Looks like we're getting a late start this year.

Tim and I have been going back and forth about when to set it this year, and have yet to come up with a satisfactory date.  Are we still doing this in April?  There was some talk of pushing it back to May.

Hi Willow,

We should definitely avoid the Easter weekend this time. My preference is to push it earlier rather than later, perhaps by one week. So that makes March 26, 27, and 28. How does that fit with your schedule?

Best, Ron

For what it's worth, I agree with Ron about pushing earlier rather than later.  The March dates work for me.

Well shit.  I have to take that back.  I still agree with an earlier date in general, but I have a prior commitment on March 27.  I'm open any other weekend in March.  But don't let that stop you.  I realize you can't pick a date based on everyone's individual schedules.

March 26-28 looks very good on our end.  There are some other small local conventions on the weekends of March 5-7 and 19-21, so I would rather avoid those.

Right now, my calendar's clear for any weekend in March. I might even have some new nametag designs ready to go by then. Also, my NERF arsenal has grown considerably... so if people are down for that we may want to figure out logistics so as to be less disruptive to the quieter forms of gaming.

In that case we may want to designate a particular room and time frame for the Nerf War.  How about first thing Saturday morning?

TJ wrote:
In that case we may want to designate a particular room and time frame for the Nerf War.  How about first thing Saturday morning?

I look forward to it. Dave, you should turn those guns into some kind of Zombie LARP game.

That was the intention. Willow and I were tossing ideas back and forth for a while, but we got distracted by life and never really consolidated them.

Willow, if you want to try to polish that up before FMW, I'm down for making it happen. Keeping in mind that we will have pretty tight space limitations, so we'd need to tailor the scenario to that; which means it can probably be simplified considerably.

I was pretty sure that it *was* a zombie larp. At least some sort of Jeepform thing.

Anyway, afaik, any date around then should work.

<Wrath_of_Khan char="Kirk">
NERF!
</Wrath_of_Khan>

Glad I stopped by the boards; I had a feeling FW would be getting planned about now. Any March date is probably good for me.

I'm going to try and make a point to come prepared to run a couple of different games. I often feel like people spend a lot of time standing around trying to figure out what to play. I may even wear a a badge that says , "Ask me to run ______". :)

buzz wrote:
I'm going to try and make a point to come prepared to run a couple of different games. I often feel like people spend a lot of time standing around trying to figure out what to play. I may even wear a a badge that says , "Ask me to run ______". :)

Just got off the phone with the Best Western.  Forge Midwest is a go for March 26, 27 & 28!  We have the same terms, conditions, and prices for the rooms for last year.

-Willow

Sweeeeeeet.

The Google maps page for the Best Western hotel is here:
http://j.mp/8nb2qj

Willow,

Thanks for taking initiative on this!

Thanks Willow!

Also, if anyone has any suggestions for scheduling games without making it into some huge over-organized sign-up nonsense, please share.

Best, Ron

Thanks, Willow!

Ron wrote:
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for scheduling games without making it into some huge over-organized sign-up nonsense, please share.

Why don't we just try to do regular start times every two hours?  That way everyone knows when the next round of games will be starting and can meet up accordingly.

What are the fees for the con, again?

Just a quick heads up, still technically finalizing things with the hotel.  Don't make those registrations quite yet.

My best recommendation is three time slots per day: Morning Games (8ish to Noonish, or 10ish to Noonish for sleepyheads with shorter games), Lunch Break, Afternoon Games (1-5), Dinnerbreak, Evening Games (6-10).

Silly Question...What city & state is it in?

Keith

Madison, WI.  Click the Google map link above, click the map, and zoom out. :)

Okay, important update- I had to change the date to the 19th, 20th, and the 21st.  Sorry for any confusion this might have caused anyone.

Willow wrote:
Okay, important update- I had to change the date to the 19th, 20th, and the 21st.  Sorry for any confusion this might have caused anyone.

Willow wrote: Okay, important update- I had to change the date to the 19th, 20th, and the 21st.  Sorry for any confusion this might have caused anyone.

No, the dates are not going to change again.

The reason for the date change is that the first weekend turns out to be spring break for a number of Madison schools, so several local people (including myself) had trouble getting that weekend free.

Are we cool to make hotel reservations and stuff?

I have some friends asking: what are costs going to be like this year? (Room cost and Convention fee)

Games I'd like to *play* at FMW this year (in no particular numerical order):

1) Polaris - Pretty sure I've got one player who will want in, so 2 more to fill the circle would be nice, especially if one of them has played before.
2) PTA - I have yet to play the second edition rules with the cards. I'd like to get a feel for how easy it is to Produce, so I can run it locally.
3) Don't Rest Your Head - I've run this plenty of times, but the one game I played in was... unsatisfactory. I'd love to get another shot at the Mad City.
4) Houses of the Blooded - Been jonesing to try this since before it came out.
5) Bliss Stage - Ditto for this one.

