Thanks to everyone that came to the gameday. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Special thanks to Queen D, The Universe, and Xath for helping to organize and run the thing.
We'd like to re-institute this as a semi-annual occurrance, so feedback on the event would be greatly appreciated. Just post here, or can email me at jckline at gmail dot com if you'd prefer. And keep an eye out at www.dcgameday.com, on the General Forum here at ENWorld and at the Hypogeum forum at CM for information on the Spring DC Gameday.
I'd like to thank everyone who ran this for setting this up so well. I and many others had a great time. Look forward to another one.
As for feedback, everything seemed to go pretty well. The slots seemed well timed, though 5 hours might be good as well. The room was loud, but that's to be expected. It's hard to get a setting with one main area and lots of little rooms.
I also notice that people on ENWorld tend to run games at Gencon... I was wondering if a lot of us would be playing and running in ENWorld games at the D&D Experience this year since it'll be in the DC area in Crystal City this year.
Thanks to the organizers for the Gameday. I had a great time and am looking forward to the next gathering. I think the room was perfect, the number of games was perfect, and the overall support was perfect. I don't think I would suggest any changes.
I know there was mention of another Gameday in the March 2008 timeframe. I'd love to see one happen sooner than that.
I had a wonderful time at the gameday. I got to spend time with some great friends and meet some new ones.
Not only that, I got to play in two fantastic games. The Dread system works even better than I anticipated and Cutter's Deadlands game was seriously amazing.
Next time around, I think that it would be good to spend some time setting up the tables instead of just calling tables as a free-for-all. That way, you can spread them out as far apart as possible. Additionally, next time, there will be NO Famous Luigi's after the last session.
Keep your eyes open for the March (probably) DC Gameday! As soon as we have a firm date, we'll let y'all know and we can start the planning process all over again!
Yeah, I meant to do tent-cards for the tables. But when I went to get the keys, people were already starting to show, so I left them to their own devices while I went back upstairs to start ferrying chairs and food down.
When I scouted it out a couple months ago, there were more of the long brown folding tables in the corridor by the kitchen. Not sure where they disappeared too; I suppose they might have removed stuff while they were renovating. The round tables weren't as big as I remembered, either.
I was actually rather pleased with the noise level. I think it compared favorably to the various rooms at UMd and GenCon I've played in. I never felt like I was competing to be heard, either as a player or DM. Both sessions I was at the extreme ends of the room, though, so maybe it was worse in the middle.
So, what do people think about the number of games? Should we try and squeeze a couple more tables in next time, or was 6 about right?
Thanks to everybody who helped work on this and host it.
The room worked out great, and the games were incredibly fun.
Looking forward to doing it again.
Carl
__________________ “My mind is a playground...I realize that for most people their mind isn’t a playground. It’s a torture chamber, which I figure is why so many people are afraid to be alone." -- Dave Sim
Again thanks to all the organizers and the GMs, and for that matter, the players.
5 hour slots is an idea I would welcome as well, though I can see it doesn't leave you much room to maneuver. I certainly wouldn't want shorter slots.
__________________ "This game requires no gameboard because the action takes place in your imagination..." - Cover of Dungeons & Dragons Basic Rules Set 1.
I was actually rather pleased with the noise level. I think it compared favorably to the various rooms at UMd and GenCon I've played in. I never felt like I was competing to be heard, either as a player or DM. Both sessions I was at the extreme ends of the room, though, so maybe it was worse in the middle.
So, what do people think about the number of games? Should we try and squeeze a couple more tables in next time, or was 6 about right?
Sure, I think we could squeeze in a couple of extra game slots, even if it's one per session (but no more than 2 more per session, I think), and still be good. There were two tables not in use (if you include the candy table) and about 8-10 chairs also not being used, and there was plenty of open space between all the tables.
Plus, as word gets out, we'll likely have more people attending as well.
Sure, I think we could squeeze in a couple of extra game slots, even if it's one per session (but no more than 2 more per session, I think), and still be good. There were two tables not in use (if you include the candy table) and about 8-10 chairs also not being used, and there was plenty of open space between all the tables.
Plus, as word gets out, we'll likely have more people attending as well.
--tom
I think, in the current space, we could add 2 games and still be comfortable. The "Candy table's" functions could be assumed by the finished kitchen area, freeing up that space for a game. As Madwabbit notes, we could probably fit in at least one other game with some creative space use.
I think the 4.5 hour sessions worked pretty well, especially considering the start times on some of the games. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to 5 hour sessions in the future if we thought we could start at 0900 instead of 0930.
__________________ National Capital Area Gameday, 24-25 October 2009 www.dcgameday.com My Story Hour: A Kingdom of Ashes. Updated 07/01/05! Zombies! Pirates! Giant Lizards! Intrigue! The Universe commands you to check it out!
Wii #0817 9834 1380 0807
I want to thank everyone for making my first GameDay experience an enjoyable one. Special thanks to madwabbit and Cassander for running the two games I played and making them a fun time.
One more game slot shouldn't be too hard to fit in, and I know even another half-hour of gametime would've been beneficial to both my games, especially SotC.
