Gen Con 2012... Anyone going? Or have advice for a newbie?

25 years after first hearing about Gen Con, I'm finally going to make it down this year. Yay!

Is there going to be a Goodjer presence this year? Anyone else going to make it out?

Also, as a Gen Con noob, I'd appreciate any advice that people want to pass out on surviving the experience. Aside from the "remember to shower and Rabbit says wear a blazer" advice, of course.

Oh yes.

Remember the 1-2-3 rule:

1 shower a day
2 meals a day
3 hours of sleep a day minimum.

Also - Bring a backpack to carry the things with you so that your hands are free.
Remember your charging things.
If you have a simple game like Zombie Dice (or Get Bit) or any other game that is quick to learn and quick to play, always have it with you.
Bring a set of RPG dice and a pencil and paper, just in case.

Have wanted to go for a long time, but unfortunately it always conflicts with opening weekend of Minnesota Renaissance Festival or haven't had the funds. I think it changes dates in a couple years, and no conflict, so we'll see. As with any cons I would recommend carrying a bottle of alcohol based sanitizer around.

Have your badge mailed to you if you want to avoid the gigantic pre-register badge pickup line. The site will warn you they're not responsible for lost badges, which is a rule they are extremely unwilling to break, so keep that in mind.

All of the events that sound awesome fill up pretty quick, so avoid waiting till you're on site to look through the schedule and choose events. True Dungeon, for example, is probably full already. It was probably full a few minutes after registration went live at 11am Central yesterday.

Try to avoid eating the con hall food, and also try to avoid hitting the nearby quick-and-cheap places during peak eating times. The convention center concession food is disgusting, and the lines elsewhere get horrific around noon and 7. Most of the nicer sit down joints don't get extremely busy, though it's like a week of Saturdays as far as those being busy goes. If you're going to spend some time out in the nightlife/bar spots, try to claim your table or other piece of area by 7. After that, it becomes standing room only quickly.

It's a lot of walking, even if you stay very close. Hydrate often.

Make sure you plan out enough time to walk through the dealer hall to take in all the demos and booth info stuff you want. This part is really a highlight of the con that I think a lot of people skip over. People tend to schedule a lot of events and then bemoan their fate Sunday when all the demo tables in the dealer hall are packed and they only have an hour or something to look through it all.

Yeah, I'm going. I also agree with all of Bloo's advice, it's good stuff.

You can save a lot of time waiting for food by walking an extra block or two. The noodle places and other such not-great options will be full up and have tons of lines, whereas better options three blocks down often have no lines.

If you have an idea for a game you want to play, be it a specific system or a general idea, get in there NOW, as Bloo said. You can cruise and get into some interesting games if you wait, but you won't get your first choices.

There'll be an Indy game hall that'll let you try out new games for only a few tickets, be sure to go there. Indy games are one of my favorite things about Gen Con and definitely worth looking into.

Remember that all the events cost money and budget accordingly. Also, don't buy too many generic tickets; they can go on your account to pay for the next Gen Con but you're SOL if you want cash back.

Schedule events for Sunday if you can, especially if you're flying rather than driving. Indianapolis has jack-all to do outside of the con itself in my experience.

I will be in Indy a week ahead of GenCon and am interested in going. It would be my first GenCon. I've registered, but have yet to purchase a badge and tickets. Do the folks who hang out as a group have a particular hotel of choice and could I join in?

Bloo Driver wrote:

Have your badge mailed to you if you want to avoid the gigantic pre-register badge pickup line. The site will warn you they're not responsible for lost badges, which is a rule they are extremely unwilling to break, so keep that in mind.

Depends on when you get in. I usually go all 4 days so I get mine Thursday morning when the hall opens up in under 60 seconds. A bit longer the couple times I've missed Thursday.

Bloo Driver wrote:

Make sure you plan out enough time to walk through the dealer hall to take in all the demos and booth info stuff you want. This part is really a highlight of the con that I think a lot of people skip over. People tend to schedule a lot of events and then bemoan their fate Sunday when all the demo tables in the dealer hall are packed and they only have an hour or something to look through it all.

I spend all my time in the dealer hall. Every year I say I'm going to plan ahead and schedule some events but never do. I haven't looked in a while, but I think the site for finding events is pretty crappy.

I live 47 miles northwest of the Indianapolis convention center, an hour drive according to google maps. Somebody can camp out in my relatively small back yard if they want.

Resurrecting this thread like Herbert West.

