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Going to Gen Con

 
zipdrive — Sun, 2007-04-29 14:09

Well, I'm posting this for some opinions...

I've been wanting to go visit GenCon for quite a while (more or less since I've first heard of it), as The Big King of Cons, the center of all which is D&D and a 4-day geek celebration.

However, as I'm checking out the site (http://www.gencon.com/2007/indy/) I've come to realize this is quite an undertaking (or quest, if you will).

Flying out to another continent, a strange city and a HUGE event with thousands of people, alone, is quite daunting. Questions regarding costs, times, event participation, dining and transportation rear their heads.

So any ideas on how to tackle these?
Any recommendations (specific or general)?
Any funny convention stories?

I'm all ears...

Whutaguy — Sun, 2007-04-29 17:25

Pre-register for events, but don't book your time solid. I would recommend no more than 10 hours of events each day.
Don't forget the 321 Daily Rule: 3 meals, 2 hours sleep, 1 shower

zipdrive — Mon, 2007-04-30 06:55

2 hour sleep?

Whutaguy — Mon, 2007-04-30 16:10

these are recommended (by me) minimums

zipdrive — Wed, 2007-05-02 08:25

So, no more advice?

Anyone else going?

aozora — Tue, 2007-05-22 12:34

Just noticed this. For some reason it never popped up as new that I noticed. Unfortunately I've never been to GenCon so I don't have any advice, but I'd sure like to read about your trip (hint, hint). >;-D

Whutaguy, how do you survive on two hours of sleep?!? I could sleep for two-hours around lunchtime alone in place of battling the hungry mobs at big conventions.

Whutaguy — Tue, 2007-05-22 13:00

Again, these are minimums. I normally require about 6 on a daily basis, with at least 1 day of 9 on the weekend. Through dedication, devotion, good clean living, and lots of training, I can do this. I'm wiped out and worthless at the end, but marathon runners don't do that every day either.

NascragMan — Wed, 2007-05-23 14:03

There are two events I can highly recommend at GenCon. Firstly the Nascrag Tournament. It's a three round, D+D tournament that focuses on role-playing, puzzles, riddles, and humor instead of dice rolling and combat.

As you might guess from my user name, I'm involved with Nascrag these days, but I was a player for more than a decade before I joined Nascrag. That's right, Nascrag has been putting on this tournament since 1980.

Check out the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nascrag
for more info.

I also always make time for True Dungeon. It's a life size D+D maze with actors in costume, props, and special effects. One of the things you go to GenCon for is to play in games you can't find at home. trust me, You can't find this anywhere else. WWW.truedungeon.com.