Ok, the details are confirmed now.

Forge Midwest will be held Friday April 20th through Sunday April 22nd.

The location is the DoubleTree Hotel in Rosemont. We have 1 slightly larger meeting room. It should accomodate well over 50 people, which is the number we had last year. We will have the room all day Saturday and much of the day on Sunday.

Last year, people arrived Friday at various times, gathered for supper, and hung out to socialize in the hotel bar or nearby. I plan on doing the same this year.

To make reservations to stay at the DoubleTree, call: 847-292-9100

Also, there are several hotels in the area as well. This page is a good start.

The next step will be an evite I'll set up. We did this last year, and it worked beautifully. The purpose is to get a solid number of attendees so we can figure out costs per person. It will be really important to register on the evite. I'll post it very soon as a reply in this thread.

Stay tuned!

(P.S. Can a moderator please delete that error duplicate post? I posted just as the site went down temporarily.)

Ok, gang, the evite is now set up.

Please RSVP using this Evite page!

The deadline to reply is April 13.

Also, gang, every needs to know that Troy Costisick and his wife did all the work setting this up. They really helped us out, and I really appreciate them taking time to arrange things at the hotel. Thanks, Troy and Mrs. Troy!

Matt,

That link you made is whack. I accidentally changed your reply (I changed it back.) The link is made for you, not for guests. I don't know how to RSVP with it.

- Clinton

Me either.  Plus I accidentally broke your gaming haiku.  Sorry!

I found a work-around.

Go to the link, and click "Invite More People." Send yourself an email (from Matt's account, hilariously enough.) You will get a link to sign up.

Evite's security model is busted up something fierce.

Damn! That is some whack security.

IMPORTANT: If you signed up already, please check again. The link made you sign up as me, so we have no record of you!

Here is the right link: http://www.evite.com/app/publicUrl/matt@chimera.info/forgemidwest2007

Heya Guys,

I faxed everything to Double Tree today and they received it, so we are 100% good to go!  Let the games begin! :)

Peace,

-Troy

Sweet.

So is this the proper thread for planning and signing up for actual games?

Just to confirm, it's okay to just make room reservatiosn online at the website, right?  Calling the phone number's not a requirement?

This is not the thread for organizing events / games. I'll kick off a new thread for that, and include a schedule for sessions.

Doyce, calling is not a requirement. Web site sign up should be fine.

Heya,

One more tidbit of info I'll add to this.  When I talked to the hotel people about the meeting room, I asked how far they were from train access.  They told me the "O'Hare/Rosemont Blue Line" as only three blocks from the hotel's front entrance.  So for those wanting to take a jaunt into the city (like me!), it'll be real easy to grab a ride on the train.  And if anyone is coming from the city, that's probably the line you'll want to take. :)

Peace,

-Troy

For folks that want to know more about public transit, here is the CTA website: http://www.transitchicago.com

The Blue Line runs between the O'Hare airport and downtown Chicago.  Rosemont is the first stop coming out of O'Hare.

Here is a Rosemont map that includes the Doubletree hotel (3) and the CTA stop (16): http://www.rosemont.com/pdf/map_rosemont.pdf

Julie

Ok, question for folks who know the area:

Is "three blocks" walking distance?

I kind of assumed it was, but on that map Julie links to, it shows the CTA on the other side of 190 and a clover leaf intersection.

Can River Road be walked along, or is it high speed, no foot traffic highway type stuff?

'cause if I can catch the Blue Line from O'Hare and walk, I'll totally do that, but if I need to cab it once I'm off the train, I might as well just cab it from O'Hare.

James

I have walked from the Blue Line stop to the Convention Center which is basically across the street from the Doubletree.  It has been a few years and I recall the sidewalk was a little confusing, but it is definitely doable.  I believe you cross under the highway.  I'm looking at the satellite image on Google Maps and I can see the sidewalk and where it crosses one of the cloverleaf ramps.  If you're feeling squirrelly, particulary if it is dark when you arrive, go ahead and take a cab. 

Also, I would expect the Doubletree to have an airport shuttle. 

Julie

Matt wrote:
This is not the thread for organizing events / games. I'll kick off a new thread for that, and include a schedule for sessions.