Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

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A U G U S T
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Every year I contemplate how much this post actually needs to say about what Gen-Con even is. It seems like 95% of the people posting have gone before, and the other 5% know exactly what it is and have just never gone until this year.

BUT! As a good social scientist, I know the importance of testing the null hypothesis, so until I receive private messages from literally every person on the Forums I must assume it is helping someone.

Wait is this subforum open to the public

Oh hey, it is, which means actually this thread is potentially being read by the billions of people interested in Gen-Con around the world, and surely some of them will benefit from learning that you can �play games,� �buy cool things,� and �stan headcanon babyvore-crinkles yiff.�

Thanks Satan!

GEN CON!

What is Gen-Con? Besides the GREATEST FOUR DAYS OF THE YEAR?

Well, it is possibly the world's largest gaming-writ-large convention. Boardgames, RPGs, video games, cosplay, collectible card games, posclay, auctions, anime, steampunk fursuit goth-ravers, yosclap, endless fields of merchandise, backpacks entirely too large for human wear, 3 books, literally more t-shirts with nerdy sayings or pictures on them than you can imagine, scalpyo, �celebrities,� nerd-branded beer, and endless fields of enormous people collapsed against the convention hall walls; truly, Gen Con has everything you might expect or hope to find in the ideal type of Place Where Gaming Things Happen, and more!

To understand how a gaming convention came to be the best possible use of anyone�s free time, it might help to semi-briefly explain how we got here:

Thanks Deviant and 8one6!

HISTORY THAT EVERYONE WILL READ

1968: The Lake Geneva Wargames Convention is officially started by E. Gary Gygax, gaming hero and biotruther, after it is becoming increasingly obvious that there are enough people in the region interested in wargames to justify the massive expenditure of $50 for a place to game for the weekend. I feel like the official story was that attendance was 50 cents each and between attendees and hot dog sales he precisely made his money back, though this leaves unexplained the great mystery of how much did he spend on hot dogs???

On a serious note, it is positively delightful to read contemporary newsletters and correspondence from this era, when it was downright exciting if you knew of a group of a dozen people in your whole state who were interested in wargames. Nowadays we have a hard time finding a dozen people in arm�s reach who do not own a full run of Funko Pops.

1974: Dungeons & Dragons comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

1978: Gen-Con relocates to Kenosha, Wisconsin, due to space concerns, reminding us just how little space there must have been in Lake Geneva for Kenosha to be a big-time upgrade.

198?: TSR solidifies its symbolic and actual domination of the industry by building a castle in the Exhibition Hall that feels like it takes up about � of the space. The castle domination continues unabated for ages, and you would never guess that D&D�s successor company now does not even bother showing up anymore.

1985: Gen-Con relocates to Milwaukee, which must have seemed like the absolute end-game big leagues at the time. While I can hardly claim to really know what it truly felt like before this, this move really seems to solidify the organization of Gen-Con as we see it today, with the biggest space of a convention center reserved for dealers to hawk their nerdy wares while every other possible space in the complex is reserved for one manner of game or game-related activity. I know it might sound obvious, but I think every other convention I attended in 2018 besides Gen-Con had other activities going on in the convention space at the same time (even Origins), whereas Gen-Con has long cleared the decks when it shows up.

1993: Magic: the Gathering comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

1997: Quarex attends Gen-Con for the first time, demonstrating his age and relative level of incompetence by spending $75 on a Lich card and buying four Gillian Anderson posters, while further demonstrating his propensity for bad ideas by not attending again until 2002. edit: oh god Captain Rat thank you for pointing out I typoed 1998; our inside joke "Nine Teen Nine Tee Sevunn" would not have existed if we had not gone then)

2003: Gen-Con moves to Indianapolis, and Milwaukee is trashed forever after as a garbage-tier convention-host city compared to the unbelievably warm welcome Indianapolis gave and has continued to give year after year (in only the second-ever example of unexaggerated �boy, that was the worst thing ever� criticism, after the time AOL joined Usenet).

2004: *checks notes* NaviaDratP comes out, and pretty much creates the modern gaming convention as we know it.

2016: Quarex misses his first Indianapolis Gen-Con, breaking everyone�s hearts forever.

2017: Gen-Con celebrates its 50th anniversary, and even though I believe all the organizers from the first few years have died now, Mike Carr (designer of Dawn Patrol/Fight in the Skies, also the only game officially run at every Gen-Con) is still going every year, and this is totally gonna be the year I play in one of his sessions! *Mike Carr instantly explodes*

You can also read Nesbit37�s write-up on the amazing Best 50 Years in Gaming site, which I must say remains shockingly relevant considering I assumed it was going to be basically a one-shot for 2017 but NESBIT37 IS ALWAYS COLLECTING INFORMATION.

(Thanks Bottom Liner and Nesbit37)

SUMMARY

The idea of a room full of people coming together to play their beloved games en masse may look significantly different in 2019 than it did in 1968, considering everything from the rooms to the people to the games are virtually unrecognizable to their past selves, but I think part of the magic of Gen Con is precisely that it has stayed so amazingly true to its original intent despite it seeming like literally everything in the gaming world has changed since then. There may be more people playing wargames at Gen Con 2019 than there were wargamers in the whole country in 1968, and yet wargaming is probably only the, like, 50th biggest draw overall (no data were harmed in the production of this sentence).

INDIANAPOLIS

One of the absolutely most exciting things about going to Gen-Con is the location, particularly given what happens to it during Convention Time**. Nearly every business likely to be patronized by nerds within a good three-block radius is suddenly and mysteriously covered in banners welcoming people to come and game there, crude (or even not-so-crude) drawings and paintings of characters from Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z, Star Trek, Pok�mon, Lord of the Rings, Naruto, Wasteland 3, Walking Dead, Avengers, Wasteland 2; anything remotely popular you can name.

It might even sound cheesy if you have not experienced it, but it is almost impossible to maintain a completely dead ironic front while realizing you are in the midst of thousands of people who share your interests and businesses EXPERTLY PANDERING FOR YOUR SWEET UPPER-MIDDLE-CLAS$. More than anything else, this is what to me turns it from a convention into a lifestyle event/theme park; you basically cannot escape, and so you can only choose between fully immersing yourself in it or hiding in your room (no hard feelings to people with anxiety or crowd issues; I love you too and here is a big hug).

And, as implied both just now and in the history section earlier, the move from Milwaukee to Indianapolis (oh hey, and this is the 17th Gen-Con in Indianapolis, tying Milwaukee!?) changed the tenor of the host city entirely. Indianapolis is full of cheery welcoming people who will happily tell you that we are their favorite yearly event because most of us are easy to deal with and actually tip well, whereas it is no exaggeration to say that in Milwaukee, employees at locations from hotels to mall food court kiosks openly disdained Gen-Con while we were there, particularly as I understand it the more years we returned. The Milwaukee newspaper ran an article that of course now I cannot find basically saying �good riddance� once we left, though this article from 2015 talking about how the Midwest Gaming Classic has had trouble expanding in part because venue owners in Milwaukee still literally do not want gamers in their spaces is fairly illuminating: https://www.patrickstomlinson.com/2015/04/23/milwaukee-hasnt-learned-from-gencon/

The main downside to Indianapolis as a host city is the airport, but it is definitely not a coincidence that it has begun growing dramatically over the last decade, finally reaching the point that you might actually be able to get a direct flight without already living 3 hours� drive away in the first place. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indianapolis_International_Airport#/media/File:IND_DOMESTIC_JAN_2018.png

It seems like details on specific transportation issues, like the best place to park or the accessibility or non-existence of airport shuttles, is changing every year at this point, but the good thing is that there always seem to be good ways to get from wherever you arrive/stay-once-you-are-there to The Convention Center Itself, which really is the most vital point of all. And, as we all learned from watching Hobocon, it is easy to just sleep anywhere in the �. Oh wait we learned from Hobocon that even napping in a chair during the day will probably get you yelled at, never mind.

HEY HERE IS THE OFFICIAL HOUSING REGISTRATION WALKTHROUGH EVEN THOUGH I THINK IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE TO GET IN THE QUEUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVxowlXXiHI&t=128s

GONNA MAKE A SECOND POST WITH ALL THE USUAL SUGGESTIONS WITH PLACES TO EAT AND STUFF TO BRING AND SUCH, THEN A THIRD POST TO RESERVE AND NEVER USE!?

_{**Defined, I would say, as Tuesday to Monday, even though obviously the convention is not formally running that whole time, and heck the official gaming tables at the airport even run until Tuesday morning I think?!?!}

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Jan 28, 2019

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 05:38

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 18:00

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Here is my always-updating list of recommended things to bring:

Cash! Some vendors, and of particular note the Auction/Auction Store, offer discounts for paying in cash, so even though it is not a necessity like it used to be before mobile card readers were everywhere, it is still a good idea
Dice??? Granted this is the least dangerous place in the world to forget dice
iGizmos/Cameras/Phones/Whatever
Chargers for what ails ya (phone, laptop, tablet, tableau, plateau, mesa)
Batteries, failing to remember your chargers
Googies (my Mom's aphasiac word for "snacks to eat on the go" (Suggested Road Food For Travellers On Facebook Page: Quest Nutrition Quest Bars[tm{tm}])
Hand sanitizer FOR EMERGENCIES
Notepads(tm) (hey, I take notes on my phone too, but sometimes paper comes up in gaming)
Pens/pencils/pansals
Black AND Silver(!) Sharpies for autographs on light or dark surfaces(!!!)
YOUR MEDICINE/PAINKILLERS/BANDAGES/INSULIN/TESTOSTERONE/GOLD-PRESSED LATINUM
Probably some insoles or gel inserts or foam blocks to walk on or whatever
Collapsible/lightweight water bottle with flavored beverage pouches
Gum!
Splenda, mayonnaise, and hot sauce packets: The Condiment Trifecta
TRAVEL CUTLERY KIT!!!!!

