1/8 – Room Change, Wristbands, Suitcase

Move out day, or at least room change day.
I packed up my minimal stuff, expecting to be stashing it for a few hours until the next reservation’s check-in started, but at the desk they offered to let stay in the previous room. Seems like the desk person was wrong when I first checked in, or maybe didn’t know?
Anyway, according to the Marriott app the next room was WAY better, so I declined staying in the room I’d already left; they had one of the other/better ones free, so I was roomless for maybe 10 minutes?
New room is on the 31st floor, with executive lounge access 😁

Went to TJ Maxx for a suitcase for operation “Bring Back All The Swag”. Probably looked like an idiot adding up the dimensions to get the biggest case which would still be within the boundaries of checked luggage, but got the job done.
I kind of understand why those 4 wheel cases are so popular; they’re pretty fun to push across the floor.

Tom came down around midday, so we wandered around, got our “I’ve been vaccinated” wristbands, and just generally hung out for the afternoon.

The con is coming together; gaming halls look done, the exhibit hall is a maze of booth setup & stuff for the booths, and the new official Gen Con Swag store was coming together.

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31/7 – The Cookout

Cookout Day
They’re starting to assemble the gaming halls in the ICC, so grabbed a few pictures.
Dithered a bit on shorts Vs jeans, but went with the shorts & didn’t regret the decision. ( Packed a warmer layer just in case )

About five minutes before Tom picked me up the JW Forecourt suddenly turned into car-filled chaos. There’s a Motorsport … Something … Happening, and it flipped from “there are a bunch of cars, but the centre lane is moving” to “creeping gridlock”.

Tom’s new office.
I have rented places less nicely done than this. Parua Bay out towards Whangarei Heads springs to mind.
Patio area out one end, where the grill was set up, laundry facilities, kitchen, wall of boardgames, resident cat, …
The cookout was an American Breakfast themed event; didn’t know that was a thing, but there are many things I don’t know, so this is one more.
Bacon, Sausage Patty Things, Scrambled Eggs, Biscuits+Gravy, Hash Browns (pile of shredded potato, not big tater tot), a sort of peppers+onion thing, and three sorts of French toast (two with a breakfast cereal crust)

And an apple pie which was intended to go back with me, but was then eaten with enthusiasm once I told them that I have no fridge in the hotel room.
So. Much. Good. Food.

It was sort of a combination work cookout, neighborhood cookout, & weird foreign accent guy;
Tom & Dawn ( who made the apple pie, & gave me a ‘junk journal’ she made for me )
A cast of folks who work or have worked for Tom
Tom’s parents, who I met back in 2016
Their neighbor’s son, who is a local? judge.
Kevin, who I know from Gen Con via Tom.
Now that I think of it, a similar vibe to an NZ beach/campground BBQ, where you can end up with a wild variety of people based on who’s around that you know.

It was an awesome day.

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30/7 – Wandering Around Inside An Empty Space

Slept pretty well, in chunks.
4h, then 2, then blocks of an hour for a while.

Breakfast buffet was in operation, though I recognised NONE of the staff. Not surprising for multiple years away.

Some form of allegedly fun run happening way down below



Went hunting for a suitcase/bag.
The ICC is deserted, in the corridors at least, though there was some setup or breakdown going on in the main halls; lots of table surrounded by chair setups, like a conference dinner, or the RPG rooms at Gen Con. Same setup in the smaller rooms too.

Circle Centre mall looked almost abandoned. Everything was shut, though that turned out to be because they weren’t open yet, not because they’d closed for good.
Only place I could find with cases or bags was TJ Maxx, and they were more expensive than I’d hoped for. Still, after conferring with Izzy, a $99 hard shell case is an OK option.

Here Come The Mummies are touring

Many conversations with Frank over FB Messenger to figure out a plan for the day, given that I was awake enough to do something.
They fell apart a bit because of a family reunion he had to go to, but eventually we caught up, chatted for a bit at the bar in the JW, then headed off to Bonefish to meet Kevin+Amy ( and Roy, who I’d met once before, and Ben, who was new to me )
Bonefish lasted a good long while, and it was a fun time. Kevin+Amy are going to a fancy-ass wedding in Tennessee instead of Gen Con.

