So I'm a first time Garyconner, thrilled to be joining up and nervous about being a newbie...I was curious to know the deal with walkups for games...(specifically the women only Tomb of Horrors game with Hans Cumming) My question is...when a game has been sold out is it better to walk up to a current game and ask to play or should I contact the GM beforehand to see if there is space for lil' ol' me?
Even if a game is nominally sold out, there is a decent chance on the players will no-show, so it's always worth going to the table at game time to see if there's an opening. Some GMs will add an extra player or two even if the table is full. I don't see anything wrong with contacting a GM in advance to see if they will add a space for you. You may not get a commitment, but at least the GM will be aware of your interest. You don't want to be a pest about it. I think most GMs would be flattered to hear there are extra players who want in even if they can't squeeze more people around the table.
I can't speak for others, @BrooklynBookworm , but for my games, I only made four of six seats available for pre-registration. I deliberately saved two seats for walk-ups. Gary Con uses an "open marshalling" system on game day; each table will have a green sign showing "Players Wanted" or a red sign showing "Event Full".
Thanks for asking this Brooklynbookworm, I'm in exactly the same boat and was curious about the exact same thing. Thanks for the responses guys! Although I have a heavily booked schedule there are a few things I was interested in getting into but didn't get a chance to prereg for
Your best bet is walk up at the time; as others have said, some people don't show. I also leave a couple walk up positions in "Magic Users with Knives." And most of the historical miniatures games don't fill up anyway.