Our Newbie Experience with Gen Con

I’d heard people call Gen Con “The Best Four Days in Gaming,” but as a first-timer, I wasn’t quite ready for just how much there is to see and do.

One thing I got right: we had our tickets delivered instead of going to Will Call, and I was glad we did. We strolled straight in while watching the Will Call line snake around the block like some epic dungeon queue in an MMO. The poor adventurers in that queue probably missed their morning events or wasted part of their con time standing around. They even had employees directing people like traffic cops. We did have to pick up one paper ticket for a late-added event, but doing so on Thursday evening meant virtually no line. If you have the choice, Get those tickets shipped!

Once through the doors, we made a beeline for the vendor portion of the Exhibit Hall. It was thrilling but packed, so we quickly turned around and explored the demo/game portion instead, returning to the vendor side around 2 p.m. after our scheduled event. We quickly learned to avoid the vendor section between opening and noon or 1 p.m. each day.

By Saturday, the crowd in the ICC had reached “max-level swarm,” the noise was like a constant dice avalanche, and the aisles were nearly impassable. We learned to avoid both portions of the Exhibit Hall on Saturday unless you thrive on human Tetris. Explore it Thursday or Friday instead, when you can actually breathe and hear the game demos. Unfortunately, we had several events in the demo/game portion on Saturday, but luckily they were off to the sides of the hall.

The Cosplay Parade was interesting to see—but it was a logistical nightmare. We couldn’t get close to it, and it cut the ICC in half, making it nearly impossible to reach our next event. We had to backtrack and detour significantly to avoid missing it. Our main takeaway from Saturday: avoid the main areas completely. The con should consider reserving a separate hall space for this and holding it elsewhere, rather than blocking main traffic areas.

I’m a veteran of smaller cons, so I knew what to expect regarding food options: food logistics matter. The Gen Con Block Party is fun, with plenty of food trucks and a festival vibe, but at peak lunch or dinner times, you’ll spend more time in line than eating. There was almost nowhere to sit, and we were perplexed by the lack of tables in the area, especially given the open space available. Food prices were, of course, outrageous, but anyone who goes to cons knows to expect that. Go early, go late, or walk a couple of blocks away to quieter restaurants—Indianapolis has plenty. Luckily, as a veteran of cons and traveling in general, I knew to bring plenty of snacks.

Traveling with the whole family meant finding events for all of us, and since my wife and kids can’t stay up late, everything needed to be before 7 p.m. We found a good mix—events for the kids (two teenage boys), events for me, events for my wife, and plenty to enjoy together. The only downside: two events my wife signed up for were changed from novice to expert without notice, causing problems for her and others at the JW Marriott. At first, we thought we’d misread the listings, but everyone else had the same issue at those events—it was an organizer problem. The events had a minor $2 cost, so it wasn’t a huge loss, but it tarnished the experience. As my wife said, “If they had let us know ahead of time, we would have dropped the event and done something else.”

Shopping deserves its own mention. I don’t go to a con expecting to pay MSRP for games plus a 7% sales tax, especially when buying direct. That’s ridiculous pricing when I can get the same game cheaper at the local game store. While we did buy a bunch of games, it was only after checking online to make sure prices were fair or when purchasing from smaller independent companies/designers not found in stores. We were also hunting for unique Christmas presents but quickly realized some booths (especially dice sellers) carried identical items to those on Temu/AliExpress. Needless to say, we avoided those merchants. I was especially disappointed walking into the Paizo booth to see MSRP-priced books (that had recently increased) for the new Starfinder 2e. I decided to wait, as our current campaign likely has a year left. The same thing happened at the Catalyst booth and others. If you’re shopping at Gen Con, focus on small independent vendors and skip the big companies; save your money and buy from your FLGS.

Vendor presence was also lacking. We demoed several games, including one we really liked, only to find there was nowhere to buy it. I’m not sure why the company paid for demo space (it was their name on the tables) in the Exhibit Hall if they weren’t selling there. Another vendor had a booth but only stocked two entirely different games, and no one there knew anything beyond those. That’s just bad business.

Despite a few rookie missteps, the weekend was unforgettable. We demoed new board games, stumbled into game sessions with total strangers, and found ourselves swept up in the sheer joy of a crowd that loves the same quirky things we do. My biggest takeaway? Plan ahead just enough to dodge the headaches, but leave room for spontaneous fun; because at Gen Con, the unexpected is usually the best part.

Now, the important part: would we go again? The answer from all of us was yes, but with a few minor adjustments (mostly involving Saturday and where we stay). Would we go every year? No. It’s very expensive for four days when traveling from out of town, and the crowds (especially on Saturday) are intense.