When do the doors actually open
Posted by redknight79
#1

on Thursday? I.E. 10am massive horde of stampeding fans lined up two blocks deep?

Posted by matthias9
#2

Doors to what?  The Exhibit Hall?  The Convention Center?

The Exhibit Hall opens at 10am Thursday, yes, if that is what you are asking about.  At least, it has in the past. 

Posted by aaronr
#3

matthias9 is spot on if you are talking about the Exhibit Hall. If you mean to Gen Con in general there will be unofficial things happening on Tuesday. Official events happening all day Wednesday (last year they ran from 10 am - after midnight). The earliest official events on Thursday usually start around 8am and then go around the clock until 4pm on Sunday.

Posted by ematuskey
#4

The convention center is open 24/7, I believe, so there's never a big line of folks outside waiting to get in.  

No, the big crowd is inside, filling the halls outside the exhibition doors--patient, hungry, ready to obliterate anything that gets between them and the exclusives.  If you don't need any of the limited edition stuff--or just want to live another day--you wait until 10 minutes after the doors have opened so you can stroll right in.  Or hang out in the upper level looking down at the mass, marveling at just how many people the convention center can hold just in the hallways!  

Posted by buffythecatslayer
#5

Most of the doors to the Exhibit Hall open at 10, but last year, and possibly always, the doors from Hall C into the EH opened at 10:30.

Posted by dwe113
#6

man every time I see the big group of people waiting to get in to the exhibit hall I think that really there should be some kind of group chant that we could get started

con...con...CON...CON...CON...CON...

Posted by austicke dwe113
#7

dwe113 wrote:man every time I see the big group of people waiting to get in to the exhibit hall I think that really there should be some kind of group chant that we could get started

There is a group chant every year.

​​​​​​​_____________________________________
Alec Usticke, Fans of Gen Con Facebook Group

Posted by elvinlord
#8

DO NOT RUN

Posted by dwe113 austicke
#9

austicke wrote:
dwe113 wrote:man every time I see the big group of people waiting to get in to the exhibit hall I think that really there should be some kind of group chant that we could get started

There is a group chant every year.​​​​​​​_____________________________________
Alec Usticke, Fans of Gen Con Facebook Group
awwww man...I'm even a member of that group

always behind the times I tells ya

Posted by brotherbock ematuskey
#10

ematuskey wrote:
No, the big crowd is inside, filling the halls outside the exhibition doors--patient, hungry, ready to obliterate anything that gets between them and the exclusives.  If you don't need any of the limited edition stuff--or just want to live another day--you wait until 10 minutes after the doors have opened so you can stroll right in.

True story.

I have witnessed grown men come to blows over Netrunner, and thousands of people pulling that 'this is important' face while fast-walking towards a booth of plastic toys. Just nuts. If you can buy your games later, buy them later. They won't be on sale, might even be higher priced, and you'll have a more enjoyable time.

Posted by rayken brotherbock
#11

brotherbock wrote:
ematuskey wrote:
No, the big crowd is inside, filling the halls outside the exhibition doors--patient, hungry, ready to obliterate anything that gets between them and the exclusives.  If you don't need any of the limited edition stuff--or just want to live another day--you wait until 10 minutes after the doors have opened so you can stroll right in.

True story.I have witnessed grown men come to blows over Netrunner, and thousands of people pulling that 'this is important' face while fast-walking towards a booth of plastic toys. Just nuts. If you can buy your games later, buy them later. They won't be on sale, might even be higher priced, and you'll have a more enjoyable time.

When people have a mission they don't care

Posted by brotherbock rayken
#12

rayken wrote:
brotherbock wrote:
ematuskey wrote:
No, the big crowd is inside, filling the halls outside the exhibition doors--patient, hungry, ready to obliterate anything that gets between them and the exclusives.  If you don't need any of the limited edition stuff--or just want to live another day--you wait until 10 minutes after the doors have opened so you can stroll right in.

True story.I have witnessed grown men come to blows over Netrunner, and thousands of people pulling that 'this is important' face while fast-walking towards a booth of plastic toys. Just nuts. If you can buy your games later, buy them later. They won't be on sale, might even be higher priced, and you'll have a more enjoyable time.

When people have a mission they don't care

Word. Whether it's a new game or a line for a taco truck. Gen Con is one of the major places where I learned to set my shoulders while walking through crowds. I won't be the one on the floor if you try to slam past me for your Funko Pop.

Posted by ryric brotherbock
#13

brotherbock wrote:
rayken wrote:
brotherbock wrote:
ematuskey wrote:
No, the big crowd is inside, filling the halls outside the exhibition doors--patient, hungry, ready to obliterate anything that gets between them and the exclusives.  If you don't need any of the limited edition stuff--or just want to live another day--you wait until 10 minutes after the doors have opened so you can stroll right in.

