Badge Registration is open.
Online Badge Registration is open until ???
4-day: $80
1-day: $45
If you run an Event, you have until May 17th to submit it.
May 19th at noon- Event Registration opens.
http://www.gencon.com/events/find
Terms of Service, Refunds and Exchange poicy, and the Harassment policy(because Knowledge is Power!):
All participants in Gen Con LLC's ("Gen Gon") 2015 convention ("convention") being held July 30 - August 2, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana, are required to, and hereby do, assume all risk of participation in the convention by accepting this terms of service agreement ("agreement") and the assumption of risk and release of liability described below.
PURCHASES
Every attendee is required to wear a badge, with the exception of children ages eight and under. Children ages eight and under are free to attend and do not need a badge unless they will be participating in ticketed events.
All children must be accompanied by a Parent or Guardian with a badge and children must be registered online or at the Customer Service or Badge Registration kiosks and receive a wristband (for security purposes).
Gen Con accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express as payment. Cash is accepted for purchases onsite. Checks and Money Orders are not accepted at any time.
REFUNDS
All refund requests must be made by the end of day on June 14, 2015. Absolutely no badge cancellation requests will be honored after June 14, 2015, 11:59 pm (Eastern). (Exchanges can be made onsite starting July 29, 2015.)
Pre-Registration cancellations and refunds will be processed during GEN CON Customer Service hours.
Refund requests received prior to the end of Pre-Registration will be issued a refund and credited back to the original credit card or system credit used for purchase, less any administrative fees.
If the items needing to be refunded have already been mailed, we will require the items be returned to our Seattle office immediately before your refund will be processed.
All badge refunds are subject to a $10 administrative fee. All event and generic ticket refunds are subject to a 5% administrative fee for the total sum of tickets refunded. There are no exceptions.
All refund requests must be made by the purchaser via mail or email (see Contact Info below).
Refund requests must include the first and last name of the attendee, GEN CON Account number and email address associated with the account. Badge types and Game IDs, along with a description of the items to be refunded is greatly appreciated (i.e. a 4-Day badge and eight generic tickets, or three Saturday badges and three True Dungeon tickets, Game ID#________).
Only event tickets can be refunded onsite. Badges are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Event ticket refunds will be managed at the Customer Service kiosk and will only be refunded to the person whose name is on the ticket or to the original purchaser.
A valid government issued photo ID and a Convention badge are required to process any type of ticket refund onsite.
Event specific ticket refunds/exchanges must be requested at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the event. Refund/Exchange requests received after that time will not be honored.
All event specific ticket refunds are subject to a 5% administrative fee for the total sum of tickets refunded. There are no exceptions. Refunds will be made back to the original form of payment.
Generic tickets will only be refunded as a system credit. There is no cash refund on generic tickets. There are no exceptions. (System credit can be used to purchase badges or tickets for any future Gen Con. It is non-transferable, non-refundable and does not expire.)
The last day to receive a generic ticket or event specific ticket refund is Sunday, August 2, no later than 4:00 pm, at the Customer Service kiosks.
EXCHANGES OR UPGRADES
If you want to exchange your 1-Day badge for a 4-Day badge or your 4-Day badge for a 1-Day badge before the end of Pre-Registration, you must first contact Customer Service (see Contact Info below) to refund your current badge. Then you can purchase the new badge online. Event tickets for non-applicable days will need to be refunded.
Pre-Registration event ticket exchanges require the Attendee's Name and Login (or email address), GEN CON Account number and the Game ID of the event you wish to change. A system credit will be issued to your account for the event being exchanged. Once the credit has been applied, you will receive a confirmation email letting you know you can register for a new event.
Onsite, a 1-day badge can be upgraded to a 4-day badge only if the 1-day badge is current. In order to exchange a current 1-day badge for a different 1-day badge onsite, you must do so a minimum of one day before your badge is valid.
For onsite event ticket exchanges, please present the ticket for the event you would like to exchange and provide the Game ID for the event you wish to replace. Event ticket refunds/exchanges must take place at least 30 minutes prior to the start of the event.
A valid government issued photo ID and a Convention badge are required to process any type of badge or ticket exchange onsite.
EVENT CANCELLATIONS
If an event has been cancelled, please see the area Hall Captain for further instructions. No event ticket refunds will be given for cancelled events without a stamp or signature from the Hall Captain. Whereas cancelled event tickets with proper Hall Captain signature qualify for refund, Convention badges will NOT be refunded or credited due to event cancellations.
LOST BADGES & EVENT TICKETS
We cannot replace lost, stolen or forgotten badges and/or event tickets. GEN CON will not provide refunds, credit or replacements for any lost items. GEN CON will not refund, credit or replace badges or event tickets if courier tracking indicates the badge or ticket was received at your premises. Lost, stolen or forgotten items must be repurchased at full cost. It is recommended you check with the GEN CON Show Office to see if your materials have been turned in to Lost & Found. GEN CON assumes no responsibility for lost, stolen or forgotten materials.
WAIVER / ASSUMPTION OF RISK / RELEASE OF LIABILITY
You agree to assume all risks of participating in the Convention and release GEN CON from any liability for loss, damage or injury (including disability or death) to your person and property while attending, participating in or becoming involved with the Convention. You specifically make the following representations and assurances to GEN CON, acknowledging that GEN CON would not permit your participation in the Convention without receiving such representations and assurances:
I wish to participate in a GEN CON Convention subject to the terms and conditions herein. I acknowledge and agree that the Convention involves some inherently dangerous activities. GEN CON will use good faith efforts to conduct and manage the Convention, but I understand that it is not possible to make the Convention completely safe. I warrant and represent that I am sufficiently knowledgeable, skilled and/or informed regarding the Convention to properly and fully judge the inherent risks of the Convention.
ASSUMPTION OF RISK
I acknowledge and agree that the Convention involves potential risks of serious personal injury, disability or even death. I represent that I have sufficient physical fitness to participate in the Convention and I have no medical reason or impairment that might otherwise prevent me from participating in the Convention. If I know or should know of any condition or problem that might prevent me from safely participating in the Convention, I agree that I will immediately advise GEN CON and remove myself from the Convention.
In consideration of being allowed to attend, participate in or become involved with the Convention, I hereby assume full responsibility for my own safety and accept all known and unanticipated risks of loss, damage and injury (including death or disability) to myself and my property while attending, participating in or becoming involved with the Convention, regardless of whether or not such risks are attributable to the negligence of others. By assuming and accepting all known and unanticipated risks, I completely absolve, waive, discharge and release GEN CON and all its employees, advisors, consultants, members, contractors, organizers, operators, volunteers, sponsors or other persons affiliated with GEN CON and all facility staff, guests, fellow participants, landlords, owners, management companies and the like (collectively the "Indemnified Parties") from any legal duty for my safety or any liability for my harm, to the maximum extent permitted by law.