Got back to the hotel around midnight.

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Getting There Is Practically None Of The Fun

Photo to convince myself that I locked the front door, because it proves that my key & I interacted with the lock, so I didn’t just walk out & forget
Aerotel in Terminal 3, London Heathrow. Not huge, but comfy enough, and so much better than a 4am taxi ride
About to fly to Dublin
BLT on a cheddar herb Bagel at Terminal 3, Chicago O’Hare. Probably dinner by my timeline; think I’d been awake 17-18 hours at that point
Downtown Indy from the air. JW Marriott Hotel & LucasOil Stadium can be seen a little bit up+right from the centre of the picture, but the ICC sort of blends into the ground clutter
Park view room on the 24th floor

29/7 – Flying Day

Slept ok. Odd dreams about JSON config & suffocation, or maybe config items set to turn the air off?
T3 was empty as I left. T2 was madness.
There are other/extra airlines using it, and the queues for those airlines are out the door & almost to the carpark.

Aer Lingus check-in was less mad, but still problematic. They were prioritising the 0640, but didn’t have people intercepting at the start of the line, so an old American woman was doing it; she had kind of a useful busybody vibe, though I suspect she was trying to simultaneously not lose her position near the kiosk/machines AND not stop people on earlier flights from making their plane.
Eventually got to a kiosk machine, which refused to read my passport.
Got boarding passes issued by an actual human being.

Had Millennial Breakfast of poached egg & smashed avocado on sourdough from a pub/taproom.

Flight to Dublin uneventful.

Dublin airport is a maze of corridors, but they do leave you with only one route, and eventually made it to US Preclearance.
Security screening was its usual zoo when that place is full.
People one ahead of me in the line for the TSA person in the kiosk had some sort of problem, which took a while. Then the TSA person left the booth to lead them into the non-passenger bit, leaving me in line for an empty kiosk.
Got re-assigned to a somewhat disinterested chap; where are you going, purpose of trip, picture, there you go.

Gate area was, again, a bit of a zoo.
Long queues of people & indistinct announcements.
There were announcements about full flights, so they were offering free-checking of carry on luggage to your destination. One flight was overbooked, and they were looking for a volunteer, starting the offer at a hotel night & up to £2000.

Did American Airlines check in while waiting; that went well, and I took a screenshot of the pass, just in case.

Accidentally joined the queue for my gate when the priority boarding was announced. Actually wanted to get to somewhere that I could hear the announcements & see the gate, but ended up part of the line. Fortunately they announced All Rows boarding just before I got to the desk (similar situation for the family immediately behind me)

Plane probably left a bit late?
It’s very full; no empty seats at all.

Nodded off a few times, but didn’t really sleep. Or do anything else. Just sort of zoned out & watched the little plane on the map.
Entertainment system was playing up, so I had a choice of a very few movies, and no way to navigate to anything else. Nothing held my interest, though did reread Murderbot #4.
Pretty sure I saw the south coast of Greenland out the window.

Had to leave T5 on arrival to take the wee train to T3 (airside transfer was suspended a while back). The exit from T5 really isn’t obvious at all, or at least not the one I found; you have to cut through the food court, and it doesn’t look very official.

T3 went well. Checked that my mobile boarding pass was still good, and the chap at American Airlines suggested that I go to the security screening at the far end, because it was less crowded. Also a very chill experience, which was nice; there were still people & lines, but they were a bit calmer than I’d expected for Chicago.

Got a very nice BLT Bagel for probably dinner.

Flight to Indy delayed (crews previous flight got in late), but they made up some time, and I had a window seat with some awesome views of fields & roads. Spotted the JW & LucasOil from the air. And maybe the hospital, but wasn’t sure on that one. ( just checked; yes, it was the hospital )

The airside of Indy looks different. More empty space, no Café Patachou, more closed shopfronts.

Taxi system at Indy works way better than I expected. You press a button, and a few minutes later a taxi shows up.
I think it’s a different space to where I used to catch the shuttle bus, but my memory is being fuzzy here. I think it’s one road further out for the taxis & general population pickup?

