I'm attending my first US Gen Con this year, 2024, and have purchased my badge and event tickets.
Each event has a secret location code. They're written in a kind of cypher, e.g. ICC 500 Blrm. Some, like my example, are fairly easy to crack. I'm guessing ICC is Indiana Convention Center, 500 is a location number and Blrm is Ballroom. Others are a lot harder.
Has anyone deciphered all the codes and published them online? If so, where?
I really don't feel like spending time cracking codes. Surprisingly, I have better things to do.
Thanks!
There is no cypher, they're just abbreviations or truncations of location names, tables numbers, or event spaces.
Which ones are you having trouble with in particular?
- Derek Guder Director of Events Gen Con LLC
@derekguder Thanks for your reply, Derek. Do you have a list of locations and their abbreviations? A couple of my events are back-to-back - I couldn't help it - and I'd like to know I won't suffer cardiac arrest trying to run between them. More generally, I'd like to map out in advance where I need to be when. I expect I'm not alone in wanting to do that. Thanks again
I don't know whether they have put out a map for this year, but I am sure it will be the same as last year. Here's the larger-scale map, showing the main buildings where gaming occurs. (NB, there is a difference between the JW Marriott and the Marriott!) Note that this map (as all of the maps for the Con) has north at the bottom and south at the top.
Hope that helps!
Here are the building locations - most of these are hotels: 416 Wabash (416 East Wabash Street) Brothers Bar & Grill Crowne Plaza Escape Room Indy (I think this is at Georgia & Meridian) Exhibit Hall (i.e. Gen Con's exhibit hall) Hilton Hyatt ICC (the convention center itself) Indiana Rooftop Ballroom JW (J.W. Marriott hotel) Le Meridien Marriott Omni Stadium (Lucas Oil Stadium) Taxman CityWay Union Station (Crowne Plaza Union Station) VIG Lounge Westin White River State Park
When there's a name after the location name, that usually indicates a meeting room or ballroom - for example, "Union Station Nickel Plate" is the Nickel Plate room at the Crowne Plaza Union Station Hotel, and "Stadium Field: Rogue Judges" is the Rogue Judges area on the field inside of Lucas Oil Stadium.
For anyone still trying to figure out where events are, I discovered that you can search the Gen Con map for the event's location code. The map is here with the query box in the top left corner: https://www.gencon.com/map?lt=1.1423680315518325&lg=69.06005859375001&z=3&f=1&c=25
That's awesome, congrats on your first Gen Con! Enjoy the convention! I used DoMyPaper at https://domypaper.com/ for a tough essay I had no time to complete. The writer did an amazing job, delivering a well-researched and clearly written paper. The customer support was very responsive, answering all my questions promptly. If you need help with your assignments, I highly recommend giving DoMyPaper a try.
OP: If there's any specific room or whatever you have trouble finding, just ask. Either here, in r/gencon, or Discord, etc. Someone will answer. We've all been in "Where the hell is THIS" mode before, so we can help with locations that trip up first timers.
There’s also the interactive map: https://www.gencon.com/map
It will find location codes if you type them into the search bar. It will also be updated with more details (exhibit hall booths, individual tables, etc.) at some point closer to the con.
Gen Con provides a searchable convention map on their website. You can use this map to pinpoint specific locations by searching for the HQ's name or room number house of hazards