And here is the, as mentioned, suprisingly often-changing list of easily-walkable places to eat:

Firstly, a map showing all the places to eat close to the Convention center. The closest food to the convention itself is likely in the form of food trucks on Georgia Street (right outside the uhh East entrance I think). I have heard basically only good things about all of those trucks though I have not tried them myself yet.

The Ram (brewpub with gamer-themed menu, though always too full and not nearly as unique an experience as it was in like 2003)
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, though Lawen would kill me if I did not mention St. Elmo Steakhouse in the same breath
And speaking of St. Elmo, after 2015, Harry & Izzy's actually became my favorite place to eat in Indianapolis, because as Mudcrab Merchant points out, it is basically the food from St. Elmo (connected next door) but at a fraction of the price.
First Watch (I have not been there but apparently it has the FRESHEST INGREDIENTS despite being a chain)
Patachou (closes at like 3 P.M., but legitimately amazing quality breakfast/lunch)
STEAK 'N' SHAKE BECAUSE I AM FROM NORMAL, ILLINOIS AND I WILL BE PROUD OF OUR HOMETOWN CREATION UNTIL THE DAY I DIE
Prime 47, if you want to go a little farther for some food you also cannot afford. I remember going here with my then-girlfriend once and it was very good, but we also felt strange eating somewhere so fancy while wearing Hawaiian shirts.
Fat Rooster Diner in the Hyatt had an astoundingly good and cheap lunch buffet, including a cooked-to-order pasta man, though fair warning they mentioned they would probably run a limited menu this year
And Yard House is heartily recommended by RADIO FREE WALRUS
Thanks to CellBlock, we now know that
CellBlock posted:
there is a Primanti Bros. in Indianapolis now. If you like big sandwiches with french fries on them, that's a good place
, conveniently located in the Circle Centre Mall (also known as "the thing that you always walk past near the Convention Center but quite possibly have never gone into that has the movie theater")
PLUS apparently Café Patachou has opened a pizzeria called Napolese Pizzeria which is also seemingly in the Circle Center Mall so I need to eat there RIGHT NOW
AND WOW the Circle Center Mall hits just keep on coming!!!
Conan the Librarian posted:
Also, I'm not sure how this wasn't mentioned earlier in the food section but I've had a wonderful time at Pearings Cafe for great breakfast crepes and coffee each morning of the con.

Some of the best Indianapolis restaurants that are still technically walkable but are probably like a mile away or so:

Milktooth, suggested by DJFooBoo as the "head chef is a James Beard award winner who focuses on breakfast/brunch. Holy poo poo you should eat there dumbass!" Thanks ;(
MacNivens for Great Scotch Eggs!
Mesh on Mass is "spectacular" THAT IS ALL I KNOW
Not gonna lie, I have wanted to go to The Rathskeller ever since Gen-Con first moved, as it somehow got talked up as the single place you absolutely must go that was not close to the convention. Needless to say I have therefore never gone, but I DO love me some good German food.
Bazbeaux for pizza
Bakersfield for tacos...!??
Bru Burger for ... burgers
Bluebeard sounds like a pretty amazing place with a constantly-changing menu
Union 50 sounds delicious though it has LIVE MUSIC so BEWARE
Shapiro's Delicatessen made a list of the best 25 restaurants in Indianapolis so just go there already
Long's Bakery for THE BEST DONUTS APPARENTLY
Maxine's Chicken and Waffles is, according to Elephant Ambush, the best breakfast.
Fogo De Chao to gorge on unlimited top-notch steak and other meaty gubbins
Lawen posted:
Punch Bowl Social - I stumbled (literally) across this place last year and it was a high point of the trip. It's a big, nice bar at the other end of Georgia St near the basketball arena. It had good food and very good cocktails and is the only place in Indy I've found where I can do shots of Fernet-Branca. It also has 8 bowling lanes, 3 dart boards, 2 ping-pong tables, 2 bocce ball courts, 3 private karaoke rooms, a retro arcade, corn hole, a giant Scrabble game, and plenty of table space for board gaming. Best of all, it was completely loving empty last year -- they'd only opened a few months earlier and no one seemed to know about it. I apparently got drunkenly, annoyingly effusive about it in GroupMe and people were mean to me but don't hold that against Punch Bowl. I'm definitely planning to go back this year and imo it'd be a great venue for Shot Wednesday assuming nerd trivia is still dead. (DR. GARGUNZA ALSO BELIEVES THIS PLACE IS GOOD: "Just outside of the range most con-goers are willing to walk for food, and seldom busy outside of exactly lunchtime. Decent food, some good veggie-friendly options, and the owner and staff are really cordial to out-of-town dorks like me and my group.")
Reynold posted:
The Eiteljorg Museum is like one block from the convention center, and it's cafe offers a somewhat limited menu of southwestern-style food, local craft beer, and a changing "quesadilla of the day." You don't need to pay any admission to eat there.
Maigius posted:
It's kind of off the beaten path, on the street between the stadium and the convention center to the east, but The Slippery Noodle had good food and big portions. When we went last year, I brought some fettuccine Alfredo back to the hotel.

And, now, some random advice:

If you are not in good enough shape to be on your feet for hours a day and to walk about a dozen miles over the course of several days, you might want to get on that. For reasons entirely unrelated to the convention, generally, but in this case specifically for the convention.
The Comic Con thread suggests the 6/2/1 rule, though I prefer the 5/3/1 rule, but the idea is the same: Sleep at least 5/6 hours, eat 2/3 meals, and take 1 shower every day. Honestly, if you can handle going a long time without eating, I suggest taking advantage of your hotel's free breakfast buffet (you should stay at a hotel with a free breakfast buffet) and stuffing yourself silly and then trying to make it until dinner time, since nearby businesses are often packed during lunchtime and ending up missing two quality hours of the exhibit hall just to eat a sandwich seems like a bad deal to me. And yes, this is often called the "3/2/1" rule, but seriously, I have never seen anyone consistently sleep ~3 hours a night and not end up literally passing out AT THE GAMING TABLE by day three.
Favor messenger bags over backpacks, and even backpacks over rolling suitcases (from both usefulness and not-injuring-others perspectives). You could probably favor fanny packs over messenger bags if you were that comfortable looking ... ...... not much different than the others around you.
Due to the average level of social capability at any gaming convention, Goons have traditionally proven to be excellent choices for hangout-buddies here; I will use the third post in part for lists of Goon-run events (both formal and informal) and other such meeting-up-portunities (since last year I did a bad job helping coordinate that).
Slandible posted:
E>> One other thing I would suggest I didn't see in the OP, is dressing in layers. I know it's the middle of summer and you're going to be packed into the center like cattle, but by around 8 pm, a large amount of people start leaving. And by close to midnight, all the AC units in the place turn it into a giant meat locker. I froze my rear end off the first night.
theironjef posted:
First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

(yeah Kuma's Corner is amazing, one of the best burgers I have ever had and death/black metal food names!

Most everyone who hangs out in these threads ends up with a decent hotel room, at least according to informal surveys of the GroupMe group, but if there are any loners in the thread planning ahead for next year, you might want to try to find other people also looking to see if you can get multiple entries into the hotel lottery together. Though you also might want to ask around about that person just in case you run into one of those legendary Kinda Worrying Goons (though again, all things considered, it is kind of amazing how great our forum gang has been to hang out with over the years).

Oh speaking of the GroupMe group, here is how to join our now-basically-year-round Gen-Con chat group

Lawen posted:

Go here to download the app for your iOS/Android/Windows Phone.

Make an account.

Click here to join the GenGoons group!

is it just me or is the text in this post smaller, what is going on edit: O.K. it looks fine now cool

YO CHECK OUT THIS THING AGRIAS120 AND PROBABLY-NON-GOON TROUT MADE, AN APPROPRIATELY VERBOSE GUIDE TO PLACES TO EAT IN INDIANAPOLIS THAT MIGHT EVENTUALLY INCLUDE THINGS BESIDES FOOD TOO!!!

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 20:08 on May 3, 2019

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 05:39

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

This reserved post is really open to suggestions.

I did not get the sense that anyone ever actually looked at the random YouTube videos and BLOGZ and enthralling audio dramas from years past, but I can certainly dig through those links again if people were using them to pass the time to make Gen-Con come sooner!!!

!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I should have this post be a FAQ for questions literally asked in the thread!!! Wow!

Oh hey, here is an answer to a question that will probably be asked: yes, there is, surprisingly, an airport shuttle still; I swear nobody knows about it, as it certainly has not come up recently as far as I know, but I just found this confirmation on Go Express Travel's webpage, cool:

Downtown Indy Express posted:

The Go Green Airport Shuttle is the express Indianapolis Airport shuttle serving Downtown Indianapolis. Our most popular stops serve Lucas Oil Stadium, The Convention Center, and The Marriott Complex (JW Marriott). The shuttle operates from 5:00 AM to 11:00 PM, every half hour, 7 days a week.

