Gen Con 2019: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
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Posted by gryfalia rutherfordr 5 years agoon 8/8/2019 at 8:03 PM
#76

rutherfordr wrote:
They're hoping that someone will see the game and think, "I'd better buy it now, because it will be more expensive tomorrow."
What really happens, though, is that someone sees it and thinks, "It was less expensive yesterday, and I missed out! Oh well!"
See, when I price stuff for the Store, I think:

Thursday - price it so that someone who really wants it will snag it today, because it might be gone tomorrow
Friday - what I realistically think it will sell for given all the facts about it
Saturday - I really don't want to bring it home, this is a 'good deal' and you should buy it if you want it at all

Most of the things that ended up coming home this year were items that needed the 'right person' to see it (expansions for somewhat unusual situations/games, very random board games, etc) or something I brought too many of because I have too many (looking at you Confrontation starters..I mean, I sold some, but not all).

Posted by andrewj.rager gryfalia 5 years agoon 8/8/2019 at 8:26 PM
#77

gryfalia wrote:
rutherfordr wrote:
They're hoping that someone will see the game and think, "I'd better buy it now, because it will be more expensive tomorrow."
What really happens, though, is that someone sees it and thinks, "It was less expensive yesterday, and I missed out! Oh well!"
See, when I price stuff for the Store, I think:Thursday - price it so that someone who really wants it will snag it today, because it might be gone tomorrow
Friday - what I realistically think it will sell for given all the facts about it
Saturday - I really don't want to bring it home, this is a 'good deal' and you should buy it if you want it at all
Most of the things that ended up coming home this year were items that needed the 'right person' to see it (expansions for somewhat unusual situations/games, very random board games, etc) or something I brought too many of because I have too many (looking at you Confrontation starters..I mean, I sold some, but not all).
This is how we priced items.

Thursday - was the highest, then drop each day after that. Tried to do research, but a couple games didn't sell. What can you do. lol

Posted by njseahawksfan 5 years agoon 8/8/2019 at 9:40 PM
#78

From the perspective of someone who demoed games (some for Z-Man, some for Plaid Hat, all under the Asmodee umbrella), I'd like to point out that each and every company had different ways for dealing with other exhibitors wanting to purchase items before the hall opened.

For instance, if you worked a booth for an Asmodee company, you were given access to their store about 10 minutes before the hall opened.  Other people with exhibitor badges had to wait in line until 10.  That said, the line was never more than 20 people when the hall opened, due mainly to the fact that the exhibitors had to be in their booths at 10 for the most part.

Other companies allowed exhibitors to just walk up as soon as the registers were open and buy what they wanted - for instance, I bought some Chessex dice at like 9:15 Thursday morning because they were set up and had Square running already.

There was no press or VIG early access and that *massively* reduced the number of items sold before 10.  I can't be sure because it's all anecdotal, but pretty much everyone I knew managed to get what they wanted, provided they were willing to go and stand on that line first.  I'm sure there were exceptions, but it seemed way better this year than in past years.

 

Posted by brotherbock njseahawksfan 5 years agoon 8/8/2019 at 10:07 PM
#79

njseahawksfan wrote:
From the perspective of someone who demoed games (some for Z-Man, some for Plaid Hat, all under the Asmodee umbrella), I'd like to point out that each and every company had different ways for dealing with other exhibitors wanting to purchase items before the hall opened.
For instance, if you worked a booth for an Asmodee company, you were given access to their store about 10 minutes before the hall opened.  Other people with exhibitor badges had to wait in line until 10.  That said, the line was never more than 20 people when the hall opened, due mainly to the fact that the exhibitors had to be in their booths at 10 for the most part.
Other companies allowed exhibitors to just walk up as soon as the registers were open and buy what they wanted - for instance, I bought some Chessex dice at like 9:15 Thursday morning because they were set up and had Square running already.
There was no press or VIG early access and that *massively* reduced the number of items sold before 10.  I can't be sure because it's all anecdotal, but pretty much everyone I knew managed to get what they wanted, provided they were willing to go and stand on that line first.  I'm sure there were exceptions, but it seemed way better this year than in past years.
 

