Chicago Gameday - The Aftermath

[buzz]

But how do you plan for that? By artificially limiting the amount of people that sign up?

No, I wouldn't want to force GMs to do that. I'm just wondering at what point a decision should be made to cancel a game, as opposed to running it with the assuption that walk-ins will fill the open slots. Is three sign-ups enough? Four?

Four ("WotC standard" ) seems like a good number to me, with three leaving it up to the GMs discretion. Less than that seems like asking too much of a GM, particularly for morning games, as the odds that there will be a) enough walk-ins and 2) enough of said walk-ins interested in your particular game seem slim. Afternoon games, maybe.

Of course, I think it really comes down to the GM. If someone is willing to run something totally open or, conversely, doesn't want to commit if there are too few sign-ups, I'm not going to force them.

 

[Desdichado]

The point is, there's no way to effectively plan and organize for walk-ins. As much as I'd like walk-ins to have great games just waiting for them, in my opinion, they automatically get de-prioritized as a segment. It's great when it works out for walkins, but when it doesn't, that's what they get for not signing up in advance.

 

[Reidzilla]

About next gameday

Hey Buzz,

When do you think the next game day is going to be? The reason I am asking is, in the second and third quarter of the year there are a lot of major and minor cons going on. If we plan way ahead, we will have the best chance of avoiding con conflicts. It also will allow lots of time for us to coerce ...err... ask around for more prize support.

I will step up to the plate and volunteer to run any of the following games:
Tales of Wyn D'mere (my RPG)
Conan (OGL/d20)
Dragonstar (d20)
Darwin's World (d20)
Which ever game systems I run, I will hit up (a.k.a. beg, stalk, terrorize) the publisher for prize support. If some of the other GMs do this as well, everybody might walk away with free stuff!

Perhaps we should start a new thread dedicated to the set-up the next game day to assist Buzz and make his transition to coodinator easy.

What does everybody think?

 

[KnowTheToe]

Well it is good to be back. I am sorry I missed the gameday, but Friday night a friend came and collected my wife and I and handed us plane tickets. It seems he was eloping and we were invited to go along. It was a great weekend, but I am a little sad I missed the game day.


I am glad to hear people had a good time. To pay penance for my unplanned absence, I will run a good mid level (5-7) game of D&D next game day and I still have the pristine unread copy of the signed Dragonlance book. I may drop this off at Games Plus next time I head out there and have it held for the game day.

 

[buzz]

Kung-Futhulhu buddy!

When do you think the next game day is going to be?

I'm not sure yet. A lot depends on, as you mention, working around cons, as well as Games Plus' schedule. I have a feeling maybe June, but don't quote me on that. Curt and I only talked very briefly after Game Day about scheduling. I'll touch base with him in the coming weeks.

Perhaps we should start a new thread dedicated to the set-up the next game day to assist Buzz and make his transition to coodinator easy.

A planning thread will be created, but seeing as the last Game Day ended less than 48 hours ago, we need not rush.

...and I would definitely be interested in a Darwin's World game. I just bought the book on Saturday.

 

[Reidzilla]

Kung-Futhulhu buddy!

"Hi there! I'm Honest Khan, your local Sears & Roebuck representitive!"
"I'll check my samples kit for a straight jacket launcher."
"Well, I guess I'll just fertilize the crops then."

A planning thread will be created, but seeing as the last Game Day ended less than 48 hours ago, we need not rush.

Sorry. I am the type of guy who either plans way ahead or waits to the last minute.

...and I would definitely be interested in a Darwin's World game. I just bought the book on Saturday.

One toxic-frosted shovel full of post-apocalypticy goodness coming your way! Umm...taste the glow!

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

In regards to walk-ins: I ran a game at one of the Game Days (maybe a year ago, year and a half?) and I planned for possible walk-ins by having more PC's prepped than I expected players; I had 8 or 9 PC's for a slot that was intended for 6 players. That way, the players got a wider choice of PC's to play, and I had a little space left if an extra person showed up.

As the Game Day gets more popular, it will become more difficult to fit in walk-ins. That's a fact of life, and I feel that you need to cater to the folks who sign up rather than the folks who might show up on the day-of.

 

[Joe Gamer]

Apology

My solution was to make sure that those who signed up in advance were assured of having a game to play. When I received an Email from JoeGamer that he wouldn't be showing up, I called thalmin (one of the two remaining players in my game) and asked about the possibility of him and jubei joining Trev's game. When he agreed, I asked Trev about it, and when he agreed, I saw that as the best solution to ensuring they would have a full game and a fun time.

I just read that my last-minute cancellation led to Mark having to cancel his game. My cancellation couldn't have been avoided (family emergency) but I would like to apologize to the other players (I apologized to Mark in my email). I hope that you enjoyed the other games that you joined.

 

[thalmin]

I just read that my last-minute cancellation led to Mark having to cancel his game. My cancellation couldn't have been avoided (family emergency) but I would like to apologize to the other players (I apologized to Mark in my email). I hope that you enjoyed the other games that you joined.

Accepted. I hear that RL (whatever that is. For me the line gets too blurred. ) can get in the way of the really important things.

 

[Quickbeam]

Well I'm finally back on the Boards after my journey to Chicago, and for my part here are some parting remarks:
** Thanks to Barendd and Matty for running the games I had the pleasure to play in this time around. Both were amusing, quirky, and entirely unique gaming experiences.
** Thanks to Curt for hosting...and for keeping the register open an extra few minutes for my closing purchase .
** I was sorry to have missed you Mark. I'd hoped that you might meet my pal Jubei, who is an excellent artist and could theoretically offer some of his talents to your future projects. Besides, it's fun watching you pace alongside the games you're running .
** Kudos to Buzz for offering to run these events going forward. Good luck, and I shall anxiously await news on the next Gameday.
** As always, it was great meeting some new people and renewing old acquaintances.

And finally...I think that an award for travelling the greatest distance is in order next time out. Josh and I would both be sitting on a few extra RPG goodies if this had in place for previous events !!