GenCon 2024

[Zarathud]

Ok, I'm an idiot. Looks like I did get into a game Saturday at 7 pm. PM me about lunch Saturday.

[hepcat]

Ok, I'm an idiot.

It's taken 2 decades, but I think we're finally making some progress.

Now, let's talk about your organization obsession.

[Zarathud]

The organization obsession is simply applying tableau building to real life. That’s skills, not idiocy.

[hentzau]

The secret is to go to the steak place and get the cheaper menu options. It’ll be busy but not packed. Food is so overpriced anyway, it’s not too much worse.

St. Elmos. Man, if there is one thing I miss about GenCon, it's their lunch specials with their shrimp cocktail.

[YellowKing]

I've been getting updates from my game group buddy who is there, and he had a great day yesterday. Said vendor hall was as crowded as he's ever seen it, but he was still able to see a ton. He met the designer of Freedom: The Underground Railroad and got invited to do a play test of the expansion prototype he's working on. He also had a great time at the Dice Tower awards show.

Wish I was there, but it wasn't in the cards financially this year. Hopefully next year!

[hentzau]

I saw the video of the opening of the main hall on Thursday…so happy I wasn’t there. I think I’ll continue to frequent the smaller cons around me. And poke my head into Adepticon, although now that has moved to Milwaukee that’s not such an easy option now.

[Skinypupy]

This is very cool, but it’s a bit overwhelming tbh. Everything is just so insanely crowded.

We spent yesterday in the vendor hall, poking in a couple demo rooms as well. I still don’t really understand how the ticketing thing works, as it doesn’t appear you can buy or reserve tickets for anything in the app (even it it shows available).

Still, we’ve demoed a bunch of cool stuff in the vendor hall and plan to hit the BGG Hot Games room tonight, assuming we can figure out the ticketing thing. Thanks

I did get to meet both Tracey Hickman and Margaret Weis this morning, and Jeph Jacques (creator of the Questionable Content webcomic) yesterday. I awkwardly fanboyed over all of them.

[YellowKing]

I did get to meet both Tracey Hickman and Margaret Weis this morning

That's awesome! I saw them from a distance at GenCon a couple of years ago, but I was in a hurry between events and didn't have time to spend in the incredibly long line to meet them.

The highlight of my "celebrity" interactions at GenCon was getting to meet Matt Leacock and tell him how Pandemic had almost single-handedly inspired my board game hobby and had led to our regular gaming group of 3+ years. He was a really nice guy.

[Unagi]

The organization obsession is simply applying tableau building to real life. That’s skills, not idiocy.

Okay, but now you are arguing with Hepcat online.

[Skinypupy]

We did finally figure out the ticket thing . Have to buy them through the actual website, and not the app.

Hitting the BGG New Games room tonight and the Stadium Games Library tomorrow.

[hepcat]

The organization obsession is simply applying tableau building to real life. That’s skills, not idiocy.

Okay, but now you are arguing with Hepcat online.

Or is zarathud an alt I created years ago for the sole purpose of discussing competitive macrame and I'm really just arguing with....MYSELF?!

Mind...blown

[YellowKing]

A few more updates from my buddy Terry who's up there:

- He said the Freedom: Underground Railroad expansion was fantastic even as a prototype, and he'll be backing it. It's still a ways off though.

- In the BGG Hot Games Room he played The Search for UAPs which is a cooperative deduction game. He didn't really care for it though. He said that another deduction game he backed and demoed at GenCon, Corps of Discovery was more fun.

- He play-tested an early prototype of a game called Fading Realms which he really loved. It's a game where you're going around either capturing or convincing different monsters to join you. Very upbeat theme and he loved the mechanics. KS isn't until fall of 2025, so that one's a ways off as well.

- He went to a one-hour seminar by Trevor Duvall, who runs the Me, Myself & Die YouTube channel. If you've never seen it, it's a great series in which he plays through solo RPG adventures. He's a professional voice actor, so he knows how to keep it entertaining. Terry's a long-time Patreon backer of Trevor's, so they've gotten to know one another pretty well and have met at GenCon a couple of times now. Anyway, he said the seminar was outstanding. Apparently Trevor is creating his own RPG, so there was a lot of talk about game design and philosophy.

- He's picking me up a copy of Invincible: The Hero-Building Game, based on the Amazon Prime animated series which is in turn based on the comic book. I'm not familiar with the IP, but The Dice Tower gave it rave reviews and I've enjoyed the playthrough videos I've watched. Looks like it shares a lot of DNA with games like Marvel Champions and Marvel United, but with a bag-drawing, press-your-luck twist.

[Isgrimnur]

The organization obsession is simply applying tableau building to real life. That’s skills, not idiocy.

Okay, but now you are arguing with Hepcat online.