EDIT: HEY I FIGURED OUT SOMETHING ELSE TO DO WITH THIS POST, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT

LINKS TO PAST THREADS
Archives needed:
Gen Con 2003 Thread Attempt~ #1: Just A Young Lad Looking For A Hotel Room
Gen Con 2003 Thread Attempt #2: Anachronistic Hero Lab Promotional Placement
Gen Con 2004 Thread Attempt #1: Rhandhali's Rhuminations
Gen Con 2004 Thread Attempt #2: A Second Rhandhali Post Has Hit The Forums
Gen Con 2004: Well No Actually A Thread About An NPR Story On Gen Con
Gen Con SO CAL(!) 2004: Wow It Was Real Probably!
Gen Con 2005 Thread Attempt #1: Space Pope Had The Goods Though
Gen Con 2005 Computer Game Interview Request Thread In Games Proper: Ends With A Milwaukeean's Lament
Gen Con 2005 Thread Attempt #2: Three Posts.
Gen Con 2006: Surprisingly On-Topic
Gen Con 2007, Kind Of: Quarex Seeks to Understand the Differences Between Gen-Con, Origins, and DragonCon
Gen Con 2007, Kind Of, Redux: Seorin Just Wants Spoilers
Gen Con 2008: The Saddest Official Thread Ever
Gen Con Paris 2009: No, That Did Not Actually Happen, Sorry Man
Gen Con 2009: At Least They Tried
Gen Con 2010 Thread Attempt #1: Title Mocking Indiana, Thread Bad
Gen Con 2010 Thread Attempt #2: Title Also Mocking Indiana, Thread Also Bad; Coincidence?
Gen Con 2011 Lightly Mentioned In This Thread About The Specific D&D Tournament Taking Place There
Gen Con 2012: Indianapolis Washed Away By Tidal Wave
Gen Con 2013: Gen Con Moves To Lemuria For Better Downtown Hotel Coverage

Archives no longer needed:
Gen Con 2014: Year Numbers Definitely Started Sounding Futuristic For Me Here
Gen Con 2015 and Gen Con 2015 Part Two: 2016
Gen Con 2017: Celebrate 50 Glorious Years Of Pope Paul VI's Encyclical Humanae Vitae
Gen Con 2018: I Think This Is Still Going On

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 19:25 on Jun 27, 2019

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 05:40

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Fellis posted:

GEN CON

GEN CON

Carteret posted:

Thanks Quarex, I'll have you know I read every word of your OP, AS USUAL and you are a poet.

Also I miss you. Come to Rathskellers on Wednesday gosh darnnit

Thanks man, I sometimes laugh to myself when doing these write-ups, particularly given that the nature of huge starter posts like these is that they so rarely get read.

I am proud that my series of cosplay anagrams resulted in Torrent defining "scalpyo" as "stealing cosplay pieces from someone who is wearing them."

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 07:22

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Carteret posted:

Also I miss you. Come to Rathskellers on Wednesday gosh darnnit

How did I forget to respond to this part when I started writing it first

I really have no idea how I have continually managed to miss this, considering it is a Goon Tradition(tm) AND I have been trying to go to Rathskeller's anyway for the entire time I have been going to Indianapolis for this nonsense. I am sure Captain Rat or Torrent might remember why we ended up doing something else last year.

theironjef posted:

First of all, put Kuma's Corner (https://kumascorner.com/location/kumas-indy/) on that motherfuckin' food list right now. I know it's all the way out in Fountain Square, but so's my AirBnB so there you go.

Excellent call; Captain Rat and I ate there right after spending an hour at the Nine Lives Cat Caf�, and that was a one-two punch for the ages.

djfooboo posted:

This might be my last GenCon for a while, gonna make it count!

DJFOOBOO NO WHY I thought you were local?!

Admiral Joeslop posted:

I got a hotel and my tickets, then put in vacation for the whole week.

Some other rear end in a top hat already put in that week and due to my work being dysfunctional to the point of excess, there's very little chance of two people going on vacation the same week.

So I'm just going to run my chip route to the bone the previous week and Mon-Wed, taking our 2.5 hour drive with plenty of time to hit Shots Wednesday. If i have to find someone to pay to run back stock, I'll do it.

QUIT YOUR JOB

Numinous posted:

The wife and I are going for the first time this year. We've got a lottery time for 1:50 PM which from what I'm reading is kind of on the cusp between "awesome time" and "everything booked"

Does anyone know if the housing portal accepts hotel/reward points? The wife has a shitload of Hilton points we wanted to use but this seems like maybe not the best time to try to use them.

QUIT YOUR JOB wait yeah it sounds like your time probably got you a downtown room, so kudos there.

Speaking as someone with a perpetual codswallopian amount of Hilton HHonors points, I personally put my elite status to use by getting my room in August. As in, the previous August. That does not do you much good now, but keep it in mind for the day Gen-Con ends this year!!! I ended up paying about $25 more a night than if I had gotten the room through the Gen-Con block it sounds like, but, well, I have had a room since August so that seems worth it to me.

WerrWaaa posted:

Got a badge. Got an AirBnB (that I expect to get cancelled...). Now what? Waiting. Forever waiting from one GenCon to the next...

I remember you waiting for last year. How did your Gen Con 2018 go WerrWaaa?!?!

Nemesis Of Moles posted:

GenCon Tent City, I'm in.

HOBOCON WHEN

I still perpetually think back fondly to the 40 Years of Gen Con anecdote about the dude who used to drive up to Milwaukee in a windowless van with his bros and park in the Brewers stadium lot and just washed and shaved in the parking lot bathroom or something. For someone whose entire life has been barely tolerating anything less than pure opulence, it always does sound tempting to try!

OgreNoah posted:

It was just a week or two before the Con actually started. You've got some time.

Yes, though they sold out about a month before in 2017. So it remains to be seen whether the slight cooling in demand due to it no longer being the 50th anniversary will be offset by "it being yet another year for still more people to be hyped and plan to attend."

# ¿ Jan 27, 2019 23:52

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Carteret posted:

I believe your excuse EVERY YEAR EVER (besides the year we all don't want to think about... the dark Quarex-less Con) had something to do with the Auction Dinner? Or was that on Tuesday and you just hate us.

OH THE AUCTION DINNER

Wait but then Captain Rat said that is on Tuesday; if that is true then what is my problem???????? If I did not have a new phone every year like clockwork I could at least look back at my text logs to see what the hell was going on

nesbit37 posted:

so glad they did exhibitor housing earlier this week. I've been in the hospital since Friday and I can't imagine the anxiety the housing lottery would have added on while here if I had to either miss it or deal with it while doctors are doing unspeakable things to me.

Nesbit37 no

Why

Get well soon???

OB_Juan posted:

Quarex - Come to SHOTS WEDNESDAY

COME TO SHOTS WEDNESDAY

Agrias120 posted:

GEN CON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so excited that I am actually going to go look at the official forums again

Someone else can look at the Facebook group or Reddit group, I do not believe in supporting fascism :smug:

CaptainRat posted:

I want to say the Auction dinner is on Tuesday which is why Quarex, and by association me as his equally-unhinged partner in Gen-Con crime, started spending the WHOLE WEEK OF GEN-CON IN INDY WOOOOOOOOO but that doesn't explain why neither of us went to Shots Wednesday, and I don't remember any other reason.

GEN

COOOOOOON

Edit: my financial spreadsheet has, among other things, a tab for savings and how much of the whole account is devoted to what thing (one thing being Gen-Con, of course), long story short I have a countdown to Gen-Con in the sheet so I have a little reminder of just how soon it is coming. 186 days.

I am proud of you for having a spreadsheet covering both the vitally important (186 days to go) and the nice bonus feature (remembering to save money).

Also, do you think we should tell the others about our Most Amazing Restaurant Discovery Ever from last year that I totally forgot about until Torrent said something?

(Yes, we should)

So the Fat Rooster Diner in the Hyatt was, like, a virtual Shangri-La (or perhaps Brigadoon is actually a more appropriate reference?) for us last year when we were just in desperate need of some lunch but did not have it in our hearts to deal with lines. We were in the midst of crossing from the Embassy Suites to the convention center, which passes through the Hyatt, and we were like "...why not just eat at that fancy-looking restaurant with like two people in it and be done RIGHT NOW?"

So not only did the Fat Rooster have a lunch buffet, but the lunch buffet was actually good, and it even had a chef in line producing made-to-order pasta dishes, and a dessert table that seemed like it would have easily been worth the price of the buffet by itself (I believe the buffet was like $14?). Ugh. It was so amazingly good. And I see Googin' reviews that a lot of people specifically call out this place as being bad, haha. It is also worth mentioning that they said something about probably having a "special limited menu" for 2019's convention, so it might also be too late for us to have found out about this place as perhaps it will just be selling waffles off a cart or something but who knows

# ¿ Jan 28, 2019 05:20

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Carteret posted:

I trust you, Quarex. I'll go visit your Big Cock.

I want you to appreciate just how confused I was to read this right after waking up. Excellent work.

djfooboo posted:

If all goes according to plan: I am going back to active duty military and moving to Florida for a couple years (to please my wife) then to Eurasia for 9+ years (to please me). I can't see using precious leave to go to Gencon every year, but will probably do it a few times.

Well, that is certainly a fairly convincing reason, yes. And I like that you are still thinking about flying back from far-away places with strange-sounding names to attend our beloved nerdy good times.

Meanwhile I will recommend anyone interested in zoning out while Gen-Conning get acquainted with Nelly's Nerdy Adventures, as every year her videos (for Origins too somehow!) get closer to looking like travel infomercials (in a good way).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jfaDx4QEiU

# ¿ Jan 28, 2019 16:04

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

WerrWaaa posted:

loving stellar. I can barely contain my excitement for 2019 and it's still so far awaaay.

WOOO awwwwwwwww

yeah I hear that. Even though I got there Monday last year I ended up having to leave abruptly on Saturday night and even just entering the Convention Center on Sunday is apparently a vital part of my coping process

Maigius posted:

The MGC mentioned in the article about Milwaukee gaming conventions is now downtown and has been for a couple of years.

Oooh! That means there IS hope for Milwaukee's corporate structural anti-gaming bias to completely disappear! I cannot help but assume that all the stodginess present in the average employee of a business near the convention center in Milwaukee would have dissipated with about two decades of nerd pop culture explosion, too.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2019 21:18

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Agrias120 posted:

A friend and I are working on a little microsite to help people who needed recommendations during Gen Con. Right now it's just food, but maybe we'll add general Gen Con tips as well. It's nothing special, but if anyone finds it helpful it'll be worth it. My friend is a native of Indy and wanted to write up some alternative/supplemental food suggestions to what he usually reads in this thread, and I figured we might as well go the extra inch and make a site out of it. You can sort by price range, and it's organized into stuff that's walkable and stuff that's a short Uber away.

If anyone does end up finding it useful, I can post when we add new information to it leading up to Gen Con.

I love this and I love you and I guess I love Trout unless that is also you

This could probably be a functional replacement for many of the fairly unappealing-looking lists in the second post...or at least a good thing to click if you wanted to know more!

Please do me a favor and say that Steak 'n' Shake's chili is the secret best reason to eat there (O.K. you do not have to but I have probably ordered it every one of the countless hundreds of times I have gone).

