Hi All. I’ve never attended Gary Con and I’m planning on attending this year. Actually, I’ve never attended any gaming conventions before, so this would be my first one! I had some comments and questions on what I will need. Flight – done, flying into Milwaukee (MKE) Thurs. evening 9:00pm Hotel – Still trying to book room at The Lodge at Geneva Ridge, will try again this weekend. See other topic for hotel issues. Rental Car – Will I need this? Can I get public transportation to and from MKE? Badge & Event Registration – done, purchased full weekend badge, t-shirt, and registered for events (happy to play anything if events are full). What To Bring – What will I need to bring to Gary Con? Any suggestions? Missing Games – Is anyone going to play Classic Traveller? Scotch – Seems like there is a lot of scotch drinking during games. Do I need to bring a bottle? Do you drink scotch during every game? Thanks for reading my post, any suggestions or comments are appreciated.
First off, welcome to the forum and happy you are attending Gary Con! The first rule of GC is to have fun. And, do no harm to others. Yes, you will need a rental car, or ride share with someone flying in around the same time as you. The ride over is about 45 minutes (ish). Drinking is done at the gathering. It is not a drunk-fest while gaming though. Yes, you will see gaming & drinking but it all depends upon your style- and the group you are playing with. I hope Traveler is played- as it is an awesome game system! Yeah, I am a bit biased on this one. I'll let other chime in with thoughts & other recommendations. Dale
Thanks for the quick reply Dale. I took your advice and got the rental car, not a bad deal $55.90 for 3 days. If anyone need a ride from the airport (MKE) on Thursday Evening around 9:30pm let me know. I'm looking forward to playing a lot of games and meeting lots of new people. I planing on bringing a notebook, pens, pencils, dice, my favorite 1st Edition AD&D character sheet, and maybe players handbook? Does anyone else have any suggestions? Greg
I'm trying to get my friend to go to GaryCon 3 with me. She is single, you are on your own trying to get her to dress up in chainmail or whatever.
Well, gamer-greg, I am pretty much the source of the scotch comments. Don't let it fool you though, this is a family-friendly event. I don't do any (well, maybe much is a better word) scotch drinking out on the game room floor. I just love talking about it . If you happen to be a scotch drinker, I'm sure we will run in to each other at some point. I'll be the fat, kinda nerdy guy, playing D&D. Seriously, though, feel free to PM me and I'll share a glass of my favorite scotch with ya'! Garycon2 was my 2nd con ever and it was the best gaming con ever. I've been to a few since and nothing touches it for gaming (and the nostalgia, for sure)!
Bring enough cash for munchies and drinks, assorted souvenirs, and if you like, the auction - lots of good stuff will be on sale. I plan on buying copies of the adventures I play in, if they're available (some were last year).
I'm not much of a drinker and I never drink scotch; just saw the comments and was like "oh boy, I guess I'll have to learn to like scotch". I don't plan on drinking during gaming, maybe one or two after. I'm really looking forward to GaryCon3. Many of the games I played when I was young will be played (AD&D, Gamma World, Top Secret, Classic Traveller, & Runequest). Also, I'll get to play some new ones. Looking forward to meeting you Durvas. Good call on extra cash for food, souvenirs, and gaming stuff. Thanks, Jeffery St. Clair. I'll be staying at The Lodge. Is there a restaurant there in the Lodge? Where do most people eat their meals? I'll be the tall skinny geeky looking blond guy if you want to meet me.
I just checked the event listing for the auction, and did not see it there--am I not noticing the correct keyword, or is it just a semi-planned event that happens whenever you can fit it in? Reading about the auctions at past GaryCons has me definitely interested in the event. Gamer-Greg, even though I have no authority from which to tell you that GaryCon will be fun, having never been, I have absolutely no doubt that you will have a great time.
It's not there. Most of us know about it. It would be good to have it listed, for the sake of newcomers like yourself. Last announcement had it at 5-6 on Sat. (There's also a separate silent auction running through most of the con)
Hello and Welcome gamer greg. I think you have the basics down for Gary Con. The main point is to have fun and share good times with fellow gamers as a way to celebrate my Dad's life and work. It is meant to be a friendly atmosphere for everyone. Bring games you want to share with others and keep an eye out for guys running something you want to try out. Alcohol is available at the restaurant and bar upstairs. You can bring it into the gaming area in the evening hours (there have been no concerns with rowdiness or boorish behavior to this point.) Ther auction will happen Saturday night and it has been great in the past. We'll see what treasures are available this year. I would plan on buying a t-shirt and a copy of the module Tim Kask has available this year for sure. I am confident you will have a good time and make some new friends. Luke
The auction is going Saturday at 5 pm. More details will be announced in the coming week, but what I can reveal is that we are going to be auctioning off a few items that were Gary's to help raise funds for the statue to be built in his honor. There will be a new forum thread started once the items have been selected to let everyone know what to expect. Gail did this at Gen Con also. She will be there on Friday at 4 pm to hold a Q&A on the status of the project.
Whew! I may have bitten off more than I can chew! Got all the pregens and was finalizing treasure when I noticed my xp awards may be outta whack. Trying to deal with three different gaming systems on two cantankerous computers has been a real chore. Still workin' on it, though. I ain't so sure I'm healthy enough to be tryin' pull off my old tricks. I ain't pullin' out. I'll get this done come hell or high water (both possible in my current digs). :roll:
I have been to hundreds of games conventions but have not been this excited about one since my first one. How to keep that enthusiasm going can be a trick but remember that they are mostly what you make of them. Preparing the nongaming elements (sleeping arrangements, food, etc...) will give you a better experience overall. If you get to feeling that you are missing something, or something is holding you back from having a good time, just ask someone for help. Speak up. Don't hold back, but don't hold others back in your quest for fun. Bad reviews of cons are usually written by those who think that fun should be handed to them (and sometimes it is). These forums are a tremendous planning tool. If you like a particular game and cannot have any fun without it, you may be in for a long weekend if that game is not present. Some of my favorite con stories are from the unplanned games that pop up. Bring your favorite. The possibilities are endless. It may sit in your bag all day. Someone may learn something. Someone may have so much fun playing it that they end up going to hundreds of cons looking for those rough diamonds. Unfortunately, you can't force the fun. (unless there is scotch).
Hmmm. There are usually so few fitting that description at game cons that I thought it would be a unique descriptor. I can see I will have to differentiate myself a bit. I will also be wearing a gaming tee-shirt or hoodie.
I prefer running home characters over pregens. I'm just an old, broken down OCD, nerdy gamer so the pregens are a precaution. If I run home characters, I award xp.
You guys always get me more revved up for this thing every year. I can't wait to tip a few back, slaughter a few monsters, rescue the girl and wipe out that team of solos in Cyberpunk -- no way I'm letting everyone escape like last year!
