Gencon Time!

Ah, Gencon. There's nothing quite like it!

Gencon is the big summer convention in my neck of the woods. Like Origins, it's a gaming convention, but it is bigger and full of much more content than Origins.

Maybe too big, but I'll get to that later on in this post.

Gencon is pretty much North America's premiere industry show for the Roleplaying Game industry, and for no small amount of board game companies as well. Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Mayfair, and many others strive to unveil new products at Gencon, announce major initiatives there, and go to wave the flag among the teeming hordes of gamer geeks that descend upon Indianapolis every summer to party like they rolled a critical ninety-nine.

I'm not exaggerating about the teeming hordes. The con's gotten huge over the years. Something like sixty thousand people attended last year, filling up the downtown hotels, pumping money into the economy hand over fist, and filling the streets around the convention center with a sea of happy faces. And therein lies the problem...

Gencon's a little too successful.

As big as Indy's downtown is, it's struggling to cope with the influx of people. Hotel rooms sell out years in advance, at inflated prices that people pay without batting an eye because they're worth it. The convention's online room lottery system is a joke that hasn't made it through a single opening day without crashing. And sweet Jesus, the crowds.

It's not undoable, mind you. Even crowded, it's still an awesome experience. But there's a lot of little tricks that you need to learn if you want to do Gencon without bleeding money or getting yourself in a pickle. Here, let me share some tips that I've learned over a decade or so of journeying to the big G.

LOGISTICS

1. Buy your badge ahead of time and get it mailed to you. This will save you having to stand in the will-call lines to pick it up later. Those lines get pretty big.

2. Downtown lodging is best but costly, and you'll need roommates to defray them. The advantage of being able to walk back and forth from the con to your room cannot be understated.

3. Hotels out near the beltway are much cheaper, but will require transportation back and forth. They've tried shuttles before with hit or miss effects, so I don't know if they'll do that again. So either plan to drive yourself or get an Uber or a bus or something.

5. Parking is a pain. A lot of Downtown Indy is devoted to parking, and most of it fills up stupid quick when Gencon starts rolling. Don't expect to get a close parking spot, and if you do, seriously consider leaving your car there through the convention. If you move it you'll probably lose the spot. Also expect to pay a lot for parking, $20-$40 per day at minimum depending on where you go.

6. Driving is also a pain. Indy is crowded even without Gencon. The streets aren't horrible, but August is right in the middle of roadwork season, so usually there's at least one or two locations shut down. Try to avoid driving as much as possible. Most of what you want is within walking distance, or Uber distance, or even by a bus if need be.

7. Go to Indy on Wednesday if you can. Assuming you can handle the expense, book your hotels for Wednesday night too, and get up bright and early on Thursday. Sure, the con proper doesn't start until Thursday, but there's actually a lot of fun stuff going on Wednesday, and even if it's not to your liking then you can always take in a zoo or a museum or a show. Turns out there's a lot of stuff to do in downtown Indy.

8. Most of Downtown Indy's pretty safe during Gencon, but as always, common sense rules for big cities apply. Travel in groups, or stay within sight of passers-by when possible, keep your wallet and valuables in a safe location, and don't loan anybody your phone unless you know them. Lots of bars around the convention center, so be prepared to give people a little leeway if they're drunk. Oh, and you'll run into homeless people. Indy's got a forgiving policy towards the homeless, so you'll usually see at least one person panhandling every couple of blocks. Don't be afraid of them, be polite and pleasant if they talk to you, and if you don't want to give them money tell them "sorry, I can't." By the city rules, they get one attempt to ask, and then they have to back off if you refuse.

At the same time, it's up to you if you want to spare a buck or two. I'm not gonna tell you how to live your life. And if you need directions to a landmark, these guys usually know the streets pretty well; a couple dollars worth of a tip is usually appreciated when they help you get un-lost.

9. Eating during Gencon isn't too hard, actually. For those on the cheap end, the Circle Center mall's just across the way, and the food court there is both inexpensive and fast. Going up the budget scale a bit, the convention center food isn't horrible, and it's right there by your events. There are lines, so try to go during off hours. Head out of the convention center after ten AM or so and you'll find an entire street worth of food trucks over in one corner of Downtown. Lots of good stuff, but again, plan to deal with lines and a bit of a wait. For those who have more time and a bit of a budget, there are lots of good sit-down restaurants throughout Downtown. Some of them are in the hotel complexes too, don't forget. If there's one weakness in the area I've found it's that there aren't too many good dedicated breakfast places, but any one of a myriad of Starbucks shops will be happy to throw something your way there.

