I've been gaming for 40 years - the GM 75% of the time.  Finally going to my first con.  I want to play test my rules lightish fantasy game and an adventure that I wrote.  Been play testing my game with different friend groups for 6 months.  My buddies have run it too.

I plan to bring premade characters, cheat sheets for the rules, a stand up sign so players can find my table easily, and an open mind.

Group will limited to 5 players and I plan to advertise for adults (not mature-themed, though).  My rules are easy to pick up if you know any version of D&D.  I'll run one or two sessions, and hopefully be able to play in someone else's game.

What advice can you give me? - especially if you have run games at cons before.

Thanks.

The is nothing I can say on the subject that has not been better said at https://theangrygm.com/gaming-on-the-clock/

Honestly? I'd rather not run Con Games because of the current atmosphere of players. I've run many many games at Conventions (Los Angeles late-80's and 90's) and it's a different world now.

That advice in the link is good. Do that.

But frankly, I'd rather not tip-toe around the insanity and potential issues required for me to dumb down my games for the chromatic-haired crowed. I can only imagine what the staff are like at the big Cons these days. Sweet jesus... I'd rather just go get drunk at the bar and/or run games in the free-gaming area.

Last con game I ran was Mutant Crawl Classics at Garycon a few years back. Thankfully it went pretty well and none of the players were dumbass woke idiots, but I don't think what I did then would even fly now, even though it was totally within the genre.

How big is the con if I can ask? You can advertise "for adults" all you want, but I've seen it countless times: "ADULTS-ONLY MATURE THEMES!" and some jackass brings their 12 year old daughter which fucks up the vibe completely. I like the fact your kid is interested in gaming, but now I can't really enjoy the adult game because I gotta be worried about cussing and drinking or whatever. So just be careful there...

I have some advice I wrote a while ...woah way back in 2013 here: https://composedreamgames.com/forum/discussion/31/running-a-con

I'll add, if it's a new system to you let people know. Communicate that you spent time learning it but there will be some errors.

Try to have a sentence or two about the experience you are aiming for in the session to set the tone for everyone near the beginning.

Make sure you have some water/pop/whatever drink you need to keep you hydrated and able to talk. If you have access to a bar no problem, but sometimes you won't.

Bring extra sets of everything you need. Some will go missing or you might need to run an extra slot.

Don't let the game stall, but let people role-play if that's their bag.

Make sure everyone gets a chance at the limelight, but don't force them to use it, or let them hog it.

Have fun.

If you have to put restrictions/requirements on who can play (e.g. age) make sure you stick to them. If anyone crosses it, go back to the organisers and get them to explain why someone can't play. Hopefully they'll have a replacement for anyone who can't play. It's not your job to police the players, or change your game because someone is being an arse.

Quote from: Wisithir on December 03, 2022, 09:27:45 PM
The is nothing I can say on the subject that has not been better said at https://theangrygm.com/gaming-on-the-clock/

The advice about handing out pregens made me laugh.  It's spot on, but funny nonetheless.  The closest I've ever come to running a con game is running for 20 never-played-before 12 year olds at my son's birthday party, but it all sounded spot on.

Ask the con organizers if they compensate you for running games. I've found that this usually equates to a free con pass if you run four or more 4 hour games.

Make sure what you want to run can fit into a four hour time slot. I know that is short, but it is what cons are used to for TTRPGs and tends to be the standard from what I have seen.

If you have an assigned table, keep an eye on it when you don't have a game. One of my most irritating experiences was having a four hour break between games, going to get lunch, and coming back to find that my assigned game table had been taken over by a boardgame group who had told any players who had signed up for my game that I had left for the day. Con staff didn't do anything because there were more there for the boardgame than had signed up for my d6 Star Wars game.

Lesson from the above - you will have to deal with assholes at the con. Be prepared for it.

Quote from: tenbones on December 04, 2022, 06:01:44 PM
Honestly? I'd rather not run Con Games because of the current atmosphere of players. I've run many many games at Conventions (Los Angeles late-80's and 90's) and it's a different world now.

That advice in the link is good. Do that.

But frankly, I'd rather not tip-toe around the insanity and potential issues required for me to dumb down my games for the chromatic-haired crowed. I can only imagine what the staff are like at the big Cons these days. Sweet jesus... I'd rather just go get drunk at the bar and/or run games in the free-gaming area.

Sadly, I have to agree.

Even 10 years ago I loved running Tunnels & Trolls at Cons. I think it is one of the perfect games for that.

But now, I might play where I can get up and leave if it's an annoying group, but not sure I'd run.  It's just got a horrific estimated value because the huge cost of getting one (or more) of that specific kind of modern players overwhelms the (theoretically) low odds of getting run when estimating the outcome.