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Message: <blockquote data-quote="buzz" data-source="post: 2888999" data-attributes="member: 6777">Absolutely. GenCon itself doesn't really cost all that much. $60 (prereg) will get you a four-day pass. After that... $0 will get you into a seminar, the dealer hall, the art exhibit, the anime showings, and all the pick-up games; $4 will get you into a gaming event; and $19 will get you into True Dungeon (the most expensive event in the con).Beyond that, the real expenses are food, lodging, and travel. There are a fistfull of sites that will give you tips for doing the first two on the cheap. The bigger hurdle is that last one. If you live far enough away from either Indy or SoCal that you need to fly in, you need to either scavenge the Web for a cheap flight or else think hard on how much gaming is worth to you. If you're within reasonable driving distance (say, 4-6 hours), I'd say it's do-able, especially if you're sharing the ride. (My beloved Honda can get almost to Indy and back on one tank of gas.)Okay, that said...I go to GenCon to have fun. Part of my having fun invovles:a) Having a comfortable hotel room close to the convention centerb) Being able to walk into the dealer hall and buy whatever I wantc) Going out with my buds for sumptuous meals that feature fine wine and spirits.The simple fact is, I can't do this and pinch pennies at the same time. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> I don't want to cram myself and five other guys into a tiny room that's a 30-minute walk from the convention center. I don't want to eat at some of the "affordable"* restaurants recommended on some of the otherwise helpful GenCon "how-to" sites I've read. I don't want to walk through gaming-swag ground zero and not be able to buy anything. I don't want to sleep in the 24-hour anime viewing hall. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Ergo, while I certainly think that you can do GenCon on the cheap, and that the primary GenCon experience is worthwhile even when on a budget... My gut reaction is: if money is an issue for you, don't go. GenCon is WAY more fun when you can fill your hotel room with swag (instead of your smelly gaming buds), walk no more than 5 minutes to get to an event, drink delicious Asian pear cocktails at P.F. Chang's, and treat your friends (and your favorite game deisgners) to beer and appetizers.So, either start saving now for GenCon '07, or else just wait until you have more disposable income. Unless you don't need the kind of largess I prefer, in which case, go. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />* My first GenCon, I mentioned one of these restaurants to my friend who lives in Indy. His reaction? "Dude, you do NOT want to eat there."</blockquote>

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