[Deptheads] Fwd: [SCGD] OrcCon 2009 Report

[Eric Burgess]

In case anyone isn't on the list, Robert's assessment of the convention is
more about logistics than games. He's even making comments about things
(like attendance) that we don't even have final numbers on, I thought.

...ERB
www.boardgamebabylon.com


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Chrisrob <chrisrob1225 at yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Subject: [SCGD] OrcCon 2009 Report
To: WsG Group <westsidegamers at yahoogroups.com>
Cc: Westside Spielers <westsidespielers at yahoogroups.com>, Group Strategiccon
<strategicon_Con at yahoogroups.com>, Group SoCal Games Day <
SoCal-GamesDay at yahoogroups.com>, Shane Sauby <mrsauby at yahoo.com>


  I was at OrcCon 2009 (Presidents Day Weekend Strategicon) all four days
starting 2 PM Friday (9 AM or so the other days) through 5:30 PM Monday
(going home after midnight the other nights).  I am still tired.  I know
that there were "Werewolf" games running to 4 AM most nights.

I played and/or ran 64 games over the convention (I ran eight tournaments
the biggest being "Princes of Florence", "Ra", and, "Power Grid") including
one I had never played before ... "Army of Frogs" (a simple game that I
recomend to you abstract fans).  I did not see any tournaments that did not
run (there may have been one somewhere) and there were enough games so that
everyone who wanted to play could in most cases.  Most days had their first
tournament start at 9 AM and the last regular boardgame tournament at 11 PM
(party games till starting as late as 1 AM).

The board gaming was again in a large ballroom making concentration hard but
better than the shared space at the Weston.  Open gaming was in the back
half of the ballroom which added to the confusion (it would have been better
if they had put up a wall) but I do not think most of the gamers minded.  In
all the board gaming area was very healthy with numbers only slightly down
from OrcCon 2008.

Attendance last year was around 1,400 (a recent record for Strateticon) and
the initial numbers
for this year were 1,100 to 1,200.  All things considered the numbers were
better
than expected and Strategicon ran out of convention booklets.  Going into
the convention staff had expected a big dropoff due to not having a parking
structure (it was torn down just before Gateway 2008 & is not contracted to
be finished until October 2009) but most gamers attended anyway.  In hearing
from "old timers" who have been going to Strategicon for years there has
always been a significant drop in numbers when Valentine's Day lands in the
middle of the convetion (gamer geeks have relationships????) so maybe the
parking problems kept very few away.

The parking structure is only half done so I parked at Lot C the entire
convention which cost me:

Friday - $5
Saturday - $2 & $5 (left for a few minutes in the middle of the day)
Sunday - $8
Monday - $4

Cost was free for the first two hours and $1 for each two hours after (or
part of two hours).  total parking cost $24.  Lot C is two blocks away from
the hotel.  Many people were parking at a lot one block away and others
parked at the hotel using the valet parking.  For the valet parking it
turned out the convention had a stamp to reduce the $20 daily cost to $13
(or $10?) but that was not known until after I was there.

I think that the convention went well and Patrick (with Lori & Mary &
others) did a great job running the board game headquarters.  Flags marked
the location of every tournament and Patrick provided at least one copy of
nearly every featured game in adition to copies brought by moderators and
others.

*** The news for next time is:  Gamex 2009 MIGHT be moved down the street to
the Sheraton. ***
It turns out that some of the space in the hotel has been doubled booked for
Memorial Day weekend (that is some impressive sales staff ... selling space
in a hotel that has no parking to TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS!) so a change of
venue is being discussed.  The owner of the Raddison also owns the Sheraton
down the street and the site will be viewed in the next few weeks to make a
decision.  The positive is that there is a parking structure for the
Sheraton across the street and the structure being built at the Raddison
MIGHT be done early (so in time for Gateway 2009) but will not be ready by
Memorial Day so parking would be easier.  Info on any change should be known
in a few weeks.

Hope that gives some information to you guys.

Robert

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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