Mark said:
Ah, well, the part that confused me was the comment about the uncomfortable table that was being offered for use.
Apologies for the confusion, Mark.
Mark said:
And limiting the number of players per table to five defeats the purpose of adding an extra game, IMO. Sure, adding an event can add some variety, but the ability to accomodate more players was the point, I had thought.
True, true. I'm just wary of trying to accommodate eight tables of 6-7 players each. That's 48-56 people in the game area, which I think would degrade the whole Gameday experience for everyone. I want to find room for more people, but not at the expense of making Gameday feel like the typical overcrowded GenCon event hall.
But, I dunno. What do other people think? Eight events?
If we go eight, I would strongly argue for a hard, six-player limit, save for events in the private room, or maybe the far tall table in back.
Mark said:
As far as the noise level, I think part of the problem might be the seating of the DM/GM. As with most of the tables, it is best for the DM to sit with his back to a wall. The players only have one person they mostly have to focus on and hear but the DM/GM has five or six voices wafting toward him, sporadically, and if he is seated such that he is toward the center of the room, if becomes that much more difficult and the sound from other tables becomes that much more intrusive.
On the flip side, when all the GMs are against the wall, you've got a row of people, each 5'-6' apart, all talking at the same time, most of the time.
I found it interesting that, last time, Bill Corrie/HinterWelt sat himself in the
middle of his table. He was at the minis painting table, on the long right side, with his back to the small windowed office. I liked this because: a) it put him as
far as possible from the GM at the next table, and 2) it put him as
close as possible to all his players. Granted, this setup is a bit problematic if you're using a battlemat and GM screen. Still, I thought it was a strategic placement.
Ergo, the takeaway here would simply be to position yourself with an eye to how others are setting up.