![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I had a great time at GenCon. I did have to wait in a four hour line just to get an admission badge, that's true. It would have been unbearable if ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
finabair wouldn't have hung with me most of the time. And I have to admit that I will talk to anyone at any time, so I had a great time chatting with those trapped in the line with me. There were to kids (teenagers) behind me that had free passes to the con and were just wonderful to talk to. Actually, the worst part was that after I paid my money they still made me wait for my badge. But I'm over that.
Really.
Anyhow, I usually spend Thursday going around the dealer's room with my hubby, looking at everything and doing tons of demos; needless to say, I missed that this time. Which really sucks. Big time. Wil got a free badge because he did demo work for WizKids so we were restricted on time together; We did take Sunday and managed to walk the dealers room then, but still -- SUCKS. BIG TIME.
I spent Friday doing puzzles with JennJenn and generally frying my brain, Saturday was much the same with minor interruptions to get autographs. Now, I should point out that while my actual likes run toward the fangirl side, my actions do not. I don't join fanclubs, I don't do squeeing or drooling over actors and the last time I stood in line for any autograph was over 10 years ago... maybe more, because I'm not sure I actually got an autograph then. Nothing wrong with any of those things mind, I just don't do them. So, I wasn't really keen on standing in line for autographs, especially since I spent so long in line on Thursday. BUT Sam has always been my favorite. And there is a lot of things that I like about Sean Astin. So, after much internal debate (and a direct order from my daughter) I decided that I would do the autograph thing this year. Now, John Rhys-Davies was also there, so I thought, in for a dime, in for a dollar, and decided to get his autograph, too.
I should point out at GenCon that there are several ways to get autographs: 1) you can go to the GoH booth, pay $20 and have the stars sign whatever you have, 2) go to the Decipher booth and have them sign any Decipher product that you may have (and get preferential treatment if you purchased a special 'DecipherCon' badge first), or 3) stand in line at the giant autograph stage and get an autograph for free (they will even provide a picture if you don't have anything for them to sign). The one draw back is that if the line is too long, you may not get an autograph at all.
JennJenn, who had no doubts about standing in line for autographs, was great company as usual to stand in line with. We managed to get John Rhys-Davies autograph on Saturday. He was a wonderful man who took the time to talk to everyone. Be sure and askfinabair how she managed to tell him that "she did drugs" for a living. It's an amusing story. We got in line for Sean right after that, but the autograph line was cut before we could get up there. Actually, they cut the line right before us because 1) both JennJenn and I were saying that we should just get out of line because it didn't look like we'd make it and 2) the guy behind us made a major JERK statement that ticked the volunteer off.
Anyhow, we stood in line on Sunday (a much shorter, faster moving line, mind you) and got Sean's autograph then. I even managed to have him autograph the book that Myr sent with me. My daughter is thrilled that he actually addressed it to her when he signed it. He was also very nice, had a genuine smile and a very firm handshake. It was worth the wait.
I'm not sure I would ever do it again, mind you. I go to GenCon because I love to game, to try everything out and check out all the new game stuff they have. I didn't even do the free miniature painting this year. I missed that.
I did (with JennJenn's help) manage to complete 28 puzzles before I decided that I was too braindead to do any more. I picked up a cool gaming book -- From Stone to Steel: A d20 System Guide to Arms & Armor from the Stone-age to the Renaissance. I also got a new role-playing system that I picked up on a special deal, only a buck. How can I pass that up?
I did demo Decipher's LOTR CCG (Collectable Card Game)... ok, I actually play that game, but if I demo-ed it I got a free deck... so, you know, I had to do that. I also demo-ed Formula D, a new CCG that deal with racing. It was very cool and played fast and looks like something that we will like. I only got to demo Crimson Skies once (Crimson Skies is a Collectable Miniature Game from WizKids), but since we love that game and play it at home and that they we're giving out any free figures, it wasn't that big of a deal. We did try out CreepyFreaks, a CMG that is coming out for kids ages 6 to 10. It was really fun, and we got free figures from that. Many of them.
The dealer's room was bigger than when the con was in Milwaukee and I didn't get to see all of it. But what I did see was good. The CCG's don't have the strangle hold on the gaming community that they did for the past couple of years. There were a few new RPGs out and several new miniature games (not by WizKids) that make gaming a bit more diverse and fun to be around.
I also noticed a wonderful trend away from having booth-babes; instead there seemed to be more actual FEMALE gamers working the booths. I also notice that there seemed to be fewer half-naked belly dancers and teen-age vampire running around this year, too. I'm hoping that's a sign that things are moving toward the better, it would make me feel more comfortable taking my ten-year-old daughter to GenCon if there were better role-models around.
