Escapist Expo 2012 & Slap & Tickle (Durham, NC)

Well, unless anyone is really interested in Q&A with The Escapists, Best. Magic. Players. Ever., or Art of Game Mechanics, then I'd say 5pm is a good time for the Slap & Tickle.

How many spots should we call in and reserve?

In terms of the location, I'm leaning towards Bll McCabes since they have a patio, which seems the ideal sort of location for a group of people looking to speak with each other, and they've got a decent menu.

The one issue is no split checks on parties of 8 or more, so we'd ALL need to make sure we had enough cash if there's more than 8 of us. I haven't tallied the number of folks in the thread that have said they were going, so I'm not sure if we will or will not have that problem.

Second choice would be Full Steam Brewery, though I can't tell much about the tavern on there.

Count me in. Hope that helps with the tallying.

Oh yeah, do we have someone to make a GWJer flag for the board game room? Did I already ask that question? I'm too lazy to go back and read.

EDIT: Also I updated the original post with information regarding the Slap & Tickle. I basically added everyone that has posted in this thread. So let me know if you're a definitive "Yes" and I'll add you as such.

I'm confirmed.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I'm confirmed.

Pretty sure I'll tag along.

I'll be there.

I might actually just call and make a reservation for 25-30, as I know I'll have friends at the convention. Plus, in the event that anyone meets someone(s) cool at the expo we can just invite them.

Or we could say "screw the reservation" and meet on the patio.

...I'll call and make sure on Saturday.

I'll be there, playin' games, eating food, sleepin' on your floor. The usual.

Word is Bull McCabes may be a frequent College Hang-out and may be crowded. I still might call, because if we can get a section of the patio or something that would be sweet. Otherwise, here are some other options.

[url=http://www.tylerstaproom.com/locatio...'s Tap Room[url], which is an 8 minute walk from the Convention Center. It has outdoor dining, a private room, and a delicious looking pizza on the website.

James Joyce Irish Pub which has picnic tables out back and is a 12 minute walk from the convention center.

The Federal, which...has a website...and is right next door to James Joyce.

Tylers is good and we've had previous S&T's at their Apex location. That's got my vote. Garlic fries... *drool*

Yellek wrote:

Tylers is good and we've had previous S&T's at their Apex location. That's got my vote. Garlic fries... *drool*

I love Tylers! I've amassed quite a collection of pint glasses from their pint nights.

ccesarano wrote:

[url=http://www.tylerstaproom.com/locatio...'s Tap Room[url], which is an 8 minute walk from the Convention Center. It has outdoor dining, a private room, and a delicious looking pizza on the website.

The Tylers location in Durham is in the American Tobacco Campus, so it will probably be crowded. If we are there at 5 as discussed, it shouldn't be too bad though. There are public areas with tables at ATC, but given that it is a public area, I don't think you can carry alcohol to it.

ccesarano wrote:

James Joyce Irish Pub which has picnic tables out back and is a 12 minute walk from the convention center.

The Federal

I have not been to either, though I hear they are good.

AndyK (DiamondSutra) will be running quick games of Maid, Tenra, and other small-press RPGs at the "Games on Demand" area. If you like tabletop RPGs and want to try out new games, this is a good place to visit. Central NC has a lot of heavy hitters in the indie RPG market and I think several will be there.

Oh crap, I forgot to call yesterday. I'll see if I can find some time this week to call, unless we all want to descend upon their location in a massive mass of massicity.

Changing the location to Tyler's on the original post, by the way.

P.S. Susan Arendt posted in the Escapist forum that they're looking for spare volunteers Thursday evening, so if you're getting to the expo early you could always lend a hand. I think I'll do that, though details as to where you'd go are sort of nonexistent.

Doubley Edit: So I can't seem to get a free moment to call Tyler's until night time, and no one picked up the phone. I'm not familiar with their weekday hours or how busy they get, but anyone else with more free phone time want to try and see if 1) we can reserve a space for twenty in the outdoor beergarden, and if we can't 2) can we reserve a space for 20 at all?

I'm nervous about reserving a spot for 20 considering how silent this thread has been, but I figure better safe than sorry, and it's not really a problem to invite people met during the day anyway.

Tyler's is popular for Monday night football, so probably hard to get through. I will try to call tomorrow, but I will be at a company meeting all day. According to the agenda we will be breaking for lunch around 11:30, so I can try to call then. You can add a +1 for me in the OP if you want, I convinced my wife to join us.

Based on the hours on their website I called right after they closed, so that's probably part of it.

I'm getting all excited with the expo so close. Not gonna lie.

Put me as a maybe for Tyler's. A couple of friends are having birthday parties that day.

Called Tyler's today. They do not take reservations or call aheads. Guy I spoke with (Ryan) said that it shouldn't be a problem to seat 20 around 5-5:30, though they will not seat us until half the party has arrived.

Alright, well it should be easy enough to meet in front, and it'll make it easy enough to invite anyone along if we do so wish.

Thanks Jonfentyler!

I'll probably spend a bit of time wandering the board game room. Look for this sort of surly fellow, only minus the dumb Jester hat.

I'm probably way too excited for a small 5,000 person expo.

I'll be there.

ccesarano wrote:

I'm probably way too excited for a small 5,000 person expo.

Yup, but that's because its my first expo/con/geek culture event.

EverythingsTentative wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

I'm probably way too excited for a small 5,000 person expo.

Yup, but that's because its my first expo/con/geek culture event.

Me too. My wife is meeting us at Tyler's Saturday evening, but I will be attending the expo Saturday alone. Let me know if anyone wants to meet up.

If you guys want I can PM you my phone number for texting and other such things. That or we can come up with a Twitter hashtag to try and keep connected. Evidently some folks are already using #EscapistExpo, though not many.

ccesarano wrote:

If you guys want I can PM you my phone number for texting and other such things. That or we can come up with a Twitter hashtag to try and keep connected. Evidently some folks are already using #EscapistExpo, though not many.

PM sent.

I'll pm my number but creating a #tag like #GWJEscapistExpo would let others follow us.

Count me in for the slap & tickle. My wife might be coming along too. Let me know who I send my phone number to...I don't want to miss out on things.

jonfentyler wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

I'm probably way too excited for a small 5,000 person expo.

Yup, but that's because its my first expo/con/geek culture event.

Me too. My wife is meeting us at Tyler's Saturday evening, but I will be attending the expo Saturday alone. Let me know if anyone wants to meet up.

I'm also very excited for this. First time going to anything like this.

Friday night I wouldn't mind a gather either. I'm going to print out walking directions to just about any location discussed here, but I'm generally pondering where to go for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights. Dame's Chicken & Waffles will be one of those two nights. On a chill Sunday? On Friday?

I'll keep people in the know. To those of you that have given me your number, I'll text you each day before we meet up.

Whoo! Excited!

I'm working on Friday so I won't be attending the expo until Saturday.

I am not going... Sudden grave illness in the family. My travel plans to Escapist Expo are replaced by travel overseas to my dad's bedside.

You shall be missed, Gorilla.800.lbs. I wish you and your family the best.

Sad news, Gorilla.