Very interesting. Maybe things have changed. I was told all those years ago that by convention policy no sales were allowed in the Hall before 10am, or after close. Maybe that was incorrect back then too, or maybe it's a change in the rules since then. Or maybe a slight ignoring of the rules :)

Posted by gib_rebeg cmegus 5 years agoon 8/8/2019 at 11:10 PM
#80

cmegus wrote:
Ugly: WTH is up with the Nazi security personnel at the JW Marriot. I was kind of ticked at watching several people getting what looked to be harassed in the lobby for what looked like no reason...
Our group stayed at the JW. There was 5 in our group, and 2 more who hung out with us. Not one of us saw that. My guess is you saw the Bell Hops, they make their living from taking stuff to the rooms, and are a bit over zealous. But I don't blame them. They work for tips.

My run down.

Good, awesome weather, exhibitor hall not overwhelming packed. Didn't really run into any of the once a month bathers. 

Bad, Food, didn't really mater where we tried eating. Everyplace was just overwhelmed. 

Ugly. The Bird Scooters. Though fun and nice to ride. They are a hazard while riding them. Sidewalks are not where they are to be ridden. Plus too many people to do that. But the streets just lack a bike lane to safely ride them too. One of our buddies just about got taken out by a SUV in the street. And I was nearly hit by a ram truck who thought he had the right away.

Posted by cmegus gib_rebeg 5 years agoon 8/9/2019 at 12:03 AM
#81

gib_rebeg wrote:
cmegus wrote:
Ugly: WTH is up with the Nazi security personnel at the JW Marriot. I was kind of ticked at watching several people getting what looked to be harassed in the lobby for what looked like no reason...
Our group stayed at the JW. There was 5 in our group, and 2 more who hung out with us. Not one of us saw that. My guess is you saw the Bell Hops, they make their living from taking stuff to the rooms, and are a bit over zealous. But I don't blame them. They work for tips.My run down.
Good, awesome weather, exhibitor hall not overwhelming packed. Didn't really run into any of the once a month bathers. 
Bad, Food, didn't really mater where we tried eating. Everyplace was just overwhelmed. 
Ugly. The Bird Scooters. Though fun and nice to ride. They are a hazard while riding them. Sidewalks are not where they are to be ridden. Plus too many people to do that. But the streets just lack a bike lane to safely ride them too. One of our buddies just about got taken out by a SUV in the street. And I was nearly hit by a ram truck who thought he had the right away.

Were you on the second floor lobby? Security personnel were tough up there.... more so that they needed to be.

G

Posted by gib_rebeg cmegus 5 years agoon 8/9/2019 at 12:43 PM
#82

cmegus wrote:
gib_rebeg wrote:
cmegus wrote:
Ugly: WTH is up with the Nazi security personnel at the JW Marriot. I was kind of ticked at watching several people getting what looked to be harassed in the lobby for what looked like no reason...
Our group stayed at the JW. There was 5 in our group, and 2 more who hung out with us. Not one of us saw that. My guess is you saw the Bell Hops, they make their living from taking stuff to the rooms, and are a bit over zealous. But I don't blame them. They work for tips.My run down.
Good, awesome weather, exhibitor hall not overwhelming packed. Didn't really run into any of the once a month bathers. 
Bad, Food, didn't really mater where we tried eating. Everyplace was just overwhelmed. 
Ugly. The Bird Scooters. Though fun and nice to ride. They are a hazard while riding them. Sidewalks are not where they are to be ridden. Plus too many people to do that. But the streets just lack a bike lane to safely ride them too. One of our buddies just about got taken out by a SUV in the street. And I was nearly hit by a ram truck who thought he had the right away.

Were you on the second floor lobby? Security personnel were tough up there.... more so that they needed to be.G
1st floor gaming in the dining area where we basically got ignored by the waitress for over an hour because she was on her cell. No tip for her.