I had a great time, meeting new people and saying hi to lots of old friends. Big thanks to Cutter & Rodrigo for their games, I had a great time! Thanks to Xath & Rebel Scum for letting me crash on their floor along with the rest of the cool kids.
Most of all, thanks to Rodrigo & Danger Girl (and everyone else who helped organize things) for pulling off a great gameday!
I thought the venue was perfect for the gameday, it was comfortable, the noise level was not bad at all, bathroom was right there, and there were plenty of food choices for lunch nearby. Excellent choice.
I think the 4.5 hour time slots are good, if you expand the slots I think the games would just expand with them and end up going over anyways. It seemed like we worked it out well where there was enough time to get the games wrapped up and at the end of the second slot there was enough time that we didn't scramble to get the place cleaned up.
Have to do something different with dinner next time, but everything else was great!
I think the 4.5 hour time slots are good, if you expand the slots I think the games would just expand with them and end up going over anyways. It seemed like we worked it out well where there was enough time to get the games wrapped up and at the end of the second slot there was enough time that we didn't scramble to get the place cleaned up.
I feel the same way. As someone who is absolutely terrible at blocking out time for gameday sessions of any length (7.5 hours for a 4 hour game? That's me!), I can completely understand that it sucks to feel like you're rushing to get to the end of something because of time constraints. That said, I at least try to plan for the time I'm given...if it's a 4.5 hour session, I try to fill that time. If it's a 5 hour session, I try to do the same. So, in essence, no matter how long the session is, there's a good chance I'm going to go over. The key is to ensure that the session length is a known quantity, and either A) your GM can plan well for that, or B) you don't really care if you lose out on some lunch/dinner time.
I think the perceived problem with the game length had a lot to do with the late start most games got...we didn't start the Deadlands game until a little after 10am, which knocked another 35-45 minutes off of the total play time. If we had started promptly, things would have wrapped up right on time.
__________________ National Capital Area Gameday, 24-25 October 2009 www.dcgameday.com My Story Hour: A Kingdom of Ashes. Updated 07/01/05! Zombies! Pirates! Giant Lizards! Intrigue! The Universe commands you to check it out!
Wii #0817 9834 1380 0807
Maybe next time, 10-2 morning, 4-8 evening? A longer lunch gap for those that run over, plenty of time to eat for those that want to eat at a real restaurant, and a better chance for everyone to get back in time for the later games?
I know I wouldn't have minded an extra half hour in the morning for setup. Next time at the least I'll try to sweet talk them into letting me have the key a little early.
Maybe next time, 10-2 morning, 4-8 evening? A longer lunch gap for those that run over, plenty of time to eat for those that want to eat at a real restaurant, and a better chance for everyone to get back in time for the later games?
I know I wouldn't have minded an extra half hour in the morning for setup. Next time at the least I'll try to sweet talk them into letting me have the key a little early.
10-2, 4-8... I think that's perfect. Also, this time, I will happily come early to help. I couldn't this time because of kid-related stuff in the morning, but I will definitely be there early to help next time (assuming it's there, of course).
I'll talk to my folks here at the Plan B location, but I really think the party room there is Teh Shiznet for this.
After talking to Scott (Rel) a little bit last night, I'm wondering if we shouldn't consider ordering pizza during the lunch break. Give people a chance to request how much they'll want before the lunch break, and then order enough to make that happen.
I want to give special thanks to Liz (Queen_Dopplepopolis/DangerGirl!), Bob (bretbo), Tom (madwabbit) and Rich (Cthulhu's Librarian) for donating the items we gave away during the raffle. It was nice to be able to knock some of the cost off of the room rental for Rodrigo, and you guys were instrumental in ensuring that we could do that.
__________________ National Capital Area Gameday, 24-25 October 2009 www.dcgameday.com My Story Hour: A Kingdom of Ashes. Updated 07/01/05! Zombies! Pirates! Giant Lizards! Intrigue! The Universe commands you to check it out!
Wii #0817 9834 1380 0807
After talking to Scott (Rel) a little bit last night, I'm wondering if we shouldn't consider ordering pizza during the lunch break. Give people a chance to request how much they'll want before the lunch break, and then order enough to make that happen.
I want to give special thanks to Liz (Queen_Dopplepopolis/DangerGirl!), Bob (bretbo), Tom (madwabbit) and Rich (Cthulhu's Librarian) for donating the items we gave away during the raffle. It was nice to be able to knock some of the cost off of the room rental for Rodrigo, and you guys were instrumental in ensuring that we could do that.
Yes, Rodrigo appreciates that very much, too
I'd considered the pizza thing, too. The only thing that I worried about was (well, besides not wanting to run afoul of the 'no charging $$' rules for using the room) if you had people that didn't want to participate for whatever reason, it kind of unintentionally excludes them from part of the experience. However, now that I've seen the new kitchen they've installed, I'm much more comfortable that we could accomodate 'real' food if we wanted to. Also, people that wanted to bring stuff to reheat or what have you could do so and still eat with everyone else instead of scrambling to find fast food and hurry back with take-out.
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