Or is zarathud an alt I created years ago for the sole purpose of discussing competitive macrame and I'm really just arguing with....MYSELF?!

Mind...blown

The actor you hired to play him when I come up there is very good. And keeping him on retainer for all these years is impressive.

[Blackhawk]

I did get to meet both Tracey Hickman and Margaret Weis this morning, and Jeph Jacques (creator of the Questionable Content webcomic) yesterday. I awkwardly fanboyed over all of them.

Oh, NOW he's there.

I met him after one of his shows at GenCon 2017. I had a (reasonable) favor to ask for an injured friend that he was only too happy to grant. He then sat for 15 or 20 minutes just chatting with us, telling us stories of the early days of D&D. The show (Killer Breakfast) had everyone using a character sheet, so I went by his booth afterward and got it signed.

The next year I went and took the first tabletop book I bought - Dragonlance Adventures, from clear back in 1st Edition AD&D. I spent ungodly numbers of hours with that book, which was written by him and Weis. She was there that year, and I had her sign it. He wasn't around. I brought it again the next years, and he wasn't there then, either. I really wanted both of them to sign it, but I'd been told he had retired from cons, so I figured I was SOL.

And so he's there this year. I might have even tried to swing a trade day badge had I known.

[hepcat]

- He's picking me up a copy of Invincible: The Hero-Building Game, based on the Amazon Prime animated series which is in turn based on the comic book. I'm not familiar with the IP, but The Dice Tower gave it rave reviews and I've enjoyed the playthrough videos I've watched. Looks like it shares a lot of DNA with games like Marvel Champions and Marvel United, but with a bag-drawing, press-your-luck twist.

I picked it up Thursday. It’s a lot of fun. But brutally tough. We lost the damn tutorial scenario, for Christ’s sake.

[Skinypupy]

And so he's there this year. I might have even tried to swing a trade day badge had I known.

They’ve both been at their booth almost the entire time. The first day there was a huge line, but I just walked right up and said hi to them both on Friday.

We walked by a couple times yesterday and they were just chatting with random people, no line.

[Skinypupy]

As I sit at the airport waiting for my flight home, some general musings about GenCon 2024.

1. GenCon was a remarkable experience and I'm very glad that I did it. Seeing all the energy, enthusiasm, and really cool things around this hobby was fantastic. It is absolutely something that everyone who enjoys the hobby should experience.

2. That said, I don't know that it's something I have a burning desire to do again. By Saturday, I was starting to have a really hard time with the absolutely crushing crowds, the general chaos, and the endless lines for literally everything. It's also really expensive to get to Indy (my flights was around $800).

3. I could have easily spent a bajillion dollars in the vendor hall, and was thankfully limited by space in my suitcase. We played a ton of demos, and came home with a few new games (Heroscape starter set, Skyteam, and Hold Your Ground). Lots of things added to the wishlist though.

4. The BGG "Hot Games" room was a little underwhelming, but that may just have been our specific preferences. Pretty much any game we were interested in was already taken, so we just ended up grabbing random stuff we'd never heard of that had cool artwork and giving it a shot. 2 hours isn't really enough time to dig into a game, unless it's something you already know.

5. The open library at the stadium, on the other hand, was really awesome. They had an incredibly game library, and we had a blast spending most of yesterday just picking through a ton of different games.

6. The whole ticketing thing was confusing and by the time we figured it out, everything was completely sold out. We tried showing up for a few games with "general" tickets and hoping for no shows, but never had any luck. We pretty much just gave up on that entirely.

7. Lunch with Zarathud, Montag, Seppe, and Hepcat was a definite highlight. Truly a pleasure meeting all of you gents, and it was good to confirm that hepcat is actually a real person. Or at least a very convincing cyborg...

8. The most fun we had was probably playing all the games we bought back in the hotel lobby with a bunch of other groups (and lots of beer).

9. Crowds aside, the venues themselves were really well organized. We had a hard time finding one particular table (was tucked way back in the bowels of the stadium), but otherwise it was really easy to find where things were. Parking was also a breeze. We found a lot right next to the stadium that was open each day for only $15. Took about 10 mins to walk from there to the convention center.

This was a "once in a lifetime" thing for me. I think that I'm just not the kind of person that is really wired for cons, tbh. Too many people, too much noise, too much going on, etc. Vendor halls are cool for a day, but three days really starts to test my limits. We're already planning on just getting our group together at an Air B&B and gaming for a few days next year instead.

(Also, a big thanks to all the input from folks here as we planned. It was super helpful! )

[Zarathud]

Nice to meet you both, Skinny and Montag.

Found the Pathfinder Goblin Village that’s out of stock everywhere (at retail price), and a bunch of old D&D WizKids minis. Not much interesting caught my eye other than Fire Tower and Arcs (on preorder).