Edit: Dubbayateeeeffff Burger Study is another St. Elmo expedition? Huh, I am intrigued now.

Toshimo posted:

Claddagh is walkable chain Irish, and is perfectly servicable.

Those brothertuckers take away their delicious Irish food every Gen-Con and replace it with mostly crap, what is wrong with them

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Jan 29, 2019

# ¿ Jan 29, 2019 03:21

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

8one6 posted:

I just got my time off approved! GEN CON!!!

GENCONNNNNNNNNNnn kjkjshslkajf

Haystack posted:

So, new development, I've officially got an exhibitor badge this year! Being married to the person who manages conventions for Chaosium has its perks.

Bro

That is awesome in its own right AND because I love anyone contributing to Chaosium's success, given that they are finally re-ascending to their rightful place as one of the most relevant tabletop gaming companies in the world.

-=-=- uNreLaTed -=-=-

I forgot to add something in the first post about how anyone seeking to recreate the Unwelcoming Milwaukee Gen-Con Experience(tm) does have one option: staying at the Columbia Club! We ended up there because I shirked my room-finding responsibilities due to being unsure if I would be able to go in 2007, and checking my e-mail archives I see Torrent was able to get the room from Wednesday-Sunday for $588 total ... which, you know, is a heck of a price for finding a reasonably close hotel in July. I guess it really did used to be a lot easier.

Anyway, when our group stayed there was memorable for some of the same reasons Milwaukee was: confused, rude staff (I still remember us staring confused at each other when we paused to look through our bags before going outside and got a "please stop standing around in the lobby" from the check-in counter clerk); rules incompatible with Gen-Con (check out The Dress Code for the common areas!); and unrepeatable awkward moments (as when an elegantly-dressed person brought a variety of Breakfasty Juices to our room the first morning we were there, returned 30 seconds later, informed us there had been a mistake, and took all the juices away). And other than the vaguely pleasant trappings of Upscale Grandma's Guest Room it was not even a particularly nice space to stay in.

I remember when I brought this up a few years back, someone pointed out that it is clearly a CLUB and not a normal hotel, so it should be no surprise that it does not exactly slot nicely into the Gen-Con vibe. And sure, I have no doubt this place is a breath of fresh air if you are a rich person visiting Indianapolis who really needs to pretend we still live in the 1950s, but, well, it is also two doors down from the Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop so you are not fooling anyone

# ¿ Jan 29, 2019 17:32

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

djfooboo posted:

Lol, the Columbia Club as a GenCon hotel is hilarious. That place is stuffy as gently caress.

Yeah it was so profoundly memorable and not anything I would ever recommend, haha. I have stayed in, I mean, like, hundreds bordering on thousands of hotels in my life, and that place is seriously the #1 most self-important of them all. Though it helps that most of the literal luxury hotels I have been in are in countries where they were probably used to Americans ruining the experience and just never even bothered.

Hey speaking of how to walk into a new situation and be comfortable...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVZJ2NiCan8

Nelly is the best, and anyone who has never gone before (I already see there are some of you) will definitely get something out of this if you have the light stamina required for a 40-minute video. At least her accent is continually delightful!

Edit: poo poo an Irish person saying "Claddagh" has freed me from 15 years of self-consciousness

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Jan 30, 2019

# ¿ Jan 30, 2019 04:24

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Druggeddwarf posted:

I have been spending 3 days a week walking 3 miles just so I don't die like I nearly did last year. Seriously, for newcomers, it was my first time last yearand I needed new legs by day 3. Get Sensible Shoes (TM)

I do remember Sunday of Gen-Con 1997 being like "what...what is wrong with my legs...why is the other side of the Exhibit Hall so far away" and it was a hilarious and of course vaguely worrying feeling.

Druggeddwarf posted:

Oh OH OH other than the usual 5-2-1 rule, DEFINITELY check your hotel for activites and happenings, from the free Pool you can use in the morning to wake yourself up (that was the best part of my hotel) to finding out if there is any gaming happening in your Hotel with other groups. As someone who basically came on his own, finding and making friends is the toughest part of the convention. If you have friends who have come before, catch up to them, and try to at least sync your calendars. If you're on your lonesome, a lot of people are happy to answer questions and help you out in times of need. Respect boundaries, and just be genuinely chill.

DRUGEDDWARF JOIN THE GROUPME AND INSTANTLY GAIN 30 FRIENDS well maybe 29, nobody likes Quarex

Also I am officially modifying my suggestion of the 5-2-1 rule based on further feedback, I will henceforth recommend the 10-4-16 rule.

Necronomicon posted:

So I got a 1:06 time slot this year, and managed to get a room three blocks from the convention center (in a hotel that's not even finished being built yet). Hooray! Although it isn't quite as good as last year when my group managed to get a hotel that was connected via skywalk and also literally across the street from the ICC.

Either way, maybe this is the year I finally hang out with Goons? I've been going to GenCon in Indianapolis every year since 03 but always with a group of friends who I've stuck pretty close to.

MAKE IT SO!! GET IT!!!!!>!! GET IT THAT IS THE LINE FORM TLSERHIGFsvxjnnm jlk

Also as we all say

Nemesis Of Moles posted:

No joking, if you're reading this, get on the groupme and don't be afraid to ask if anyone wants to play [literally any game, anywhere, any time[. You will probably get replies. I rolled up to GenCon one year not knowing a single person and after a Fiasco game and a wild Dungeon World evening, I consider getting to see some of these nerds the absolute highlight of my GenCon every year. And show up to games people announce, get in the annual Goon Fiasco Game, come to my yearly game, find us all in the JW halls playing whatever the gently caress game (poorly). It sounds like a sappy TV commercial but the amount of fun and friends you can make just by saying "Anyone still up?" can't be overstated.

The exact meaning of "anyone still up?" may change contextually but everything else NoMNoMNoM says here is exactly on point. I have been continually surprised by the Excellence of Goon on display at Gen-Con since I first met people in like 2014, or whichever year it was that Nesbit37 and I sat with one of my non-Goon friends at Colts Grille talking for an hour before realizing a table of like 20 Goons was literally 10 feet away behind a room divider.

GroupMe is basically a guaranteed friend/event generator from 7 A.M. until 2 A.M. every day of the convention (and even usually a day before).

Fellis posted:

I�m gonna queue up for first in the consignment shop this year instead of the vendor hall rush

WerrWaaa posted:

Same. Last year was the first time I realized what was actually going on in those rooms and I'm afraid for my wallet and gaming time this year.

Now I understand part of why you had a great time last year WerrWaaa.

And yes, barring the (admittedly common) circumstance where you are trying to snag the convention-exclusive thing in the Dealer Hall as soon as it opens, you will almost always be better-served by waiting in line for the Auction/Consignment Store since there are inevitably insanely cool things tossed in there for not much money at all.

WerrWaaa posted:

When and where can we expect to start seeing lists of cool poo poo coming out at GenCon?

Does BoardGameGeek have that list still? You know the one? Let me check

Oh yes, they do have the list, but it has nothing on it for the year so far. Always seems pretty thorough from what little I know, so a good place to watch in the coming months certainly.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2019 19:59

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Fellis posted:

4-20-69 rule

There was a post I read in my ongoing ~2 years of catching up on the Gen-Con forums that posited a new 5-4-3-2-1 rule, where the "5-3" is as expected but then "4" is how many events you should do every day and "2" is how many showers you should take per day. Look, independently I can see how someone might be down for 16 hours of events every day or two showers a day, but if you literally just sit in an air-conditioned convention room for 16 hours and still need a refresher shower half-way through I do not know how to help you

I think the "1" referred to there being only room for one person in my heart, and it is you, Fellis

nesbit37 posted:

Yay, out of the hospital and ready for Gen Con! I think I mentioned it on the groupme but am thinking of doing a crowdsourced image archives project for gen con on https://www.best50yearsofgaming.com. I don't know I'll get it sup up in time for 2019 since I have a ton going on between now and then (fulfilling Bee Lives, getting the Bee Lives public launch at our Gen Con booth ready, designing a new game, writing an RPG book, and then for my day job we are moving to a new library on campus this summer). Super excited, as usual, and registering for Gary Con events this past week has just reminded me it is the start of 2019 con season!

I think I already said this in the GroupMe but please do not be dead or nearly-dead

You could probably get your image archive started to the point that people could contribute anyway. I do often think about the sheer volume of delightful pictures out there that are not being seen nearly enough.

GARY CONNNNNNNNN wait GEN CONNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Though considering Lake Geneva is virtually a rounding error in my weekly Iowa-Chicago-Iowa commute I should probably go this year again huh

WerrWaaa posted:

Frequent drinking with childhood friends is also a big part of it. Let's be honest-- I probably won't make it to any goon gaming this year, because there are lots of people I need to spend time with, BUT IT'S NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE WEIRD STRANGERS FROM THE INTERNET. I like that about you.

Yeah agreed, I just had another old non-gaming friend move to Indianapolis to add to the things I will probably need to do outside the convention, though perhaps I can ... hmmm ... if I change the rule to 0-2-1, I can definitely make this work.

Ego Trip posted:

Just do what I did and get your nongoons to hang out with the goons.

Yeah this is good too. My Ungoons are perfectly willing to hang out with whoever, though admittedly it seems like every year fewer of my non-Goon friends go to The GC. I would blame family commitments but uh now that I think of it nearly all of the people who stopped going do not have kids so maybe children KEEP YOU INVESTED IN NERDITY

# ¿ Jan 31, 2019 20:36

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Fellis posted:

The other big goon thing is watching TOVA and the beginning of the charity auction which everyone should be doing saturday afternoon because it is usually worth the price of admission (price varies depending on how long you hold your auction number up with your eyes closed)

Yes this too. I can unambiguously support both of these endeavors both because I was a huge proponent even before I started auctioneering myself, and because you never even know how long I will actually be onstage so it is really only minor self-promotion.