All systems are go for GenCon 2012 attendance. I haven't bought my plane tix yet, but I've got the hotel room and a fist full of tickets to events. I picked mostly board games this time since RPGs with randos can be so hit or miss. Either you have an awesome table or you sneak peeks at your watch for 4 hours.

Here are the games I've got tix for:
A Game of Thrones
Defenders of the Realm
Rex: Final Days of an Empire
Chaos in the Old World
Sky Traders
Cosmic Encounter

And I've got two non-game events lined up:
Indy Brew Bus: Local Brewery Tour
Hickman’s Killer Breakfast 2012

I might bail on the brewery tour because I don't know anyone else signed up. I'd rather find someone I know and drink with them than get bused around with strangers.

I only went to GenCon once before, in 2008. I've been to my share of other cons. The advice people have given is very good.
* Wear sensible footwear. I'm sure you look great in heels but don't wear them.
* Give yourself time to leave the convention center and eat. You might think you can eat in 30 minutes, but it might take you 20 just to get somewhere.
* Pace yourself with your drugs of choice - caffeine, booze, LARPs. Peak too soon and you'll miss a lot of great gaming in hotel lobbies and the like during the evening.
* Sleep. Get your rest and you'll make it to Sunday.
* And wash your hands every time you get a chance to, especially if you're playing board games and moving OPP (Other People's Pieces).

Brewery tour, you say?

wordsmythe wrote:

Brewery tour, you say?

Yeah, there were about 5 of them listed - just search for Indy Brew Bus on the Events Website. All sold out, though. I should just charter a GWJ Ticklebus for our own tour.

Sway wrote:
wordsmythe wrote:

Brewery tour, you say?

Yeah, there were about 5 of them listed - just search for Indy Brew Bus on the Events Website. All sold out, though. I should just charter a GWJ Ticklebus for our own tour.

Yes.

You will be tempted to shake hands. Don't. If you are weak, bring hand sanitizer and use it. Often.

I am definitely interested in attending this year. I need to get all this kind of fun stuff out of the way before I have a baby to deal with.

I'll be there for the second straight year. Going to mostly be doing minis games, RPGs and demos. We should see if we could organize something for some meet up board games/RPGs. I can also recommend checking out at least one of either Scottie's Brew Pub or The Ram. Both get decked out for Gen Con with caming themed menus, decorations and fantasy/sci fi movies.

I'll be there again this year. My advice to you (a few repeats):

Wear light clothes. There's a LOT of people there and the accumulated body heat makes it hot. Besides.. Indy is sweltering in August. Seriously.. it's terrible. Don't go outside.

Wear comfy shoes that you can walk in. But no leather. Don't want your toes to rot away.

Grab a bag or a backpack. Stick dice, pen, paper, hand sanitizer, water and some snacks in there. Only use your own dice. Use the hand sanitizer. Often.

Shower! For the love of god, shower!

Don't eat at the convention hall. It's crap food and it's super expensive. If you only have a short amount of time to eat, there's a food thing in the mall one block over that has a dozen different restaurants in it. Super fast and much better food / price.

If you can, arrive Wednesday. The will call booths open at noon and will stay open all night long. The lines are much, much shorter on wednesdays.

If you realize that you can't make a scheduled session, you can return the ticket BEFORE the sessions starts.

Don't be afraid to talk to people. They are your people. Sing their song and more than likely you'll find an open game somewhere you can sit in on. Most people are more than happy to open up a seat and teach you a game.

Locations!
Here are some good pubs / restaurants around downtown:
Scotty's Brewhouse: http://goo.gl/maps/vNPF
Le Peep (breakfast / lunch): http://goo.gl/maps/cJ01
The Ram: http://goo.gl/maps/L86G
Assorted pubs downtown: http://goo.gl/maps/0fvM I can recommend Claddagh, Scotty's, Loughmillers (also a great spot for lunch. Not many people know of it. It's close by and you can usually get a seat right away).
Patachou http://goo.gl/maps/yTuj is another place not many know of. Great for breakfast / lunch.
St. Elmos steak house has fantastic steaks, but it's crowded and overpriced. http://goo.gl/maps/Hnwp
Right along this street (a block or two from convention hall) there are multiple breakfast joints: http://goo.gl/maps/a9gh
Sun King Brewery: http://goo.gl/maps/TMyx Indy's latest and greatest brewery. You can grab a taxi from the hotel across the street from the convention hall to get there. Shouldn't cost you more than a tenner to get there.

Oh.. if you go to Scottys or the Ram, feel free to bust out some games while you are sitting there. As long as it's not Arkham Horror length the staff is usually very cool about sitting around playing games and drinking beer.

