Hi there,

First things first - GenCon's dates are a little different this year, August 10-13. So everyone who was thinking, hmm, sometime around August 20, revise your year. I had to do this, so this is a public service announcement for those like me.

All right, so we have the booth all reserved and all the basic sponsorship is all taken care of. That is, the people who pay for it up-front. The space is a little different this year.

It's a four-booth space, not an island unfortunately, but the middle and the end of a "peninsula" as they call them. The end part, taking up two booth-spaces, is the actual play space. This area is just like the last three years, except that it's only tables and chairs, absolutely no stock, no cash register, no shelves, nothing but tables and chairs.

The other two 10' by 10' spaces are back-to-back, separated by a full curtain. One of these is continuous with the play-space, and it'll have the cash register, shelves, stock, and very busy people under the thumb of Brennan Taylor, Indie Press Revolution. He'll handle all sales of games at the booth. So this is the "store" section.

Now, that last 10' by 10' is separated from the play-space by a waist-high partition, and actually, it's not "part" of the booth, or I guess it is, or not, depending on how anyone wants to interpret the finances or play semantics. This space has been reserved by another gaming company who will be our neighbors, friends, countrymen, and other such things. I'll inject a drumroll for the announcement of who this is.

As for the deal of buying into the booth, it's almost exactly like the last few years. You have to sign up during a specific period, which I think will probably be the entirety of May. First time buy-ins have a minimum $100 contribution to make, and anyone who's been there before has a minimum of $200, with a couple of exceptions based on complicated details. You'll also have to pay us for the badge, and I don't know the cost off the top of my head, so I'll look it up and post it later.

I know I'm probably missing something important to announce ... oh yes! This new contraption of a booth with multiple parts came about through discussions among me, Ralph, Luke, and Brennan, and I am no longer the point man. Hooray! Not again! No more! I pass the torch! ... to Luke, who is the person you'll be paying in May. He'll deal with all the badges and bureaucracy. However, I am still the official GenCon company of the booth, because Adept Press holds all the points (they're non-transferable) that get us the space we want.

We'll talk about goals and behavior and other plans for the booth this year later, mainly because I'm not in the mood for the usual bitch session today. Let's keep this thread for questions about the logistics, sign-ups, and general procedures of getting the companies signed up and paid for.

I'll bet I forgot about 100 other important things to say, or messed up at least one detail above. Luke! Help!

Best, Ron

Heya,

I won't be able to be up there in Indy on the 9th during the usual set-up time.  Will that be a problem?

Peace,

-Troy

Troy_Costisick wrote:
Heya,

I won't be able to be up there in Indy on the 9th during the usual set-up time.  Will that be a problem?

Peace,

-Troy

Hey Ron,

Damn, that's quite a scale-up.

One of these is continuous with the play-space, and it'll have the cash register, shelves, stock, and very busy people under the thumb of Brennan Taylor, Indie Press Revolution. He'll handle all sales of games at the booth. So this is the "store" section.

Credit card transactions? Daily cash-outs? No commission if the booth participant isn't an IPR client? Sounds perfect. (And I'll personally be glad at retiring my increasingly too small game shelf unit.)

Paul

Paul wrote:
Credit card transactions? Daily cash-outs? No commission if the booth participant isn't an IPR client? Sounds perfect.

Hey,

I'm happy to reveal the details. I will be gathering a 10% commission from all sales. IPR clients will be paying the same (not the higher convention rate, unless they have no representative at the booth). Since I have bought in at significantly more than the usual rate, this will help me cover expenses. We will process credit cards at the booth, and daily cash-outs will not include credit card sales since, obviously, I won't have the cash. There are also other fees for credit cards that will need to be factored in.

Here's what people need to know about buying into the booth, and especially about badges.

First point: don't register yourself with GenCon. One or two of you probably have, and now you're a minor problem. Everyone else, seize your typing hand's wrist with the other hand, and do not register with GenCon.