T.O.V.A. did not actually used to lead directly into the Charity Auction, but it seems like that has become the new normal over the past few years. Kinda makes sense, they can just throw any remaining non-charity items into the end of T.O.V.A. and it works out as well as doing anything else with it.

I should probably post one of the past years' schedules, since inevitably people are curious and there are certainly broad similarities year-over-year even if it is never identical.

Edit: O.K. here we go

Fellis posted:

I forgot to mention, great thread title again!

THANKS MAN WOOO my enthusiasm for the post every year only really finally peaks when Torrent and I finish our yearly tradition of shouting thread title ideas at each other over chat until we complete our synthesis.

And Torrent continues his yearly tradition of being completely invisible both online and in real life.

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Feb 2, 2019

# ¿ Feb 1, 2019 23:55

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Posting again because I was just looking through my archives for Gen-Con photos and found a diary I kept for all of about three weeks in 1997 instead

Keep it tuned here for ongoing riveting coverage of the event

Quarex 1997 posted:

Thursday, August 7

[My V.I.G. friend in present day], [Hrothgar], [Captain Rat] and I depart for GenCon �97. A very exciting and entertaining car trip ensues, in which we listen to �Stayin� Alive� no fewer than six or seven times, all wear matching sunglasses, and generally prepare for the time of our lives. Upon arriving, we discover that registration has already closed for the day due to the awful Violent Femmes concert going on outside. So, we venture towards the live action gaming event we had been handed a pamphlet for, and partake in that for a few hours.

Gonna give myself an overall 50% rating; I guess listening to Stayin' Alive while wearing matching sunglasses was fun at the time, and my rabid dismissal of the Violent Femmes was spot-on, but I did use "partake" in the same sentence as "live action gaming" which is a definite red flag. Fortunately it was 1997 so this diary was in like a .WRI document, not online

# ¿ Feb 2, 2019 00:12

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

theironjef posted:

I once watched a man dance on the roof of a porta-potty til he fell through it and into the porta-potty at a Violent Femmes concert. It was the best.

This certainly sounds like more fun than I have had at more than a few concerts I have attended, so consider me now the world's biggest Violent Femmes fan.

That is just as punk rock as the time I saw people adding milk to their cold brew coffee at a TUnE-yArDs show

O.K. so

As I mentioned in the GroupMe, I bought Something Awful Forums Archives Access(tm), entirely so I could go look at the Gen-Con threads before 2014 and be delighted by what I found.

Firstly I was delighted to find I actually made the 2013 thread even though I thought 2014 was my first, but anyway.

The 2009 thread was less than two full pages long. Gen-Con was already over by the time the 20th post was made. Though thanks for being the first to make a thread, ClockworkJoe! I apologize for the shade I threw your way when making my first thread, as I realize now the Traditional Games subforum was less than a year old when you did your duty and things were different!

Anyway. In those 1.7 pages there was a story about a guy taking off his underwear and leading a kilted pub crawl and feeling someone up (consensually at least), a back-and-forth hoping Mikan would attend, and then most of the posts were about whether the new edition of Hackmaster was any good (it was and/or was not) and whether this new "Pathfinder" game was worth picking up. Haha. Hahahaha. And so died the subforum

Already excited about 2010, as there are actually two Gen-Con threads and the EARLIER one starts "so GenCon is next week" ahahahhaha

# ¿ Feb 3, 2019 04:03

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Admiral Joeslop posted:

Bruh you gotta give links for those of us too lazy or drunk to go searching.

That is fair, it had not occurred to me that anyone else would even be that interested, even if interested in my recaps, which was already minimally likely!

O.K., I will post the links here as I get to them, and anyone with archives can go nuts!
Here is our first shot at a thread back in 2009.

Here is the first 2010 thread, and the second 2010 thread.

And the 2011 Almost-Gen-Con thread.

Meanwhile, here are my live summaries of those years' threads or "threads:"

The first 2010 thread was six posts long and was obviously a riveting read. Though I did learn it was thread-creator Ulta and subforum-personality RocknRollaAyatollah's first Gen-Cons! And the last post was a guy named Navyjack offering to buy a beer to anyone who ask if he had stairs in his house and he was protected, so clearly everyone shook their heads sadly and wandered to the other thread.

Wow, and the second thread is 12 posts long. Probably the most fun opening post so far from Benson Cunningham, including a hopefully-joke about not being allowed to talk to Margaret Weis. ClockworkJoe is definitely the Gen-Con thread champion overall, appearing in all of them so far. RobotsinmyHead gets the nod for the first version of the standard joke with his comment "I'm the awkward, overweight balding nerd with the unkempt beard in the black shirt, so if you see me, wave hi!"

Apparently some sort of important Magic: The Gathering foil reprint release occurred in 2010. O.K.! Hentai Dubbing comes up again; hard to tell from context if Mudcrab Merchant was running things back then, but I have no idea why she would not have been.

Wow and there is no 2011 thread at all, other than RocknRollahAyatollah making a game attempt to at least discuss the 2011 D&D Open Championship taking place at Gen-Con. Len is the first person to point out that it is strange that there is no general Gen-Con thread in the 26th post on the first (and only) page. The Goon team finished in the top third of all entries. Goongratulations!

# ¿ Feb 4, 2019 22:11

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

OgreNoah posted:

Yup, the 2nd-4th years I went to GenCon Wizards actually had their own booth, and they did the From The Vault reprints that you could get a few weeks in advance and at actual MSRP, which was a steal. For the 2008 one you had to run across the entire dealer hall and be in the first 100 people in line each day. I don't remember what 2009 was like because I didn't care about that set, but for 2010 you had to be in the dealer hall when disguised Wizards employees announced they were giving out tickets for you to go purchase it, and I was lucky enough to get one.

Oh hello! Yeah that sounded like a pretty cool time, anything involving disguise and limited-time-window opportunities is instantly intriguing. And then Wizards stopped coming/caring about anything

nesbit37 posted:

Waaaay way back in the day they ran tournaments at cons and later made them modules. This is how adventures like the Shrine of Tamoachon came into being. I don't know how they did it, but players had to get through that entire module in 4 hours to beat it and potentially win. Thats why, in that module, there is a poison gas in the air that hurts the players every few rounds. It was designed that way to remind them they were on a time crunch and had to keep moving (and also help kill them faster). If I remember correctly, all of the AD&D modules of the C series were originally tournaments.

In the 70s and possibly early 80s there were also some tournaments where the adventuring parties were supposed to go into a dungeon with the purpose of finding and killing each other. There isn't a ton of information on how these tournaments went but they were a thing.

Man, listening to 1970s-era TSR people give details about those kinds of modules was one of the things (the other being "Josh, just Josh") that got me addicted to the Auction in the first place; the first time I heard someone waxing nostalgic about the setup of the tournament games I was hooked. I mean, hooked on wanting to go time travel to a 1970s D&D tournament.

CellBlock posted:

Clearly, the threads got good in 2012 because that's when I started going to Gen Con. Or maybe I started going because the threads got good. Either way, go to Gen Con! (or don't; more space for us)

That is a good lead-in to my next post, since the 2012 thread is like 10x as interesting (and about 10x as long) as the previous three years' worth of threads combined! As such I am going to break my summary into two parts because I have my limits on how long posts can be. Uh. Unless they are the first few posts in this thread

AND NOW FOR THE 2012 THREAD WOOO

DJFOOBOOOOOoooooooOOO takes up the reigns and we manage to get the thread past two pages for the first time! Still created less than a month before the actual convention though. I think the Wasteland 2 thread went to my head and I really thought starting the thread eight months early made perfect sense. I mean, it has worked out, but still.

Oh dang, T.G.I. Friday's had an 80s trivia night the night before Gen-Con in 2011, I wonder if that continued and we just all collectively forgot about it? Not that anything could knock Shot Wednesday off its perch at this point clearly, though hold everything, Arkhamina was talking about getting drunk TUESDAY at SLIPPERY NOODLE, what is that, that sounds great, wow Indiana's oldest bar, and only like two blocks from the convention center, whaaaat? Why has nobody ever talked about this place? Nobody has mentioned Howl at the Moon in years, either. Man, learning about so many nearby drinkin' places. And then someone else suggests Nicky Blaine's, which is also close and sounds interesting. Actually that might be where Captain Rat and I ended up that one night we were still partying past Midnight and it was other people who were not responding on GroupMe for a change.

Hey look, it is Dr. Quarex, popping his big stupid head into one of these threads at last, only 20 posts in, and I definitely do not remember doing so. Definitely me, though; long-winded and pointless!

Also, uh, did all the Goons who actually work in the industry stop attending Gen-Con or did they stop working in the industry? Like half the posters in the first few pages are working one booth or another.

Oh this was the year that Len somehow ended up in a room with 9 people who did not seem to understand perhaps that was too many people (Len did, he bailed). Yet then Dr. Doji Suave mentioned their Embassy Suites room has 11 people. Suddenly my annoyance over the 5th person always creating mild conflict seems so much less dramatic.

Important pictures from this thread so far include the classic

and the nearly-forgotten

Hot tips from Trustworthy:

Trustworthy posted:

Secret pro-tips like:

You should tip (give extra money to) waitresses.

You should occasionally drink water.

You should change your t-shirt at least once.

I think that last tip is part of the "0-0-0-1" rule

Trustworthy posted:

When traveling between venues: the Sun is warm and bright, but it is not fire! Do not be frightened, it will not consume you.

My childhood frenemy Dexefiend recommended this surprisingly compelling solution to hotel room overcrowding, and I completely forgot about it. Still seems like a good idea.

Lawen I apologize for saying Ruth's Chris was better than St. Elmo in 2012. Do not get me wrong, I love both of them though. I really do remember Ruth's's' Chris' having better side dishes than St. Elmo, but most people are not eating at a steakhouse for the sides.

Aw man, Mama Irma's Peruvian food place closed and I never got to go there.

