Seeking tips and advice from Nova Open vets

Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:

No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
Times and dates in your local timezone.
Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.

If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

**lonedrow02**

Im heading down to the Nova Open for the first time and id like to know anything particular that people wish they brought or any advice you wish someone had given you your first trip down. any input would be nice as i really have no idea what to expect....

**MVBrandt**

Couple things from a NOVA Open "Vet" of a sort in the organizer, though I hope actual attendees will give you their $.02

1) Find me and introduce yourself; I'm hard to miss, as I'm all over the place, and something of an almost unhealthily extreme extrovert. Say hi!

2) Don't miss out on the "other" things to do besides whatever your main event is. This doesn't just mean "sign up for another event," though the Narrative, Seminars, Cocktail/Beer seminars for charity, etc., are all a blast. This just means, don't simply play in the GT and hit your room. The community is VERY sociable, and full of a ton of easy going and fun / inclusive people. The hotel lobby areas are full of socializing gamers outside of round times.

3) Wander and check stuff out ... as the NOVA grows, it starts to get to the point where there is simply a lot of spectacle to be found if you go wandering for it. Something that caught me off guard and impressed me the most about AdeptiCon 2010 (the first year I attended) were some of the radical themed tables, display constructions people'd put together that were just out there being shown off, and some of the really awesome armies and display boards. Don't miss out on them

IT's also pretty crazy always for me to walk into a hall and see hundreds and hundreds of tables all lined up pristinely and covered in gorgeous terrain. Check out said halls for all the events, even the ones you don't play.

**Glocknall**

I'll one up you lonedrow and say not only is this going to be my first NoVA but my first GT as well LOL!

In my admittedly brief tournament experience most people in the 40k community are very approachable as long as you are respectful in turn.

I will be arriving early Thursday morning and plan on seeing the sights around town then delving in full bore into all the cool vendors, tournaments, and seminars.

Quick question about the Invitational. Is it closed to the public or can people spectate in a respectful manner?

**MVBrandt**

It's right there in the middle of things; you can spectate all you like. Since Invitational rounds are not parallel w/ other event rounds, the judges are fairly active there and tend to be effective at maintaining decorum and preventing meddlesome intervention.

So spec away.

There'll also be a live feed again; we'll have to get that rolling link-wise once 11th co has it up and set.

**Blackmoor**

#1) Know your limits. There are a lot of events and things to do, but if you overdo it you will end up not having any fun.

#2) Pace yourself. It is a long weekend so try to get some sleep, don’t drink too much alcohol, but drink plenty of water. Also try to sit as much as possible.

Of course those first 2 might be because I am old.

#3) Don’t go into it thinking you will win everything. Manage your expectations.

#4) Hotels are expensive, so learn where to eat and drink. For eats there is a McDonalds across the street. Also across the street is an Indian restaurant that a lot of the guys like. Behind the Hyatt there is an Italian place that has some good pizzas and subs, and just beyond them there is a Jimmy Johns (who also deliver). For drinks there is a Walgreens up the road and I buy drinks there for the weekend.

#5) Befriend Mike's mom.

**Chumbalaya**

The narrative is absolutely amazing. Even if you can't play, come check it out.

**labmouse42**

Hang out with Blackmoor. Become a groupie, even...

He knows all the good local restaurants in the area.

**Blackmoor**

labmouse42 wrote:
Hang out with Blackmoor. Become a groupie, even...

He knows all the good local restaurants in the area.

Well when you come in on Tuesday and leave on Monday you get a good lay of the land. Like the Chili's nearby is one if the worst I have been to. Also if you go for delivery pizza like dominos they do not come up to your room and you have to meet them at the security entrance. The deli across the street is ok, but they close early.

**Tomb King**

Anyone have good advice for transporting armies via plane?

**Warlocke21**

My first GT was NOVA two years ago - and I'll echo the comments about taking care of your body, sleep, hydration: it's easy to forget the mental strain of repeated games can be taxing, especially if you're competitive.