We'll open up the sign-in period from approximately May 1 to June 1; Luke will set the actual deadline, because you'll be contacting him. Not me - him. Signing up means paying either $160 ($100 buy-in for first-timers plus badge) or $260 ($200 buy-in plus badge). Just telling him "Hey! I want to get in!" doesn't reserve you a place and it's actually sort of a waste of time.

The money is totally non-refundable. If you can't make it, we keep it. If you think that's being a hard-ass, try eating a $600 buy-in some time, like I did in 2003.

The deadline for processing all your badges is June 23, and it takes a long time with many hassles. GenCon processes are not set up to handle the approach we take with this booth, so I have to follow a specific, personalized procedure with their representative. That's why the time between June 1 and June 23 needs to be there.

When you sign up, tell Luke your real name, your company name, the names of the games you'll have, and how much you want to sell each one for. This is a big deal because we need to program the cash register.

Your badge will be waiting for you at the exhibitor booth when you arrive. You can say "Adept Press" for the company name; don't say "Forge" or "Ron Edwards" because they do not understand such talk. However, your badge will have your company name on it. This process worked nigh-flawlessly last year, unlike previous years, so that's good news.

So that's the basic idea! Any questions about that part?

Best, Ron

Hey Brennan,

My wife Danielle has enjoyed working the cash register for the booth the past three years. And she's awesome at it, if I do say so myself. She smiles at the customer, makes eye contact, knows and has played the games so she can make small talk. People leave feeling good about their purchases. Will you be needing help running the cash register this year?

Thanks,

Paul

Paul wrote: My wife Danielle has enjoyed working the cash register for the booth the past three years. And she's awesome at it, if I do say so myself. She smiles at the customer, makes eye contact, knows and has played the games so she can make small talk. People leave feeling good about their purchases. Will you be needing help running the cash register this year?

Heya,

When you sign up, tell Luke your real name, your company name, the names of the games you'll have, and how much you want to sell each one for. This is a big deal because we need to program the cash register.

Troy,

Yes, we will have a display rack.

Troy_Costisick wrote:
-This gives me an idea.  Since we'll have the games and costs in a database, would it be possible to create a sort of "drink menu" type thing for all the different games that will be offered at the booth that we can show to people who come to the booth?  Something like the Product Page on IPR might be helpful and informative to people new to indie games.

Heh... Luke plays hardball.

Heya,

Now the way I see it, two things just happened in your post: You have either just volunteered to put together this year's "menu." After June 1st, you will contact each company directly and hassle them until they give you a blurb and a thumbnail about their games. You will then put blurbs, thumbnails and URLs on an 8.5x11 layout and send it to me for approval. Ok?

Close, Troy, but the information-chain doesn't start with Brennan. Luke and I will have the master list after June 1. You can get it from (for instance) me, and then get going on the handout material, blurbs & thumbnails.

However, although yes, starting here at the Forge is fine, you will swiftly discover that you'll have to go to email and follow up. One announcement just isn't going to elicit enough response to make the sheet worthwhile. It's never that easy.

Best, Ron

On a different note, as I look into travel arrangements ... What generally happens when on Wednesday?  I figure that nobody will be there first thing in the morning, and most people will be there by thursday, but somewhere between those two extremes is when enough people start showing up that the party really gets going.  I want to make sure to get in on the fun I missed last year, but I don't want to overshoot and spend hours wandering the empty halls, disconsolate and lonely.

Hello,

Meeting up on Wednesday and busting butt at the booth, all afternoon, is a big deal. It has to be set up completely before dinner on Wednesday. Typically I arrive in Indianapolis at noon or just after, check in, and go straight to the hall. Whoever's there, we all start setting up tables, putting up banners, working on everything, organizing stuff, and assigning lieutenancy to various functions. As people arrive with specific pieces of equipment, e.g. cash register, power source, they get set up then.

None of this can be left to Thursday morning. It's like setting up for a theater production; curtain-time is so far past the hump of major organizational effort that it's not worth mentioning. The only reason not to be there on Wednesday afternoon is some kind of real-world related constraint; otherwise, be there, because you're needed. It is not a coincidence that people arriving on Thursday, in the past, often have a hard time finding their feet at the booth (with a couple of exceptions); they aren't socially tuned into the work that it took to get it all rolling.

