mendez, who teaches a workshop on both days called “Terrainocalypse!” on how to build a world by making terrain ($20 per person).

Additionally, there are two painting workshops with miniatures ranging from Miniature Painting 101 for beginners on April 6 and 7 to Advance Miniature Painting Class on April 6 ($15 per person each).

More than 10 panels are being offered including “Game Design and Making it Come True” by game creators Erwin and Emerson Matsuuchi, creator of The Century Series games from Plan B, in the Cradle of Aviation Theater on April 6.

MARKETPLACE AND MUNCHIES

More than 70 vendors will fill the main atrium of the museum making up the marketplace where booths are run by local businesses like Blast from the Past of Bay Shore, Brothers Grim Games & Collectables of Selden, Cosmic Comics & Games of Baldwin, Main Street Board Game Cafe of Huntington, Rip N Ship Gaming of Deer Park, Collector’s Emporium of Levittown and Gotham City Hobbies, Games & Collectibles of West Babylon.

Getting hungry? Step outside where a series of food trucks will comprise a small court including Kong Bab Korean food, No Good Burger, Teriyaki Plus and Wild Bill’s Soda.

By David J. Criblez

david.criblez@newsday.comDavidJCriblez

David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.