Have fun! Hope to meet a bunch of you there!

I've actually been tempted to go down by Paizo - I'm one of the Organized Play volunteers up here in Toronto, and I'm GMing enough games in Indy for them that they're paying for my badge. Half the time GMing, and half the time playing and wandering and seeing other stuff. But a lot of the advice on what to wear, what to bring, and where to eat has been really helpful. Thanks for all the advice, everyone.

How many Goodjers are going to be there? I left a few slots open on purpose for the dealer room and whatnot, and it might be nice to meet some of you in person if there's downtime in common.

Do it, do it. The more people the more games we can play!

All the advice above is good. I can't see anything wrong with any of it. That said, there are two things which cannot be emphasized enough when it comes to con going:

1. Soap
2. Water

These two objects are, next to your con badge(without which you aren't having fun) THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS YOU WILL COME INTO CONTACT WITH.

That said, I highly recommend that you use them both frequently. Ensure that when employing the most important object, you utilize the second in quantity, preferably at higher temperatures. Utilize the second frequently to ensure that you are conscious and alive to enjoy your time.

Cheers.

I generally assume people on Gamers With Jobs will have basic hygiene down when in public, even at a convention.

Actually, I've never met a GWJer, at a convention or elsewhere, that had anything close to a Con Stank. The people who do are, in my limited experience, those who just got their first whiff of freedom around high school or early college age. And they'll probably learn.

One thing I should add: Don't be afraid to speak up if something's bothering you or even walk away from a bad or abusive DM/group. I've run into very few of these when I've been there (the crowd tends to be older) but uncomfortable situations, in role playing or in personal interactions, still happen and the people making them happen are often too socially inept for subtle hints or body language.

Is it GenCon with the real-life dungeon crawl? I heard about it on the D6 Generation podcast and it sounded awesome. I heard a few years back Will Wheaton one-shotted a dragon on an incrediblly lucky throw.

Two weeks and a day before I'm hitting the road for GenCon. Thursday and Saturday nights are looking free to me if we want to have a meet-up Slap and Tickle to play some games.

We haven't done it in years but we can always go to Champps again. Unlike RAM and some of the other places mentioned above, it doesn't get too packed so we can easily get seats for a large party. Especially if we get there right after the show floor closes. And if we make a reservation.

jdzappa wrote:

Is it GenCon with the real-life dungeon crawl? I heard about it on the D6 Generation podcast and it sounded awesome. I heard a few years back Will Wheaton one-shotted a dragon on an incrediblly lucky throw.

They have "True Dungeon" events going the entire con. They sell out pretty fast, and are a tad overpriced, but they're definitely memorable. Best with a fill group of friends!

Can't get to the con this year, rain check until next year (definitely going then!)

Anyone want to try to schedule a GWJ "True Dungeon" event? I think it'd be quite a bit of fun

They're all sold out. I think that happened really fast too after going on sale. We'd have to get organized before the event tickets go on sale. It'll be fun. Y'know, like how getting a hotel room was fun.

bnpederson wrote:

I generally assume people on Gamers With Jobs will have basic hygiene down when in public, even at a convention.

Actually, I've never met a GWJer, at a convention or elsewhere, that had anything close to a Con Stank. The people who do are, in my limited experience, those who just got their first whiff of freedom around high school or early college age. And they'll probably learn.

True, but it's a thing that can never be said enough.

Also, a more amusing way to give my previous advice, from Foamy. NSFW.

Your only defense against the funk is Mint Balm. It is alot easier to put some delicious smelling mint under each nostril and burn out your olfactory senses than get permission to Bug bomb the entire convention center with Febreeze.

Seriously. you have no idea how bad it can be until you've been immersed in it.

Hand sanitizer: use it. The "iron cross" from Penny Arcade never really caught on, so just touch and go. Don't go near any mucus membranes of your own before you scrub off the disease.

Screw tickets. If there's something to play that's new, it'll be on the floor. If there's something you're into that's old... well... you should know what that is and go get some damn tickets for it.

Comfy shoes are a must.

Eat in your room or out of your bag. Pretend you're hiking. Buddy and I spent very nearly zero dollars eating out last year. I ended up with more games to bring home. He ended up with a whole steampunk cosplay suit. I think I won.

Hit up the GenCon site and take a leisurely virtual tour of all the booths, their associated companies, and go troll (in the fishing sense) their websites. These are folks that almost never get to meet face to face with their potential customers, and if you want to spend some time bending one or more of their ears it's best to plan ahead.

Grab business cards and sign up for mailing lists. You'll be in that much better a spot for next year.