Ok after reading all this gen con seems like a pain in the butt, and not much fun. So what is the draw?. X-wing bragging rights and 15 bucks worth of swag?? Lol..being partly sarcastic. .also I could see the draw if it was in a place like Orlando..

The only pain in the butt is going through the Will Call line. You can entirely avoid that pain and just have your stuff mailed to you. Then all you have to do is show up and play X-Wing all day, and if that doesn't sound fun, I think you are in the wrong forum

FFG just stated that they are opening up automatic entry to Worlds to Regionals winners, so there's that.

Do they play the whole way through or is there a lunch break?

Do they play the whole way through or is there a lunch break?

There was a 45 minute "lunch" break last year. It was more like a dinner break though, as it was at like 4. FYI, 45 minutes is really tight to get food anywhere close at GenCon.

Table space is expensive and FFG has other products they want to show off as well. I see the same from the tables we run. It's a balance to provide space for all games. Yes, the XWing players will want more but do you sacrifice Armada for it? How about their other titles? Do you spend hair raising amounts of money just for extra space?

If they can't afford table space to allow everyone a chance to participate in a "national event" not an event reserved for those who clicked on the buy online button the fastest. If they cant accommodate their customers for this event maybe they should just hold it some place else. Some place more central to the states. Maybe some place like team covenant. Their in OK and fairly central. Not sure if they have the space tho. Anyways my point is if they want to hold something that is National they should accommodate the US players. I doubt over in other countries they have such restrictions per population.

Ok after reading all this gen con seems like a pain in the butt, and not much fun. So what is the draw?. X-wing bragging rights and 15 bucks worth of swag?? Lol..being partly sarcastic. .also I could see the draw if it was in a place like Orlando..

I guess if the only reason you're going to GenCon is Nationals, then, sure. But I think that's on you, not the convention.

Table space is expensive and FFG has other products they want to show off as well. I see the same from the tables we run. It's a balance to provide space for all games. Yes, the XWing players will want more but do you sacrifice Armada for it? How about their other titles? Do you spend hair raising amounts of money just for extra space?

If they can't afford table space to allow everyone a chance to participate in a "national event" not an event reserved for those who clicked on the buy online button the fastest. If they cant accommodate their customers for this event maybe they should just hold it some place else. Some place more central to the states. Maybe some place like team covenant. Their in OK and fairly central. Not sure if they have the space tho. Anyways my point is if they want to hold something that is National they should accommodate the US players. I doubt over in other countries they have such restrictions per population.

I believe the UK Nationals sold out months and months ago. This was before most people knew they were available and there was a cap on players (though I don't know how much).

Growth is the game is becoming a problem and it seems that the Organised Play System is struggling a bit. They got Store Champs right this year (at least I think they did), and Regionals seems to be going well. Nationals and Worlds seem like they can't cope with demand though.

Table space is expensive and FFG has other products they want to show off as well. I see the same from the tables we run. It's a balance to provide space for all games. Yes, the XWing players will want more but do you sacrifice Armada for it? How about their other titles? Do you spend hair raising amounts of money just for extra space?

If they can't afford table space to allow everyone a chance to participate in a "national event" not an event reserved for those who clicked on the buy online button the fastest. If they cant accommodate their customers for this event maybe they should just hold it some place else. Some place more central to the states. Maybe some place like team covenant. Their in OK and fairly central. Not sure if they have the space tho. Anyways my point is if they want to hold something that is National they should accommodate the US players. I doubt over in other countries they have such restrictions per population.

And quite a few more people are willing to make the trip to Gencon than random city in the US. Since, there is a whole lot more stuff to do at Gencon than X-wing. If you are only going to Gencon for X-wing, you are doing it WRONG. And, while I'm sure Team Covenant can hold a fair number of people, Gencon has a TON of space. You just get the space you get, and can only use the space for what you are going to use the space fore.

Ok after reading all this gen con seems like a pain in the butt, and not much fun. So what is the draw?. X-wing bragging rights and 15 bucks worth of swag?

It's a time I get to see people I have met from around the Western World I never get to see except at Gencon. I buy old friends drinks and laugh at old jokes. Make new ones to add to the roster.

And there is this, for the Rebel Scum.

So if I bring my XW stuff to GenCon but don't sign up for a tournament, will there be people who I can play with just for fun?

So if I bring my XW stuff to GenCon but don't sign up for a tournament, will there be people who I can play with just for fun?

I only once saw anyone playing X-Wing outside of the tournament and dealer hall demos. So you probably aren't going to walk around and just stumble into a game. And people aren't exactly walking around wearing shirts that say "I play X-Wing, ask me for a game."

