Good morning all!

First off, I apologize if there is a Gen Con thread elsewhere that I should have posted to instead of starting this thread.  I didn't see one, so I started this one.

I'm planning to attend this year's Gen Con; it will be my first convention since 1984/1985 and this will be my first Gen Con trip - life has been busy with college, career, and kids for a while.    

My wife and I are making the trip from CT by car and camper, and I'm really only focused on two things at the con:  1) buying a few (or more) hard to find books for my collection, and 2) meeting with fellow collectors, especially Acaeum members.  My wife is not a gamer but is interested in the trip more for spending time together so I won't be doing any gaming at Gen Con.  We're planning on pulling in to the camp ground on Wednesday night and attending the convention Thursday through Saturday (leaving sometime Saturday for our return trip home).  I do plan to return to the convention sometime in the future with my son and friends for gaming but this trip is more of an immersion and buying visit.

Is the vendor hall likely to be open first thing Thursday morning?  Are there any vendors I should visit (ones with good pricing or good quantities of 1st/2nd edition AD&D, etc.)?  Do Acaeum members have a way to find each other at the con?  Any thoughts or helpful tips are greatly appreciated.

And by the way, I know that attending Gen Con without playing any games or visiting TD may be odd for some people but I'm okay with it this trip.  It actually gives me a good reason to go back!

Thanks,

~throwi

Thanks Martin!

I'm missing much of the Gazetteer line and Planescape books/sets - that's my focus this trip.  As much as I'd like to get the super rare stuff (wood grains, etc.), I'm probably not going to focus on that.  I do expect to bid against fellow Acaeum members, nature of the beast so to speak.  I also would like to add to my 4th edition line too, so I expect there to be plenty of that around.

How do the auctions work?  Are there silent *and* live auctions?  Are they scheduled throughout the day at set times?  Do we know what is up for auction each day in advance?

My wife and I are vegetarians so we'll have to do some research to find the food we can eat.  We're used to existing on food we've brought from home when we travel so I expect that to be the same for this trip.

Thanks again!

~throwi

All the classier restaurants have Vegan fare. Wouldn't bet on Steak & Shake tho. ;>

Get an Auction bidder card for $1 before you buy anything.
We don't get a lot of 4e; it gets offered during the days' asst. RPG stuff, and/or in the Auction Store.
The Store section (one side of the auction hall) has fixed-price items; the stuff going onstage goes to high bid.
As noted, the rarest stuff is displayed for a while before being sold. The rarest go on Friday night, roughly 8-mid.

F

Also, sometime in July, post what you're looking for to the Classifieds.

That way you can get what you're looking for from other fellow Acaeum members attending Gencon. Will save you a few dollars on shipping and handling...  

Badmike wrote in Gen Con Rookie - Questions:Drink a ton of water, it gets hot in Indy in the summer and you will dehydrate like crazy.

Says the man who runs a convention in Dallas in June, when the temperature is just short of the boiling point of lead.  

Wow, thanks everyone for your tips and helpful hints.  I'm definitely going to follow up and through on your suggestions.

BadMike, my wife and I are runners so I hope that we're ready to walk the con.  Of course, standing in line or waiting can be harder on the feet than walking about.

Frank, I'll definitely get my bidding card and watch out for those rares on Friday night.

Blackmoor, I might not make dinner Wednesday night (just pulling in to town) but I look forward to meeting everyone at the con!

Martin, I'll be looking for that parking garage!

I go to Oracle OpenWorld in San Fran every other year so I'm accustomed to the crowds and congestion.  

Thanks again,

~ throwi (Thom)

throwi wrote in Gen Con Rookie - Questions:Is the vendor hall likely to be open first thing Thursday morning?  Are there any vendors I should visit (ones with good pricing or good quantities of 1st/2nd edition AD&D, etc.)?  Do Acaeum members have a way to find each other at the con?  Any thoughts or helpful tips are greatly appreciated.
~throwi

If you are looking for 1e and 2e TSR stuff, your best bet is going to Half Price Books, Troll and Toad and Noble Knight if they are there. OSR stuff is available at a couple locations: The OSR Publications booth (run by me) and the Goodman Games booth where Black Blade Publishing will have some great stuff. The OSR booth will feature several OSR publishers includng Pacesetter Games & Simulations, Center Stage Miniatures, Faster Monkey Games, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Henchmen Abuse, and several more that I will announce in the next couple months when things are solidified.

If you want to meet Acaeum people, stop at the OSR booth. I will have a white board for OSR fans to post games, meet ups, etc. It worked really well last year. Also, I (and maybe some other guys) will be running some games at the OSR booth. I will have a table set up for some open gaming! Maybe short demos of some of the modules/products. I pretty much run the booth from 8 a.m. until the dealer's hall closes (5 or 6 p.m. - I can't remember now). I then run to grab some quick dinner and then spend the rest of the night at the auction. Always some Acaeum members at the auction in the evenings.

I may try and sneak in a game on Thursday or Saturday night. It will be in the open gaming area - probably a playtest of some sort.

Don't worry about not playing any events. There is tons to do at the convention and in the downtown area.

We don't get a lot of 4e; it gets offered during the days' asst. RPG stuff, and/or in the Auction Store.

I think this may change this year. With 4e getting cancelled, there might be a big sell off this year. There was some 43 stuff in the auction store and much of it was in fantastic condition. However, most people are trying to get what they paid for it, so not too many deals.

Personal advice: if you go to the Auction Hall, plan to spend a while there.  Frank, Tim, and company have an astoundingly comprehensive knowledge of games, and it's engrossing just to listen to them talk about the stuff that comes up for auction.  I can't count the number of times I've said "Okay, I'm going to go hit the vendors...right after one more item," and then had my wife come and drag me out three or four hours later.

Thunderdave! wrote in Gen Con Rookie - Questions:Hey everyone,

I've never attended GenCon... I have a chance to take a business trip to Windsor Canada on the Thursday or Friday and am thinking about making the 8-hours round trip from there to check in... I'd have no time to game, but would probably have half a day to walk around and take it all in.

Question: should I do it?

It would be very cool for you, you would have to buy a day pass though