Second floor gaming at tables outside of Starbucks.

3rd floor taking over a smallish dinning room ordering delivery pizza and stealing the hall way garbage can and dragging it into the room so we could clean up after, with the aid of their security.
 

Posted by brotherbock 5 years agoon 8/9/2019 at 3:02 PM
#83

All we had in Union Station was some class-A jerk named Roderick. He hassled us the whole Con.

"Hello, can I help you?"
"The bathrooms are past those doors to your left."
"Your game is actually across the street in the Crowne Plaza."
"Sure, we can help you with that."
"Hey buddy, good to see you again!"

Jeesh. What a piece of work. I was forced to steal a pad of paper from him on Friday night to teach him a lesson.

(He had minions too. Also horrible people.)

Posted by austicke brotherbock 5 years agoon 8/9/2019 at 4:30 PM
#84

brotherbock wrote:All we had in Union Station was some class-A jerk named Roderick. He hassled us the whole Con.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"The bathrooms are past those doors to your left."
"Your game is actually across the street in the Crowne Plaza."
"Sure, we can help you with that."
"Hey buddy, good to see you again!"
Jeesh. What a piece of work. I was forced to steal a pad of paper from him on Friday night to teach him a lesson.
(He had minions too. Also horrible people.)

Ugh. Some people!

Posted by jcfiala 5 years agoon 8/9/2019 at 8:33 PM
#85

I haven't been to Gen Con in a couple of decades, and I really enjoyed myself.

The Good:
- Skyway!  I really enjoyed being able to run around downtown.
- Goodman Games HQ in 127 was a great fun place to play and sometimes to hang out.
- Got to Demo a few games in the Dealer's hall and had fun with them
- Food trucks!  Never had to wait for more than 10 minutes for food.  
- St. Elmo slider pre-order was tasty and well-run.
- A chair massage Sunday morning really recharged me.

The Bad:
- Good lord, that Will Call line.  It seemed to be well-managed, but it was huge!
- Food in the convention center was iffy.
- The hall is so random.  I know I missed stuff in there even though I went in multiple times.  
- Crowding in the dealer's room.
- Buses in Indianapolis never seem to be on time.

The Ugly:
- Probably that Will Call line

Posted by cpspalding 5 years agoon 8/10/2019 at 3:51 AM
#86

The Good - Wow! Did I have great tables this year for the four games I ran. I take absolutely no credit for this, but the players were attentive, entertaining, and clever. I couldn't ask for more.

Great to have Dave C. back. I love my friends in Evil Fleet and this is always a wonderful time to spend with them.

The Bad - Wow! I never forget stuff, but I forgot the actual scenario for my Thursday morning game.  Fortunately, I had just playtested it last week and had notes, so I was able to recreate 90% of it. I also forgot about half my stuff for Community Paranoia on Saturday at 10AM.  I went to bed at 1:30 on Friday and was up at 4:30 to put the game together before running.  This meant a lot of time that could have been spent having fun was spent working on games I had already written.

My Spinal Stenosis was not good. I have started physical therapy and it's been very good, but any walking over a block was a struggle.  Hopefully, by next Gen Con, I'll have more range.

Wound up spending about $2k on Gen Con housing.  That number needs to drop precipitously next year.

The Ugly - The lines on food are getting a bit ridiculous. We have the same number of restaurants we had when we were half the size.  

