How about a "rolling" meetup to play board, card and role-playing games in the ginormous gaming room at Dragon*Con?
Last year I tried holding a meetup at DragonCon but only two people showed up (thanks frwagon and his girlfriend). For whatever reason (business, panel conflicts, crowded site, my own lack of skill as an organizer) it didn't pan out, and I don't think the chances are any greater for a traditional meetup this time. The schedule hasn't even been sent out as of this writing, and there's bound to be all kinds of schedule conflicts again this time out. And honestly, I want to go to panels and see the sights too, and I'm going with many friends this time who I'll be trying to keep up with, so I can't say that I can make a definite time either.
So let's try something different this time. I am proposing a "rolling meetup" in Dragon*Con's huge board gaming room, throughout the entire con.
The idea is, throughout the con, if a Metafilter member happens to catch me in the room, say hello and we'll play a board game. Or, if other Metafilter members happen to see each other, they can play games themselves. Absolutely no pressure! No need to make a definite time! Just show up and play games, when or if you like! Isn't that cool?
But for this to work, we'll need to decide two things. First, we need to pick a place in the huge gaming room to look for other MeFi users. Second, we need a way of identifying each other.
The first is fairly easy: hang out at a table near the stairs up. There are only two ways into the room, and both involve descending stairs (or an escalator).
The second is a little trickier. For my part, at least one day of the con I will be wearing a brown T-shirt with an up-pointing arrow that reads "GAME FACE." For other days, if we could decide on some common identifying characteristic by which we can recognize other MeFi members it would help for greeting/game matching purposes. I'm not so much organizing this meetup as declaring it, so there is no need to actually find me to join in.
As for identifying characteristic, the best suggestion I've heard is to bring a paper crown of the type readily available from Burger King. Anywhere other than a convention that might seem terribly ostentatious, but this is a place which regularly features people dressed as anime characters, Spartans, demons and weirder things still. Last year, there was an actual Burger King roaming the con. Still, it's understandable if some of you think that's a little to visible. I'm open to other suggestions. Other options are Metafilter T-shirts, or just something that says "Metafilter" on it.
It'd be wonderful if I could thrown down with some of you in Puerto Rico; I think I have a good strategy for it! The room has hundreds of board games available to check out, so there is much gaming fun to be had by all. To check out games from their library last year, which I think will return this year, you had to pay a one-time $5 fee to get a sticker on your badge that was good for the whole con. They are guaranteed to have games you've never heard of, let alone seen. I hope to bring some of me and my friends' own games as well: Puerto Rico, Arkham Horror, Agricola, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, a gigantic mega-Munchkin deck, Nuclear War, Munchkin Quest, Catan: The Card Game with expansions, Deadwood, Escape from Elba, and possibly others.
I hope to see you there!
posted by JHarris to Meetup (28 comments total)
Last year I went to every Stargate & Farscape panel I could, the Doctor Horrible Sing-Along, and any non-spoilerific Doctor Who/Brit-Track panels. I didn't manage to get to the Aquarium, or to any of the evening concerts/parties because I generally crashed early, but I'm hoping to do better this year. I'm flying on on Thursday morning, and have a room in the Sheraton. If the registration line wait is still the hours-long insanity that it was last year, maybe people can check in on this thread with their location & identifying characteristics as they inch closer to getting badges, and those who have made it through can come back and commiserate.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:41 AM on August 14, 2010