True story.I have witnessed grown men come to blows over Netrunner, and thousands of people pulling that 'this is important' face while fast-walking towards a booth of plastic toys. Just nuts. If you can buy your games later, buy them later. They won't be on sale, might even be higher priced, and you'll have a more enjoyable time.

When people have a mission they don't care

Word. Whether it's a new game or a line for a taco truck. Gen Con is one of the major places where I learned to set my shoulders while walking through crowds. I won't be the one on the floor if you try to slam past me for your Funko Pop.
There are valid reasons for wanting to get new items immediately - sometimes people sign up to play a new game and they need the books or cards to do so. I have also seen items at Gen Con that never appeared outside the Con. But I agree that the vast majority of the big crowd simply wants the new hotness first. Still no good reason to run or shove.

Posted by brotherbock ryric
#14

ryric wrote:There are valid reasons for wanting to get new items immediately - sometimes people sign up to play a new game and they need the books or cards to do so. I have also seen items at Gen Con that never appeared outside the Con. But I agree that the vast majority of the big crowd simply wants the new hotness first. Still no good reason to run or shove.

I'm skeptical that anyone in the big rushes on Thursday for the new releases are there because they have a game coming up. It's the 'new release' phenomenon--people just have to be the first, particularly in the social media era where you not only have to be the first to get it, but have to be the first to post pics online or else being the first to have it doesn't actually count. Con exclusives are a thing, definitely. But I still personally go by the metric of "would I think I looked like an ass doing this if I saw a video of me doing it?" when deciding whether or not to sprint across the exhibit hall with a steely look of determination on my face. It's like the Daddy Dashes at Disney World--grown men sprinting through an amusement park with angry looks on their faces to get in line so their kid can talk to a 20 year old college student roasting in a princess costume. Not for me.

Posted by ryric brotherbock
#15

brotherbock wrote:
ryric wrote:There are valid reasons for wanting to get new items immediately - sometimes people sign up to play a new game and they need the books or cards to do so. I have also seen items at Gen Con that never appeared outside the Con. But I agree that the vast majority of the big crowd simply wants the new hotness first. Still no good reason to run or shove.

I'm skeptical that anyone in the big rushes on Thursday for the new releases are there because they have a game coming up. It's the 'new release' phenomenon--people just have to be the first, particularly in the social media era where you not only have to be the first to get it, but have to be the first to post pics online or else being the first to have it doesn't actually count. Con exclusives are a thing, definitely. But I still personally go by the metric of "would I think I looked like an ass doing this if I saw a video of me doing it?" when deciding whether or not to sprint across the exhibit hall with a steely look of determination on my face. It's like the Daddy Dashes at Disney World--grown men sprinting through an amusement park with angry looks on their faces to get in line so their kid can talk to a 20 year old college student roasting in a princess costume. Not for me.
I've known people that scheduled a noon Thursday Paizo session for games that released at the con, so they had to get the book and somehow generate a character between 10 am and noon. 

There are strategies to getting new "hot" stuff, and they don't require making an idiot of yourself or breaking any rules. They do require some planning, getting to the crowd outside the exhibit hall quite early, and being able to manage a brisk "fire drill" speed walk. 

Posted by brotherbock ryric
#16

ryric wrote:
brotherbock wrote:
ryric wrote:There are valid reasons for wanting to get new items immediately - sometimes people sign up to play a new game and they need the books or cards to do so. I have also seen items at Gen Con that never appeared outside the Con. But I agree that the vast majority of the big crowd simply wants the new hotness first. Still no good reason to run or shove.

I'm skeptical that anyone in the big rushes on Thursday for the new releases are there because they have a game coming up. It's the 'new release' phenomenon--people just have to be the first, particularly in the social media era where you not only have to be the first to get it, but have to be the first to post pics online or else being the first to have it doesn't actually count. Con exclusives are a thing, definitely. But I still personally go by the metric of "would I think I looked like an ass doing this if I saw a video of me doing it?" when deciding whether or not to sprint across the exhibit hall with a steely look of determination on my face. It's like the Daddy Dashes at Disney World--grown men sprinting through an amusement park with angry looks on their faces to get in line so their kid can talk to a 20 year old college student roasting in a princess costume. Not for me.
I've known people that scheduled a noon Thursday Paizo session for games that released at the con, so they had to get the book and somehow generate a character between 10 am and noon. There are strategies to getting new "hot" stuff, and they don't require making an idiot of yourself or breaking any rules. They do require some planning, getting to the crowd outside the exhibit hall quite early, and being able to manage a brisk "fire drill" speed walk. 

Fair enough on the first part, something I haven't experienced but fair enough :)

And I agree, there are ways to get the hot stuff without being an ass. Most people use those ways, it's the few who don't that get everyone upset.

Posted by wewantthefunk
#17

The running of the nerds. I love to watch from the upper deck, if I'm not in a game.

This topic is locked. New posts cannot be added.