If you're first there, don't be disconsolate and lonely, get some work done. Set up tables, get rid of whatever packing-boxes debris are sure to have accidentally been strewn over our space from nearby booths, be useful. If you really don't want to be first and lonely, then coordinate with someone else about arrival, by email. There's plenty of time to do that. But don't plan to arrive later in order not to be first - work together with someone else in order to be first and not-lonely.

Best, Ron

Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will be there around or even before noon, available for whatever grunt work or logistics anyone wants to lay on me. Or to keep Tony company so he doesn't cry. =P

If the hotel room is open when I arrive I will move my stuff in when I arrive, if not it can just as easily stay in my car until that night. As I am probably rooming with Brennan at this point, I have offered to be his personal bitch, which may have been a mistake since that gleam in his eye made me very uncomfortable. But what's done is done.

As for monkey/ninja/helper-outer type persons, are there any big changes to expect this year? I know monkeyism has been a constantly evolving situation, trying to find the balance between the ridiculous and the sublime.

I'm psyched!

I'm planning on taking a strong hand in my part of the booth, and I want to do a bit of sales training for everyone who will be working that area. I know it will be all-volunteer, but I want everyone working the "store" to be as knowledgeable and curtious as possible. Once I have a better idea who will be working that region, I will begin to coordinate. This will probably be around June 1, as well.

Troy, I will get you as much info for the sales sheet as I have. I am lacking some hi-res thumbs for IPR products, but those I have will be sent to you. Drop me an e-mail.

Will people (like me) be allowed to sell their game at the booth even if they can't make it to the Con?
If so, is that the same pay scale minus the price of the badge?

I know this has been the case in the past, but there have been more and more games at the booth as the years go by and I know there has been talk of limiting the number of games for sale at the booth.

,Matt

Hi all

I'm intending to be on The Forge booth, but my flight doesn't get in until 3pm on the Wednesday. I'll make my way to the convention centre as quickly as I can - hope this will be OK.

I've already ordered my badge and registered to GM some events - I hope this doesn't screw anything up. I'm spending a small fortune so I wanted to sort things out as early on as possible.

I must confess I don't really know what I'm doing but it sounds like a lot of fun! I'm sick of my job anyway...

cheers,
Joe

Sigh ...

All right, Joe, you've fucked things up a little by ordering your badge. I'll see what I can do about repairing that situation. Please, no one else do that. Really. It's not more secure, it's a pain. If you did it already, kick yourself in the ass for me and let me know privately.

Signing up for events is obviously your own prerogative as exhibitor, but do recognize that the obligation for the booth is a full half-day of work per day.

Obviously I'm going to have to post rules/regs soon in their own thread, as people are starting to flail.

Matt, that's a good question. My immediate inclination is to say yes, but I'd like to check with the other primary guys first.

Best, Ron

Ron,

I was under the impression that there is a sweat-equity element of a neccisary number of hours spent selling/working the booth. Can you give me details on that, or tell me if I'm just high on dope again?

I'm not bright enough to parse that question as you've phrased it.

The current deal was and is, if you buy into the booth, you're committing to at least a half-day of working the booth for each day of the con. Working the booth means you demo your games and others, promote, smile, and generally be useful and participatory.

Let me know if that answers you.

Best, Ron

Answers me perfectly Ron.

Thanks!

Ron,

Sorry if this was answered earlier and I missed it, but what exactly counts as a "half-day".  I seem to remember the exhibit hall being open for 8 hours a day (but don't remember all that clearly), so does that mean 4 hours a day?  Or are my numbers off?

Thomas

Thomas,

Something like that; I doubt anyone will clock you on it.  I don't remember how many hours the exhibit hall is open each day, but there is an expectation that if you're selling your game at the Forge booth you will be present at the booth a chunk of the day to promote it and promote the other games at the booth.

