One of my major goals is to get in one or two of these during the con.
I thought we could use a thread to plan out games, who is bringing games and when and where the games will take place.
I have the playmat and can bring it, but with the trip my family is going on direct from Gencon, I'd rather not bring my whole game.
I'd really like to get a game in Wednesday night, after the dinner thing, if anyone is down for it and has a place to play.
I'm down. Planning to bring my game and playmat.
I'm pretty sure that dpt is looking for some, too, since he's got a similar thread at BGG.
Me + 1 would very happily join one of these!
I'm in unless work things get in my way. Text me your location if you need a 6th and I'll let you know one way or another right away :)
I'm definitely down. I'll be bringing my playmat and box, since I'm relatively local. (And phantaskippy, as we're sharing a hotel room, you're welcome to borrow my copy when I'm busy.)
For reference, here's the BGG thread: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1827360/games-gen-con
My other goal for Gen Con is to get in a full-on, Difficulty 10 game. I don't know how many people are up for that yet, though.
We should be done setting up the Booth fairly early on Wednesday, so I'm sure I could sneak away for some 6 player games. I would prefer not to bring my game or playmat (I prefer traveling light since I'm the transport vehicle for the board games we sell up at Gencon) but if we decide we need me to I can see if I can fit it in.
I'm also terrified of a difficulty 10 game (highest I've gone is 4) but I'm willing to try it if you need players dpt
I had a narrow win against England lvl 4 and a narrow loss against Sweden lvl 5, but those were soloing 2 spirits (I don't like solo spirit games) so I am up for a really hard game. But I'm up for any level really, I've been sticking to lower level games for the guide research (since they wre intended to be for newer players) and would love to break out some of my crazier ideas.
Possibly relevant comment: I started enjoying single spirit games exactly when I started really amping up the difficulty level.
@dpt
I'm in for that too :D
The next question is where to do these games. The Greater than Games demo room (#134) is an obvious place to meet to coordinate, but it's not always going to be open and won't always have room.
I'm in for a hard game. Have primarily been playing teaching games, so I may need a mid-difficulty game to refresh my memory first.
This I honestly don't know how to help with.
I've been to Gen con twice before, but I hear they've finished the construction work they were doing last year and a few of the spaces are different.
I feel like the Game hall is a good place for playing, but I have no idea if there will be available space anywhere long term enough for us to plan in advance. (Another thing I've heard about this Gen Con is that pretty much everything is sold out. You can't even get badges at the convention this year, except for maybe Sunday I think it was)
I know I see people playing all the time, but I have no idea where you could get a comfortable set-up in advance.
Of course, for Wednesday, this isn't a problem if we want to plan for that, because the vast majority of the people won't be there Wednesday. But then, I don't think we can techinically use any of the spaces, since it is set up for VIP people to do whatever it is VIP people do
I've organized a teaching game of Spirit Island Thu night and we ran into this same problem of where to play. We've opted to play in the Pick-Up and Play area over at Lucas Oil Stadium. Getting into this area requires an $8 ticket that gives you access for one of the 10-12 hours slots. This works for us because two of the four people playing are volunteering there.
SO, it's not a great solution -- costs money and is out of the way -- but there will be enough space.
I'd definitely be interested, assuming I'm not working.
Hotel bar space? I know there's a place that Rob Donoghue and Cam Banks generally frequent when they've got downtime. I could ping one of them about where it is, if somebody wants.
I would definitely recommend a hotel, either a lobby or a bar, or one of the nearby restaurants. They are more likely to be available, and are generally happy to let you play games as long as you buy a beer or whatever. (Also, as an added bonus, you can buy a beer or whatever).
Thanks for the advice! I'll spend a bit of time scoping out the various hotel, etc, spaces when I get there.
@dpt
Good idea! Such a thing tends to be pretty ad hoc once you are ready for a game, in my experience. What I would typically do is get a group that is available at a particular time in downtown Indy, and then have the person with a game and a portion of the group scour all the hotels and bars for a spot, and then text the remainder of the group once that has been accomplished so that they can show up while the person with the game starts setting up.
So, who should we share texting information with?
My online access is highly limited once I'm at the Con, so I'd prefer to have contact information set up before that point
Agreed. Maybe a google doc? I can't set one up right now but will when I get home tonight if no one beats me to it.
Yesterday ended up being a much longer day than expected, so I'm doing it this morning. In case anyone is squeamish about having their phone number out on the internet, I'm just going to PM a link to everyone who has posted above me so you can add your info.
Anyone else who wants to be included, just send me a PM or post in this thread and I'll send it to you as well. Note that I probably won't have internet access most of the time I'm in Indy, so you should do this before Wednesday.
Any objections to also PM'ing the link to people expressing interest on the BGG thread?
None from me.
Doesn't bother me. I just thought folks might not want their info available for anyone on the internet to see (wow, I feel old). I don't see a problem with inviting specific people.
I'm squeamish about it, but there is literally no other way to do this as far as I can tell, plus, I figure most people here are trustworthy
Nope. Not trustworthy at all. I've already sold your information to Big Potato. They're gonna market potatoes at you so hard, it's not even funny.
All sorts of assholes who want to sell me high interest business loans have my phone number already, so I have no problem also sharing it with people who want to play awesome games with me :)
Well, at least they will go well with all the cheese marketing I get because of a cousin in Wiscosin
Indianapolis local here. May I suggest a restaurant downtown to look into for this? Try Pearings - it's never particularly busy, it's open long hours, it's got bottled and tap beer despite being mostly a sandwich / frozen yogurt place, it's across the street from the mall, so you can get there mostly indoors from the convention center, and they have a REALLY LONG TABLE that I imagine would be good for gaming. I used to go there all the time because it's attached to the building I work in.
The address is 6 W. Washington Street. It's right next door to the Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery.
Wish I'd checked this thread to offer the suggestion earlier, but maybe someone will see it.
Thanks! I'll try to scope it out. I was worried about restaurants being totally mobbed, but that one looks like it's far enough from the convention center that it might be a possibility.
… So, games?
Tonight we played games at the Hilton Embassy Suites, a few blocks north of the convention center. The space was nice with plenty of tables, and we're planning to play games there again tomorrow.
(Did you see the Google Doc that grysqrl sent a link to with phone numbers, through the messaging system on the forum?)
Sure, we may or may not be there (annoyingly, we’re booked in for an event sometime tonight), and if this continues tomorrow we’ll definitely be along.
I’ll put our number in the doc, Internet permitting, but it’s an international number so I don’t know how that works. Alternately add Curtis Reubens on Facebook and message me there.
Update: we are in a food court area in the Convention Center, outside Hall D, across for the Marriott
I'm trying to get a game together tonight at 8. Ideally 5-6 players. Anyone interested? Let's plan to meet at the food court dpt mentioned above so it's easier to wrangle all the folks with our various forms of communication.
I'll try to check for responses later, but only have internet at my hotel.
Could we meet a little earlier, like 7? Either way, I'll be there for 1 game, but will have to duck out later on.
EDIT: Never mind, 8 is best for me too. I'll also be at that food court.