Amending that to Ascendancy was more fun than expected. Tight board, worker placement and ability combat. The deluxe version is not better than the standard — the difference is miniatures rather than nice standees, a play mat and upgraded coins.

The new CarWars edition WILL get motorcycles next year, once they finish balancing. They’re also going to release new “grey” accessory packs so 1 kit will get a complete set of gear for 1 car (rather than buying packs for 4 cars by type - dropped weapons, turrets, etc). So I’ll get the new 2 car Orange/Purple with 2 upgrade packs at that time so I can run 6 car games at Octocon.

[YellowKing]

I picked it up Thursday. It’s a lot of fun. But brutally tough. We lost the damn tutorial scenario, for Christ’s sake.

Mission accomplished, Terry grabbed me a copy with the promo cards. High challenge is a plus for me; I tend to stick with games longer that are tougher to beat.

That said, I don't know that it's something I have a burning desire to do again.

I absolutely love the con, but after 3 years in a row even I had to take a break. It's....a lot. So I totally get that. I will say, however, that on repeated visits you start to learn to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls, and every time you go it becomes a smoother experience. My first year going was in some ways an absolute disaster (even though we still had a blast). But we made soooo many rookie mistakes.

The expense is something you can't get around, however. Which is why if I do go back next year I'll be driving. I just can't afford the damn flights to Indy. They are crazy from here. I've also tossed around the idea of just hitting one of the smaller cons on the east coast instead.

[Pyperkub]

The organization obsession is simply applying tableau building to real life. That’s skills, not idiocy.

Okay, but now you are arguing with Hepcat online.

LOL!!

[Blackhawk]

3. I could have easily spent a bajillion dollars in the vendor hall, and was thankfully limited by space in my suitcase. We played a ton of demos, and came home with a few new games (Heroscape starter set, Skyteam, and Hold Your Ground). Lots of things added to the wishlist though.

It's safely late enough for me to tell you that most people who travel to GenCon ship their purchases home. They typically have a booth set up within the hall that can handle all of the shipping for you - you just fill one of their boxes, pay your money, and away it goes. Other people prefer to swing by a UPS/FedEx/etc on the way out.

[Skinypupy]

3. I could have easily spent a bajillion dollars in the vendor hall, and was thankfully limited by space in my suitcase. We played a ton of demos, and came home with a few new games (Heroscape starter set, Skyteam, and Hold Your Ground). Lots of things added to the wishlist though.

It's safely late enough for me to tell you that most people who travel to GenCon ship their purchases home. They typically have a booth set up within the hall that can handle all of the shipping for you - you just fill one of their boxes, pay your money, and away it goes. Other people prefer to swing by a UPS/FedEx/etc on the way out.

I could have just sent stuff home with my brother and had him ship (he drove). I intentionally kept my budget to whatever fit in my suitcase.

[Blackhawk]

Smart isn't allowed at GenCon. It makes the rest of us look bad.

[Unagi]

3. I could have easily spent a bajillion dollars in the vendor hall, and was thankfully limited by space in my suitcase. We played a ton of demos, and came home with a few new games (Heroscape starter set, Skyteam, and Hold Your Ground). Lots of things added to the wishlist though.

It's safely late enough for me to tell you that most people who travel to GenCon ship their purchases home. They typically have a booth set up within the hall that can handle all of the shipping for you - you just fill one of their boxes, pay your money, and away it goes. Other people prefer to swing by a UPS/FedEx/etc on the way out.

I could have just sent stuff home with my brother and had him ship (he drove). I intentionally kept my budget to whatever fit in my suitcase.

[Pyperkub]

Derek Smart?

[hepcat]

We went. We had cheese. We came home.

[Zarathud]

We saw Carl.

[hepcat]

Harkonis' "secretly" trying to get him into the frame of a picture at the restaurant while also telling the supposed subject of the photo Seppe to awkwardly move to the side was the highlight of saturday night for me. It was like watching the world's worst spy trying to steal government secrets.

I should have complimented him on his costume, but I was afraid he'd just tell me "Carl? Who the hell is that? I'm Tony from Jersey!".

[Fardaza]

Seriously,

Who's Carl? Somebody I should know.

Don't laugh at me too loudly.

[TheMix]

Seriously,

Who's Carl? Somebody I should know.

Don't laugh at me too loudly.

I think it's a reference to Aqua Teen Hunger Force

[hepcat]

Yup



It’s Carl’s world. We’re all just living in it.

[Isgrimnur]

The Foreigner belt episode has to be his magnum opus.

[Zarathud]

Don’t you come over here. I’ll zap you. You know I will.

Especially with a Pikachu handy.

[hepcat]

The Foreigner belt episode has to be his magnum opus.

Carl and Captain Murphy from Sealab 2021 are my personal heroes.