First off, what's up Noble Bear. This is Don from THE ESTABLiSHED FACTS. Our first episode is all about recommendations for the first time Gen Coner, here are some suggestions I have for this being my 8th Gen Con.

1. Consolidate what games you bring. Maybe just in size or in quantity. A mistake I made my second and third year was taking too many of my favorite games and having to walk around the convention center for the weekend with one to many bags.

2. Definetly wear comfortable shoes. The Indiana Convention Center covers more than 300,000 sq ft and Gen Con does its best to fill as much of that as possible.

3. Try and stay hydrated. The great thing about our convention center is that we have water recepticles everywhere, however, they run out of disposable cups within about the first two hours of the con so you might consider bringing your own bottle. You can purchase those on http://www.cafepress.com/castingrobot. There is an awesome 1 liter aluminum bottle on there, you should get one.

4. If for some reason you can't find a room to stay in, there are couches and chairs in the convention center that typically are taken up by gamers with no temporary home. However, I'm sure it won't be too difficult to find a charitable soul to house you for the weekend.

5. Get eats outside of the convention center. I'm all for boosting the economy of Indianapolis, however, I can think of better ways of doing so than buying a seven dollar piece of pizza from the convention center food court. You can bring outside food into the food courts or common areas of the convention center so you may consider either packing some food to take with you or grabbing some grub from one of the many food establishments in the surrounding hotels, mall, or stand-alone facilities.

6. Most of all, have a great time. If you find yourself getting tired or anxious, take a break here and there. The great thing about the stereotypical gamer community is that most of us are...how you say, well built. Therefore, there are several areas you can just hang out and game with casual gamers at tables with chairs. Take advantage of it.

The ESTABLiSHED FACTS crew will all be there and I know we would love to meet up with you and game out during the weekend. Let us know if you plan on coming early and we can show you around the city a little bit while you are here. We will also be posting a new pre-Gen Con episode the week before the con so keep your eyes and ears open for it.

Yeah, my plan is to correct that at the first possible moment.

To add to what BigDon said, if you walk across the street, you can improve the quality of the food you buy probably 20X - 30X. Several people (myself included) have gotten sick from the Convention Center food. Frankly, it's overpriced and it sucks. There's more than one food court within a 5 minute walk from the Convention Center, and you don't even have to go outside to get to them.

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Thank you guys so much, that's so much good information!

quote="BigDon"]The ESTABLiSHED FACTS crew will all be there and I know we would love to meet up with you and game out during the weekend. Let us know if you plan on coming early and we can show you around the city a little bit while you are here.[/quote]

That would be so much fun! Bear and I should arrive Tuesday (I'll know details for sure when I get paid later this week) and will probably stay a full week so we'll have a little time to enjoy the city after too

I'm living around gencon. I work nearby. I wanna do stuff. Hit me up!

Oops, wait while I figure out log ins.



Kazzeeeeeeell! Yes absolutely

1. Pack light. You are going to do a ton of walking and you're probably going to buy some stuff. You need to not count on hauling around saddlebags of board games and pizza rolls, and you need to count on allocating some open cargo space for the return trip.

2. Don't eat at the convention center. This is been gone over but basically it's overpriced and shitty. There will be room at the local restaurants to eat, walking over to them is worth it.

3. Blow off the sanctioned games. Game with Booters instead at the leisure of your own space and time, without spending more cash for tickets.

4. Have plenty of time for the exhibit floor. There are miles worth of gamer-crap-corridor and you can spend days snaking through it.

5. Sync your day/night cycle with the people you go with, as much as possible. Gencon does not sleep for four days. There is a big difference between getting up at 7 to go do a full day of panels and games, have a nice dinner and then turn in...and going to bed at 7 because you got up at 2 PM, closed down the bars, did an after-party game, hung out and talked about life in a hotel lobby, and then did an after-after party game. Voice of experience, communicate who wants to do what beforehand or you can lose track of your friends for days.

6. Budget more money than you think you need, especially if you plan to dine well, drink, or merch out. I put a $500 hole in my budget for Gencon and I'm inevitably at or slightly over it...and it's only that low because I split driving and lodging three or four ways, my pass is comped, and I buy almost zero merch. You may also want to align the spending axis of your party's con-preference sliders. Doing it on bagels, Diet Coke, and ad-hoc games in the lobby is a vastly different financial proposal from having steak, wine, martinis, and multiple runs of True Dungeon. There are plenty of people who do it either way, and at many points in between. But decide what you want and then communicate before you take the would-be gourmet to Subway for the fourth time or before you subject the guy who's just there to roll some dice through a nightlife barrage that comes with a parade of stiff bills.

7. Chill out and have fun. GenCon is a big fat crowded hustle, yes, but you're on vacation. Don't have a coronary trying to see everything and everyone. You won't. Your biggest priority (beyond not getting jumped or wandering drunk into traffic) is to have fun.

If anyone is intrested in the up all night, shutting down bars, talking about life & gaming into the morning, hit me up. I work downtown at a bar, so thats my usual night Plus Gaming! Also if I can find a room to stay in. Ill have beer all weekend!!

NB, I am so happy you are going! I definitely would like to hang with you for a bit. ( and of there is room in that Fiasco game, count me in ). I may even have a surprise for you!