Genius Northwest: BLACK MARKET

Genius Northwest is a series of weekend-long immersive tabletop gaming events inspired by the Korean reality show The Genius.

Genius Northwest events are intense, weekend-long gaming competitions that test their contestant’s instinct, cunning, and their ability to form – or undermine – strong alliances. Each competition is a mixture of large format main matches and tense, one-on-one deathmatch rounds to determine who gets eliminated from the tournament. Our events combine the best elements of tabletop gaming and reality television to create a dramatic and engrossing experience unlike any other.

I co-produce Genius Northwest with several friends as a way to indulge both our obsession with the show and my increasing interest in immersive and event-based experiences. Among other things, I co-design the games and metastructure of the competition, create various gameplay assets and pieces of promotional art, construct our A/V setup and any interactive tech needs, and help organize the food and venue.

BLACK MARKET was the fourth Genius Northwest event. It ran over the weekend of November 10-12, 2023. This was our most ambitious event yet, with new games, new puzzles, and a new ‘Black Market’ metagame structure that had players solving puzzles, texting codewords, and making secret deals to advance their position in the tournament.

You can learn more about Genius Northwest at its official site.