This year I am hosting some games at two conventions, Origins Game Fair and Gen Con. One takes place out of state. The other is a 45-minute drive from home. In both cases I need to pack everything I need. But I must pack light, because I have to carry the game materials a fair distance through the convention to get to my game table. So today, let’s talk about organizing for conventions.
Michelle wrote about her experiences packing for a game in an earlier article. What she has to say pretty much applies to conventions, but conventions add a couple extra twists.
Keeping On Time
Unlike home games, there’s an absolute deadline on when your game ends. Some other game needs to use your table right after your game ends. So you must be able to set up and take the game down quickly.
You also need to keep the game moving smoothly in play. There’s no time to waste creating characters or drawing maps during a convention. With this in mind, I use pre-made characters and pre-drawn maps.
I could say a lot more about editing adventures to keep the party focused, and keeping track of time during the game, but I’m going to save that for a later post. Today is just about organizing for conventions.
Keeping it Light
At a convention, you walk a lot. So weight and bulk matter a lot. I pare down the load quite a bit, as you can see:
Starting at the top left corner going clockwise, we have:
- Rulebook
- Stacked on top of the book is a small legal pad and a pad of post-it notes
- Pencil case (see below)
- A folding battle mat. On top of the folding mat are:
- Bag of dice
- bases for cardboard minis
- bag of plastic coins to use as markers in the game
- A dice rolling tray that folds flat for transport. On top of it are:
- Box of loaner dice in case someone doesn’t have dice
- Box of loaner pencils, also for the unprepared
- A GM Screen
- A packet for each game I am running
From top to bottom, we have:
- Mechanical pencils
- a highlighter
- another mechanical pencil. I reloaded lead and refreshed erasers before the convention.
- Wet-erase markers
- Dry-erase markers
- A piece of fabric for erasing the markers
I carry both types of marker because some mats require one or the other. My folding mat actually works with either one. But mostly I draw maps beforehand. I use the folding mat to claim the space in the middle of the table so I have a place to put the pre-drawn map later.
The Adventure Packet
Starting at the upper left, and going clockwise, the packet contains:
- A stack of pregenerated characters, along with a table tent for each
- The adventure notes for the game master.
- Area maps and briefing notes for the players
- Three envelopes of paper miniatures
- The envelope that carries it all
- Underneath all of it is a larger map, already drawn
I do carry pre-drawn battle maps. But commercial map tubes are heavy, so I made my own. I used a florescent light bulb protector tube, and some ends I created with my 3D printer. It protects the maps from creases and moisture, but weighs very little.
All in all, I really appreciate the lightweight setup. I have everything along that I need but it all fits into a small bag that’s easy to carry around, and easy to drop back off at the hotel room between games.
Sherrey
Well prepared!!