Advice for a newbie to GenCon?

[der_kluge]

I have gone both ways when it comes to registration. One year I filled up my ticket with Planescape events, and a few other sundry things. I had fun, to be sure, but I've also had fun not signing up for anything at all.

For me, the things I sign up for nowadays are seminars and conferences. There are usually some pretty good ones scheduled. I get to see a lot of my friends from Mystic Eye Games when I go, so we tend to schedule pick-up games, or some of us will come prepared to run stuff for the others, so those were the games I played last year.

I have found that the events that one signs up for are really hit or miss. I've had just as much luck with pick-up games, though the pick-up games area were sorely disappointing last year; hopefully that will be fixed.

 

[Dire Wolf]

Well, I will add my .02 in. Last year was my first year also, so I am hardly a pro, but these are the observations I had.

I agree with the "don't schedule too much stuff" group. I had received that advice last year and it came in handy for me. Leave lots of time free for stuff that you find at the con and lots of the panels are really good. Leave time to see some of the guest speakers, they were great last year.

Pre-reg for events/seminars if you can and buy more generic tickets than you think you need. It may keep you from waiting in really long lines and you can always return them. Last year I arrived on Wednesday evening and picked up my badge and prereg tickets in about 5 minutes, the next morning I waited 5 hours on line for generic tickets. Ouch! (They weren't selling them on Wednesday evening)

Leave lots and lots of time for the dealers room. I didn't schedule enough time last year and I didn't realize how many games and things there would be to demo. I remember walking around Sunday about an hour before the dealer's hall closed down saying "I didn't even see that booth yet, or that one... dang, shucks, darn, !@#$%"

Don't eat the food in the convention center... it sucks and it is really expensive. There is everything you could possibly want to eat within a few blocks of the Con. Everything from Subway to 5-star steakhouses.

If you are not staying within walking distance of the convention center, get there early if you want a parking spot that is close. I remember being really miserable walking back to my car with a big load of stuff from the dealers room and wishing I had parked closer. Parking costs can add up too, so maybe somebody else has a good tip on this one.

I am sure there are more things that will come to me, but that is all for now. See you in August!

 

[JesterPoet]

Wow... lots of info.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how many generic tickets I should buy? I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

 

[Quickbeam]

Wow... lots of info.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how many generic tickets I should buy? I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I would say to buy at least one per day, but no more than two per day. A lot will depend on whether you've chosen to pre-register for any games/events, and how much time you wish to devote to browsing through the dealer area.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Wow... lots of info.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how many generic tickets I should buy? I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Oh, it does not matter but I normally do 5 to 10. The important thing to remember about generics is if you do not use them you can refund then for CASH! Funny story here, one year spend more than I realized and the money I got back from them was gas money to get back home (this was before ATMs were everywhere)!

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I would say to buy at least one per day, but no more than two per day. A lot will depend on whether you've chosen to pre-register for any games/events, and how much time you wish to devote to browsing through the dealer area.

Good advice, but many events require more than one ticket. Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't generics last year good for 1.5 hour slots? If a game ran for 2 slots (3 hours) you needed 2 tickets.

I started out with 2 generics per day, used a couple, bought a few more, and ended up cashing 2 out that were not used. I don't know for sure how many I had altogether.

If you are planning on attending seminars that require tickets (the really popular ones), but a few extra tickets. If you plan on mostly playing in pickup games, you don't need any generics. I'd start with a few, and if you need more, buy a few more. Although the main lines last year were horrible, by Saturday morning there were at least 2 "Generic Tickets Only" booths set up away from the main registration lines to handle people who only wanted to buy generics, not register for a specific game (one was by the CCG Hall, I don't remember where I saw the other one).

 

[Painfully]

Keep a bottle of water with you and refill at all the water fountains. A shoulder sling for your bottle is a nice plus.

I find a backpack preferable to the numerous shopping bags you might end up with from the exhibit area. I prefer to set aside one day for shopping as early as possible, as the Saturday crowd just makes it harder to move around in the exhibit hall.

Wear REALLY comfortable shoes.

If you need to keep in touch with someone, a two-way radio is a great investment.

Get a tour guide. Find a local gamer who can show you the town and some of the classier dining establishments. Let's face it, you can have McDonald's anytime. Try the local chefs for a more memorable visit to any city.

 

[Hand of Evil]

If you need to keep in touch with someone, a two-way radio is a great investment.

While this is a good idea DON'T bring a ringing telephone or a beeping pager to events! Apply same rules as if you were at a movie, please.

 

[Seule]

I was at Origins last year and am going to GenCon this year (both with my wife). Can anyone give me advice on what's different? I know at origins I was glad to have half my slots off, and I plan to do the same at gencon, as suggested above, is there any other good advice people can offer?

--Seule

 

[der_kluge]

I never buy generic tickets. If I game, I game at the pick-up games area.

It's complicated, but once you've been through this once, you'll understand.

The way it works is this: Games start at scheduled times. For example, if you look in the catalog (when it comes out), you'll see hundreds of things that start at like noon, and then 4, and then 8, etc. Most game events are 4 hours long. So, what happens is everyone scrambles around looking for tables with empty slots - at 4:00 (or whatever time is most appropriate). The catch is, people will find a game they think is interesting, go find the table it's supposed to be played at, and sit there in hopes that they can get in with their generics. It's really kind of a frustrating experience.

Oddly enough, I ran a game that was listed in the book last year, and of all the people at the table, not a one of them actually had the tickets for the game, even though it sold out online within a matter of days.

But the catch is, if you sit at a table in the hope that you can get in, and you don't - you're screwed, because all the other tables around you will be full at that point, and then you have no choice but to wander the halls for the next 4 hours waiting for the next major time slot to begin.

This is the big problem with generic tickets.

The pick-up games area (which was severely lacking in their new facilities last year) is the solution to all this. First off, pick-up games are just games ran by people who just want to run a game. They're not advertised, and the GM just stands in the hall and finds people who want to play. Once the GM has enough players, they play. Best thing is, they don't require generic tickets, or money to play. The other good thing is that they start all the time. So, you don't have throngs of people sitting around like sharks waiting for the right time to pounce. If you're in the area, you might be able to find a game.

So, long story short - my recommendation is to not buy generics at all, and stick to pick-up games. If the pick-up games area sucks like it did last year, you might consider getting some generics, but I _definitely_ would not stand in line for hours to buy them.