GenCon Question from a 1st Timer

[Bonzi]

My wife and I are planning on attending GenCon this year for the first time. We're both inexperienced with gaming. I played D&D in the 80's while in high school and college, but just returned to the game about a year ago (dragging the wife with me - but she loves it now). I'm very interested in trying other RPGs while at GenCon and was curious if there will be very many "Beginner" level events of already established games. Also, are the beginner level games filled with youngsters or will there be some old foggies like myself at the table?

Thanks for any info!

B

 

[diaglo]

yes. yes. yes.

there are many different games. old and new. with different levels of play.

the participants will be a mixed bag, too.

check out the list once it is posted at www.gencon.com

 

[francisca]

While I have only been to two GenCons, my experience is that the beginner tables are hit and miss. I wouldn't let it deter you from signing up for one or two, however.

 

[Hand of Evil]

There are games for all levels, when looking at the event book (speadsheet) you will see a difficulty column this will be two characters:

S=simple
E=Easy
A=Average
H=Hard
V=Very Hard
Level 1 = Rules taught younger players welcome
Level 2 = Newcomers welcome, maturity perferred
Level 3 = Some Experience needed
Level 4 = Extensive experience
Level 5 = Expert understanding of game​

Many of the games will be listed as A-1 or E-1, if you download the event book you can sort of this field.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

At GenCon, in general, extensive familiarity with roleplaying is enough to lift you out of "beginner" status, even if you don't know the specifics of an event's ruleset. If you've been gaming for years, you'll do fine in nearly any game a step above "beginner."

 

[Bonzi]

Thanks for the responses guys. I now know what to look for when signing up for events. I'm really looking forward to the Con and am eager to give a few other games a try.

 

[kigmatzomat]

I'd recommend you go to the dealer room and check out the demos. These are new games, expansions, etc run by the publishers and they focus on gamers with little to no exposure to their particular system. Most of the time it's a simple 20-minute melee but I've found them to be more entertaining than many of the ticketed games just because they are too short and frantic to ever get bogged down.

 

[Crothian]

Demos can also get you free stuff. Also, in the dealer room you can talk to the people who make the games and if they aren't too busy many will take the time and explain the game to you. The Dealer room is a really cool place.

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Yes, hit the dealers room, we can back with 1 and 1/2 suitcases of free swag JUST from Thursday alone

 

[Michael Dean]

What a coincidence; this is my first Gen Con, too! I've been playing since 1980 (now mostly buying books instead of playing). My question for Gen Con pros: if I am going to pick 2 days to go, is it better to go Thursday and Friday, or Sat.-Sun.? My main interest is to pick up as many cool new games that will be released at Gen Con as possible (new Wizards products and NWA by Atlas games for example), if that makes a difference in anybody's answer. Is all the good stuff sold out by Saturday, or does some of the new stuff not come out until the weekend? I wouldn't mind checking out the Ennies awards, either, so if anyone knows which night they are given out, that might influence my decision.

Also, can I make a grand tour of the place in one day? I am trying to decide whether I should go for two days or just one. I probably will watch people play some games rather than play myself; it's been years since I've actually played in a game and I would rather see how good games are run.

My coworkers are laughing at me at how excited I am to go to my first Gen Con. I always wanted to go as a kid but knew my parents would never let me go by myself or take me. Oh well, it's not checking off climbing Mt. Everest on my "lifetime to do" list, but it is on my list anyways.