It’s a rainy night tonight and I find myself reminiscing of the past. Flipping through an old riddle book I’m reminded of a particular Gen Con memory….and a riddle.

If you have listened to our podcasts you know I’ve been going to Gen Con for many years. The exhibit hall, with its ever growing number of game companies, was always my favorite part of the Con. As Gen Con grew you might think it would be difficult to pick out a favorite booth to visit each year. But it isn’t. Every year there was one booth I HAD to visit. That booth was Cloud Kingdom Games.

Every year the staff of Cloud Kingdom Games would set up a humble 10×10 space and every year I looked forward to visiting it. They made riddle books and puzzles. It might not sound like much but the highlight was their hourly posting of a new riddle. Every hour of each day at Gen Con. Guessing the correct answer bestowed upon you the great honor of being a Riddlemaster. For this you received a ribbon to wear proudly on your Gen Con badge.

Most of the time I could figure out the answer but there were times when they had me beat. They always posted the answer to the previous hour’s riddle and upon reading it I would be stunned that I didn’t figure it out! Once I had the answer it was so obvious!

The founders of Cloud Kingdom Games, I would come to learn, we’re a group of teachers. Each year before school would start they would come out to Gen Con to promote their books and games. I kept adding to my collection each year and still have many of their productions today. They were a great group of people and, being avid gamers, were always fun to visit with. 

Unfortunatley all good things must come to an end. Increasing travel costs and future dates of Gen Con conflicting with the start of the school year resulted in Cloud Kingdom Games discontinuing their yearly attendance. It’s been several years now since the last riddle was posted on the convention floor but I have those memories for all time. It seems like yesterday that I would guess an answer,  not sure if I had missed a subtle point in the riddle, only to find victory! Affixing the Riddlemaster ribbon made the Con for me.

They will be missed but never forgotten. Wherever they may be today I wish them well.

I’ve selected a riddle from the book Riddle Rooms #1 by Cloud Kingdom Games. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane as much as the riddle…

Housed in crumbling temple, unseen by the eye,
Eternal and breathless, never to die.
It’s said that I’m lost if your life’s goal is greed,
Treasure’s you’ve stored up that I’ll never need.

Good luck!

Oliver Greytome