Please recommend North American tabletop roleplaying conventions.

[Gothic Sunshine]

Came in to suggest DunDraCon, read the first post, noticed what day it is, turned around and went out the way I came in...

Actually, I would suggest not attending DunDraCon. I will not be attending next year, and I'm going to be discouraging people I know from attending.

I am attending DunDraCon right now, and I'm just not happy. The key problem is, I attend cons to play scheduled con games. I didn't get into a single game the entire day today. I'm looking at how many first choices and priorities every game session has, and it's obvious there is a severe shortage of games that's resulting in some people not getting to play.

I have never had trouble getting into games at KublaCon, where I can easily fill a schedule. I'm sorry, but I bought a badge for $75 to play scheduled TTRPG sessions, and DunDraCon obviously cannon consistently deliver that experience.

I also hate how I had to come from my house to the hotel just to find out I'm not in any games, because assignment is only an hour or so before the game starts. I coulda just stayed home and played Stardew Valley or something today.

If I weren't local and were shelling out for a hotel like I do for KublaCon, I'd be even more upset.

 

[Gothic Sunshine]

I gotta say, Oregon seems like a pretty great place to be a gamer, given the density of game stores, cons large and small, the proximity to Washington, the Oregon Renaissance Festival, etc.

I like the TTRPG store in Portland.

Can you get to the Oregan Renaissance Fair without driving?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Can you get to the Oregan Renaissance Fair without driving?

It's in Springfield, next to Eugene. I believe you can fly there or take a train.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Actually, I would suggest not attending DunDraCon. I will not be attending next year, and I'm going to be discouraging people I know from attending.

I am attending DunDraCon right now, and I'm just not happy. The key problem is, I attend cons to play scheduled con games. I didn't get into a single game the entire day today. I'm looking at how many first choices and priorities every game session has, and it's obvious there is a severe shortage of games that's resulting in some people not getting to play.

I have never had trouble getting into games at KublaCon, where I can easily fill a schedule. I'm sorry, but I bought a badge for $75 to play scheduled TTRPG sessions, and DunDraCon obviously cannon consistently deliver that experience.

I also hate how I had to come from my house to the hotel just to find out I'm not in any games, because assignment is only an hour or so before the game starts. I coulda just stayed home and played Stardew Valley or something today.

If I weren't local and were shelling out for a hotel like I do for KublaCon, I'd be even more upset.

I like DunDraCon -- the people are friendly, the venue is good, and it has a grass roots feel that I really dig -- but it's too hard to get into games. I've gotten into one game so far this year, and it was a war game, not an RPG, which is what I came here to play. (But it was fun, at least.)

I think there are some diversity issues with game choice and session length -- lots of D&D and OSR stuff, which generally isn't what I'm here for, and a lack of uniformity in slot starting time, which ends up making registration choices tricky. Like, I'm not signing up for an 8-hour OSR game starting at 2 pm, which will blow through dinner and kill two slots and is something I could find easily enough if I wanted to at home. I'm sure they have reasons for doing it this way, but it shouldn't feel this frustrating to find games. It's my only real knock on things.

 

[Gothic Sunshine]

I'm at a point where this is just unacceptable. I paid $75 for a con badge, Kubla is, what, $85? Kubla, I get into games all weekend long, whether Prime or Fall. I may not get exactly what I want, but I will get a game I have interest in. That's why I'm so mad. It's not just spending an entire day at a convention not getting to play convention games, it's that clearly other cons can deliver the actual experience I'm paying for, and DunDraCon can't. I am made of salt right now. I told DunDraCon this, too, that Kubla can offer me games to play, and they can't. It should not be acceptable to register for a game convention, buy a weekend badge, preregister for your games online, and not get into a single game for an entire day. It shouldn't just "be how the system works".

 

[aramis erak]

I gotta say, Oregon seems like a pretty great place to be a gamer, given the density of game stores, cons large and small, the proximity to Washington, the Oregon Renaissance Festival, etc.

the cons are small... both... but very fun. Not as small as my favorite from back in AK...

Denali Con was held at Mountain Mary's McKinley View Lodge - a private business inside Denali National Park, which said park contains Mount McKinley. (Diatribe of history deleted).
The lodge has about 10 rooms, and the con rents them out... we slept and gamed within the rooms, and gamed in the lodge's cafe, and generally, had a grand time.

Note that Mountain Mary's is about as far from Fairbanks as it is from Anchorage on the Parks Highway (AK-4, which is also interstate A-4, but no one in Alaska really cares about it having interstate status, since the connection to other states runs through one territory and one province of Canada... (YT and BC...) but only once you connect to A1 or A3 to Tok Junction.

I miss playing my annual game or two of 18xx. I miss the discussions. I miss the people. I miss the lodge food. I miss getting roflstomped at 18xx...