After growing up on well water, I find it to be undrinkable. The tap water where I live now has so much chlorine in it that it actually triggers my gag reflex.
Didn't realize that...but if my last Con was an indication, I will go through at 4-5 bottles in a 4-hour game.
The service relies on volunteers. 1 out of 4 games I ran last year had enough volunteers to makes the rounds. It is considered an added bonus when they have enough. It is not expected.
I was given to understand that this year the concierge service was actually part of the contract and provided by the venue. I seem to recall that from the "Eat and drink a lot to give Luke bargaining power for next year" spiel.
You're mixing up two different things. Tableside food service is provided by the venue to everyone at approximately restaurant pricing. They supply their wait staff, you supply money, you don't have to leave 'food breaks' in your schedule if you have it brought to you. This is what's in the contract and people are encouraged to use. GM concierge service is provided as a perk by GaryCon. When there are volunteers to spare, they roam the grounds with a cart/cooler and offer free drinks/snacks to the GMs. Both have been in place for at least a few years already and are intended to continue. Of course the former is dependent on the venue getting a decent return on their staffing investment while the latter is dependent on having enough volunteers to work it and con funds to cover it.
Thank you for the clarification. Has there been any word on the menu and pricing for tableside food service for this year?
My honest advice? Don't play things you can play anywhere else. D&D 5E is as common as farts in a bean factory. But where can you play OD&D with Frank Metzner? Where else can you play DUNGEON with Dave Megarry? Where else can you play "Siege of Bodenburg," the game that inspired CHAINMAIL? Where else can you play BRAUNSTEIN, the game that inspired Dave Arneson to create BLACKMOOR? Where else can you play with Tim Kask, or Ernie Gygax, or Luke Gygax, or Jim Ward? Don't sign up for a bunch of stuff you can find anyplace.
Welcome. I suspect Luke is probably the only one who knows the particulars at this point. (And, for that matter, I wouldn't be very surprised if the menu + prices were still being firmed up. )
Gamehole Con, for most of those. But other than that I agree. I always try to play in a few games I have never played before. Get out of your comfort zone. Try something you can't play with your normal group. Don't play with your normal group. I have made great friends by playing in games where I didn't know anyone. Yes, I usually get in some games for the systems I am most used to, but I've had lots of fun trying new games. A convention is the best place to do that. You have someone who is happy to teach people to play a game they love, and you don't have to buy any books in order to give it a shot. If you like it, great! You have a new game you can try to get your regular group to play, or at the very least you have something else to look for at your next convention. If you don't like it, all it cost you to try it is a couple of hours.
Yea I got into registration late so it was limited selection on games but I got a few interesting games and have enough open slots to go look for green flags on the game floor. Should be a good time. I will be ready for registration for next year's con.
Another question related to first time attendees. What is the Power outlet situation for phones and tablets? and Is there any Wifi or should I buy some extra time for my hotspot?
http://www.grandgeneva.com/meetings...ools/resort-facts/technology-grand-geneva.asp However, that might be limited to hotel guests. To provide wifi to things like conferences typically cost extra...like a lot. Also, given there will be in excess of 1,000 devices (just a guess) the system might not be optimal (just a guest based on the general suckiness of wifi at things like tech conferences). As for power, probably not going to be a lot available table side (again a cost thing that generally our games don't need). So I would make sure you have an external battery and charge things in your room overnight. That is just general conference attendee habits I have. You can get a decent battery for about $20 that should be able to fully charge most devices. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EF1OGOG I like to use http://thewirecutter.com/ for a start for tech reviews and then decide from there.
Yeah I picked up the sprint live pro hotpot battery backup mini projecter all in one. It's neat. Haven't used the battery backup portion yet so it should be interesting.
The menu is being finalized. Its small but has some variety. Jalapeno poppers, cheeseburger, 3 cheese melt, buffalo chicken sandwich, 2 salads, margherita flatbread, steak sandwich are for sure. I am asking for fries, a a chicken wrap, fruit cup, pretzel and cheese, nachos and desert cookies/brownies. Oh and pizza delivery from the pizza shop at their sister hotel.