ON TO PAGE 4 OUT OF 7 now that I am finally reminded of the also-ran True Dungeon, Terror Twerks

# ¿ Feb 7, 2019 06:10

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Dr. Doji Suave posted:

Ah the days of getting 11 people into a room. Only way it was feasible was everyone was chill and nobody smelled and everyone bathed and cleaned up after ourselves.

These days we do at most 5-6 in a room, but everyone has jobs now so it�s no longer a Doji run charity like the past.

This year we ended up with the Alexander, which is uh... pricey. We�re considering just driving from Noblesville daily if we are unable to do better.

I wondered if that was a charity ~~sting~~ operation. Len seemed extremely displeased with his circumstances, whereas you were like "yep so it goes!" Doctor to doctor, you are a good doctor, doctor.

I almost ended up at the Conrad one year which I suspect was similar to your current situation. But that was the year my buddy joined V.I.G. People in the GroupMe have definitely found rooms in July by being, well, attentive. Attentive.

8one6 posted:

gently caress trying to get more than 4 people in a room. A couple of years ago my friend invited someone to stay with us because he wanted to be as cheap as possible but there were already 6 people staying in the room.
He also neglected to mention that this person was going to be riding with us in an already cramped car.
Then we found out that we had to stay later than we wanted because they were playing in the MLP card tournament final thing that Sunday afternoon.
(My friend is no longer allowed to invite people to Gen Con without talking to everyone else who's going.)

This sounds kind of similar to my group; we managed fairly well, pretty much never having more people than we had space on beds and/or couches, then like the week of the convention the V.I.G. is like "oh hey this random dude you have never met is joining us too." Well, that ruins our perfect equilibrium, but I guess we will manage. Then of course this dude is the kind of person who gets back from his games at 3 A.M. and has absolutely no idea how to be quiet and wakes everyone up, and then of course also falls asleep instantly and snores the loudest of anyone.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2019 01:36

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

2012 CONTINUED! IN ITS OWN POST?

Nice Ellis Island reference from RocknRollaAyatollah about why you should not buy your badge on-site, even though now obviously there are other much more important reasons not to buy your badge on-site, like how you cannot because it sells out.
...
Wow, we had an IRC channel
...

Len posted:

Overheard in the halls "I have four katanas at home I don't need a shotgun." In reference to a zombie apocalypse.

These are truly the good moments.
...
Oooh I think WhiteHowler is the first person to mention Artemis, the game that basically killed all of my extended nerd friends dead at the convention from 2012-2014!
...

Dexefiend posted:

To the goon I just met wearing the horse head mask,

I couldn't understand your screen name thru your mask.
Thank you,
Goon in SA logo shirt

...
Feeple wins the "first (and possibly only) person to post about how much Gen-Con basically sucked" award!
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Ooh thanks to Big_Knees it is also preserved for posterity that 2011 was the last year with swag bags accompanying the badge and convention book pickups. Looking at the attendance figures, yeah, that kind of makes sense; after literally decades of wavering around 20,000-25,000 attendees, there were 30,000 in 2010 and 36,000 in 2011, so the costs must have started going up significantly to hand things out. Plus, if we are honest, it was rare that more than one or two things in the bag were actually interesting anyway, though it was still one little memorable and fun part of the start of the convention.
...
Oh hey, I do not think we congratulated ClockworkJoe enough for winning a goddamn gold Ennie so CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN 6.5 YEARS LATER DUDE!!!

Please enjoy for no reason this song that I apparently discovered around the time of Gen-Con 2012 as I had it randomly noted in my Gen-Con Wishlist. I mean, I guess it sort of has a similar vibe to what my brain does when I think about Gen-Con. I wonder if that is why I wrote it down? 2012 Quarex, Tell Me Your Secrets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgpi8VaKt-Q

# ¿ Feb 8, 2019 01:38

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Dr. Doji Suave posted:

Is Artemis even worth it now at Gencon? Seems like what few reports I heard the last two years were rather poor for the cost and time.

That would certainly explain why my friend gang stopped caring about it in the year I missed if the people running it have lost the will to be professional.

Admiral Joeslop posted:

The arcade is very much not worth it either. Half the machines were broken, and the entire time I was there some kid that had to be the person in charge's kid hogged the VR computer which I've always wanted to try

My favorite is that even the arcade games in the hallway between the Convention Center and the Lucas Oil Arena have a handful of broken ones that look like they have been broken for years, but surely they are only there for the convention!?!?

O.K.!

HERE WE GO WITH 2013 WOOO

I PROMISE THE 2013 GEN-CON THREAD IS THE LAST ONE I AM GOING TO POST RECAPS ABOUT SINCE 2014 ONWARD ARE STILL AVAILABLE oh hey I should put all these links in the original post if anyone wants to check those threads out
...
Aww, I had a section of my first post encouraging people to give their names, interests, and whereabouts during the convention! Such Pre-Cloud Thinking(tm)
...
Wow, Brock Samsonite was hiking the Appalachian Trail and was not sure if he would be done in time for the convention. Taking getting in shape for walking the Exhibit Hall a bit too seriously.
...
I called the area within a few blocks of Gen-Con the "Waddle Zone" and I think that is a good term I will now begin using again.
...
Ooh our first banned Gen-Conner, Factorialite! Oh, an Indianapolis local who had never gone until 2013??? Hmmmmmmm
...
There are some fascinating forgotten things coming up in these threads, like the casual mention of the "LARP/Laser Tag thing Osiris Sanction" which actually seems to have died even before this post talking about attending an upcoming game of it that year.
...
Ouch, Quarex, harsh burn comparing Am I A Werewolf to Heads-Up Seven-Up!
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Ezekial Rage has made only one post on the Forums ever, in this thread, because his girlfriend Shiny Penny (formerly rear end Crackers!) made fun of him earlier in the thread for never posting.
...
Hmm, Nesbit37 saying the Dungeons & Dragons documentary would be out by 2014. I STILL BELIEVE THOUGH
...
Oh Kerzoro from Colombia who last posted in 2016 must be our resident Colombian in the GroupMe surely? Wow, and he was also going to ComiCon and SIGGRAPH that year; bro you gotta nerd-specialize a little
...
Len I am sorry I threatened to lightly punch you in the face over the 2011 Will Call line
...
Congratulations Dr. Quarex on seeing the future in your post saying "my wife knows I have no intention of ever missing Gen-Con but I know my limits" in response to Arzakon telling his wife he would not allow children born in August. Though hey, it worked for him!
...
Shavnir who are you, you have not posted since 2015, we apparently met in 2012, come baaaack
...
O.K. 1/3 of the way through 2013 and time for bed!!! Though not before continuing to resurrect Very Gen-Con photos from the previous threads

Lou Zocchi! DVarious!

Those Guys!

The World's Biggest Banner!

CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

# ¿ Feb 9, 2019 07:55

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Dr. Doji Suave posted:

My wife and I were very much room police. What helped was three people would sleep during the day since they did events/Magic all night. Our only issue was the last year we offered this service. A friend who had an event til 1 am came in. People are asleep, he�s sober, no lights are on. In the center of the room is a small table with some chairs, and a hanging light above it. Through sheer stupidity he walks into the table, moves it loudly, and cracks his face on the hanging light, breaking his glasses. The light was fine, but everyone woke up to him swearing loudly.

Ah good, Schadenfreudecon is alive and well.

O.K. time to finish recapping the 2013 thread!

Wow am I ever sad I somehow did not notice the talk about Taco Lassi, the Mexican-Indian fusion food truck, before it probably immediately closed. Would have been even better than my German-Indian fusion bratwurst biryani that by the way was phenomenal
...

Tuxedo Jack posted:

Just saw a 3 Wolf Moon and Fedora combo, at the Columbia Club no less.

Countblanc posted:

I didn't know the Columbia Club was full of mirrors.

...
The posts about the MotoGP motorcycle fan encounters reminds me of my favorite aspect of Gen-Con 2013; I walked past literally hundreds of largely leather-clad biker-types as I travelled from the Convention Center to the Spy Bar to go dancing with a friend of mine, and absolutely nobody made a single comment about the fact that I was wearing a full Scottish outfit including a kilt (A REAL KILT AGHGH)... and then as I was walking through a crosswalk on my way back, an incredibly unappealing man in a minivan leaned out his window and yelled "human being!" at me. I snapped back at him "YOU do not get to make fun of me, dude" and kept walking, which is about as snippy as I have ever gotten. You can tell I did not plan that response or make up this story because I should have just calmly said "sorry, you're not my type."
...
Huh, I do not recall ever hearing anything else about Trustworthy's experience getting kicked out of the Convention Center at 3 A.M. Saturday morning due to an "emergency situation." I bet they caught the Hobocon guys trying to nap in a chair. Also wow I have had my Something Awful time zone set wrong for years, thanks Trustworthy for making me suddenly realize I did not know if the time of your post was accurate.
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Alien Rope Burn broke down his whole Gen-Con into bullet-points day by day, and in addition to being a great way to see if there are any year-specifics I want to bring up again now, I imagine if everyone did this it would also be a great way to remember what the hell you actually did at Gen-Con for when you are sitting there trying to remember if you have ever actually played Codenames before.
...
Huh, the "800 people in a room cheering when the multi-table event beat back the final boss monsters" Pathfinder event sounds kind of amazing; is this sort of thing at all common or was that a one-off? Haha like anyone but Fellis is reading this and could answer. Hey Fellis!!!
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CellBlock thanking me for passing out hugs is truly the feel-good moment of page 16.
...
There we go, finally listened to ClockworkJoe's Gen Con 2013 wrap-up podcast
...
Apologies to SciFunk for not totally properly answering her question about how the auction organization works. The division of items in 2013 was driven by an insane alchemy of weighing pre-registered items against expected items registered on-site, which always led to some frantic reorganization of later-day sections and the occasional failure to list a real schedule until late on Thursday. This is why they changed the Auction to be pre-registered items only a year or two later, and now they can actually get the schedule ready by the time it opens on Thursday based on the theoretically-barely-changing data already put together.
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............
...
..
My primary take-away from reading all these threads in terms of what I should do about it now:

I think I need to do a better job of doing what I did back then, and reminding people to get prepared for SELLING things at the Auction. Like 75% of why T.O.V.A. is fun is because of the bountiful nerdy crap that people bring to sell; even Josh could not really come up with an entertaining way to sell 25 "handmade" "super-hero lamps" last year (they were like two different styles of lamp with an action figure super-glued to the base) and just gave up.

