- Go to Gen Con! Hopefully, this is a decision that has already been made but for some of us, especially those who don’t live close to Indiana, going to Gen Con could seem a bit daunting. For years we assumed Gen Con is a trip we would save for later but now I am constantly kicking myself for not going to Gen Con much earlier.
- Don’t overpack your day with events. For your first Gen Con, don’t plan for more than one or two events a day to leave yourself plenty of time to simply explore.
- Pack a thin jacket in your day pack. Indiana summer might be fairly warm but the Indiana convention center AND the hotels where some of the events are held can keep their room very cold.
- Wear good socks and shoes. I pack my cool, well-padded socks for walking in the con. I have seen several recommendations from other Gen Con veterans to pack an additional sock in your day pack to change halfway through your day. I have personally never tried this tip yet but is intending to try this idea soon.
- Eat your meals at off-peak (usual meal) times. There is quite a bit of eating options around the convention but the line can be extremely long, especially under the hot summer sun.
- Pack a small snack or two in your day pack. This tip goes with tip #5. Having a small snack break can not only give your tired feet a much-needed rest but might also allow you to wait until the food crowd dies down a bit.
- Bring a refillable water bottle with you. There are water stations in the Indiana Convention Center and the surrounding hotels where the events are held.
- Be mindful of your possessions and personal safety. Other than one isolated incident of watching a panhandler who was rude to a passerby that had given him some money, we can honestly say we have not had any negative interactions with anyone in the years we have been attending Gen Con. In our experience, Gen Con goers are generally very kind and are just as eager as us to have a fun time. However, theft (the one I remember is someone saying his binder with all of his Pokemon cards was stolen) and harassment do happen and have been reported in the years past.
- Buy a few Generic Tickets to carry with you on the first day of the convention. Generic Tickets can be used to get into any event- if the event host is willing to take more people or there are no shows (which happens more than you would think).
- Follow up to tip #8. Don’t get discouraged if the event you want is full. Many events, especially those that start in the morning, later at night, and at meal times, will often have no-shows so show up early to the event and politely ask to be put on a waitlist. Entertainment events that have a large audience will also often accept more attendees with generic tickets at the door.
- Don’t get too focused on the vendor hall. Gen Con vendor hall is spectacular and massive so it is easy to spend ALL of your time there. Gen Con has 16,000+ events that are spread out all over (ie. Lucas Oil Building and the various surrounding hotels). Take some time to explore all the many things Gen Con has to offer.
- If your budget allows, have Gen Con ship your badge and event tickets to you. The shipping cost is $15 but it saves you from the famously long line at the will call. Of course, there are plenty of people who don’t mind standing in line and see it as an opportunity to socialize with fellow con-goers. The Will Call kiosk opens at noon on Wednesday. In the past, the Will Call kiosk stayed open through the whole night and doesn’t close until Sunday so if you can’t sleep, then showing up at 1am to pick up your badge is a good strategy. In 2022, Will Call did close after 2am, so double-check on this year’s hours. If you are not buying your badge until you get to the convention center, be sure to buy them at the badge/ticket registration kiosk instead of getting them online. If you get them online, you will need to wait in the long Will Call line vs the usually empty badge registration kiosk where they will simply print your tickets right on the spot.
- Grab your Gen Con program book early. The program book will be available throughout the convention center but they do run out at times and it takes a bit for them to get restocked.
- Don’t debate for too long to buy that game or item you really want. Vendors bring quite a bit of inventory with them to Gen Con but it is a common sight (especially in the last few years) to see “sold out” signs as early as Friday afternoon. Popular newly released hot games will usually sell out within the first couple of hours on the first day of Gen Con.
- Cash is good to have but you will most likely use a credit card for everything. Most if not all vendors in the exhibit hall accept credit cards. All the food trucks we have been to outside of the convention center also accepted credit cards. However, I always make it a rule to carry some cash on me since I have more than one time encountered a food truck or vendor whose credit card reader is broken, forcing them to only accept customers who have cash on hand.
- Pack a big tote bag with you in your day pack. Big square tote bags are great for carrying board games and just about anything else. We buy very little when we go to Gen Con since it is usually not worth the hassle for us to haul it on the plane but there also have been plenty of times when we gave into the temptation to buy that hard-to-find game/item. In those times, then the tote bag is super handy since most bigger-sized board games or game books don’t fit as well in day packs.
- Don’t bring giant backpacks with you into the exhibit hall. Having a big backpack on your back not only makes it difficult for you to get through the crowded exhibit halls but it becomes a danger to those around you when you turn your body and inevitably slam it into some unfortunate person behind you.
- There are not many breakfast options around the convention center and you can spot the few options by the long lines in front of it. We usually buy a few simple breakfast items from a grocery store to take care of mornings, leaving our bigger meals for lunch and dinner.
- When planning your convention schedule, keep in mind that events are held at various locations and it could take a while to get from one place to another. If your first event at 10am is in Indiana Convention Center and you booked another event at 11am that is in the Lucas Stadium building, then you better be ready to get your running shoes on.
- Go to Gen Con with the goal to have fun…no matter what. Your hotels might not be what you hoped, it might get annoying to have people hovering over you while you are doing a game demo, or that game you really wanted is sold out but a good attitude, albeit a bit difficult at times, has helped us to make every Gen Con a positive experience.
- Check out Gen Con’s online social sites and forums. Some of these social sites are official Gen Con sites and some are managed by fans, but they are all great places to search for answers to any questions you might have. Useful Gen Con Websites
- Set alerts for yourself for Gen Con’s key dates and times. There are certain registration dates, such as housing and event registration that are very important to be at your computer the moment it opens. After going through the work of creating an event wish list one year and then totally forgetting the event registration time until a few hours later, we learned to set multiple alerts for ourselves. Important Gen Con Dates
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