The one thing I wish I had done a better job of before going was memorize every single stat, unit special rules, and gameplay detail about every model in my list. Every last one came up at least once, and in more than a couple games were crucial to winning or losing.

Nikephoros had a great post after the 2011 tournament; although the format has changed to be less strenuous and improve the food in the hotel considerably - It's still worth a quick quote below:

Tournament Preparedness

1. Sleep and hangovers. How many of my opponents complained about lack of sleep and/or being hungover? A lot. I overheard similar comments all weekend. I’m not telling you not to drink and have fun at the con. But you have to establish what your goals actually are. You can’t get mad at losing a game when you only got 3 hours of sleep and you’re hungover. If your goal is to hang out with friends, drink some beers, and throw dice by all means have a blast. If your goal is to 8-0 the NOVA, try to get a good night’s sleep every night and don’t drink to the point where you’ll be hungover the next morning.

2. Nutrition. This is another thing I observed people were epic failing across the board. I saw people filling their maw with gross pizza, McDonalds, candy, soda, fried chicken wings, and oil soaked Italian subs. I also heard dozens of people complain about fatigue and exhaustion. Not a coincidence. Yes, the food at the hotel was garbage, and the food nearby was garbage. But a little foresight remedied that. I found a nearby grocery store and I bought healthy food to stock up on. Every morning my breakfasts were greek yogurt and fresh fruit. In between rounds and for lunch I noshed on almonds and fruit. Even by Round 8, when everyone else was universally agreed to be at the end of their endurance, I felt fine. I credit my freshness in the later rounds of the tournament to the fact I was eating clean food all weekend and not loading myself down with sodium and greasy food. Clean food, along with sufficient sleep gave me a measurable advantage. I know this kind of thing can sound preachy, and it probably is preachy, but I'm speaking the truth. If you want to be at your best, it's good advice. If you don't care about maximizing your performance, feel free to disregard.

**Chancetragedy**

Also 1 thing not actual performance based or even nova specific. Make sure to have a cash stash reserve of money "just in case". Seriously the scariest and most frustrating thing is to run out of money/not be able to use a card/ATM and not have cash on hand. Especially if your stuck between rounds Of the tournament or whatever.

These are obvious enough for any tournament/GT
-bring comfortable shoes
-be prepared (rule books, dice, tape measure, templates, FAQ's)
-snacks(healthy or not;p), Tylenol/ibuprofen, tums, whatever "just in case"
-and manage expectations to not ruin your opponents good time because your bitter you lost a game

**Lansirill**

Blackmoor wrote:

#4) Hotels are expensive, so learn where to eat and drink. For eats there is a McDonalds across the street. Also across the street is an Indian restaurant that a lot of the guys like. Behind the Hyatt there is an Italian place that has some good pizzas and subs, and just beyond them there is a Jimmy Johns (who also deliver). For drinks there is a Walgreens up the road and I buy drinks there for the weekend.

There's a decent Indian place there? What's the name? I've been missing easy-access Indian ever since I changed neighborhoods so I could go for eating the hell out of some vindaloo over the weekend. The *con* might not appreciate it, but thems the breaks.

**Empchild**

Blackmoor wrote:
#1) Know your limits. There are a lot of events and things to do, but if you overdo it you will end up not having any fun.

#2) Pace yourself. It is a long weekend so try to get some sleep, don’t drink too much alcohol, but drink plenty of water. Also try to sit as much as possible.

Of course those first 2 might be because I am old.

#3) Don’t go into it thinking you will win everything. Manage your expectations.

#4) Hotels are expensive, so learn where to eat and drink. For eats there is a McDonalds across the street. Also across the street is an Indian restaurant that a lot of the guys like. Behind the Hyatt there is an Italian place that has some good pizzas and subs, and just beyond them there is a Jimmy Johns (who also deliver). For drinks there is a Walgreens up the road and I buy drinks there for the weekend.