Posted by traveller cpspalding 5 years agoon 8/10/2019 at 12:14 PM
#87

cpspalding wrote:
The Good - Wow! Did I have great tables this year for the four games I ran. I take absolutely no credit for this, but the players were attentive, entertaining, and clever. I couldn't ask for more.
Great to have Dave C. back. I love my friends in Evil Fleet and this is always a wonderful time to spend with them.
The Bad - Wow! I never forget stuff, but I forgot the actual scenario for my Thursday morning game.  Fortunately, I had just playtested it last week and had notes, so I was able to recreate 90% of it. I also forgot about half my stuff for Community Paranoia on Saturday at 10AM.  I went to bed at 1:30 on Friday and was up at 4:30 to put the game together before running.  This meant a lot of time that could have been spent having fun was spent working on games I had already written.
My Spinal Stenosis was not good. I have started physical therapy and it's been very good, but any walking over a block was a struggle.  Hopefully, by next Gen Con, I'll have more range.
Wound up spending about $2k on Gen Con housing.  That number needs to drop precipitously next year.
The Ugly - The lines on food are getting a bit ridiculous. We have the same number of restaurants we had when we were half the size.  
2k on housing?  I was in a suite in an attached hotel and i only spent 1300 (no roomates)
 

Posted by tdb 5 years agoon 8/10/2019 at 2:18 PM
#88

It was an awesome con for us this year.  Mostly...

The good:


  • We played in 7 RPG's this year, five were outstanding and the other two were merely "excellent".  The GM's were uniformly great, and most of the players were highly engaged and good roleplayers.
  • The temporary café on the second floor of the Marriott was excellent.  The prices were similar to the ICC but the food was decent, and we never had to deal with a line. 
  • Found some cool stuff in the dealer hall but still ended under-budget!
  • The "attention Gencon attendees" announcements in the dealer hall seemed less frequent this year.  And at a lower volume.

The Bad:

  • Didn't make it all the way through the dealer hall.  That's really on us, with a limited budget we decided to game more and shop less.
  • Also didn't get to the art show.
  • Con funk is real!  Not that I didn't already know that...
  • The usual sleep deprivation challenges.  It gets harder every year.  If I didn't know better, I'd think I was getting older.
  • Road construction.  As locals, we know the back ways to get around, but it had to be a pain for visitors. 
  • The will-call line seemed a lot longer a lot later into the con than normal. 

The Ugly:


  • The enormous backpacks from gamingtables.com.  Seriously, if it doesn't pass as a carryon on a plane, it's too damned big to carry into the dealer hall.  Both I and my wife got smacked by these a couple times, and had to dodge them many dozens of times.
  • The overzealous badge-checker in the Marriott.  They were checking badges in the second-floor lobby of the Marriott.  See this thread: https://www.gencon.com/forums/8-attendees-customers/topics/15749-overzealous-event-staff
  • I saw a lot of cosplayers using the photo area, which was good, but they were standing at the front, near the yellow line.  This forced the photographers to stand ten feet back, blocking a lot of the hallway.  Sort of defeats the purpose.  Had the cosplayers stood near the wall it would have worked out a lot better.
  • The wandering minstrels in the dealer hall were an annoyance.  Not only did they clog up traffic, but they were so loud it made conversation with the vendors difficult.
  • It seems like there were more rolling carts in the dealer hall this year.  I saw several that looked more appropriate for a warehouse.  Do these people not have local hobby shops, or at least access to the internet, so they could buy games the rest of the year?
  • The huge trash cans in the middle of intersections in the dealer hall.  I get that there needs to be trash cans, but could they at least use ones with a rounded top, so people don't use them like tables and gather around them?

Overall we had a great time.  See you all next year!

Posted by roderick brotherbock 5 years agoon 8/10/2019 at 5:06 PM
#89

brotherbock wrote:
All we had in Union Station was some class-A jerk named Roderick. He hassled us the whole Con.
"Hello, can I help you?"
"The bathrooms are past those doors to your left."
"Your game is actually across the street in the Crowne Plaza."
"Sure, we can help you with that."
"Hey buddy, good to see you again!"
Jeesh. What a piece of work. I was forced to steal a pad of paper from him on Friday night to teach him a lesson.
(He had minions too. Also horrible people.)

I agree. That Roderick is the worst. 