So...

IT IS UP TO ALL OF US TO PUT OUR EXCESS GOOD TIMES UP FOR SALE IN THE AUCTION!

*insert Buy War Bonds-style propaganda poster*

OH SHAEIGHT they actually updated the Live Game Auctions page to look more like what you might expect a webpage to look like!

omg T.O.V.A. is pictured on the "About" page and therefore so am I woooooooo though I look so sad

probably because Nathaniel was on the mic

_{It is fine I understand he is a fine auctioneer I was just disappointed because he did not follow the process and sign up}

# ¿ Feb 11, 2019 23:47

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

CellBlock posted:

One year, a handful of us goons did Horizon bridge simulator on Sunday morning, and it was decent. There are so many now (it used to be just Artemis, now there's Horizon, Greenemyst, and probably at least one other) and so many timeslots, that if you want to try one, you can find one that's good.

Oh yeah, and can confirm that Quarex is huggable.

Also about bridge simulators, you would really think the market would be saturated after there were two.

Carteret posted:

It's ok Quarex, we all know it should have been you.

It shoulda been you, Quarex.

*wakes up*

*Is back at Gen-Con 1997*

*Launches sweeping revision of Florida's ballots*

I am finding it so disappointingly easy to keep up with the official forums this year; it is like 99% of online conversation about events has moved to Facebook or something.

On the plus side, that means I am filling my daily Gen-Con Thinking Time(tm) by Googin' articles about things to do in Indianapolis or Indiana more generally. Definitely gonna check out uh... the 2.5-mile underground stream running through a pitch-black tunnel, the world's largest anatomically-accurate brain sculpture, and a concrete block embedded with thousands of pulled teeth created by a dentist as a tribute to his dog?

# ¿ Feb 14, 2019 07:24

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

I suspect all we have to do is wait five minutes and Zak will pop up with the world's longest and most boring screed of lies confirming his ban. Maybe he will go hang out at the same bar as the guy who got punched last year, and it will become a Gen-Con tradition for someone to go punch a banned harasser

Fellis posted:

You�re sad looking because I�m standing in front of you staring at the display cases instead of basking in your skeletony prominence

I am shocked I did not notice that, but yes, I suspect I am keeping a watchful eye on you, knowing you are bound to snap and steal everything in sight and fly through the ceiling at any moment.

Fellis posted:

Are we going to organize any group viewing night of Hobocon or anything else? I would also nominate The Gamers as a nerd-pandering mockable media. Rabb.it is really good for that stuff, lightweight and browser based.

I am down for all of the above; I feel like Nesbit37's public e-viewing of Hobocon last year should have been awesome but since I could not even "be there" I have no idea how it went. Maybe we can watch all of them at the same time and see if they align perfectly

# ¿ Feb 18, 2019 20:40

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

nesbit37 posted:

If people want to do an online group viewing of Hobocon it could be arranged. Last year it was just me and one other, but we had fun despite it being a terrible film. That was organized at the last minute though so I am not surprised it was poorly attended. I have a couple of hours of footage from Gen Con in the 90s I wish I could share but I can't

I also have Uber Goober which, while also a bad film, does contain an ok amount of footage from Gen Con in the late 90s.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386836/

Whoa, I forgot about Uber Goober, I always wanted to watch it since I had no doubt it was terrible yet would cover things I was interested in. Add it to the list!

Also, how did you end up with footage that you cannot share? I assume you did not take it yourself and/or you sold the rights to the D&D Documentary people or something? Or by merely asking this question I am voiding our friendship?

# ¿ Feb 18, 2019 23:45

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Deviant posted:

fuckin good

didnt take long for the chuds for that nazi who got his rear end beat to show up tho

No but they always show up and post their literally insane screeds and get two likes and then literally anyone who says "actually maybe Nazis are bad" gets a lot more and then we can smile and think maybe we still have a future as a society

Also let us not forget that Zak's tactics of posting as other people to prop yourself up are no doubt used by many of his ilk, and there is a very real chance half of any detractors posting on something like this are all from one guy. Also probably Zak.

Speaking as someone who discovered Zak through Mandy Morbid and had no idea he was involved with gaming for years, my favorite part is that it was immediately obvious from literally any of his actions that he was a malignant narcissist (possibly in the clinical sense, definitely in the colloquial sense), and it is so very good that his achievements in the mostly-reasonable-people world are being taken away. I am sure he has a glorious future ahead of him once he fully embraces his white supremacist supporters though!

OH

SO

ABOUT

GEN

CON

I was doing what I always do, making illogical choices with my free time, and I realized how different the future would have seemed if I had been as obsessed with Gen Con in 2002 as I am now; just try looking at the Gen Con webpage from 2002 and not assume that the future of Gen Con was a bunch of diluted conventions rather than one all-encompassing extravaganza. I mean, moving the show from its then-well-established "home" and also suddenly announcing three other versions of the show would have seemed insane and worrying to me if I had actually known about it at the time. "Nobody is gonna go to the Midwest one!!!" No worries, Younger Quarex; all other conventions will crash and burn horribly because this multi-pronged expansion is happening about 5 years too soon.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2019 06:00

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

nesbit37 posted:

There were a whole bunch of Gen Cons in Europe, Australia, and elsewhere:

http://best50yearsingaming.com/neatline/fullscreen/gen-con-map#records/16

I never thought I would have to allow cross-referenced scripts from Temple University to examine a Gen-Con timeline

Disappointed but not surprised to see that gaming conventions were in a lull during the latter parts of the English Reformation

Here we see the growing seeds of an ancient gaming culture

Also worth noting this timeline is seriously rad and I really do not remember seeing it before, so thanks for it existing! I love that you even have the "ha ha, Gary" 1967 Actual Starting Point convention in there. Thanks, Jon Peterson

8one6 posted:

Gen Con California! (no one went), Gen Con Australia! (5 guys in a taco bell with half a copy of Starfleet Battles), Gen Con Europe! (I think. I honestly can't remember what the third one was)

Pollyanna posted:

gently caress possesses people to put cons in places no one is interested in? Or to overreach that hard?

I have no doubt that these locations were driven on some level by sales, surely? Maybe some level of "yeah I bet they play games in Spain, why not" but I hope with such big investments nobody was going in that blind. Actually I wonder if a fair number of them were groups licensing the name to give their event some sort of greater credibility? That would not explain why there was a sudden explosion when Peter Adkison bought the whole shebang though. And there were like a dozen different Gens-Con Europe locations 8one6, behold the map and tremble in horror

Also when I found out about Gen Con Benelux is when I learned two things: just how deep the Gen Con rabbit hole went, and the abbreviation "Benelux."

Toshimo posted:

I worked GenCon SoCal once. Ask me once I've had a few beers at GenCon this year and I'll tell you about how [a person who is definitely a legally distinct person from me] evacuated the place with fire.

"Are you the person who started this fire"
"Are you asking the flesh-and-blood freegamer on the hexmap or the petitioning entity"
"Are you the person who started this fire, yes or no"

# ¿ Feb 22, 2019 19:46

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Making a new reply because I feel like this thing I found while searching for more information on Gen Con East needs to be highlighted: here is the passive-aggressive blog of someone who is mad that Gen-Con "left the Midwest" :stare:

In fact, Minnesota is less-often seen as the Midwest than Indiana or Wisconsin. I mean, most coastal-types forget which one is Illinois and which one is Indiana anyway. Jeeze.

Edit: I foresee a life where I decide to visit every location that has ever hosted a Gen-Con. That is really a shame

# ¿ Feb 22, 2019 20:05

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

nesbit37 posted:

According to, I believe, Mike Carr, Gen Con West, South, and East were all run by people licensing the names. They went horribly, though, and he told me it was going so bad that most of TSR loaded up in cars and drove to the 2nd (and final) Gen Con East to prevent it from being a complete dumpster fire.

More oral histories here:
http://best50yearsingaming.com/exhibits/show/interviews

Whoa, this is new to me too, did I like never actually read your amazing site or what

Welp, I know what I will be doing tonight while also cobbling together this post!

Ugh I love Tim Kask, I am sad that he is done auctioneering. I felt like he was/is the perfect blend of all the other curmudgeonly graybeards, all the experience and insider knowledge and "you kids today" but still actually seemed to be having a good time.

Also I learned through the interview with Richard Rowlands and subsequently investigating Gen Con U.K. that I was living only like three hours from Gen Con U.K. 2004 :mad:

And I am definitely going to bring up onstage that Margaret Weis' worst Gen-Con memory was apparently the year she worked as a runner for the Auction. I will punctuate this point by throwing one of our runners into the audience so that he can be torn to shreds.

nesbit37 posted:

I like how that was put together as a professional proposal as if Gen Con didn't do all of it's own research on that topic, doesn't see a million posts a year on their forums and other social media about moving to other cities, and actually cares about a random person trying to court them to their hometown. I bet he didn't he even send that proposal to Adrienne (not that it would have mattered).

Yeah that is a very impressive piece of writing all-around for that regard. It really sounds like he is convinced he is going to sway someone. Though at least he is positive about it ... mostly. And now I am mad at this dude anew because his whole point is that "Gen Con North" is a necessary geographic counterpart to the previous West, East, and South... so what is Indiana then if not the center? Ugh, ugh, hay guyz whats goin on in this thread

Avenging Dentist posted:

Having spent most of my life in the Midwest, I'm going to make the following assertion: Indiana is, in fact, a part of the South.

Nooooo why you and WerrWaaa and Admiral Joeslop gotta do this to me :cry:

hey as far as I am concerned the South ends at the border of being able to say "heritage not hate" with only 99% dishonesty.