Hotel cannot run my bookings together this time, so I have a 3-night, a 7, and a 1. They’re different room types?
Currently on 24th floor, in an accessible room.
Next one, according to the app, is a top floor room, so here’s hoping.

There’s a concert in White River State Park.

Did sink laundry, had a shower, waited until 10pm or so, then slept.

28/7 – That First Step Out The Door

Woke up stupidly early at 5am
Sent the travel plans email to Parents, read for a bit

Coffee+Walk with Alex, who suggested Argos for a power bank.
Did dishes, swept, unplugged everything, took out rubbish/recycling.
Walked through the park to Argos, which has moved. Curry’s still there, bought power bank.

Took many pictures of power sockets & windows; devices unplugged, windows latched in the vent position.
Took pictures of taps.
Narrated nearly ten minutes of walking the flat & checking everything.

(This is my ridiculous process for not worrying that I’ve left a tap running, or the iron on, or forgot to lock the front door. I know I’ve taken the pictures and made an audio note, so I know that I checked it)

Proof that I interacted with the front door, so I must have locked it

Train to Marylebone.

Platform 3 at Aylesbury Station

Luckily not the same one as the very chatty Carribbean hairdresser at Aylesbury, who was friendly, but would have gotten painful for an hour long trip.
Got some postcards for Dawn, but not a great selection.

Lunch at Five Guys, because why not.

Tube to Paddington, Heathrow Express to … Heathrow.
Arrived before hotel check-in, so followed the access tunnel to T2, to see where the flight leaves from (same place as always), then went back to T3 (where I flew into after medical repatriation)

Tried the Aer Lingus online check-in, but the app crashed partway through the process, and just wouldn’t do it.

Hotel key didn’t work first time, but second attempt was fine. Room is on the small side; could place my hands flat on the bathroom wall while sitting on the toilet. Bed takes up ⅔ of the width of the space, but it’s comfortable enough, and only for one night.
Should have packed the double port USB plug. There was one wired in, but a way up the wall, so had to put the thing charging from that port on top of stuff to make the cords reach.

Aerotel at London Heathrow

Walked back to T2 to be sure I knew the way.

Basically mooched around until it seemed time to get some sleep. Used the ‘lounge’ to write out the flights & times in notebook, just in case.

Hotel room has annoying green light in roof that probably has something to do with a fire alarm, maybe, but it lights up the whole room enough that you can still see the outlines of things even with the rest of the lights off.

The Gen Con Schedule

Here’s how it looks;

Not 100 on how I’ll fill that gap on Saturday, but I’m sure something will come up.

All of the games are either in the JW Marriott ( it’s a convenient coincidence – I almost always stay there ) or in the Indiana Convention Centre ( over in the NE corner ). Fortunately, given the excessive heat warning issued for … well, Indiana … there are Skywalks & a whole lot of air conditioning.

Skywalks in light bloo, Cutural Trail in green, Mostly-Pedestrianised Plaza in brown.
Original ( larger and more comprehensive ) image at https://www.icclos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/downtown-indy-skywalks.pdf

In Which Craig Looks At The Gen Con 2022 Event List

Being a listing of the things which I found by specifically looking for them by company or system, or just by scrolling through the list and spotting a name which made me say “What’s that about?”

I have no idea how many of these I’m going to end up playing;
Some are on the list because it’s a system/setting I’ve enjoyed
Some are here because it’s a game I’ve wanted to play for a while, but never found the opportunity
Some are here because it’s a brand-new game that I want to try out
And some just because they look interesting


Ghost Wrasslers: Dead and Breakfast
It’s a charming B&B with one small problem. Guests Flee in the middle of the night. Time for the Ghost Wrasslers to step in!
TV land is full of ghost hunting shows, but none are like Ghost Wrasslers. These brawny paranormal investigators’ job is to put the smackdown on ghosts. Not your great-granny still making her rocking chair rock ghosts, no. We’re talking ghosts with a mean streak a mile wide. Your job is to send those spooks back to the Great Beyond where they belong. Mallards is a charming B&B with one small problem. Every guest leaves in the middle of the night. Time for the Ghost Wrasslers to step in!
QAGS, 2nd Edition