Yeah. GenCon is much more fun when I actually do the con rather than get two autographs... even if the GoH is good-looking.
finabair wouldn't have hung with me most of the time. And I have to admit that I will talk to anyone at any time, so I had a great time chatting with those trapped in the line with me. There were to kids (teenagers) behind me that had free passes to the con and were just wonderful to talk to. Actually, the worst part was that after I paid my money they still made me wait for my badge. But I'm over that.Really.
Anyhow, I usually spend Thursday going around the dealer's room with my hubby, looking at everything and doing tons of demos; needless to say, I missed that this time. Which really sucks. Big time. Wil got a free badge because he did demo work for WizKids so we were restricted on time together; We did take Sunday and managed to walk the dealers room then, but still -- SUCKS. BIG TIME.
I spent Friday doing puzzles with JennJenn and generally frying my brain, Saturday was much the same with minor interruptions to get autographs. Now, I should point out that while my actual likes run toward the fangirl side, my actions do not. I don't join fanclubs, I don't do squeeing or drooling over actors and the last time I stood in line for any autograph was over 10 years ago... maybe more, because I'm not sure I actually got an autograph then. Nothing wrong with any of those things mind, I just don't do them. So, I wasn't really keen on standing in line for autographs, especially since I spent so long in line on Thursday. BUT Sam has always been my favorite. And there is a lot of things that I like about Sean Astin. So, after much internal debate (and a direct order from my daughter) I decided that I would do the autograph thing this year. Now, John Rhys-Davies was also there, so I thought, in for a dime, in for a dollar, and decided to get his autograph, too.
I should point out at GenCon that there are several ways to get autographs: 1) you can go to the GoH booth, pay $20 and have the stars sign whatever you have, 2) go to the Decipher booth and have them sign any Decipher product that you may have (and get preferential treatment if you purchased a special 'DecipherCon' badge first), or 3) stand in line at the giant autograph stage and get an autograph for free (they will even provide a picture if you don't have anything for them to sign). The one draw back is that if the line is too long, you may not get an autograph at all.
JennJenn, who had no doubts about standing in line for autographs, was great company as usual to stand in line with. We managed to get John Rhys-Davies autograph on Saturday. He was a wonderful man who took the time to talk to everyone. Be sure and ask
finabair how she managed to tell him that "she did drugs" for a living. It's an amusing story. We got in line for Sean right after that, but the autograph line was cut before we could get up there. Actually, they cut the line right before us because 1) both JennJenn and I were saying that we should just get out of line because it didn't look like we'd make it and 2) the guy behind us made a major JERK statement that ticked the volunteer off.Anyhow, we stood in line on Sunday (a much shorter, faster moving line, mind you) and got Sean's autograph then. I even managed to have him autograph the book that Myr sent with me. My daughter is thrilled that he actually addressed it to her when he signed it. He was also very nice, had a genuine smile and a very firm handshake. It was worth the wait.
I'm not sure I would ever do it again, mind you. I go to GenCon because I love to game, to try everything out and check out all the new game stuff they have. I didn't even do the free miniature painting this year. I missed that.
I did (with JennJenn's help) manage to complete 28 puzzles before I decided that I was too braindead to do any more. I picked up a cool gaming book -- From Stone to Steel: A d20 System Guide to Arms & Armor from the Stone-age to the Renaissance. I also got a new role-playing system that I picked up on a special deal, only a buck. How can I pass that up?
I did demo Decipher's LOTR CCG (Collectable Card Game)... ok, I actually play that game, but if I demo-ed it I got a free deck... so, you know, I had to do that. I also demo-ed Formula D, a new CCG that deal with racing. It was very cool and played fast and looks like something that we will like. I only got to demo Crimson Skies once (Crimson Skies is a Collectable Miniature Game from WizKids), but since we love that game and play it at home and that they we're giving out any free figures, it wasn't that big of a deal. We did try out CreepyFreaks, a CMG that is coming out for kids ages 6 to 10. It was really fun, and we got free figures from that. Many of them.
The dealer's room was bigger than when the con was in Milwaukee and I didn't get to see all of it. But what I did see was good. The CCG's don't have the strangle hold on the gaming community that they did for the past couple of years. There were a few new RPGs out and several new miniature games (not by WizKids) that make gaming a bit more diverse and fun to be around.
I also noticed a wonderful trend away from having booth-babes; instead there seemed to be more actual FEMALE gamers working the booths. I also notice that there seemed to be fewer half-naked belly dancers and teen-age vampire running around this year, too. I'm hoping that's a sign that things are moving toward the better, it would make me feel more comfortable taking my ten-year-old daughter to GenCon if there were better role-models around.
Yeah. GenCon is much more fun when I actually do the con rather than get two autographs... even if the GoH is good-looking.