RELEASE OF LIABILITY
In consideration of being allowed to attend, participate in or become involved with the Convention, I hereby agree to release, waive, discharge, hold harmless, defend and indemnify the Indemnified Parties from and against any and all liability, claims, demands, controversy, lawsuits or possible causes of action ("Claims") that may accrue or arise from any loss, damage or injury (including death or disability) to my person and property that is in any way related to or arising in connection with my attendance at, participation in or involvement with the Convention, regardless of whether or not such Claims are attributable in whole or in part to any act, omission or negligence of the Indemnified Parties. I agree that the Indemnified Parties will not be legally responsible for any loss, damage and injury (including death or disability) to my person and property arising out of or in any way connected to the Convention, however caused and on any theory of liability whatsoever (whether i n contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or otherwise), including but not limited to the Indemnified Party's own negligence. Such defense and indemnification shall include all reasonable costs, expenses and attorney's fees that may be associated with any Claims. I further agree that I will not cause, encourage, promulgate, support or cooperate with (unless such cooperation is judicially mandated) any Claims to be brought against the Indemnified Parties.
I understand that the above release and assumption of risk is intended to provide a comprehensive release of liability but is not intended to assert any defenses that are prohibited by law. The release and assumption of risk shall be enforceable to the fullest extent allowed by law. If any portion of the release and assumption of risk is held invalid, those parts that are not held invalid shall continue in full force and effect. The terms of the above release and assumption of risk shall apply to and be binding on myself, my spouse, my heirs, all members of my family, executors, administrators, representatives, and assigns.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
I understand this Agreement is a binding contract that supersedes any other agreements or representations and is intended to provide a comprehensive release of liability but is not intended to assert any defenses which are prohibited by law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. The parties hereby irrevocably and unconditionally consent to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington or the Superior Court of Washington State for King County any actions, suits or proceedings arising out of or relating to this Agreement and irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any action, suit or proceeding arising out of this Agreement. The parties hereby irrevocably waive all rights to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based on contract, tort or otherwise) ar ising out of or otherwise relating to this Agreement.
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ETHICS, CONDUCT AND NO HARASSMENT
I understand that GEN CON is dedicated to providing a safe, enjoyable, and harassment-free Convention experience for all participants and workers, regardless of their gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, or affiliation, and I hereby acknowledge that disruptive behavior, inappropriate and unlawful conduct, and harassment in any form will not be tolerated. I agree to conduct myself, and any minors under my supervision, in a safe, responsible, non-disruptive, and lawful manner while attending the Convention, and understand that violation of Convention policies as determined by GEN CON in its sole discretion, may result in my expulsion from the Convention without refund.If you need to report an issue you may do so by visiting the Show Office in room 112 or Customer Service in the Wabash East concourse.
MEDIA USAGE
Media recording equipment larger than a handheld device is allowed only with an approved Press badge or the express consent of Gen Con LLC. Those with professional recording needs should email press@gencon.com with their inquiries. Those with non-professional recording interest should email customerservice@gencon.com.
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Media recordings of specific exhibitor booths, on-sale products, demo products, and specific Gen Con events are prohibited without the consent of the associated exhibitor or event organizer/GM. Attendees are responsible for knowing and complying with any additional rules and regulations pertaining to their location of recording.
Gen Con's Ethics, Conduct, and No Harassment policy extends to photos, recordings, and act of recording taken by attendees at Gen Con. Attendees acknowledge that their photos and recordings must comply with Gen Con's Ethics, Conduct, and No Harassment policy, and that a failure to do so may result in expulsion without refund from the convention. This policy is enforced at Gen Con's sole discretion.
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CONTACT INFO
If you have any inquiries regarding our Refund, Exchange or Cancellation Policies, please call our office at 800-529-3976 x3806 or email us at customerservice@gencon.com. Customer Service hours are 9:30 am - 5:00 pm (Pacific), 12:30 pm - 8:00 pm (Eastern). During the convention, all inquiries can be made at the Customer Service kiosk onsite.
Hopefully I'll get off my lazy butt this year and write up a guide for Gencon sometime. If anyone has any tips they feel like sharing, I'm sure everyone will appreciate it!
So who's going to GenCon?!
I'll try to keep this post updated with that info when it becomes available. I figured this could just be a general Gencon 2015 thread since they trickle info throughout the year like the artists that are coming and such.
And to add to what Manchu said, if you want in on the really popular events like True Dungeon, you need to be hitting F5 the day of registration. If you don't, you most likely will miss it. Honestly, it's very likely you'll miss it anyway.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Badge registration is now open btw.
4-day passes are $80 this year. I highly recommend having it shipped to your house to avoid any lines, especially if you don't arrive on Wednesday.
My lottery time was at 12:05. Took me almost two hours to get in finally and ended up out by the airport. Wish they would load test these systems beforehand.
Really? Did you use the Gencon reservations, or call up the local hotels? There are a few different chains nearby- I know there's a la Quinta less than a mile away.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also if the housing block gets filled up, you can still call and make a normal reservation(if those aren't gone too). You just don't get the discount.
Well, glad we decided to stick with our usual hotel...
"Gen Con is continuing to review email and online comments from the opening of 2015 housing registration. The staff realizes that there was customer frustration, and the development team is examining technical issues that customers have experienced and reported.
We would like to apologize for any problems or inconvenience that users may have experienced. Our goal is to provide convenient, affordable housing for as many attendees as possible.
When the development team’s research and compilation of feedback is complete, Gen Con will be able to provide more detailed answers that address your questions and specific concerns. We hope to release this follow-up message later this week.
If you participated in 2015 housing registration, it would help us greatly if you could provide your thoughts on the 2015 housing registration process by completing the following Housing Survey. Thank you for your time."
Apparently there was also a glitch where if a person signed up for a badge after the housing lottery opened, they could immediately sign up fora room bypassing the lottery.
GenCon gave me $50 credit for the technical SNAFU. I'm pleased that they recognized there was an issue and offered a token to those affected. OTOH, a little bit miffed when I think about the inability to stagger back to my room at night or drop loot off during the day.
"Gen Con is thrilled to announce the 2015 Artist Guest of Honor Tony DiTerlizzi.
Tony will host several events at the show, make sure to check them out when Event Registration opens in May. When not hosting his events, you can find Tony at his booth in the Art Show. Stop by and say "hi!"
About Tony:
DRAGONS, SPACE MONSTERS, GOBLINS, and insects—the characters that inhabit Tony DiTerlizzi’s world haven’t changed since he was a kid growing up in Florida.
In 1981, after watching The Dark Crystal and playing Dungeons & Dragons, 12-year-old Tony created a field guide on fantastical creatures. He would return to this premise many years later as the genesis for the multi-million bestselling chapter book series, The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Eleven years later, Tony began working for TSR where his art soon became synonymous with the Planescape RPG. Throughout the decade he also freelanced with White Wolf Games and Wizards of the Coast, where he painted cards for Magic: The Gathering.
This year marks the release of Realms: The Roleplaying Game Art of Tony DiTerlizzi (published by Dark Horse Books) – a first-ever collection of fantastic art from the start of a fantastic career.
Tony lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with his wife and daughter.
"
"Pop Up Badge giveaway! Will you be at Farpoint this weekend, just outside of Baltimore? It's a great fan run convention. Find our representative in the 2015 Orange Gen Con Volunteer shirt and be the first person to say the phrase that pays, "I love gaming!", and you'll win a free pass to Gen Con 2015. Hint; you might find our rep in the gaming room."
