Year after year, MomoCon just gets better

MomoCon 2023 is in the books and it marks the seventh time that we’ve attended with our children. They’re 13 and 11 now and the difference in how they’ve engaged with the con is dramatic and has kept up with the times. I’ll explain more about that in a moment, but one of the first things out of mouth, when I tell teachers or parents about MomoCon, is that it truly is an all-ages con.

For some parents that’s a very important distinction because they might have dipped their toes into the con water, and found it not appropriate for one reason or another. The costumes were too revealing, the cosplay was too violent/monstrous and the language of the folks attending it are the reasons that I encounter the most. MomoCon has all of the fun that one would hope is at a con, but doesn’t have those elements, and still manages to be a ‘cool’ con. By that, I mean that the cosplay is top-tier, wildly creative, and is still something that you could show to a teacher at school and not have them freak out.

At MomoCon 2023 our 13-year-old discovered the world of video game competition. He loves playing Smash Bros, which he does at a neighbor’s house because we only have an Xbox.* I know, first-world problems. I casually mentioned to him that there are video game contests that have cash prizes. As Robotron or Galaga weren’t some of the options for the tournament, it was up to him to see if he could claim any of that 16-bit booty.

Signing up for the contest was simple and the directions for where and when to show up were also easy to follow. At a con where there are more than 20,000 people on a given day, it’s important to know precisely where and when you need to be. His rounds of Smash Bros. consisted of two competitors, with each one being a best-of-five matches. Ultimately, he didn’t win the cash prize, but he still had fun, gained some confidence and it’s something that we’ll do again.

The people at the competition were also very friendly. I failed to read the fine print in the emails stating that he had to bring his own controller. Important: if you’re competing in a video game competition bring a controller that you can use. Thankfully, there were a couple of kind souls who took pity on his video game-impaired dad and let him borrow one for his contests.

Both boys also jumped headfirst into the video game area, and not just the old-school ones that I gravitate towards. They figured out the ones with instructions in kanji or katakana with 100 yen stickers on their slots. These are the video games that I could only equate to a higher-level of Rock Band. If you’re a gamer who wants to play an endless supply of free-play games you’d only see on a YouTube video from a gamer who lives in Japan, then MomoCon is also your jam.

Personally, my youngest son and I wanted to spend more time watching wrestling, but that didn’t work out this year. Instead, he invited one of his classmates to join us on this trip. I carefully explained to the child’s parents about MomoCon, and they said that they’d been to a con or two and knew the drill. Even so, my son’s friend had that look as if they were drinking from the fire hose after being at MomoCon for a couple of hours. They were still having fun, but our children had built up more endurance when it comes to a con.

@daddymojoblog #spiderman at #momocon, #cosplay ♬ original sound – Daddy Mojo

If you’re taking a youth who is not biologically related to you, you will be required to have the identification of the person that purchased their entrance. Their pass will have to match the name, photo, and address that were entered when the pass was purchased. In our case, we had to have the parent text a copy of their driver’s license to me so that it matched up with the MomoCon pass that we were picking up.

Being at a con can be exhausting for any age, but as the kids get older they’re able to experience and do more. On the first day, we were at MomoCon for eight hours and had to leave because it was obvious that our guest was running on empty. Myself and the oldest one went back the next day to chat with the video game developers and to dig into more of the STEM aspects of games. We met a person who started created games when they were 13 and eventually started their own company. We also met a rocket scientist whose hobby is creating robots. This person had one of the biggest functioning BB-8 droids and was more than eager to share how it was made in a way that was approachable and easy to understand.

So, who is MomoCon good for? It’s a con that’s good for all ages, we saw children who were in strollers and many families with elementary-aged kids. Our lot were all in middle school, those ages will love the anime and manga-themed booths, as well as the acres of cosplay and video games. High school students will love anime, manga, cosplay, video game contests, and the possibility to purchase things that can only be bought at cons. Towards the late afternoon, the college crowd rolls in and heads for the video games and the parties that night. MomoCon is one of those cons that really is for anyone, as long as you can handle big crowds. It’s approachable and needs to be on your radar, especially if you have an erstwhile manga, anime, or pop culture kid.

MomoCon happens in Atlanta, Georgia every Memorial Day Weekend.