Gen Con Prep List

• Badge and Tickets
  This is only the case if you had them shipped to you. I generally do, though I’m debating about adding one as a will call, but we’ll see. I think I might want something to do Thursday morning is the big thing.
• Backpack
  People travel around Gen Con with a lot of different things. I suggest bringing a backpack versus say a cart that you pull around or a little dolly. Con goers tend to pay less attention to those and they can trail behind so people bump into them more and harder. And sometimes people have big things like that, which just blocks up an aisle because they aren’t paying attention. Be considerate, bring a backpack and not a huge one. If you buy a big game, take it back to your car or hotel.
• Small Games
  It might seem odd to pack in some small games, but these are your waiting games. Think something you can sit down with a play quickly. Roll and writes, or small card games work well. You buy more at the con, but it’s not a bad plan to have something for just hanging out and chatting.
• Snacks
  Also important are snacks. I tend to make my snacks hearty enough that I don’t need to buy a lunch, so trail mix, jerky, dried fruit, and more. I can make a lunch out of that, I probably will even run out and get some apples one of these evenings. The idea is save yourself some money, but also, don’t let yourself get hangry and run down.
• Water
  Another obvious one, but bring a bottle for water. Or buy a water bottle and fill it up with water at least once per day if not twice. Stay hydrated.
• Masks
  Hopefully this will be the last year we need to do this, unless you want to, but bring masks. I am saying plural, again this is about staying healthy. My plan is one mask each day just to reduce touching and breathing on the same mask.
• Hand Sanitizer
  Even pre-COVID, I’d recommend this. Keep your hands clean, this is again is to fight off con crud. It’s easy to get run down because it is a busy event and there are a lot of chances to play games later into the night or early into the morning. Plus, probably eating worse than normal and sleeping in a new bed or location.
• Comfortable Shoes
  I know, I said I wasn’t going to say things that you would normally pack, but really, pack comfortable shoes. I think in the four days in 2019, I averaged 7 miles of walking per day. That is a ton of walking, so good socks and shoes.
• Notebook and Pencil/Pen
  I will bring this so I can take notes on what I play for this website. You don’t need it for that, but it handy to take notes on what you’ve demoed. If there is something you are interested in or not. It’ll help you remember everything that you played. And what you might want to buy later.
• A budget
  Yes, you can physically bring a budget. It is simple, you get cash, when the cash is gone, you buy no more games, swag, artwork, anything. Now, you don’t need to bring cash, and there are some downsides to bringing cash and risks with it, if you lose it is it lost. But set a budget, very important.

What Not To Bring

• Big Containers
  This goes back to the backpack. Carry something small with you. If you buy a big game, walk it to your car or hotel and then come back. Don’t plan and carrying around 30 lbs of stuff all day and bumping it into people. Don’t take a cart with you everywhere blocking up the aisles.
• Strong Smelling Cologne or Perfume
  Firstly, it won’t mask the fact that you didn’t shower. So shower. But also, especially right now, no one wants people sneezing around them. People have allergies, it is unrelated to being sick, but everyone is going to freak out. So leave your strong smelling perfumes and colognes at home, in general, but for sure this year.

Final Thoughts

Pack smart, some of these things might not make sense for you. Maybe you have enough disposable income you can buy what you want, so skip the budget. Or you will each somewhere for lunch every day so you need fewer snacks. But be smart about what you do and what you bring.

I recommend making a checklist, I did that. The point of this is to call out some things you might not think about. Basics are important but remember the other things as well that you might need. I hope I brought up some less obvious ones for you. And it’s not really something to pack, but remember to shoot for a 5-3-1 – five hours of sleep, three meals, and one shower, every day. It’ll make your con going experience better and everyone who is around you will enjoy theirs more too.

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We’ve talked a little bit about it already when we went through packing, but let’s quickly hit those points again.

GenCon is a HUGE con. That means that a lot of areas are going to be packed and it’s probably going to be tough to move around. Be considerate with what bag you bring. The board game bag that you brought might be cool looking and work well for taking games to play with your friends, but it’s probably too bulky for something like GenCon. Keep it simple with a backpack or something else small that isn’t going to be swinging and hitting other people. Even though it might be obvious you’re wearing something large, it is still your responsibility to make sure you don’t hit someone, not theirs to give you a large birth to avoid being hit.

The other thing that I mentioned before is that you should please follow a 1/2/6 rule. That’s one shower per day. Two meals per day minimum. And six hours of sleep, which is actually the trickiest or should be. But when you eat and sleep you are going to be in a better mood and better to be around at the con. And the shower is really important for everyone else to be in a better mood to be around you. So please, do these things all days at GenCon or whatever Con you are going to be going to.

There are a few other things you can think about as well.

One of them will be in a con as huge as GenCon, don’t spend a ton of time on your phone in the bahtroom. If you need to get away from people for a little bit, GenCon has a quiet room or get out of the convention center for a little bit, you can probably go not too far and be out of the throngs of people. Clearly, something like GenCon is going to know their bathroom needs, but I’m sure once in a while a random bathroom will have a line at it, so don’t spend extra time.

When on the dealer floor and getting ready to make a purchse, if you know your cash or credit card is at the bottom of your bag, work on getting to that prior to being at the front of the line. This is especially important for hot games because there’s probably going to be a line, so don’t be the person holding up the line. You also never know when you’ll be the person in line buying that set of dice you forgot or decided you needed for a game that starts in five minutes and someone is taking a while. So be responsible yourself when you are in line. And if there’s no line, that’s fine to take your time, but if people are starting to queue, be courteous.

And this last one is going to seem pretty general. But pay attention to your surroundings. I know it might seem super obvious, but there are a lot of things to look at, and you might not notice everything and everyone around you. I’m 6’4″ so this is something that I have to pay attention to, and I always have to pay attention to, so I doubly do so at Cons. But when you’re always on the lookout for people shorter than you whom might not be in your eye-line, it helps. But there will be kids there, there will be people with accessibility needs who might not be in your eye-line, keep an eye out for them and be courteous about it.

Finally, I just want to say, all of these “rules” seem like they might be a lot of work. And sometimes these rules are going to be broken by me and by you and that’s fine. The simple rule you should ask yourself is if you’re stepping on someone else’s fun. The goal of a con is for everyone to have fun, so make sure that you are having fun, and that those around you are having fun. I think with that simple mindset, you’re going to have a good time and be courteous to those around you.

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