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Sadly, I won't be going this year. Good luck to those of you who are!

I concur with Cassandra that if you intend to go, you really need to be online when housing registration begins if you want a good chance at securing a place to stay. The rates are generally about half what you would pay if you don't go through the convention, so it's definitely worth it.

If you plan on attending alone, it's still a good idea to go for a double-bedded room, if you can, and then see about hooking up with a roommate on these boards to split the cost. I've done that every time I've gone to GenCon, and I think it's a worthwhile thing to do--not only do you reduce costs, but you have someone to hang out with at the convention.

If you're on a really tight budget, you can try for two or three roommates, but in this case you'll either be sharing beds or someone will be on the floor. That said, there's usually people who are willing to crash on the floor for the duration of the convention for, say, $100.

I personally recommend going through these boards to look for roommates first, if you aren't going with friends. The people here are all cool.

BTW it could be that rooms open up at some hotels on an ongoing basis during the first day. I got my hotel room reserved last year pretty much as soon as registration opened, and the place where Cassandra stayed (Omni Severin) was not available for me with a double bedded room. The fact that she got one several hours later suggests that they were not at first available. Still, it's not something I'd count on.

Generally, the closer the hotel to the convention center, the higher the cost. You can go to the GenCon site (or Google Indianapolis convention center information) to see which are closest. Traditionally, gaming events occur in many of the closest hotels, so you won't have far to go for gaming.

Last year there was construction going on in one of the hotels. Though this did not cause any real problems for gaming, if you want to be thorough you might contact prospective hotels and see what conditions will be like before registration opens.

If you are on a tight budget, you can try a cheap hotel or motel further from the convention center, where you can get bargain rates--but should expect a longer commute. I advise against getting anything near the airport, since you'll need to drive or take a taxi to get to the convention center, which would effectively negate any money you tried to save by going that far afield.

As for specific recommendations...the Omni Severin (where Cassandra was last year) is nice, though I thought the bathroom was a bit on the small side when I stayed there a few years back. They have good sheltered nooks in the lobby for pickup games. It's also very close to the convention center and to a number of restaurants, such as the Ram.

In 2007 I stayed at the Radisson, which was several blocks from the convention center. I remember that the lobby smelled a bit mildewy, and there was trouble with the key cards spontaneously deactivating, so it's not a place I'd recommend if you have an option (note that the rooms didn't smell that mildewy--just the lobby).

The Hyatt Regency, Westin, and Marriott are all very close to the convention center, generally just a skywalk away. They are all very nice places, but you can expect to pay higher prices due to this and the location. I'm not sure what availability of rooms is like here; I know that WOTC and other people working for the convention have their rooms in these buildings, so there may not be much availability. Of note, there were a lot of free tables for gaming last year in the Hyatt Regency. But there's no guarantee that will be the case this year.

As far as budgeting, here's what to expect:

1. Travel expenses. This obviously depends on where you live. For me, living all the way across the country, it is something like $400 round trip. I recommend buying plane tickets earlier rather than later, so there are more flight times available and prices are likely cheaper. If you have to transfer planes, be sure to leave a good time buffer in case your first flight is delayed (I recommend 2 or even 3 hours).

2. Hotel/accommodations. Depends on how close you want to be to the convention, and if you are willing to share accommodations. A double-bedded room at the Omni or other quasi-near hotel, Wednesday through Saturday night (4 nights) will be about $600 including tax, barring price hikes from 2007. Obviously, if you have a roommate you can cut these costs in half. As Cassandra said, you don't actually get charged until after your stay.

3. Food. Lots of gamers hang out at the Ram, and there's plenty of other restaurants to blow money at. Don't underestimate food costs; I'd budget maybe $40-50 per day for this to be safe. Avoid eating in the convention hall itself--the food is overpriced crap.

4. Purchases. Depends entirely on what your interests are, and how eagerly you wish to indulge them. I usually end up spending about $300 or so on gaming stuff; you'd have a better idea what this will run for you. Of course, there's very little you NEED buy...but you may be sorely tempted!

5. Badge and event costs. Preregistration for a four-day pass was $60 last year, and I expect it to be the same this year. Ticketed events are generally $3-10, depending on how long they are and what materials they may provide. If you are not interested in paying to game, there's generally plenty of game demos to try out in the Exhibit Hall, and it's easy to get into all sorts of pickup games, especially after hours.


So your overall expenses will probably be:

1. Travel costs (whatever they are for you) will be the first thing you pay if you fly and buy ahead.

2. $60 for the badge, probably in March/April, plus whatever events you sign up for (maybe $100 maximum).

3. Food and purchases at the convention itself in August.

4. Hotel accommodations charged to your credit card when you check out (probably $600 divided by # of roommates).

You don't really need to decide for sure if you're going until just before the opening of registration for hotel rooms. You need a badge to sign up for a room, but there's no need to buy one until that time, and you should still have plenty of options for flights.

If you are pretty sure you will go, go ahead and get a badge and sign up for a room. Even if you find you cannot go a couple months down the line, you should be able to cancel and possibly get a refund on the badge (I can't remember for sure); you might have to pay a small fee for the room, but certainly not the full cost unless you wait until the week or two before GenCon.

I STRONGLY encourage preregistration. It saves you money, and a LOT of grief for not having to stand in line at the convention. Convention lines Thursday morning are no joke. Further, you need the badge to sign up for ticketed events, which is ANOTHER line...and by the time the convention rolls around, many of the best events have been filled out long ago.

In fact, much like accommodations, if you plan on going and participating in ticketed events (such as the Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics tournament) you'll want to be on site as soon as event registration opens to make your selections. The GG tournament had filled within minutes of registration opening! I've also had trouble in the past getting into Call of Cthulhu games if you wait very much.


As far as how many ticketed events to sign up for...that's entirely up to you. I personally like to have a couple things planned per day, which leaves me time to socialize and browse through the Exhibit Hall, then play in some pickup games in the evenings. Other people just wander around and play free demos, or check out the huge variety of games being played, or go to the auction, or sign up for lectures and seminars...there is a ton of stuff to do.

If you do get tickets to a hotly contested event like the aforementioned Goodman Games tournament, though, then please show up for it! Especially in D&D style tournaments, your fellow players are relying on your presence to make it to later rounds. If you don't want that small responsibility, then stick with more casual gaming.