"Did you hear? Gen Con has announced its 2015 Author Guest of Honor...TERRY BROOKS! Yes, the author of the beloved Shannara series will attend Gen Con 2015, participating in author workshops and seminars.
Additionally, he will host several book signings in the Authors' Avenue area of the Exhibit Hall. More information on these events will become available in May. Terry Brooks joins Artist Guest of Honor Tony DiTerlizzi as the second announced Gen Con 2015 Guest of Honor. Help us welcome Terry Brooks to the show!"
Event Registration opens Sunday(May 19th) at Noon Eastern US time!
Be sure you have your wishlist ready to submit the second it goes live- even them you're not guarenteed your selected events if it's wry popular! It's a mad rush, and make sure you're prepared!
I'm not keeping it as up to date as I'd like- the wishlist maker thingy went up on the 11th. I've been pulled away from miniature gaming lately, so I've had fewer reasons to stop by. Still going to do my best though.
Also, you need to pay for your badge BEFORE you can register for events.
Spoiler:
Im sure most people know that, but one of my buddies didn't understand the process too well...
Automatically Appended Next Post: And another note-
Pay for your events immediately after submitting them. Don't wait until later- they'll be purged (I think) at the end of the day, if not sooner. You can keep submitting events and such after you submit your wishlist and pay for them all together, but don't put it off for a day or anything.
THEY WILL NOT BE SAVED UNTIL THEY ARE PAID FOR
is the golden rule.
I kid, I kid. Obviously sorting by day (we'll probably leave early Sunday, it's a long drive home) and mutually exclusive events will come into play. If I'm lucky enough to get into one of the tournaments I'd like to play in, that'll probably knock out most of a second day, so it'll really be more about finding things on the other two.
I recommend spending Thursday morning through afternoon at the dealer hall. Our group decided to not schedule anything until late Thursday evening- if something's really popular it's likely to run out the first day. It's not always guarenteed they have another truck bringing more.
Plus if you find yourself in a long line to check out with your Gencon exclusives, it's possible you'll miss that event. I should mention, there are quite a few long lines for Gencon exclusives and early releases.
I mean, you can get out of there under $50 if you don't get both a steak and a shrimp cocktail or drink. I imagine their chicken and pork chops are really good; i just haven't had them before.
cincydooley wrote: I mean, you can get out of there under $50 if you don't get both a steak and a shrimp cocktail or drink. I imagine their chicken and pork chops are really good; i just haven't had them before.
Oh I understand. I just feel if I'm going to pay $50 for a steak I'm going to cook it myself, the way I want it. I'll just have a peanut butter burger or the fish and chips from the ram instead.
Sinful Hero wrote: What are the prices like at St. Elmo's? Never been there before, but I've been tempted. Seems like a ritzy place.
I never got out of there for less than $100 per person.
Yeah, I believe I'm just going to have to pass. I had a bad experience with the last high dollar place I ate, so I'm not too enthused about spending that much for nothing again.
No worries. I have skipped that trip a few times for $$$ reasons, so I understand.
On topic: This year's Fantasy Flight Games In-Flight report is only taking generic tickets. You used to need an event ticket, but I think they were $0. Anyway, I guess it's first come, first serve this year. That's my favorite event.
Also, they don't seem to have an 40KRPG "What's Next" event like they did in previous years.
Sinful Hero wrote: What are the prices like at St. Elmo's? Never been there before, but I've been tempted. Seems like a ritzy place.
I never got out of there for less than $100 per person.
Kronk, would love to chat it up with you this year over some scotch or bourbon!
@Sinful - I promise it really is worth it. We have some very good steakhouses in Cincinnati (Jeff Ruby's) and St. Elmo's is by far the best I've ever had.
There are a lot of good non-GenCon-y restaurants downtown, too, if you're willing to take a 5 minute Uber. I'd be happy to recommend some.
The Weber Grill is decent, but a bit over priced. I prefer the Ram's atmosphere, anyway.
Bucco di Beppo (spelling) is decent, family style Italian for a couple or a group of 4-10. Call ahead if you can.
The food court at the mall is fine for a quick bite at lunch time. The line o'food trucks seem to take for fething ever, but you do have 50,000 hungry gamers...
My wife and I brought a lot of food last year, but we were on diets.
Let's see, I've been to the Ram, Scottie's, Bucco de Bepo's, an Indian Restaurant, and several chains(Hooter's, California Pizza, and Steak n Shake I know for sure). I'm sure I'm forgetting a few places. St. Elmo's is about the only place I haven't eaten in the immediate vicinity yet.
St. Elmo's came up as one of the best places to eat in Indianna on one list or another. I may end up wandering in there. How big are the steaks?
Sinful Hero wrote: Let's see, I've been to the Ram, Scottie's, Bucco de Bepo's, an Indian Restaurant, and several chains(Hooter's, California Pizza, and Steak n Shake I know for sure). I'm sure I'm forgetting a few places. St. Elmo's is about the only place I haven't eaten in the immediate vicinity yet.
St. Elmo's came up as one of the best places to eat in Indianna on one list or another. I may end up wandering in there. How big are the steaks?
The porterhouse was rather large. 28 oz? 32? I don't recall.
Waiting for my event registration to process. #4000 in line... yay!
I was 5656 in line. Kinda depressing seeing all my first picks grey out as the number crept down. I think my only first tier pick left was Relic. Oh well, managed to find enough interesting things to keep me busy. Looks like a lot of Battletech to fill up the dead time.
I ended up at 1970, and got all my events so I'm pretty pleased.
What events did you guys sign up for?
I got the Burlesque show, conspiracy draft(mtg), chaos draft(mtg), eclipse phase(RPG),and a small world tournament(board game). If I do anything else I'll just buy in with generic tickets, like the Battletech(or mechwarrior, I can't remember) pods.
I ended up going with some sessions about things I don't have much knowledge ; Kings of War, Sails of Glory, Noble Armada. Also the aforementioned Relic and opted for a 9:00 PM session of 5E D&D that my buddy and I figured we'd have a long liquid dinner beforehand.
I had a $50 system credit from the housing snafu, so I didn't really feel compelled to worry about paying for a garbage session.
I'll be chained to booth #936 for most of the show.
Will you(or anyone) be running demos at your booth? I know of a few specific models I've been wanting to pick up for sure, but I don't really know much about the game itself...
I'll be chained to booth #936 for most of the show.
Will you(or anyone) be running demos at your booth? I know of a few specific models I've been wanting to pick up for sure, but I don't really know much about the game itself...
Yes, I'll mainly be manning the register, but Tom (Alfindrate) and Matt (MiskatonicAlum) will be demoing at the booth. It only takes a few minutes to go through it, so definitely stop in and give it a go!
The Friday/Sunday events are also meant for beginners, so Matt will be going over everything before the match begins. Plus you get a Mini-Rulebook for playing in it.
My friends and I managed to get into the events we narrowed down as a group; True Dungeon (101 seminar on Thursday, Puzzle focused adventure Saturday evening), the Netrunner tournament on Friday, Gigantic Battlestations on Saturday, and a couple of seminars across the weekend.