The Great Soul Train Robbery: Hell-Raising Heist
On the road to Hell there was a railway line. An express train to the infernal city of Dis, crewed by furies and carrying treasure and souls to damnation. You’re going to rob it.
You’re a motley crew with mixed motives. Sharpshooters, snake-handlers, homesteader widows… Desperados all. You all have two stats, Lover and Sinner. Use Lover to make human connections, to act with honor, to hold onto hope, to resist opportunities for vice, and for selfless acts. Use Sinner to do dirty deeds, to act with brutality, to lie through your teeth, to resist pleas for mercy, and for selfish acts. Will you claim your prize from the train, or be overcome, damned, or broken by the heist?
The Great Soul Train Robbery


Bar Wars!
Work with others to make sure that the place where everyone knows your name and the beer is cold is saved from villains, pirates and other unsavory types.
A tried and true classic. The game where the universal laws are made up of all the bits that they didn’t want in the real universe. Work with others to make sure that the place where everyone knows your name and the beer is cold is saved from villains, pirates and other unsavory types.
Tales Of The Floating Vagabond


Yazeba’s Summer Adventure
Visit a magical bed & breakfast in this slice-of-life tabletop RPG about a heartless witch, a peaceful house, and all the folks who have made their home inside.
Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast is a very special game. It uses pre-set characters, quick-play chapters, and an adaptable ruleset unlike anything else out there. It takes less than a half hour to learn how to play and get started, but with new chapters and secrets to unlock folks can stick with the game for years and years. A guide will be available to help you along the way.
Yazeba’s Bed & Breakfast, prerelease Edition


Dopplegangland
People who look exactly like the heroes and share their powers are destroying Halcyon! The city turns against them and brands them as villains. Can the heroes save the city and their reputations?
Masks: A New Generation

The Spiderweb
As the Spider gains control of Halcyon City, the threat to your neighborhood rises. A criminal war brews, and you and your loved ones live at ground zero. Can you keep them safe? And at what cost?
Masks: A New Generation

This is a Teenage Superheroes game, though it’s focused far more on the ‘Teenage’ part.
As a teenager, adults are constantly telling you what to do & who to be, and as a member of the latest generation of superheroes, the previous generations are constantly telling who you are & how to do things


Disaster at Gen Con
Gen Con only comes around once a year! You’re not going to let anything get in your way. But, things turn dark as horror takes over the con. Fight to survive and you might make it out alive.
You’ve been having the time of your life at the greatest four days in gaming. It only comes around once a year and you’ve been determined to make the most of the experience. But things turn sinister one afternoon and when you regain your senses, find yourself in an empty game room with a group of strangers. Do you have what it takes to escape the con alive? Or will you meet a less than enjoyable end? A cooperative, tragic horror game. You’ll work together to tell a story built around hope. But even as your characters fight to survive, you must guide them even as you’re saddled with the knowledge that their death is assured.
Ten Candles


Wayfaring Strange: Lost Highway
You have found yourselves in a roadside diner, with no memory of how you got there, and no ability to leave. Will you unravel the mystery and find a way to escape, or will you become one of the Lost?
Wayfaring Strange is an original diceless tabletop roleplaying game by Drowning Moon Studios that explores the concepts of hidden highways, urban legends, folk magic and survival in liminal America. Players portray Wayfarers, people on the fringes of civilized society doing their best to survive, or even thrive in a shadowy, dangerous world ripe with unknowable power. Pre-generated characters are provided, and the system is streamlined, easy to learn and prioritizes cooperative play. The Wayfaring Strange ashcan will be available for download on the Drowning Moon Studios website prior to the convention.
Strangeness & Charm


Delacorte Academy
Step into a world of magic as you join the Academy. But what was supposed to be just another boring school year learning to weave spells turns into something.
Step into a world of magic as you join the Academy. But what was supposed to be just another boring school year learning to weave spells turns into something you would have never expected.
Kids on Brooms

This is a spinoff from Kids On Bikes, with presumably some tips of the hat to a certain series of novels about a school for Wizards?