I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but there is also an expectation that you will be at the booth before the exhibit hall opens to get the daily talk of how things will go down that day.  And in past years, you were expected to be present after the exhibit hall closes to get your portion of the daily cash out.  Things are different this year since Brennan will be taking over the money component of the booth.  He'll decide what's required for cash outs.  "You" in the above statements refers to the buy-in individual who plans to sell his or her game at the Forge booth. 

I'm certain Ron or Luke will correct me if I mis-stated any of the above.

Julie

Julie's right.

The exhibit hall is open for business from 10 AM to 6 PM, except for Sunday which closes at 4 PM, I think. "Half day" means being at the booth for half of that time, per day.

However, Julie is totally right that being there before opening and after closing is also required. This is more than a "show up and do my thing" endeavor.

Best, Ron

We (which is to say myself and Mark, my friend and booth-monkey from last year) will be in on Wednesday and probably be able to get to the exhibitor hall sometime late that afternoon, girdled up and ready to lift heavy objects into their proper position. This is just the start of the fun, people. That first day when you're setting everything up is like the first day of summer camp when you get to say hello to all your summer camp friends who you haven't seen in a year.

Can people without games to sell be booth monkeys too? Would that mean registering for a badge through you as well?

Hi there,

A few people have been asking about the booth-monkey thing. This year, we're scaling it back. A few people have been such important additions to the booth over the years that they can get a Forge booth badge without selling a game. But not many, and I don't really plan on letting new people do this.

Which sort of breaks my heart, because one year's monkey is often next year's publisher, but the utility is diminishing. We don't need people running the register so much any more, for instance. This is perhaps another reason why someone else ought to start up another Forge booth in the exhibitor hall ...

I'm willing to be convinced otherwise, but the best way to do that is to let Luke, Tim, and Vincent enter into a debate with me about it.

Best, Ron

Um... well, to monkey or not to monkey makes a huge difference to some of us. Cuz nonmonkeys (without Adept Press badges) can't get into the hall to help set up/tear down, etc. Nonmonkeys have no reason at all to be in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Which makes a considerably impact on hotel costs, vacation days taken, and general plans all around.

So, I don't know about anyone else, but I kind of need to know the deal before I make the plans. And since August is a popular time to take vacations and I they are first come first serve, the sooner I know, the better.

I gotta be honest, monkeying is 75% of my reason for coming to GenCon. For what it's worth. I understand, especially in light of last year, when I didn't get to be nearly as helpful as I had hoped, that monkeying may be a dying art. But it's still the real reason I show up at all. Again, for what it's worth.

But bottom line, the sooner I know whether I'm needed in a monkey way or not, the sooner I can make adjustments to my plans, budget, etc. It'd cost me somwehat less for 3 days of hotel rather than 4, and save me an extra vacation day I can use elsewhere. All of which I am more than willing to spend, but not unless I need to, obviously.

D.

THEN CONTACT ME ABOUT THAT. Jeez! Is this not clear? It's not a public-discussion thing.

Best, Ron

Ron wrote:
Now, that last 10' by 10' is separated from the play-space by a waist-high partition, and actually, it's not "part" of the booth, or I guess it is, or not, depending on how anyone wants to interpret the finances or play semantics. This space has been reserved by another gaming company who will be our neighbors, friends, countrymen, and other such things. I'll inject a drumroll for the announcement of who this is.

Jared wrote:

Forgot to jump in here...

*drumroll*

Wicked Dead Brewing Company is co-sponsoring the peninsula with the aforementioned folks. John and I will be in the other 10x10' space, along with our crew.
- J

I've tried to closely follow the threads lead up to GenCon this year, as well as reviewing the threads about last year's booth and the rule about newbies only being allowed to sell a single product surprised me.  Is this a new development? 

This kinda pours a ton of cold water on some of my retailing plans and it sounds like it could possibly infringe on Jason Morningstar's ability to sell Drowning & Falling, which would royally suck.

I realize you folks have a lot on your plate and I apologize if I missed an earlier announcement about this.  I also realize that you have no real responsibility to tell us anything before we really need to know.  Still, I'm having to rethink things yet again now.