#5) Befriend Mike's mom.

Great Advice for any con in fact

especially #5 as Mikes mom is AWESOME to talk too! This is my first trip to Nova and I will be Vending and judging and I needed mike to tell me not to overdo it because I was thinking of playing in the Infinity events. To often for any con we all try to overdo it thinking we can then we realize that we're not teenagers anymore, BUT if you are a teenager have at it

.

**lonedrow02**

Thanks for the advice guys, Im paying special attention to memorizing my dex and ill be fine combing the eldar and tau codices on the ride down as im still not up to par on those.

Il be keeping these things in mind especially the "dont drink too much one"

hope i run into most of you guys, especially the 11th Company gang.

**Brothererekose**

Blackmoor wrote:
#4) Hotels are expensive, so learn where to eat and drink. For eats there is a McDonalds across the street. Also across the street is an Indian restaurant that a lot of the guys like. Behind the Hyatt there is an Italian place that has some good pizzas and subs, and just beyond them there is a Jimmy Johns (who also deliver). For drinks there is a Walgreens up the road and I buy drinks there for the weekend.

Allan nails it.

Food locales. For the rest of the folks reading this, especially event organizers, add onto your listings (mission specs, ticket prices, time schedules, etc) add on input on local eateries, good, bad and different. 'Cause, ya know, the whole 'yelp.com' debacle.

**chipstar1**

Lansirill wrote:

There's a decent Indian place there? What's the name? I've been missing easy-access Indian ever since I changed neighborhoods so I could go for eating the hell out of some vindaloo over the weekend. The *con* might not appreciate it, but thems the breaks.

http://kohinoordhaba.com/ - I probably eat there once or twice a month. The Vindaloo is awesome, but word of advice: if you ask for a little extra heat, it will be HOT.

**lonedrow02**

open till 11! awesome.

**labmouse42**

Tomb King wrote:
Anyone have good advice for transporting armies via plane?

The small tablewar cases work best. You can stuff an amazing amount into those tablewar cases. Other than that I've used the 'sable' army transport cases as carry on. You can fit those quite well into the overhead compartments.

**Blackmoor**

Tomb King wrote:
Anyone have good advice for transporting armies via plane?

I use the battlefoam bag pack air which is made for carry on. It is ridged and works great and I often have room for extra clothes etc.

Also you always want to carry on your army, and check your bag if you have one. You can go to a GT without our clothes, but you can't do anything if your army gets lost. Also I do not trust my army to baggage handlers.

**Tomb King**

Blackmoor wrote:
Tomb King wrote:
Anyone have good advice for transporting armies via plane?

I use the battlefoam bag pack air which is made for carry on. It is ridged and works great and I often have room for extra clothes etc.

Also you always want to carry on your army, and check your bag if you have one. You can go to a GT without our clothes, but you can't do anything if your army gets lost. Also I do not trust my army to baggage handlers.

Ditto! I was definately going to carry on. Since I was bringing two armies with allies with me I elected to place them in a duffle bag with foam. I protected it like it was a prized jewel on the flights. Hopefully I didnt take too much damage but being that I didnt have time to paint my other army properly I am not too concerned if they took a little damage.

Made it to a local hobby store that was 6 miles away from the hotel and picked up some glue and some paint for touch up work. Still needing a display board if someone has one to spare or know of a means for me to acquire one. Need one for the open as that army is actually painted above the standard.

**Mannahnin**

Isn't there a "build a display board" class/workshop with Jawaballs just before the GT? To my recollection the idea was that you'd actually build and paint one right before the GT started. Is that full?

**MVBrandt**

It's not full, but it's simultaneous with round two of the invitational.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
And Brett, you could also ask someone to take the class for you ... pay their fee or something.

Do note we aren't using a bullet point rubric. Don't kill yourself over a display board if it isn't going to elevate the net impression of your army. It won't earn you a ticked box or a mandatory point or anything.

