I wanted to buy my son GenCon 2018 tickets for a Christmas present but I am completely and utterly clueless.  From what I've seen the sale of tickets (badges?) don't start until after the new year?  So once this sale goes live
1. How do I get this badge access code and 2. Can I just go ahead and purchase multiple badges at that time or can I only purchase 1 badge for myself?  I saw something about adding friends to buy more badges?  Also, the "housing" situation seems highly stressful - Is it worth it to just book a downtown hotel at full price and skip that stress all together, or do people typically get a downtown room in the end as long as they're patient?

I appreciate any and all advice.  If it matters, my son is 16 and mentioned this event to me after badges had sold out for the 2017 event, so I want to make sure he gets to go to the next one.  :)

<p>You are correct that badges will be in January.&nbsp; While they did sell out last year, badges were still available months after January.&nbsp; People may adapt their badge purchasing plans because of that, but my guess is there won&#39;t be a first day sell out in January.</p>

<p>On the housing side, downtown rooms in the housing block will likely be in the $200-$250 per night range but at least on the initial housing day will be hard to get depending on your luck in the lottery order.&nbsp; If you don&#39;t get one that day, it is not uncommon to be able to pick one up as people cancel rooms, etc., but those cancelled rooms are probably picked up within an hour (and probably even less than that) so you have to either get lucky or be checking very often.&nbsp; If you can find a downtoom room in the general vicinity of 200 per night you&#39;ll probably be happier booking it than dealing with the housing system.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, most of the downtown hotels list their out of housing block rooms for $400-$600 per night.&nbsp; If your financial situation is such that paying 2-3 times the price for a night is worth not having the stress of the lottery or having to spend a lot of time checking for room cancellations that would be a good option for you.</p>

Correct. Badges typically go on sale in January. Event tickets go on sale in May.
The former.
Yes. You'll need to "friend" his account to buy a badge in his name.​
Many people book a backup hotel now and then try their luck in the housing lottery. Even if you don't get lucky in the lottery, lots of people have success in picking up canceled rooms later.
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Alec Usticke, Fans of Gen Con Facebook Group