Calendar is already filling up a little, as we'll probably have to leave early'ish on Sunday for the long drive home, but I've left hours here and there to hit the trade floor, snag some swag, high five some people at awesome companies (Flying Frog and Dwarven Forge, I'm looking at you), gawk at the FFG booths, and maybe flip the bird at Palladium and Wyrd.
Forar wrote: My friends and I managed to get into the events we narrowed down as a group; True Dungeon (101 seminar on Thursday, Puzzle focused adventure Saturday evening), the Netrunner tournament on Friday, Gigantic Battlestations on Saturday, and a couple of seminars across the weekend.
Calendar is already filling up a little, as we'll probably have to leave early'ish on Sunday for the long drive home, but I've left hours here and there to hit the trade floor, snag some swag, high five some people at awesome companies (Flying Frog and Dwarven Forge, I'm looking at you), gawk at the FFG booths, and maybe flip the bird at Palladium and Wyrd.
Y'know, get it all out of my system.
True Dungeon?
Practice at shuffleboard. If they haven't changed anything you'll still need to do a couple fights even in the puzzle focus side. And it all comes down to shuffleboard.
Yeah, we've seen the videos, and easily chose to go with the puzzle focused version, but I expect some of us will be shuffle board'ing our way to victory or defeat by the end of the night all the same.
It'll be our first Gencon, so we decided to hit up a big event, and that seemed interesting. Hopefully it's not a regrettable adventure when all is said and done.
Don't expect to hit a whole lot even if you do practice up.
Me and Sinful were consistently in the 16-19 range and all we got was nope, nope, nope, oh a crit one damage. Meanwhile I got eliminated first combat and would have been out $40 if not for the kindness of a backstage guy who left me at one HP.
It's terrible, I'd suggest a refund if you can honestly. I mean we had fun, but it was definitely not the actual game that was fun.
Yeah, it's not something I would do again- bad luck can get you watching everyone else have fun after dying in the first couple rooms. (They make you tag along and say nothing, do nothing from the back- I think one couple who got knocked out requested to leave after standing around for awhile and they went out the staff halls)
I'm not gonna say it's not something you should try once- they have some cool stuff to see, and anamatronics. But be aware you can get a bad run, and you are literally running a campaign with 9 other people at the same time. It's all about speed sometimes.
It was frustrating playing a paladin, hitting an 18 on the board, and told, "Nope". We were on the puzzle side too... Not to mention when we took too long healing up where we got to the next room, and the horn blew for us to move on. You also play a coin lottery- you can buy the coins with abilities/equipment on them. Sometimes you get cool stuff, sometimes you get a potion of water breathing.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Granted, we didn't do the 101 either, so you could end up in a group with people like us.
We do have some fun memories though. "Is that your hand?!" "No, no it's not mine!" "WHO'S HAND IS THIS?!!!"
Almost making the end boss break character(Mr.Church13).
The obnoxious guy in our group who wanted to run everything, and his look of total defeat and bitterness as our friend found the final ring.
Actually most of my memories come from the last room. Everything else seemed like a grind.
Our group had fun the first few years at True Dungeon. I don't know if they had a leadership change or a philosophy change, but the last two times we ran it, our GMs were dicks and the monsters were impossible to hit, even with magic weapons, as Mr. Church13 said.
We asked ourselves as a group if it was worth the $, and we decided no.
Still, if you've never played, it's certainly worth trying once.
I'm doing the Fantasy Flight games In-Flight report. The Reaper Speed Paint sessions were all sold out when my turn in the queueue came up. Sad Kronk.
Some of us were given the option to wait for discounted registration passes and found out that even if one person has you on their friends list they still can't get tickets for events for the whole group. A few of us will be getting a free/discounted pass but pretty much all the events are sold out that were of interest so I guess it is just seminars and shopping.
That sucks. Yeah, a person can't buy tickets for someone who doesn't have a badge, period. They should have been able to buy an extra for themselves though, and could have let you use it, or time it so they could drop it while you picked it up.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also, to buy tickets for someone else they need to list each other as friends.
Sinful Hero wrote: Also, to buy tickets for someone else they need to list each other as friends.
That was already done, just not everyone has their badge yet. We had hoped to do some group gaming but with how fast the tickets sell we don't see that happening now.
Heh, had a last minute 4th member join the adventure for our first Gencon.
Tuesday evening.
"So guys, what are you doing so I can get event tickets to that stuff?"
Oh you sweet summer child... yeah, that ship has sailed.
But I mean, it's not like I've been harping on the event ticket launch for the last... half year or anything, and really ramped up in the last 2 weeks.
Nearly every event we tried to get tickets for was sold out. I hit register the second the "button" to register was ready. I was 4000+ in line. Most of our group was in the 4000-5000 in line on the wish list.
Ah, well. This GenCon is more of a reunion for us, than anything else, so after spending mad jack in the dealer's room, we'll be gaming and drinking. Yehaw!
Deciding what to do with my time. Besides giving Demos on Friday and Sunday while On the Lamb's beginner events are going on, I'll be giving MiskatonicAlum the occasional break from demoing and running an Endless; Fantasy Tactics "Tournament" on Saturday. Also looking at getting a demo for Kings of War, Krosmaster: Arena, and playing in a game called Sailpower.
Wishing that Shadows of Esteren would get their events in so I can get a demo of that, and that Netrunner wasn't just a single tournament event :(.
If you had your badge mailed to you, I can confirm folks in rural Tennessee have received theirs. So yours should be coming soon, if it's not there already.
A shame they won't mail badges out of the US. I get that it might be time/manpower/cost prohibitive, but c'mon, surely firing a package up to America's Hat isn't that odious an issue.
My friends and I are planning to drive down early Wednesday, so we can hopefully pick up our packages at the site, and even if we have to spend an hour or two, at least it won't be eating into convention time.
Forar wrote: A shame they won't mail badges out of the US. I get that it might be time/manpower/cost prohibitive, but c'mon, surely firing a package up to America's Hat isn't that odious an issue.
If you don't want to stand in line, ship your badge to a buddy in the states that's going or that will mail it to you.
My wife got her badge Saturday. In fact, my entire gaming group has theirs except two people whose last name starts with T and W.
My friends and I are planning to drive down early Wednesday, so we can hopefully pick up our packages at the site, and even if we have to spend an hour or two, at least it won't be eating into convention time.
1-2 hours on Wednesday sounds about right. I was in that line a few times in the past.
Forar wrote: A shame they won't mail badges out of the US. I get that it might be time/manpower/cost prohibitive, but c'mon, surely firing a package up to America's Hat isn't that odious an issue.
If you don't want to stand in line, ship your badge to a buddy in the states that's going or that will mail it to you.
My wife got her badge Saturday. In fact, my entire gaming group has theirs except two people whose last name starts with T and W.
Alphabetical mailings?
I believe so, I'm an M, my friends with B got theirs days ago.
Also, it's a little late to have badges shipped unfortunately.
Funny, I opened this thread and while reading it the doorbell rang and it was the postman with my badge. I'm an M and the shipping label was created last Friday and sent on Monday.
I have my badge, I have my tickets, I have my wad of cash!
GenCon!
I'll be hitting up the Fantasy Flight Games In-Flight report on Friday, and demoing a few games that I don't recall right now.