Agrias120 posted:

Ohio is always the worst part of our drive out to Indianapolis (and before Gen Con, it was the worst part of my drive to college every semester). Coming from Virginia, you get dumped out of the winding and fun mountains of WV/PA onto... hundreds of miles of straight nothingness, with no interesting/good pit stops.

I mean, I understand where you are coming from, since I always used to be annoyed by Ohio when driving to/from Illinois from/to New England or the Mid-Atlantic, but Ohio still has virtually endless options for places to stop and at least be able to eat or get gas compared to nearly every state between the West Coast and the Midwest, where there really are hundreds of miles of straight nothingness. I remember my car being at like 75 miles to empty in Montana, the year I drove to Gen-Con from Seattle, and me having to seriously wonder if I was going to make it.

(I did not make it, I died out there under that Big Sky, and some say you can still hear me posting boring things about it to this day)

8one6 posted:

So like three years ago my (now dead) podcast did an episode about what cities could potentially host Gen Con* if they had to move. Mostly it was an excuse to make fun of cities in the midwest.

Aw I guess that explains why I could not find the show of yours I was trying to listen to while writing this thread ;(

ahahahah Branson, omg moving Gen-Con there would be the most phenomenal decision ever. Nearly all of my childhood memories are of being stuck in single-lane traffic for hours trying to get to a mini-golf or go-kart place in Branson

Also anyone who missed the Gen Con History Tour/Gen Con 1 recreation at Gen-Con 50, here is a Canadian man who very slowly walked around filming some relevant parts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ6062TpRrg

# ¿ Feb 25, 2019 06:44

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

8one6 posted:

It was time to kill it. UnderDiscussion ran for 10 years and had less than 100 listeners, we were a joke to the other RPG podcasters who even knew who we were, and (the biggest reason) one of the hosts moved across the country and my work schedule became incompatible with recording with everyone else.

Fair enough. I think it is time that we launch a Something Awful Forums-specific Gen-Con-specific podcast. I envision an enormous market.

Pollyanna posted:

Oh my god, why would anyone license their own name and trademark without vetting the hell out of the recipients?

I know this is not entirely true since obviously the convention was already pretty fabulously successful by the mid-1970s, but surely on some level they had to be excited that anyone wanted to pay them to use their name and figured "what is the worst that can happen? They are still going to sell our products!"

(And, well, since there seems to be no record whatsoever of how those conventions went, they probably were overall neither good nor bad practically speaking?)

Avenging Dentist, I am now going to shudder in terror when I see biscuits and gravy on any continental breakfast. Though if we are being fair, some hotels (I spend a lot of time at Hilton properties, so Homewood Suites comes to mind) have biscuits and gravy in their breakfast rotation even in, like, Vermont. Though perhaps this just speaks to a broader colonization of the entire country by Them Good Ole' Boys.

Gotta go down some scotcheroos and Faygo to re-Midwesternize my mind after this page

# ¿ Feb 25, 2019 23:49

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Avenging Dentist posted:

A heaping helping of cheese curds should innoculate yourself from South-itis.

Good point, that is definitely not possible in the South. Even smoked string cheese seems to necessitate a certain northerly latitude to exist

Fellis posted:

I was gonna say “sure only if you get it at piggly wiggly”, but when I googled to confirm that’s a midwestern brand, I found it’s actually a southern brand, just also wisconsin and illinois. Strange

I knew that was a Southern brand but I grew up in Illinois and had grandparents in Missouri and Michigan with cousins in Wisconsin and Ohio so I saw it all, man. Except Indiana... Now that I think of it... HMMMMM MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING TO THIS

Oh but

M a x posted:

I realized when traveling south last year that I associate Piggly Wiggly with gencon after the auction for that apron.

I am now even more ashamed in general. Not sure if you knew that was my apron to bring me further shame but yes, that was from Kansas City, which is certainly the closest Piggly Wiggly I have ever encountered. Thanks for wearing the apron, Caroline, now who will start the bidding at $1

WerrWaaa posted:

Waffle House is great fight me

100% agreed, I do not begrudge its Southernness at all

I do like Huddle House though

Gen-Con!!!

# ¿ Feb 26, 2019 06:55

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

o/' There's blood on my knife... And it's on my hands! I think I kiIIiiiIIIIIIiiIiiIiilled somebodyyyy o/'

Thank you Nesbit37 for that list, I am basically stoked to watch all of them. I suspect my "most free on weekday nights" schedule is hardly agreeable to the average person who might join this project; maybe we should have like a monthly session with a movie or two on varying days of the week and eventually watch everything?

# ¿ Feb 27, 2019 15:12

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

nesbit37 posted:

That's fine by me. FYI, I am virtually always busy Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons. Monday evenings are my most reliable free evenings, though Wednesday's may be a possibility since I usually play BloodBowl after work and that only goes to 8 at the absolute latest. Depends where everyone who wants to watch lives as well, I am GMT -5.

Wednesday is the day I am most singularly likely to have nothing going on and be sitting by myself on the couch in Captain Rat's living room, so I could get behind something like a semi-monthly viewing night (if we wanted to get through a lot of things by Gen-Con; monthly would probably make it seem more important, because obviously that is our intent)

I also may well be free Friday/Saturday/Sunday nights after like 9 P.M. Central (GMT-6) too

SolusLunes posted:

Aren't there some up north though?

I vaguely remember going to a Piggly Wiggly in Mio a decade ago or something.

In other news, I'm excited for my first gencon, I'm sure I won't end up being a mark who spends too much money on IWM minis or something like that.

Where is Mio and hello SolusLunes!!! Welcome!!! I love you forever!!! Whether you used "mark" in the wrestling or general carny sense, I totally dig it.

I honestly think a graph of how much money I spent at Gen-Con would show a continual decrease over time, or at the very least my expenditure as a percentage of how much money I had available to spend would continually go down, so yeah...you will probably go berserk and spend too much money on miniatures. But that just means you GET IT.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2019 19:45

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Hello, from BEAUTIFUL

Only registered members can see post attachments!

# ¿ Mar 8, 2019 03:40

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

nesbit37 posted:

Gary con 2019 in one image

The best part about visiting the Gygax Family is the food! Now, since it was all expensive, and I wasn't hungry but starving, I must've eaten me about fifteen bratwurst.

As much as I love attending conventions, I was reminded why Gen-Con is my Precious And Eternal Love: you actually have to sign up for events at most conventions in order to have fun, and my utter failure to do so for Gary Con leading to me being ready to leave after about two hours helped remind me of this.

Eastmabl posted:

So what are people looking to run/play at Gen Con?

Run: From Groupies

Play: Hard, Work Hard

Thanks for reminding me that I need to resurrect my neglected-since-before-that-whole-having-a-baby-thing wishlist to both remind me what to buy and what I actually want to try to play. I know there was some cool new game (cool and new in ... 2015) that I wanted to check out, but shucky-heck-doodle if I can remember what it is now.

Oh, found it; "Asylum." Wow, a 1997 game? I wrote down that I wanted to play this? In 2015? And thought it was a cool new game? Why am I even allowed to attend this convention

# ¿ Mar 16, 2019 05:40

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Ego Trip posted:

To auction things

"A heavily worn copy of Star Trek IV on Laserdisc, missing Kirk and four whales

Start me at ... 37¢"

# ¿ Mar 16, 2019 17:39

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

I remember being sad in 2016 that I could not use the GEN CON REAL LIFE CHARACTER SHEET OMG that someone made, but upon re-finding it I thought even my own minimal photo manipulation skills were definitely up to the challenge to magically convert it to use in 2019, so if I am going to go to the enormous trouble of making a layer and magic wanding and copying the background graph and rotating the "6" 180 degrees I might as well re-host it

(I have no idea who would actually use the second page [well, who-who-has-a-smart-phone anyway] but the first page is still totes adorbz omg lol)

Fellis posted:

two stubborn collectors take it up to $500, the auction is flooded with old laserdiscs next year

hahahaha well hey, we do need to continue encouraging people to bring their insane crap in; T.O.V.A. lives and dies largely on how many things we get that are either unironically exciting or bizarre.

I do enjoy whenever you see something come up in the Auction that clearly indicates someone made some poor assumptions from a previous year and/or just is not too sure what other people are willing to spend on something. Particularly if I am the one who has to sell it. Which leads to me getting in trouble with the coordinators when I cannot keep a straight face while trying to sell something like "the tenth straight set of loose Heroscape hex terrain that only one person is bidding on yet I am supposed to hype up somehow."

# ¿ Mar 18, 2019 16:11

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

I bring terrible news of Johnny Rockets' closure at the Circle Center Mall

I swear restaurants close more often in Indianapolis than anywhere else I have frequently visited.

I would type here "if [RESTAURANT] closes I riot" but honestly I am not sure that I even have any places I am remotely loyal to left. Sure I love Steak 'n' Shake, but I live in the Midwest again and can get that anywhere

Maybe I will riot if Bee Coffee Roasters or Harry 'n' Izzy's closes. Yes, that sounds right, gonna run with this

# ¿ Mar 29, 2019 23:49

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Haveli will be missed. Particularly since I never even got to try their lunch buffet... And I love Indian buffets

WerrWaaa posted:

Sugarfire BBQ opened last year and it's real good. Once Scotty's discontinued their beer towers I lost all lust for life.

That was the only place I kept meaning to check out and never did. Well. That and the Rathskeller

Pez posted:

Looking more and more like I can't make it this year. Sad.

PEZ NO

HOW CAN WE HELP

# ¿ Mar 30, 2019 04:31

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# ¿ May 17, 2024 18:00

Dr. Quarex: Apr 18, 2003; I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Thanks JetSet, somehow I had genuinely not thought about how obvious it should be that any mall would be suffering these days. I just magically assume everything in Indianapolis will be amazing because I am really dumb

This also sort of goes along nicely with how it seems like more restaurants close there than makes sense. A lot of the restaurants I liked were in the mall, so... Yes.

Nothing will outdo Cup of Corn's tragic closing, though.

# ¿ Mar 30, 2019 16:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Gen Con: Using 52nd Edition Rules, Crits On 20-19

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