Big Rich Clarke and the Little Boat Pirates
During a race to prove a new “Radiant Engine”, our adventurers find a wrecked boat and a missing crew. High tempers and high adventure on the Kennet and Avon Canal in an Age of Fantasy and High Steam!
Castle Falkenstein


Familiar Companions, Peculiar Heroes
The Orc King has attacked the Kingdom of Shaam, but its heroes are missing! It’s up to an unlikely group to save the day – the heroes’ brave (and remarkably competent) familiars and animal companions.
Fate Accelerated Edition


Bad Moon Rising
Within the Dustbowl of America, a dark carnival wanders trying to save people from the darkness spreading. Will they be able to save the starving town where evil is spawning?
Crossroads Carnival


The Apartment
Experience the classic introductory adventure, as a group of misfits living in the same building fight to protect their home from the Corporate interests who want to knock it down.
Cyberpunk, RED Edition


Are Those Bite Marks?
Today, what appears to be an animal attack has left a resident badly injured. A bunch of townsfolk insist it must have been a stray dog. But you know it’s never that simple in Nowhereville.
Nowhereville


Master Thieves from the Future Save Reality!
You’re not just master thieves – you’re master thieves from the future! And your ability to bend reality will come in handy as you face unexpected twists and turns in a heist to save reality itself.
The perfect heist. Getting in, getting out. Smooth talk and careful bluffs. Stealth, hacking, and quick action. You and your crew pull it off every time. Because you’re not just master thieves—you’re master thieves from the future, who bend the very rules of reality when you need to. And you’re going to need to, as your perfect heist encounters astonishing twists and turns in this unique zero-prep new game where players and GM collaborate to create the scenario and the plan at the same time.
Stealing Stories for the Devil


Lights, Camera, Die
You are in a horror-comedy movie. Almost everyone will die, it’s just a matter of how funny you make it. Once a character is gone, you become a producer and continue to influence the story.
Die Laughing is a GM-less role-playing game where players take on the role of characters in a horror-comedy. Almost everyone will die, it’s just a matter of how funny they make it. Once a character is gone, you become a producer and influence the story and mess with other characters until the end. The game is fast paced, and every session is different.
Die Laughing


Grab the Honey and Run
Criminal bears are on a mission to steal more honey than they know what to do with.
Honey Heist remains one of the most popular single-page roleplaying games ever written, & at Gen Con 2022 you’ll have the opportunity to play it with its creator at the helm. Grant Howitt will steer a gang of criminal bears on the heist of their lives in an effort to grab as much honey as they can. Chaos! Mauling! Disguises! Haunted beehives! Hats! Yes!
Honey Heist


The Case of the Knocked Over Trash
One of your doggos is blamed for this disaster but what really caused it? Another dog? Reckless teens? A gang of racoons? A gremlin? Can they clear their friend’s name? Are they still a good dog?!
Your pack runs the alleys at night, protecting your peoples from incursion by the parliament of cats, the black masks (a gang of raccoons), local teens, and other things that go bump in the night. One night as the pack stopped to get Lou, former junkyard dog pup turned loving backyard protector, they find him chained. Someone has been knocking over trash cans on his street and his peoples regretfully locked him up because the next-door peoples got into barking loudly with his peoples. Your pack needs to clear Lou’s name and find out who the real culprit is in… Heckin’ Good Doggos and the Case of The Knocked Over Trash A mystery for 6 doggos (players) using the +One System from Wet Ink Games This event will include character creation and rules explanation for the system.
Heckin’ Good Doggos

There are a few more Heckin’ Good Doggos game sessions, including “Heckin’ Squirrel Domination!” & “Super Good Doggos Save The World”, which uses the Superpowered Dogs expansion to the game, because apparently that’s a thing.


Hundred Year War Era: Fire Nation II
A theater troupe managed to enrage the Fire Lord by performing an unflattering – and wildly popular – rendition of his deeds. Will you be able to get them out before they are discovered?
Avatar Legends

This is an RPG set in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe, and which has the capacity to set games in the various eras of that show’s history; Aang, Korra, Hundred Year War, Roku, Kyoshi, … you get the idea.