What are people excited about Hobby-Wise? I have made 3 different Forge World booth lists, but I can't decide what I want. I think I'll just get FW HH5 and the newest Chaose IA book. I'm happy with my HH Imperial Fists army as-is, I think.
Picking up some KD stuff I don't have, more Dark Age, trying out Endless Fantasy Tactics, trying out Eclipse Phase, the mechwarrior pods, wandering around the dealer hall trying out new stuff, artists alleys, and a couple mtg drafts.
I have what's probably an obvious question to you GenCon veterans - I've only been once, and can't make it this year but have a ninja shopper...
Does the Warstore and similar booths sell items at their online price, not at full retail? I think the answer is "yes" (plus Indy tax) but just wanted to check
RiTides wrote: I have what's probably an obvious question to you GenCon veterans - I've only been once, and can't make it this year but have a ninja shopper...
Does the Warstore and similar booths sell items at their online price, not at full retail? I think the answer is "yes" (plus Indy tax) but just wanted to check
Yes for The WarStore. Not sure on the "plus Indy tax". They also bring "Bargin Bins" full of gak they want to get rid of (Mostly square resin bases of the Micro Arts style). At least, they did the last few years. I was going to go Bargin Bin Shopping this year to get bases for my Reaper Bones I and II Large and Larger models.
CMoN will be doing an "Ultimate Gaming Challenge" at GenCon, a program we field tested at Origins.
Basically, for a single ticket on any given day, you'll be given a gaming passport that you can have stamped for every CMoN game you play. Each Unique game you play is worth 3 points, and you get a voucher for every 5 points you accumulate.
Vouchers can be redeemed both in the gaming area and at the CMoN booth for promotional models. The voucher breaks down a little like this:
1 Voucher - Single Boxed promo figures like Zombicide Survivors, KaosBall Ringers, Rivet Wars Heroes, and Arcadia Quest Champions
4 Vouchers - Small Boxed Promos like the Arcadia Quest Nameless Campaign
6 Vouchers - Large Box Promos like the KaosBall Zombies team or Zombicide Moustache Packs
10 Vouchers - Kickstarter Promotional Sets like the Fugitive Campaign Box from Zombicide or the Blitzkreig Box from Rivet Wars.
There are ribbons, and there are 15 games you can get ribbons for. So Kronk was spot on there.
Short Demos will be done in the booth, and longer demos/full games/open play will be done in the Gaming Area (miniatures hall, I THINK).
The longest game you're looking at is probably Zombicide, honestly. Most games take 60-90ish minutes, with some being quicker.
I heartily recommend checking out The Grizzled and Rum & Bones; the new Rum & Bones Display Board by GMM Studios' Brandon Palmer (Adepticon Golden Throne) is beautiful.
This year I'm not playing in any miniature games mostly rpg and entertainment events. But I am picking up a few miniatures from bargain bins or whatever catches my eye. Endless fantasy box set looks quite sexy so I may pick up the box or few mins with friends
Fantastic Promos and Where to Find Them!
Monday, July 27, 2015
Illustration by Andrew Hou
The Paizo crew has begun to roll out for Gen Con 2015. Our trucks are loaded up with tons of Pathfinder products, including some fabulous promo items! Here's the run down of Paizo Promos, that will be available be at the show:
At the Paizo Booth
Daily Button
Each day we will have a unique button to hand out. These buttons are free, with no purchase necessary. Make sure you get yours early in the day as supplies are limited and they often go fast! Button designs are a surprise until the day they are released and will be featured during the Gen Con live blogging each morning.
Pathfinder Battles Red Dracolisk
This Pathfinder Battles prepainted Gen Con 2015 special figure is free with a $50+ purchase (before sales tax, does not include subscription pick up items, while supplies last).
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Promo Card
The "Temptation of Big Die" promo card is free, with no purchase necessary, while supplies last.
Discounted Occult Adventures PDF
Purchase the Occult Adventures hardcover at the Paizo Gen Con booth and get the PDF for just $5.00! The $5.00 PDF cannot be gifted and purchaser must provide an email address. PDF will be available through purchasers paizo.com "My Downloads" page.
Pathfinder Society
Unique Button
The Pathfinder Society button will be available at the PFSHQ in the Sagamore Ballroom. (Free, no purchase necessary, while supplies last).
Pathfinder Battles Mystery Miniatures
Pathfinder Battles prepainted "mystery figures" for ticketed participants in the Thursday-night and Friday-night Pathfinder Society "Special" events.
Scotty's Brewhouse
Pathfinder Minimate
Limited-edition glow-in-the-dark Ghost Goblin Minimate figurine, available for sale ($5.00) exclusively at Scotty's Brewhouse. And while you're there, why not grab a pint of "Goblin Ghost Ale" or snack on something from the Pathfinder themed menu specially provided for Gen Con weekend?
In addition to our promos, we have a couple community and social media activities for attendees to join in on:
Annual Costume Contest
The Gen Con Costume Contest is back! If you plan on attending Gen Con in Pathfinder cosplay, stop by the booth and get your picture taken to enter.
#GoblinHorde
Have you gotten your hands on all of our goblin promos at the show? Share your finds using this hashtag!
Pathfinder Iconic Standees
Strike a pose! Tag your pictures with #paizoatgencon to get featured on Paizo's official social media outlets (Facebook, Tumblr, or Twitter).
Excited to see you there!
Just finished packing for GenCon, I believe I'm signed up for more events this year, but oddly enough I'm not bringing a single miniatures game for an event I'm in.
Current plan looks like this:
Thursday:
KoW Demo 1-3
Krosmaster Demo 3-4
Friday:
Sailpower 10-1 (I think, ends just before the EFT event that day)
Saturday:
Shadows of Esteren 10-12
EFT tournament 1-4/5
Sadly, I don't think I'll be running the EFT Tournament. We've only had 1 signup, and I'm riding down to Indy with that guy >_<
Alfndrate wrote: Just finished packing for GenCon, I believe I'm signed up for more events this year, but oddly enough I'm not bringing a single miniatures game for an event I'm in.
Current plan looks like this:
Thursday:
KoW Demo 1-3
Krosmaster Demo 3-4
Friday:
Sailpower 10-1 (I think, ends just before the EFT event that day)
Saturday:
Shadows of Esteren 10-12
EFT tournament 1-4/5
Sadly, I don't think I'll be running the EFT Tournament. We've only had 1 signup, and I'm riding down to Indy with that guy >_<
You should come and play a game of Rum and Bones with me. It's the tits.
If you happen the chance across a dude wearing a Mack's Prairie Wings camo shirt that's me. Should start camping out the dealer hall a little after seven myself.
Hoping to snag the KD sci-fi Twilight Knight and the Dark Age St. Mary(Mounted). What is everyone else gunning for?
Remember also that any Dakkanauts can claim a prize simply by recognising Mr. Legoburner, going up to him, kicking him in his false leg and saying " You're to blame for Dakka, and I claim my prize! "
Good sport that he is he'll play along and maybe even pretend you've hurt him but do not be fooled !
Is the false leg obvious? Or should attendees just kick both in rapid succession just to make sure they don't miss out on the prize? I'm not attending but figured the issue may come up.