I'm always up for old standbys like It Was a Mutual Decision, The Mountain Witch, Hero's Banner, etc. And I wouldn't mind being a part of A Flower for Mara again, I think I've just about recovered from the first time.

Kagematsu, or Lacuna wouldn't be amiss either.

Okay, I'm gonna stop now.

*coughMyLifeWithMastercough*

See y'all there ^_^

Taking a cue from Dave, I will come ready to run My Life With Master and at least one other game besides Hero's Banner and Mars Colony.  This is in addition to the games I can run more casually.  I like Dave's suggestions, especially Kagematsu, and I'd also like to play some Grey Ranks.

So Dave, what are *you* going to run?

I don't know about the rooms, although as I recall, last year there was a very reasonable convention-only room rate. I hope Willow can organize that again for this year.

Regarding the convention fee, the way we did it last year, there was simply a donation jar. The take served to cover the convention room cost very nicely, and, as it turned out, with very little left over. So I'm inclined to do the same this year. Willow, all thoughts on that matter are welcome, either here in public or privately by email.

Best, Ron

Tim wrote:
Taking a cue from Dave, I will come ready to run My Life With Master and at least one other game besides Hero's Banner and Mars Colony

Is there anyone willing to:
1) Give me a ride from Chicago?
2) Let me sleep on their hotel room floor for a nominal fee? (alternatively, if the hotel isn't outrageous, split a room)

yrs--
--Ben

Ben if you don't get an offer, the Van Galder bus goes from several places in Chicago, (Ohare, Midway, Union Station) for around $20 to $30. It tends to be a much better experience over Greyhound. It drops you at UW Madison and if you walk a few blocks the 6 bus I believe gets right by the hotel. I could even hang out if I knew what bus you were on, and help you get there via our fairly nice bus system.

I believe rooms outside of the special pricing, (I didn't get in on block pricing,) were about a hundred dollars a night last year for two beds... plus couch? The rooms also have medium sized refrigerators and microwaves.

I'm available for Chicago lodgings, car trip, and Madison room space, Ben. Get in touch by phone.

Best, Ron

Excellent. Looks like MLwM is a go ^_^

What am I prepared to run? Hm. Good question. I can run DRYH, facilitate IWaMD, probably facilitate Universalis if I have a few minutes to refresh myself... Ditto for Shock:, Zombie Cinema, maybe a few others of the "no prep" persuasion. I can run Rumble, even though it's not really an RPG, it's still pretty fun. And of course I will happily teach anyone who's interested to play Dominion, Race for the Galaxy, and Jungle Speed.

Mostly, though, I prefer playing to running.

S/Lay W/Me might be fun to try, too. And Sign In Stranger. Maybe Ghost/Echo. I could probably be on either side of that table. Lacuna could be fun.

And maybe Ralph's got a new version of BRS ready to try?

Ben, I would have offered you a ride, but it looks like Ron's got it handled. Glad you'll be able to come, though.

Speaking of roomage, it doesn't look like any of my usual roomies are gonna make it this year, so any non-snorers who want to share, let me know and we'll work something out.

So... is there something special with pricing? Are we waiting to hear something, or should we just reserve rooms?

Just created an account (but have lurked for a while) to ask a question.  My fiancee and I live in Madison.  We are huge indie fans who run and play many of the games discussed on this site.  We are not, however, game designers (at least, not yet), and not active on the forge community.  Is this con mostly for dedicated forge members, or are members of the general community welcomed? 
My fiancee at least would be willing to run Lacuna.

Show up, it's good times.

kate wrote:
Just created an account (but have lurked for a while) to ask a question.  My fiancee and I live in Madison.  We are huge indie fans who run and play many of the games discussed on this site.  We are not, however, game designers (at least, not yet), and not active on the forge community.  Is this con mostly for dedicated forge members, or are members of the general community welcomed? 
My fiancee at least would be willing to run Lacuna.

If you’re in Madison and you’re an indie fan, then go. There isn’t any downside—other than enjoying it so much that you want to go when you’re not in Madison. I’m mostly a lurker here; I’ve gone the last two years, loved it. I went last year after telling myself I couldn’t really afford it. I won’t be going this year, and am disappointed about it.

The vibe is really just a bunch of friends getting together in two very large living rooms.

Thanks all!  I will be checking this for updates, but it sounds awesome.  I just finished Con of the North, so its good to have another Con to look forward too.  Looking forward to it!

So, I called to reserve our room, and nobody there knew anything about a Forge Midwest block. It wasn't a big deal, since I wanted a different, specific room. Is it still on for March 19th-21st? Anybody?

Hiya,

Looks like some organizational hassle needs to be fixed. I'll move on this immediately.

Best, Ron

I haven't reserved a room yet. Still not sure who of my local crew might be coming. Anybody else who might be wanting to share? Non-snorers preferred.

Hey, let's close this thread. We have a new thread now. It's shiny.

Planning and coordinating can continue in the new one, no problem.

Best, Ron