**Tomb King**

MVBrandt wrote:
It's not full, but it's simultaneous with round two of the invitational.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
And Brett, you could also ask someone to take the class for you ... pay their fee or something.

Do note we aren't using a bullet point rubric. Don't kill yourself over a display board if it isn't going to elevate the net impression of your army. It won't earn you a ticked box or a mandatory point or anything.

Alright if that's the case then all I need is something to carry my models from table to table then. Will be an interesting logistical trial to get each of my armies to the table each round.

**MVBrandt**

Future notice that this is an advantage of the VIP/SuperNOVA upgrade ... army/bag check service.

**Daytona**

I never paid attention to how tight the aisles were between tables, how much space is there if I bring the cart I made for adepticon?
The cart is 24"x24" (size of the display board) to get my army from table to table that allows me to leave my horde already laid out to speed up deployment in the next round as anything that helps with that leaves more time to get turns in.
I leave it parked beside me so I can keep everything but dice off the game table. Worked wonders, but if room is tighter, it could be a pain. What do you think Mike?
Bring or leave at home?
It's one of the two carts with IG motivational posters all over them, that was being pushed around by some guys wearing imperial uniforms and commisars....But uniform is staying home for Nova.....

**Hulksmash**

Tomb King wrote:
MVBrandt wrote:
It's not full, but it's simultaneous with round two of the invitational.

Automatically Appended Next Post:
And Brett, you could also ask someone to take the class for you ... pay their fee or something.

Do note we aren't using a bullet point rubric. Don't kill yourself over a display board if it isn't going to elevate the net impression of your army. It won't earn you a ticked box or a mandatory point or anything.

Alright if that's the case then all I need is something to carry my models from table to table then. Will be an interesting logistical trial to get each of my armies to the table each round.

What about a picture of my army on my display board in Minnesota next to the army on the paint judging table at Nova? More points? Huh? Huh?

On topic though:

Roll good, I hear that helps. Otherwise most of the people have hit it on the head. Mostly just take it as a fun opportunity to roll dice and see pretty armies. Nova has a solid percentage of very well painted armies.

Also, watch out for Mike. He gets handsy over the long weekend

**MVBrandt**

Generally we have tons of room between tables. Just due to the nature of the forty k hall, it probably is more spacey than other comparable events.

And yeah I am a handsy guy. My right hand is a biohazard by weekend's end.

**Daytona**

It's ok, we'll have lots of small models to show people where the bad man touched us......

And we can either bring some black and yellow caution tape to wrap your hand with to warn others of the biohazard or just let you rinse it off in Hulksmash's whiskey every now and then.....

**Tomb King**

Or you can just tape up to 40's and he cant get handsy.

If you go anywhere use the things free to you. There is a shuttle to the metro which is in the middle of crystal city aka next to the food. You dont have to get on the metro just utilize the free ride. If you go to old town there is a free shuttle from the metro to the water front. You can get off along the way and again free. I have been reconing the area since saturday and I am feeling pretty good about my ability to navigate the area now relatively free of charge.

**Kolath**

Food recommendations from your friendly neighborhood tournament organizer and guy who used to work next door to the Hyatt for 2 years:

Jimmy Johns (Sandwiches) - The kings of fast, tasty subs. Jimmy Johns is right up the street, but they also deliver! You can put in an order with a couple buddies toward the end of a round and have it there by the end. I can't recommend them enough.

Bozellis (Italian subs, pizza) - One of the closest food places, it is literally around the corner. Bozellis subs and pizza is quite tasty. Only downside is it tends to get swamped by other hungry convention-goers.

Kohindoor Dhaba (Indian) - A few blocks from the Hyatt, Kohindoor Dhaba features great and well-priced Indian buffet. Go there if you have a little downtime to walk and sit down.

Kabab Palace (Kabobs) - Open all night, its a couple blocks north of the hotel. Good portion sizes. Typical kabab type food.

There are a whole bunch more places on 23rd street (a few blocks north of the hotel) including bars and restaurants.