I unfortunately won't be making it into the events this year (wasn't able to last year either), but I'm aiming to make it to next year and the year after.
I am trying to get a family pass (to split between my fiancee and a friend) and at least see how things look on Sunday, but I'll be missing a majority of the activities...
Well, I know I can always go hang out on Georgia St! It's free and I'm guessing the place to get some food truck goodness. If anyone would like any recommendations on restaurants, I might be able to be some help as well!
Lot of great buzz on twitter for GF9's WWE Rasslin board game. Same Company that made Spartacus. Hope they make an expansion with some old time Rasslers.
Ghost busters board game has been getting good marks on twitter as well.
And in typical fashion, there has to be political propaganda forced into the gencon convo on twitter. :/
Piston Honda wrote: Lot of great buzz on twitter for GF9's WWE Rasslin board game. Same Company that made Spartacus. Hope they make an expansion with some old time Rasslers.
Ghost busters board game has been getting good marks on twitter as well.
And in typical fashion, there has to be political propaganda forced into the gencon convo on twitter. :/
Buddy of mine picked up Smackdown- it's AWESOME. I'm tempted to buy myself a copy too.
Piston Honda wrote: Lot of great buzz on twitter for GF9's WWE Rasslin board game. Same Company that made Spartacus. Hope they make an expansion with some old time Rasslers.
Ghost busters board game has been getting good marks on twitter as well.
And in typical fashion, there has to be political propaganda forced into the gencon convo on twitter. :/
Buddy of mine picked up Smackdown- it's AWESOME. I'm tempted to buy myself a copy too.
I'm going to pick it up eventually.
Possibly in the winter when there is nothing better to do than play games :p
Searching facebook, twitter and bgg number of people saying it has been their fav. game of gencon
Ended up picking up GoT LCG 2nd edition, the new Netrunner box, and two products for Shadows of Esteren, an awesome Frech RPG. They personalized my cover of the book I bought .
I ended up grabbing the KD pinup release, Dark Age minis(new St. Mary, Mounted St. Mary, Forsaken book, and the free Bane mini), a box of 3 minis from a game I don't remember at the CMoN booth, EFT minis(Male and Female Dragoon, plus the Summoner), QuickStart rules to Eclipse Phase, signed Jim Zub stuff, and random free loot from random booths.
Here's my personal Gencon experience-
New for 2015:
Wednesday isn't too bad for will call- but I'll probably still have my badge shipped.
Circle Center Mall restaurants usually have a shorter wait time(other than the California Pizza Kitchen).
Eating St. Elmo's on Wednesday ruined every other meal for me. It was too good. I started to expect too much.
1D concerts make everything miserable. Harder to park, more crowded to walk outside the con, and longer wait times for lunch and dinner.
India Garden has a nice buffet(served 11-3).
Circle Center Mall has a pretty good arcade and mini-golf course to kill time with, especially if you have to show up Wednesday to pick up someone's badge.
The Burlesque show held every year is pretty good- the crowd is not. Expect a few socially awkward individuals who get too "into it", and several drunks who have snuck liquor in(and constantly be loud and obnoxious).
With the increasing crowds, Saturday has become the best event day to avoid Dealer Hall Madness. It has become far too crowded to make it an enjoyable experience.
5-year experience:
The Hentai Cafe is a bad idea.
Park by 9am. If there's a 1D concert no later than 8.
No events on Thursday. That's dealer hall day.
No late events if you want to get up early the next day.(for those not in attached hotels)
No early events if a few people in your group don't have them, and avoid late events for the same reason.(for those not in attached hotels)
Be at the dealer hall by 7am if you want to guarantee you get the con exclusives/early releases you want on Thursday.
Don't be one of those people who brings a giant stack of cards to get signed by an MTG artist. It just makes everyone else miserable who wants to look at/buy prints when there's a crowd stacked up because you had to get every copy of Brainstorm you own signed.
Give yourself an hour and a half to eat(minimum) if you want to eat something other than con food or the food trucks.
Eat early(right at 11), or between 1-5 for lunch to avoid the crush. You'll just have to expect a crowd at dinner.
Avoid Steak n' Shake.
Back of the dealer hall is a fast lane to get from one end to the other- there's alway less of a crowd.
The Palladium booth is a good Eye of the Storm in the middle of the hall if you need to get out of the crowd. The book aisles are usually pretty empty, and the staff is friendly too.
Expect a line to get in to the FFG booth, unless you get there very early. Same with the Paizo booth, but they eventually open it up after Thursday.
Skip True Dungeon, unless you like playing DnD with 10+ people. You can get knocked out in the first/second rooms, and then get to watch everyone else play until the group gets to an exit you can leave from.
Saturday is when the items in the consignment store are cheapest. It's a good idea to spy what you want Thursday/Friday, and get there early Saturday if it's still there.
I'll add more when I remember it, and hopefully eventually make an article out of it(I'm pretty lazy though, and forgetful too. Did I mention I was a procrastinator as well?)
I received my yearly stipend of EFT minis from OTL, and a hardcover of our first expansion which I did a large chunk for, so yay .
As for new non gaming things, I picked up a Dark Souls tshirt and a gundam model kit.
Gaming wise: I picked up 15 metal coins for Shadows of Esteren, the Con cover for Book 2: Travels for the same game, the Black Rose (a social deduction game in the Shadows of Esteren world), and got my books personalized by the art staff from Esteren. The images of the art they put in my book:
Spoiler:
In not Esteren haul, I picked up GoT LCG 2nd Edition, Data and Destiny expansion for Netrunner, and WWE Superstar showdown and a vinyl mat they used during demos. The humorous thing about the WWE game is my buddy and I went to get a demo of it to see if it might be a game his sister and her husband would enjoy, and we ended up buying a copy each >_<. It's really quick, and pretty fun. The system is as such that it could probably be adapted for fantasy minis if you wanted to have like gladiatorial combat.
Lessons learned from this convention: No late events. I was out until 1:30 Thursday night (friday morning) because my buddy and I were the ride back to our hotel for the third person in our room who works in the gaming industry and was conducting some deals at the tilted kilt. Plan at least 1 major event a day. My buddy and I noted that the weekend seemed to fly by, because we were almost always doing something that took 3-4 hours. Carrying a disassembled metal gridwall up an escalator is extremely dangerous, especially when you're in the person going up first...
When did it become a thing to bring your damn luggage into the dealer's hall? I saw this more this year than all other years combined.
See this? It's too big for the dealer's room.
[
When there are 30,000 people in one place, you DON'T GET TO BRING YOUR fething LUGGAGE! Every hotel has a place you can leave it if you arrive early. Put it there, you prick.
Also, wagons for kids. I get strollers. I understand you want to spend time with the kiddos. But you don't get a fething wagon! And if you insist on a large stroller, then put your fething kid in the god damn stroller! If he's wandering around, walking 0.00005 MPH in the middle of the row, next to you and the 4' stroller, then you and your wife are fething donkey-caves.
I noticed the rolling luggage more this year too, and two-sweater strollers. It slows traffic down having to navigate around that crap.
Kid leashes were in style as well I saw. MrChurch13 came upon a parent browsing the RPG books, while the kid was across the lane at the other booth nosing around, and the leash was pulled taught in the middle.
kronk wrote: Just be mindful and considerate of others. There are thousands of people in the dealer's hall.