On the high end, you've got solid four-star experiences like Fogo De Chao and the high-quality brewhouse and pub food goodness that is a visit to Scotty's. The Ram's also a favorite place, with generous portions and seriously good beer. Just look around, and try different things.

10. Shower. Sweet Jesus, love of god, SHOWER. It's the midwest in August, so it'll be hot, sticky, and you'll be walking all over creation to get to your events. One or two showers a day, minimum, please. Even if you're indoors most of the time there will be crowds, and it will get warm. Everyone will appreciate it, trust me on that.

THE CONVENTION ITSELF

1. You can try to register for the events you want in advance, but this is tricky with the more popular games. Buy about $12 of generic tokens per day you plan to be there, and use them to get into interesting things. True, that means that you may not get into some of the events if everyone who has a ticket shows up, but... well, 75% of the time, when I try to get into an event with generics, it usually works. And if it doesn't, then I'm out nothing but time. Before you leave the convention you can get unused tickets converted back into convention credit for next year, which'll knock dollars off your badge or events, so as long as you're planning to come back then you're not really out anything.

2. The exhibit hall is big. Stupid big, and stupid crowded. Don't plan to see it all in one trip, unless you've got strong legs. Also realize that anything you buy in there, you'll be carrying until you get a chance to get it back to your room or car or wherever. Plan your purchases. Plan your trips to drop stuff off. Don't be the guy hauling around a hundred and twenty pounds of books and games, and hating life. Or worse, the guy taking up the whole aisle with his backpack and bags or carryalls or whatever.

3. Stuff gets moved. Tables get shifted. Events get cancelled. Try to show up early for your planned events, because sometimes you'll have to go through unexpected hoops to get to them, or the GM will be a no-show, and you'll have to fall back to your secondary planned event.

4. Be cool. Everyone's there to have fun, so relax. You're on vacation! The more fun you're having, the more fun people around you will have.

5. Read the convention book, and build yourself a schedule. Then go through it again, and have fallback plans for most major timeslots. Then when you try to implement the schedule, expect to chuck most of it out the window. Don't forget to allow yourself time to eat and tour the exhibit hall, and get from place to place. Maybe some time in there to rest, too.

6. The closer you get to the center of the convention hall, the grosser and more crowded the bathrooms will be. If you can hold it, hop across one of the skyways to one of the downtown hotels. Their bathrooms are much cleaner, and much less crowded.

7. Pickup games are a thing! If you see some people playing something interesting in one of the lounges or in one of the hotel sitting areas, ask to join in! Odds are good they'll be happy for another player.

8. (This one might not apply to some of you) People are there to game, and usually not to flirt. Assume that everyone you meet has a boyfriend, girlfriend, or a spouse. Very few people go to Gencon looking specifically to hook-up. Now, that might not apply so much in the bars late at night or the nightclubs, but assume that anyone wearing a con badge probably ain't into you. If you find an exception, cool. Have fun.

9. Cosplay is both a frequent sight and freaking awesome. Always ask before you take pictures, and try to stand in a way that doesn't block the surrounding traffic. Be polite to all cosplayers, and if you see someone harassing them, go tell security. There's a zero-tolerance policy for that sort of thing.

10. Nothing will go exactly to plan. Maybe you'll find a game is more awesome than you thought, and shift plans to hit two more sessions of it. Maybe you'll try a demo of a board game, get hooked, and two hours will be gone before you know it. Maybe you end up with the bargain of a lifetime from the auction, and you have to spend a couple of hours getting it secured. Maybe a friend says "Hey, let's go have dinner!" and you miss a game to go have dinner at a place you've never been, with a friend you don't see often enough.

What I'm trying to say, is that you won't be able to do everything you want to do, but if you stay flexible and willing to try new things, then you'll probably have a good convention. Go in, have fun, relax and enjoy one of the best North American gaming conventions like the thousands of people all around you who are doing the same thing. Make friends, try stuff you wouldn't at home, and laugh long and loud when things are awesome.

Enjoy Gencon, friends. That's what it's there for.