Posted by cpspalding traveller 5 years agoon 8/11/2019 at 8:51 AM
#90

traveller wrote:
cpspalding wrote:
The Good - Wow! Did I have great tables this year for the four games I ran. I take absolutely no credit for this, but the players were attentive, entertaining, and clever. I couldn't ask for more.
Great to have Dave C. back. I love my friends in Evil Fleet and this is always a wonderful time to spend with them.
The Bad - Wow! I never forget stuff, but I forgot the actual scenario for my Thursday morning game.  Fortunately, I had just playtested it last week and had notes, so I was able to recreate 90% of it. I also forgot about half my stuff for Community Paranoia on Saturday at 10AM.  I went to bed at 1:30 on Friday and was up at 4:30 to put the game together before running.  This meant a lot of time that could have been spent having fun was spent working on games I had already written.
My Spinal Stenosis was not good. I have started physical therapy and it's been very good, but any walking over a block was a struggle.  Hopefully, by next Gen Con, I'll have more range.
Wound up spending about $2k on Gen Con housing.  That number needs to drop precipitously next year.
The Ugly - The lines on food are getting a bit ridiculous. We have the same number of restaurants we had when we were half the size.  
2k on housing?  I was in a suite in an attached hotel and i only spent 1300 (no roomates)
 
Le Meridien arriving Tuesday and leaving Sunday out of block, but with a special Marriott member rate and $45 per night parking came to just under $2k

Posted by traveller 5 years agoon 8/11/2019 at 9:38 AM
#91

ahh, out of block, that explains a lot.

Posted by ascantla 5 years agoon 8/11/2019 at 2:25 PM
#92

GOOD - another great year with fun games and experiences all four days
            Amazing weather, Gate 10 parking and shuttles were awesome, we had to chuckle at someone who arrived at a stop just after us and after 2 minutes started complaining about wait times. We would have been happy to wait 10 minutes to spare the walk, but never had to wait more than 5

BAD - FFG loosing sight of standard events and games, and what happened to their booth? We expand our Descent collection every year, but this year they had Nothing but their Star Wars licensed games

UGLY - I've seen it mentioned plenty, but the backpacks were a lot worse this year than previous years. the wheeled luggage appearance has also increased by too much.  

Posted by nascragman 5 years agoon 8/12/2019 at 2:02 PM
#93

The Good: Nascrag was a great success again.  Lots of fun was had by lots of people.  We raise dover $1300 for charity this year.  I got to GM for my niece and her friend Cherise and Japanime games became a new friend for Nascrag.

The Bad:  The Crowne Plaza cant be beat for location when most of your time will be spent in Lucas Oil.  But the rooms on the west side literally come with ear plugs on the nightstand for the train noise.  Nothing quite like being out late having a few adult beverages and being woken at 7 am by screeching train wheels.

The Ugly:  Once again I didn't manage to do anything but Nascrag this year.  And being sort of in charge has transformed my former fun into responsibility.  I managed to find my mojo with a couple of good teams, but the work/reward ratio is whacked.

Posted by mal_havoc 5 years agoon 8/12/2019 at 6:53 PM
#94

The Good: The food at the Ram was much improved.  Super nice room at the Holiday Inn Center City.  Great gaming area in the hotel that was kind of a hidden gem.

The Bad: Finding tables for open gaming at the ICC.  We try an do the right thing and ask if there open tables and everyone has always been helpful.  On Friday night around 11PM, we asked at the HQ table if there were any tables available.  Two ladies told us that we should go to the JW Marriot.  I actually laughed because I thought they were kidding because there were literally 50 tables within my sight that were empty.  I said "none of those empty tables are available"?  She said that people had paid for those.  I get it; a vendor had paid to use those tables, but it was late at night and no one was using them . It wasn't like we were moving them or anything.  I realized they were serious and just walked to the far corner and setup games and played until 2AM without issue.  Really silly if you ask me.

The Ugly: Nothing really.

Posted by brotherbock mal_havoc 5 years agoon 8/12/2019 at 7:14 PM
#95

mal_havoc wrote:  I realized they were serious and just walked to the far corner and setup games and played until 2AM without issue. 

There are times when people are paid to say certain things, and they say them because they are paid, and then they let you do the reasonable thing. "I"m supposed to tell you that you can't use that table. So I told you."

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