Never! I touched everyone when they weren't looking! MWAHAHAHA
Actually I didn't but you aren't my supervisor.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Cyporiean wrote:We need to bring a fan for setup next year, holy feth was it hot in there Wednesday.
I did stop by the booth but between the heat, something I ate, you being out of the starter sets, and my forgetting your name I just went and sat down for a minute.
kronk wrote:When did it become a thing to bring your damn luggage into the dealer's hall? I saw this more this year than all other years combined.
I saw that as well and not sure why it was a thing, but it did make getting around more of a pain.
On the plus side, We had a lot of fun this year. I sat in on the In Flight report. I'll have to wait until this weekend to do the write up. Too much going on at the Kronk house this week.
Played Star Wars Imperial Assault's campaign for 3 missions with my friends from Houston. FFG is doing this one absolutely right. I just don't have a group interested in the campaign in IL. We also played 3 sessions of Pathfinder. We played Dead of Winter zombie game that a buddy has. Typical Zombie game, but it was cooperative and had an interesting hidden agenda mechanic, as well as an "I'm not the Psylon" feel to it.
I picked up Dungeon Dwellers Linky, as that was my Wife's favorite game that we play tested. Fun little semi-cooperative card game.
I also grabbed a few cheap GW terrain boxes from the War Store (the Manufactorum and the Administratum). I was tempted to buy the set that had all 4 pieces in it, but at $100, it was just a bit too much. I decided that I really only needed 2 pieces to complete my table.
We ordered Secrets of the Lost Tomb, along with the expansion that adds the campaign rules and extra dice. I'm really excited about that one.
I picked up a few of the newer Chaos plastics (bolter Chosen guys from the Dark Vengeance starter) and an old Chaos SM Champion. This guy, but he's missing the head and power fist. I have plenty of weapons and heads, though.
For grins, I picked up enough Sisters of Battle to make an 8x sister squad with 2x flamers.
Odds and ends include some dice sets, some d6's with middle fingers on the 1's, talking ourselves out of the other 6 games we demoed, a nice Paizo dice bags, and some old RPG books to flip through (Rogue Trader at 50% off, KenzerCo's Frandor's Keep (I have and LOVE Little Keep on the Border Lands by KenzerCo for HM 4th edition), and something else).
Spent lots of money, drank some wine, hung out with friends. On Friday night, we played Pathfinder in my hotel room which overlooked the AAA baseball field, and they had fireworks after the game. On Saturday night, when my group was playing some B-52 game until 2 AM, my wife and I bowed out and played the Dungeons Dwellers while watching the baseball game out of our window, listening to the live feed on the iPad, and drinking a nice bottle of Cab Sav. It went 13 innings and the home team one. Fun times!
Cyporiean wrote: We need to bring a fan for setup next year, holy feth was it hot in there Wednesday.
Apparently GenCon decided it would be a good thing to not turn on AC Wed, since the doors would be open for long periods while supplies were shuttled in by FERN and booths were being setup. Sure it saved them thousands of dollars in AC but honestly surprised there wasn't accidents due to unsafe conditions of the heat or people hit with heat exhaustion. Unfortunately by Thursday I did have heat exhaustion, nearing heat stroke so I had to take a break. Normally Thursday would be freezing cold because the AC is left on, with no one in the halls it gets the room cold. So by Thursday when they did turn the AC on, they had it set to a normal temperature instead of turning it much colder to account for weather/body heat. It didn't finally become cooler until Sat but even then the Exhibitor Hall compared to the Game Hall was still hot.
I wish I had more time to do things, tournament area was a mess since they poorly labeled Hall B, C, D, E again. It didn't seem as busy this year so they either got better at organizing some of the lines, or there was an impact due to Indiana's new law, WoTC and WizKids pulling out of GenCon. You can tell Magic and D&D area just how much space was lost due to not having that extra backing. Overall was a good experience, made some new networks, got a few things accomplished and made a lot of trades despite having to work a good portion of it. I was able to get into the Exhibit Hall for the first hour or so usually, thank goodness for an exhibitor badge otherwise I probably would not have seen or gotten much done. I wish I had more time to meet up with more people but scheduling was a bit hectic.
Yep. I'm still waiting on them to break the 200k mark on turnstile. 100k on unique visitors after that. 200k should be done by next year, 100k in 5 years I estimate.
I had a lot of fun. Last year was my second year and my wife's first, and this year we brought our 6-month old son with us. It's never too young to start them as gamers!
He actually got lots of attention, because I begged my wife to crochet him a green hat with ears so when he was in the backpack, he would look like Yoda. He actually had a great time at the con (for a six-month old, anyway), and loved all the attention. Especially because his two favorite toys right now are a squishy D20, and a little latex larp dagger (we are letting him chew on both until the teeth show up).
Got the last button of the day from the Paizo booth for having the best goblin impression after we realized the hat would just as easily make a goblin. He was running an impromptu contest at passing people on who could be the best goblin for the last few buttons, and we just pointed at my son and he shrugged and said "you can't beat that, people!" I think a Goblin costume is in the planning for next year...........
Also had a great time playing a demo game on Friday night of the newest Savage World product with the writer of the Shaintar setting- Savage Rifts! Believe it or not, it's going to be an officially licensed adaptation of the Rifts setting using the Savage Worlds RPG ruleset. Piloting a Glitterboy is fun, just saying.
Sinful Hero wrote: ...but did WotC really pull out of Gencon? If they did I didn't notice.
From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG). It's making something of a mountain out of a molehill: there presence was small )especially in the hall) two of the three times I've gone.
The one time they 'went big' was the first time I went, and they had a massive central two-stoty monstrosity in white in the exhibit hall. Had some D&D stuff for sale, but were pushing M:tG stuff hard then, too.
Since then, I think one year they had a 'dungeon' set up with a big drider statue in it one year. The following year, not even that... But they had one of the side rooms.
A lot of it is what they're pushing and using their many licensees, I think. For D&D, 5e's core is out and they've got a lot of subsidiary stuff in the works, but I don't feel like they had a big 'splash' release for the event. They apparently want to focus on retailers for purchasing, too.
Sinful Hero wrote: ...but did WotC really pull out of Gencon? If they did I didn't notice.
From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG).
They did that last year, too. No booth in the dealer's hall, huge area the other hall with tons of table set up for 5E.
Sinful Hero wrote: ...but did WotC really pull out of Gencon? If they did I didn't notice.
From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG).
They did that last year, too. No booth in the dealer's hall, huge area the other hall with tons of table set up for 5E.
Yeah, when was the last time they had a booth in the dealer's hall? Not in the past five years have they? They also have to compete with the other booths selling/buying singles as well as packs, which is why I assume they never had a booth.
Sinful Hero wrote: ...but did WotC really pull out of Gencon? If they did I didn't notice.
From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG).
They did that last year, too. No booth in the dealer's hall, huge area the other hall with tons of table set up for 5E.
Yeah, when was the last time they had a booth in the dealer's hall? Not in the past five years have they? They also have to compete with the other booths selling/buying singles as well as packs, which is why I assume they never had a booth.
