Get to know your organizers! Ten questions with Japji Khalsa
“So let me introduce to you, the one and only Billy Shears…”

Something we are going to do with this newsletter is to start introducing our staff members to you. Some of you may already know these people and we here at the newsletter give our sincerest condolences to you folks for having to put up with them for all these years. For those of you who don’t know our first victim … um err … interview volunteer, we will introduce you to one of the Founding Fathers of KublaCon, Japji Khalsa.

1. Tell us a little about yourself…

I moved to California from the Midwest when I was 10 – going from 5th grade through high school in Belmont, CA on the Peninsula. In 1979 the opportunity to live in a yoga ashram drew me to the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco, and I’ve lived here ever since.

Career-wise – I’ve been very blessed. Through a lucky break, I started working in video and film production in 1975, while I was still in high school. I’ve worked in many different capacities over the years – sound, grip, lighting, dolly-op, floor director, and etcetera; but in 1984, my production career took on a new form – when I was the first person in the bay area to rent teleprompters, with operators, for film, video, and stage productions. Since then, Magic Teleprompting, Inc., my company, has become the largest provider of teleprompters in the Bay Area. I’ve also developed teleprompting software, called MagicScroll, for use on Windows and Macintosh computers.

In 1993 I discovered “Magic: The Gathering,” and started Khalsa Brain Games in 1994. KBG produces a line of play mats for collectable card games.



2. What do you do at KublaCon?

My official title at KublaCon is “Executive Producer.” I share much of the pre-con producing duties with Anthony Gallela, KublaCon’s producer and my business partner. Between the two of us, we negotiate contracts, arrange for special guests, recruit key staff members, help our team schedule events, rent equipment and space, publish the Web site, take pre-registration, book vendors, promote the con and work closely with the Hyatt Regency to help us create the most fun for our guests.

For my part, I primarily am the Web master, advertising designer/printer, and systems engineer. One of the things I’ve learned in the stage production business is that the best productions assemble the best crews. One of my most challenging jobs is to help recruit and retain an ever-growing volunteer staff.

And honestly, I think we have some of the most passionate, committed, and talented organizers in this crazy business of producing game conventions. KublaCon derives its success from the hard work of this incredible team of event coordinators, administrative volunteers and sales staff.

3. How did you get involved with KublaCon and how long have you been here?

For me, KublaCon started in 1994 when I produced the first ManaFest. I’m the kind of person who loves to follow his passions … and actually follow through on trying to achieve my goals.

The first ManaFest was born of a desire to bring a bunch of card gamers together for one fun-filled day. I think that first ManaFest, while only a one day event, really was a success, i.e., people had fun. I had fun! ManaFest 95 and 96 had good growth over the prior years … and were solid successes.

Unfortunately, from 1997-2000, ManaFest’s success – both attendance-wise and financially, began to wane. Several factors for this decline including my having a kidney transplant in the summer of 97, a CCG popularity backlash/decline, and the fact that ManaFest didn’t have a great weekend for a game convention.

We knew we had to change the name to something other than ManaFest—to get away from the CCG moniker—so that people would think of us as a game con, not just a CCG event. All of that came together with the merging of Game-Con, and the creation of KublaCon in the fall of 2000.

KublaCon 2001 took place on Memorial Day weekend at the Oakland Airport Hilton – and drew a diverse crowd of all types of gamers, more than doubling the attendance from the prior year’s Game-Con.



4. What motivates you and what rewards do you get out of being involved with KublaCon?

It’s hard to describe the sense of joy and accomplishment I get when I imagine that over 2000 people are having fun—laughing, talking, smiling, being with friends—due, at least in part, to the many hours of hard work I put into producing KublaCon. There are other rewards, too! Working with some of the best folks in the industry, meeting new friends, and feeling successful when I hear people describe how great KublaCon was for them.

5. What is your earliest gaming or game convention memory?

In 1984 I’d gotten back into gaming, but I’d never been to a convention.
I didn’t even really know what a convention was.

