Every year there are things that come out at Gen Con and only Gen Con. Or they come out first at Gen Con weeks before they come out elsewhere. Let’s talk a bit about what you need to know about this year. And also, how to handle it, because I think that varies a lot. And after Lorcana last year, I think it’s worth talking about.

What’s A Gen Con Exclusive?

This would be changed from Gen Con to a Con exclusive as well. But for this article let’s talk about it like it is something that’s only available at Gen Con. But to expand upon that, let’s talk about it as something that is available to get at Gen Con first.

Lorcana is an example of this. You could buy Lorcana at Gen Con weeks before you were able to buy it in the real world. That’s going to be the case with one of the things that I’m talking about coming up here. But it happens not just with a TCG like Lorcana, but companies often fly in copies of games that are available there first. 25th Games is doing that with games from their “Import Collection” from crowdfunding, for example. Or Arcane Wonders did that with World Wonders last year.

What We Learned from Lorcana

There are two different ways people react to this though. And Lorcana is one way, and I’ll give World Wonders, Missing Expedition or even Pathfinder 2nd Edition as examples of people behaving better.

With Lorcana people queued up very early. However, they queued up in a long line with pinch points, blocking parts of the pathway and generally it was just a mess. The first day people queued up and then other people cut the line and created even a bigger mess for the people who then waited all day. So the next day, and really I should say night, there became a permanent Lorcana queue that you could wait in, starting at basically hall closing the night before. It was a mess.

So what did we learn or more so what did Gen Con learn? Firstly, the queue system needs a specific queue for it to work. Next, people who go for TCG’s are there for that and the collectability so the frustration level is higher. So while the queue did help, it was a mess.

How It Normally Works

So let’s talk now about those other cases. When you get a game like World Wonders or Missing Expedition or even Pathfinder 2nd edition. Generally, for those people queue up at the booth. But they are smaller in terms of how many people do that. This comes down to collectability.

That said, if a game becomes popular during the con or it is not uncommon, again if the company is dropping copies daily, that people will start to rush. But it is generally limited at the start of a day or at a specific time. This does create excitement but often times still creates a mess as people queue up at those specific times.

Queue Etiquette at Gen Con

So how do you want to queue up? I think this is true for any major event. Firstly, queue up for yourself and yourself alone. Maybe one other person can join you especially if they aren’t buying it. But if you send one person there on time and then five other people join to buy later, that is exceedingly rude. And I hope that people in the queue call it out and they need to move to the end.

Next, keep the queue tidy. By that I mean, don’t bunch up. It’s a line not a cluster to get what you want. If you are asked to line-up, especially in the dealer hall, don’t go two or three wide. The paths around there are narrow already. If you go into a cluster instead of a line you’ll block off pathways through and cut off other booths and you’ll have a lot of people not liking you.

Finally, keep the queue tight to the booth or where directed. This is much like keeping it tidy. But even if there isn’t instructions as to how to do it, try and keep the line tight to the booth or booths. And try not to run it across pathways. If you do, try and create gaps and let people and traffic flow through.

What to Expect in Gen Con 2024

I need to and will go through the games for sale coming up here. That’s part of my plan for my next two streams. That is going to determine some of the games that people will go for. I think that a lot of people already have an idea. But I know one of the big things. But to get it at Gen Con, Wizards of the Coast and Gen Con are doing it right.

Wizards of the Coast and Dungeons and Dragons are doing it right. The new Players Handbook comes out in about 7 weeks from now, just over. But there are going to be early copies available at Gen Con. This makes sense, it’s 50 years of Dungeons and Dragons. And it isn’t a new edition, but a new version of D&D is coming out. You can read more about that here.

This could have been madness. Dungeons and Dragons is popular. But, like I said, they are doing it right. daily they are creating a ticketed event with free tickets. If you get a ticket, you then can go to that event and pick up your copy. There is going to be no queuing on the floor of the dealer hall. They know they have a limited amount. And they know that they’ll have a massive line of people, so my guess is because of Lorcana, they’ve come up with a better way to do it.

Beyond that, I hope nothing is going to be too crazy this year.

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