They had one for sure the second year we went (2011), as we were directly across from them and their staff were total dicks to us.
Sinful Hero wrote: ...but did WotC really pull out of Gencon? If they did I didn't notice.
From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG).
They did that last year, too. No booth in the dealer's hall, huge area the other hall with tons of table set up for 5E.
Yeah, when was the last time they had a booth in the dealer's hall? Not in the past five years have they? They also have to compete with the other booths selling/buying singles as well as packs, which is why I assume they never had a booth.
They had one for sure the second year we went (2011), as we were directly across from them and their staff were total dicks to us.
For some reason I can't say I'm surprised. What was their deal?
I'll get out my old programs tonight and see when they stopped having a booth.
Balance wrote: From what I've heard, people are freaking out because they didn't have a booth in the exhibit hall, although they did have a large area for Adventurer's League (and of course M:tG). It's making something of a mountain out of a molehill: there presence was small )especially in the hall) two of the three times I've gone.
The M:tG and D&D area wasn't actually WotC, they were 3rd party companies that handle those event scheduling for them, I believe Baldman Games and I forget who does the M:tG. Even then there were some issues in which WotC stepped in and said if you didn't give them a fair price then there would be absolutely no presence there.
There was some reasons behind the scenes but a good portion I'd have to guess would have to do with costs. Most conventions when you buy a booth, rent tables, chairs, run events, etc those costs you spend go towards your sponsorship level. For GenCon it is just costs, if you want to be considered a sponsor you have to write a separate check for $50K+. For the price of GenCon alone they can do conventions at PAX and Origins alone. For the companies I've worked for it is cheaper to go to Walmart/Ikea buy table/chairs/cabinets and throw them away or give them to local volunteers when the convention is done then to pay GenCon prices.
It did feel like they handled some lines a bit better. They tried to section off a Cosplay part for cosplayers and photographs unfortunately everyone still stops in the middle of the isle instead of going up to the yellow taped line. Then you have the crowd that stands at the stage 20 feet away, in the middle, instead of getting up to the stage and getting rid of the empty space. The Cosplay parade cutting off all hallways was insane though. Having to make product runs from the Tournament Area to the Exhibit Hall was a nightmare. I ended up dropping event tickets at Board Game HQ, only to find the way blocked and had to go back through to get to the back of the Exhibit Hall to make the way over to 601. Even then the Exhibit Hall was still packed.
The amount of times I was hit with a backpack, people carrying them and then turning suddenly side swiping people to the left and right. Or the amount of times someone had a roller suitcase taking up the space of two people. I get that we have a lot of stuff to carry and buy at times but the extra luggage takes up more space and slows traffic down.
Other than that the Con was great as usual. I did early shopping in the morning, worked the afternoon and evening and played late into the night. Picked up a few of my KS Pledges that I didn't realize were at GenCon. At first I was bummed about Rum and Bones, almost bought the set, but good thing I didn't. It was actually waiting at home when I got home. I ended up doing way more vendor trades this year that I had expected but picked up a lot of games for the family.
Mr.Church13 wrote: I will never be a fan of GenCon cosplay, roller cases, giant strollers, or oversized backpacks.
Yeah I think roller cases should be banned unless used to transport stuff to from hotel to booth as a vendor. Cosplay should be moved to the 2nd floor honestly. If they made that a Cosplay area for pictures, then allowed pictures on the second floor for Cosplay then it would be fine.
WotC has not had a booth in the dealer hall for several years. Last year they had a tiny shop set up next to the organized play area selling a few books (remember only starter set and PHB were out at that time) plus GF9 miniatures and some tshirts.
Was there another WizKids trampling episode this year?
Manchu wrote: WotC has not had a booth in the dealer hall for several years. Last year they had a tiny shop set up next to the organized play area selling a few books (remember only starter set and PHB were out at that time) plus GF9 miniatures and some tshirts.
Was there another WizKids trampling episode this year?
WizKids demanded Gencon provide them with security for their lines. Gencon said, "No, FFG managed their line just fine on their own, why can't you?" And WizKids wasn't there.
Last year, WizKids had GenCon security working with them on their Saturday morning stampede after a lady was knocked down and I guess walked on (trampled seems a bit hyperbolic).
Well that gives a little context to Thursday morning.
I was among the crowd lined up at the doors for 10am, and the guy giving the speech was very, very clear that if anyone was caught running, he'd take their badge and remove them from the venue. They were taping it, and would snag people after the fact if necessary, as I recall.
We were told to repeat after him, DO. NOT. RUN.
And then asked to chant it as we walked in, partly as a reminder, partly to intimidate the gak out of the booth vendors.
As a booth vendor, if 10,000 people were marching on my location chanting anything at all in unison, I might need a change of boxers, so that struck me as really funny.
But yeah, they weren't messing around with it this year.
Yes they had us do something pretty similar on that Saturday last year, minus the chanting. It was pretty amazing how many people still ran. So I can see why they wanted cooperation from GenCon. I don't know how FFG manages it. I also don't see how it is Wizkids's responsibility until people are in the WK line. But it seems like GenCon wanted WK to be responsible for attendees from the time the dealer hall doors opened.
Didn't someone here remark that FFG's line was closed by a fire marshal?
Last year, Paizo handled it by having people queue up outside of the dealer hall and then releasing a few at a time as people who have already made it into the booth area make their purchases and leave.
I honestly don't see all the fuss about lining up for hours on end just to pay full retail. You know, unless we're talking con exclusives like WK is famous for ...
One entrance, one exit. The rest of the booth area is sealed off by display stands, cases and walls. So only one way in and one way out. It stops people from pushing, trying to cut into line or dive into the middle and then cut to the register. It also lets them control how many people are in the 'retail area' of the booth. It is however expensive in not only booth space since you almost need twice the size as normal, need the display cases and walls. The first initial cost is expensive because of shipping, drayage charges from the docks to GenCon which is what kills you. However once you've done that then you can negotiate and store things on the Catalyst caravan to avoid that in future, keep everything stored in Indiana for next year which becomes cheaper than shipping it every year. It also lets you take it to Origins if you want via Catalyst caravan. I'm not sure FFG does that though or just simply pays for local storage or trucks it in from a nearby distribution place.
Manchu wrote: WK has one entrance and exit to their line, as well.
At GenCon 2014 they didn't, at least I sure don't remember one. I went there to get some exclusives before the hall opened as a vendor trade and walked into the center area, it had multiple ways to leave and enter. There was only a walled side on 2 of the sides if I recall. They controlled the flow of traffic to create an entrance and exit then snaked the line through the center area but you could walk through the line and into the center area to grab items. The line itself is what created the rest of the walls.
Last year, Paizo handled it by having people queue up outside of the dealer hall and then releasing a few at a time as people who have already made it into the booth area make their purchases and leave.
I honestly don't see all the fuss about lining up for hours on end just to pay full retail. You know, unless we're talking con exclusives like WK is famous for ...
Paizo did that again this year. On Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, there was no one in line, and I was able to just walk right up and grab a few things I wanted, along with the "Exclusive Mini".
Got all 4 buttons though! Gotta catch them all! feth yeah!
On Thursday and Friday, though, that line was hella long for most of the day. I don't get it, but to each their own.