I’d seen a flyer for DundraCon in Oakland and decided to go (convincing a friend of mine that we’d probably have fun). Well, halfway across the Bay Bridge, in one of the worst storms on record for the Bay Area, I was questioning my sanity. The winds were blowing mightily, but we’d gotten so far, we decided to keep going. About 10 minutes after we’d crossed the bridge, they closed it down because of the winds. I think that was the first time in many years (if ever) that they’d had to close the Bay Bridge.

We made it to the Con, and after scoping it out a bit, decided to plop ourselves down in the open gaming area. I broke out “Top Secret” and offered to run a game for folks. And of course, the part I remember most was that one of the players was an incredibly attractive young woman in a red dress. “Wow,” I thought to myself, “Game conventions are filled with beautiful women who like to play games!”

6. What is your favorite gaming or game convention memory?

Wow… so many cons… so many memories. I’ll rattle off a few faves:
  • Auctioning a page of 9 Black Lotus Magic cards for $200 at ManaFest ’94.
  • Playing D&D 3.0 with Peter Adkison before it was released later in the year.
  • Showing Anthony’s and my game (Dwarven Dig!) to manufacturers at the Essen Game show in Germany.
  • Attending my first GAMA trade show in New Orleans 1994.
  • Demoing Dwarven Dig! for its release at Origins 2003.
  • And lots of memories running D&D games at various cons—usually in the open gaming area.

7. What is your least favorite gaming or game convention memory?

I have a pretty clear memory of my worst convention experience. At ManaFest 1996, I was unknowingly suffering the effects of kidney failure—which in this case including fatigue. After working 20-hour days to pull the con together, I had a very small window on Saturday afternoon to take about a one-hour nap.

Well, for some reason, the staff at the Cathedral Hill hotel kept coming into my room—at first to clean, and then to let me know that I needed to move to a different room! Then I received a phone call from my brother, letting me know that my mother had cancer and had about a month to live. The fatigue, the frustration with the hotel, and the news of my mother conspired to make an indelible memory of this particular convention.

Oh … another least favorite game convention memory was at a DundraCon (2000?) when I had a nasty flu/fever and spent the whole weekend in my room. I didn’t just go home ‘cuz I had my son with me, and he was enjoying the con.

8. Give us a top 3 list of your favorite games and tell us your least favorite game.

a) D&D – I like it because there are still thousands of places to explore, mysteries to unravel, and friends to make.
b) Settlers of Catan – I like this game in all its forms, base set, Cities and Knights, Stone Age, Starfarers, Historical versions, etc. I think what I like most about Settlers is that it’s a great game for introducing non-gamers to the fun of hobby games.
c) Dwarven Dig! I’ve played Dig! hundreds of times, and I still like to fire up a game now and then. I had fun running some demos at Origins 2004, and I always get a kick out of it when people like the game … and then go buy it!
d) Least favorite game is Chess. – No die rolls? No random card deck? So, if you lose (which I do), it’s because you just weren’t smart enough (which I’m not.)

9. Where do you currently play games and what do you play when you are there.

I’m running a pretty regular D&D group with my daughter, her school teacher, his son, and a couple other gaming friends. We play at my house and meet about every two weeks.

At least once a week, sometimes more, I’ll pull together a board game session. We often play in the evenings – and usually play some version of Catan. Also, on a pretty regular basis, a couple friends from the neighborhood get together at the local coffee shop and play the travel edition of Catan. We use one minute turn timers, and can usually get a couple of games done in a couple of hours.

10. If you want to tell all of the KublaCon attendees anything, what would it be?

While not exactly a gaming statement, I’d say, “Follow your passion.” It’s served me well over the years—as my passion for creativity in both video production and in gaming have not only provided lots of fun and friends, but have also helped keep bread on the table. And … if your passion just happens to include introducing your non-gaming friends to the joys of gaming, and then bringing those friends to KublaCon 2005 … well … then follow through to completion!

Home | Contact Us | Register