So...maybe? You might get lucky and run into someone playing and get a game, but there is certainly no specific area to go to. You could also try to arrange games in advance on here, though I didn't have anyone respond when I tried in another thread.

I'll throw it out here too - If anyone is interested in playing a pickup game at Gen Con, send me a PM and we'll find a time to play.

There is an open gaming area, with a game library. No gaurantee of finding anyone. Gencon is BIG.

To the folks that are "hoarding" tickets that believe they will get multiple promos, it doesn't work like that. A ticket gets you into the event, then during the event they hand out the promos. Last year Alex and Frank walked around during the first round giving everyone playing one promo, then if you stuck around to play through the last game, they did it again. So just because you turn in 2 or 3 tickets, doesn't mean your getting the additional promos...they'll just open up the seats to people paying with generics to fill the tournament and you can trade in your extra tickets later to the GenCon staff..

Sorry I missed the other thread- I'm up for casual games at GenCon.

We set up our own regional Battletech tournament last year in the open gaming space. It's not that hard to plan ahead and say 'meet me at Starbucks 7pm Friday'. That said, don't try to find me at that time and place... Don't know my schedule yet...

I'm certainly open to pick up games if I'm not supposed to be somewhere else.

Table space is expensive and FFG has other products they want to show off as well. I see the same from the tables we run. It's a balance to provide space for all games. Yes, the XWing players will want more but do you sacrifice Armada for it? How about their other titles? Do you spend hair raising amounts of money just for extra space?

If they can't afford table space to allow everyone a chance to participate in a "national event" not an event reserved for those who clicked on the buy online button the fastest. If they cant accommodate their customers for this event maybe they should just hold it some place else. Some place more central to the states. Maybe some place like team covenant. Their in OK and fairly central. Not sure if they have the space tho. Anyways my point is if they want to hold something that is National they should accommodate the US players. I doubt over in other countries they have such restrictions per population.

And quite a few more people are willing to make the trip to Gencon than random city in the US. Since, there is a whole lot more stuff to do at Gencon than X-wing. If you are only going to Gencon for X-wing, you are doing it WRONG. And, while I'm sure Team Covenant can hold a fair number of people, Gencon has a TON of space. You just get the space you get, and can only use the space for what you are going to use the space fore.

Its a notional event not a gen con event to get new players. Its for experienced players. If they want to hold a big xwing event great. But it shouldn't be the nationals if majority of the people cant attend. I would consider myself a fairly good player. How many top players cant meet this kind of odd schedule. Or couldn't get a ticket / hotel because of gen con itself. Some can but I'm sure there are more who can't. And when competition is reduce to those who can sit on their computer to smash the register button faster is lame when it comes to something like a national title.

And the same arguement applies to Worlds.

If Gencon isn't central enough, or a good enough time, then nothing is good enough. Having gone to Gencon a few times, I know the value of getting in Wednesday night. I understand the issues, but I think more are able to justify the expense of Gencon, because it is 4 days of gaming. Yes, it will be difficult for some. But no matter where or when, it will be inconvenient to someone.

Table space is expensive and FFG has other products they want to show off as well. I see the same from the tables we run. It's a balance to provide space for all games. Yes, the XWing players will want more but do you sacrifice Armada for it? How about their other titles? Do you spend hair raising amounts of money just for extra space?

If they can't afford table space to allow everyone a chance to participate in a "national event" not an event reserved for those who clicked on the buy online button the fastest. If they cant accommodate their customers for this event maybe they should just hold it some place else. Some place more central to the states. Maybe some place like team covenant. Their in OK and fairly central. Not sure if they have the space tho. Anyways my point is if they want to hold something that is National they should accommodate the US players. I doubt over in other countries they have such restrictions per population.

And quite a few more people are willing to make the trip to Gencon than random city in the US. Since, there is a whole lot more stuff to do at Gencon than X-wing. If you are only going to Gencon for X-wing, you are doing it WRONG. And, while I'm sure Team Covenant can hold a fair number of people, Gencon has a TON of space. You just get the space you get, and can only use the space for what you are going to use the space fore.

Its a notional event not a gen con event to get new players. Its for experienced players. If they want to hold a big xwing event great. But it shouldn't be the nationals if majority of the people cant attend. I would consider myself a fairly good player. How many top players cant meet this kind of odd schedule. Or couldn't get a ticket / hotel because of gen con itself. Some can but I'm sure there are more who can't. And when competition is reduce to those who can sit on their computer to smash the register button faster is lame when it comes to something like a national title.

Conversely, how many people are willing and able to travel cross-country to a big convention like GenCon, for whom X-Wing might be part of the draw, but for whom X-wing alone wouldn't be enough of a reason to take such a trip?