I look forward to seeing all of you this year!

I'll be the one in the mask on the left.

I'll be there! Hoping the Battletech Pods will be as well, but if not I'll just make the Battletech Grinder my time-killer event for the second year in a row.

Greetings from across the Atlantic! Here's hoping to being able to make to to Indy this year...

Shiny.  The 2022 forums still make that new car smell every time somebody posts lol

Thanks Derek!

This will be my first time going to Gen Con, looking forward to it.

I'm planning on being there (for the first time since 2015); I even have my backup hotel reservation, in case I lose the housing lottery.
Hopefully, United will still have its nonstop from San Francisco that leaves at 11:30 AM.

My number one piece of advice for newcomers: leave some free time to just shop and/or look around. It's a big convention.

I've attended every GenCon held over the past 12 years. After being FORCED to attend GenCon last year - yes forced since they decided to switch their masking policy after their self-imposed cutoff date for refunds - I, and my group, will not be attending this year based on GenCon's continuing to impose ridiculous policy decisions.  I have no issue showing that I'm fully vaccinated (whatever that definition is) but there is no way I'm wearing the mask again. 

Also, nice move last year with attendance being down about 50%, the convention hall being closed at night, the hotels not even cleaning the rooms daily - yet charging full rates for everything.  NOT COOL - whatever happened to the law of supply and demand?

Good luck surviving GenCon, it was your choice.

ICC closed at night for cleaning, out of GC control.  

Hotels not cleaning rooms every night, still not a GC issue.  

Everywhere indoors I go I have to wear a mask.  Local bars/nightclubs have been requiring proof of vaccination and masks for a few months (without a government requirement).  FLGS has been mask requirement since the start of the pandemic, has nightly in-person events and is restarting D&D (the last in-person event).  

I wear a mask, I consider it to be a minor inconvenience like seatbelts, speed limits and not drinking and driving.  Maybe its just me, trying to be considerate to other people by trying not to get them killed.

I’ve seen the anecdotal reports that 90%+ of attendees were vaccinated last year but - even assuming that gamers trend towards science or towards progressive, community-oriented ideals - I don’t believe it.  Respondents were incentivized to misrepresent their vaccination status if they believed for a moment that policy was going to be impacted by the results of those surveys (either because they believed the con would be cancelled or they believed masks would be mandated).  It doesn’t mean it happened - but it does mean it was a possibility and that the data, which relied upon self-reporting, was not the cleanest, most trustworthy it could have been.  And while I’m glad that no outbreaks have been associated with Gen Con 2021, its hard to say whether that is because there were none or because tracing was off.  /shrug.

I’m glad that Gen Con 2021 happened, I’m glad that people kept their masks up (from everything I’ve heard) but showing proof of vaccination to attend a 100% voluntary activity where you sit face-to-face or in close proximity with 4-6+ other strangers around a table and, in some cases, manipulate the same objects for 4-6 hours, seems like a very reasonable ask considering we already ask (at least in the US) to see proof of vaccination for kids entering both the primary and secondary school systems…and people throw an absolute FIT when someone doesn’t want to show proof for that.

Other large cons have figured it out.

It’s not that big a deal.  It’s not a huge infringement on “muh freedom”; you can always choose - as you are this year and as I did last year - not to attend.  For every person who doesn’t like the policy this year, I’m fairly confident there will be 1-2 people who did not feel the policy went far enough LAST year and are happy to attend THIS year.  

I’ve got at least 2 in my own house. :)

As an international visitor I have to get proof of vaccination to enter the US anyway so no skin of my nose.

Masks aren't great to wear for long periods, but if it means a safe convention again I'm willing to put up with them.

Hopefully my home country won't close borders again this year, and if I can fly via Charlotte rather than Miami that would be even better!

Finger crossed I can find the time and money to go this year!

 We were going to skip last year, but I walked over to ICC on my lunch hour the day before GenCon and that plan went out the window.  I had the best time and did more gaming and demos than any other year.  I missed a few vendors, but it was great not having a panic attack from the crowd and my legs being so sore at the end of the day from walking back and forth to Lucas.

Yeah it was amazing how like "back to basics" last year felt for me (and the people I went with too).  Played, well, infinitely more games than usual since my usual is zero due to not wanting to miss any good stuff at the Auction, had an absolute blast at the catacombs D&D session, was thrilled just to actually be doing something in public again overall.

For me, 2021 was a year of expanding my horizons. With most of the big names not in physical attendance, I had to browse the entire Exhibit Hall (admittedly an easier task that year) and look for random stuff that caught my eye.

Hey all! Yeah, not counting virtual 2020, 2021 was the first year in 37 
consecutive I flew solo. It was weird with the reduced crowd and 
exhibitor presence, but I had a blast! Did some things that ordinarily I would not
do with my group there. Took my time taking it all in more too.

Anyway, it's good to hear of somebody that enjoyed the little vendors, too!

I think there were actually more dice vendors in 2019, but I imagine per capita there were definitely more in 2021, so I know what you are saying.

I will never forget the sensation of my first time walking into the Exhibit Hall my first year attending (1997).  I had absolutely never seen anything like it.  I basically did not even know there were that many companies involved in tabletop gaming; I may have been an early Internet adopter, but e-commerce was like 1/100,000,000th then what it is now; I had never bought anything but a few CDs online, so even the Internet had not clued me in to just how big our hobby was (and of course it is way bigger now).  Yeah, I was basically hooked the moment I noticed there were, like, what, 20 aisles?

Wow, I just checked my copy of the 1997 Program Guide and there were exactly 20 aisles so now I have to wonder if that number was burned into my brain or if I just got really lucky, haha

Anyway, GEN-CON WOOOO