So I screwed up my housing a fair bit by not knowing to just book outside the block in November, apparently.

Trying to avoid similar screw-ups with booking event tickets.

My situation is that I am booking events for myself and my two sons, who will be with me.  A friend is joining us and will no doubt wish to join us for at least some events.

As I understand, when the gate opens for us to be allowed to buy event tickets, it's an online free-for-all.

Are there any things for a relative newbie to look out for, that might be likely to have me smacking my head later on -- "if only I'd known!"?

I went to Gen Con about five years ago, for the first time, and had not even decided to go until June.  So back then, I got what event tickets I could find -- and still had a great time.  Just trying to maximize my options this time around.

Just remember that the event list will come out at least a week before (perhaps two weeks) event registration opens so you will be able to peruse the events and try to plan accordingly. 

As for the planning, there are multiple schools of thought on this. 

1) Try and book your maximum number of events (50) that way you are sure to get at least some of the events you are wanting.

2) Try and book only a few, then buy a bunch of generics giving yourself a chance to jump in to something that catches your eye.

3) Something in the middle. Buy a bunch of generics and a bunch of event tickets and run like mad all convention...

Personally, I think the problem with the first one is that booking 50 events (average of 2hrs per event, makes for 100 hours, which doesn't give you any time to sleep/eat/rest/shop.) I also don't like to overschedule myself and try to be at least a little considerate of others who may want to go to some of the events that I am on the edge about. 

The way I do it is that I will book a few events from 10am through about 8 or 9pm knowing that I may want to sleep in or go to bed early. I get generics so if I get to the con early, I may be able to find a game to jump into as convention goers are notorious for not making the early morning games and I am an early riser. So I'm more like the second in the list above. 

My first convention I tried to be like the third one. I wanted to make sure I had every moment of every day filled with something. But I was running from one event to the next, and ended up missing some because I didn't allow enough time between events, and I forgot about eating and the dealer hall. 

I am not sure what your kids are into (or their ages), but you may want to try a LARP or True Dungeon as a group (though I find True Dungeon to be a bit expensive, but definitely something to do at least once). Also, the Cheese Weasel (If I got that right) has a cool thing that allows you to experience a lot go different games all over the convention. If they are old enough to go on their own, let them pick out a few events and let them go at it, just make sure you find a meet up location that you can all find later.  If they are not old enough to be on their own, find some games that you think they will like, and something that you may think you will like. Remember, it is Gen Con... make the rule that you won't play any games that you can play at home. Try new stuff. Talk to people and encourage your kids to do the same. We have a local convention and a couple kids met here (one from Philadelphia the other from South Carolina) and they developed a lasting friendship at the convention. They look forward to it every year as an opportunity to get together and game again.

Most important... make sure you have fun, and leave time to wander the dealer hall, see the sights in Indy, and take time to relax. 

Understand how the wish list works, how buying a ticket ONLY if all are available works, and how getting a ticket for you, and one other works. I use two methods depending on how much I want to do something and how many somethings there are I want to do.

Method A for when you only have a couple super duper important things:

I'll use True Dungeon, A painting event and an Intro to Shadowrun game to explain.

You want all three. There are 80 sessions of True Dungeon and 8 of the Intro game and only 1 of the painting event.

You would do something like this:

Painting
Shadowrun time slot 1
True dungeon slots that overlap timeslot 1. Do not put anything that overlaps the painting event AT ALL.
Shadowrun time slot 2
True dungeon slots that overlap timeslot 2.
Rinse repeat.

When your wishlist finishes, realistically you'll end up with MAYBE 1 Shadowrun, PROBABLY 3-5 True Dungeon, and PROBABLY not the painting.

Edit your cart to remove the extra True Dungeon runs you do not want. Add in secondary events you figured would not fill up. LEAVE THE PAINTING CLASS in your wishlist. Someone might choose to drop it. If you overlap it with another event, you won't be able to pick it back up.

Run your wishlist again. Repeat until your schedule is satisfactory. When Gen con comes, bring generic tickets to the painting event. 

Method B for when you have a lot you'd be interested in. Divide this one up into timeslots. Order your list accordingly. So say you want Chtulhu, Shadowrun, RPGA, True Dungeon, Nascrag, the Orc Stomp run, The Stink, PLaytesting, and Ticket to Ride.

I usually divide my day up like this: slot a is early am to 1pm. slot b is 1 pm to 6pm. slot c is 7pm to late.

slot a thursday I usually leave blank because I like hitting the dealer hall but so does everyone else so you might want to stick something else there.

So slot b thursday would have all interesting Cthulhu games that were in that timeslot, followed by all interesting Shadowrun, followed by...you get the idea. Basically everything I would want to do that fits into that timeslot is next, and then I move on to slot c. Repeat.

But. Why you ask? Why not list events in the order I want them? Because I might accidentally lock myself out of an overlapping event. Wishlists are indeed processed from 1 on down, but they do NOT allow for overlapping times. So once it finds an open event for slot b, it skips everything else in that timeslot, and proceeds directly to slot c things.

This is where you have to, I cannot stress this enough, HAVE to make SURE you have accurately checked your boxes. You are bringing your sons, so you should decide now, not during event registration, if you are willing to split your group, if you are willing to have two of them play and you watch, or if all of you must participate or it is a no-go.

If you do NOT check the 'only get it all are available' box you WILL end up separated into different times. If you check it for some events and not others, you may get blocked out of something. For instance, you want to play a D&D game with your friend, so you don't check the box. You get in. But you also wanted to hit this other game with all three of you, so you do check the box. Well, the second event had seats but you were already signed up for the D&D game so it skips that event.

Make sure you and your buddy are friended, each way, in the system.

And lastly, don't sign up for the seminars until early august unless you REALLY WANT TO BE THERE, because they always add many late events and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen teeth gnashing because a seminar overlaps with something and the last day to let you exchange things has passed.

Some other good advice here, but I'll keep it short and sweet:

1. Use the wishlist feature - plug in the events you want into your wishlist before registration starts - this will greatly enhance your ability to get in demand things.

2. Understand that the Wishlist won't let you double book yourself, unless the event is specifically set to allow double booking (normally this is only true for long tournaments).  Don't lock yourself out of your must have Friday 12-3 by having another event that starts at 2:30 higher on your wishlist.

3. If you confirm a friend's ability to buy tickets on your behalf, they can lock you out of being able to register for stuff you want due to rule #2.  Coordinate closely with any friends who can buy on your behalf, or risk getting stuck in whatever dingus events they put you in!

4. I would say I get maybe 25% or less of my first choice events - so have a deep bench of alternates (ideally encoded in your wishlist) ready to go.  That being said the things that seem to sell out right away for me are RPGs, so it depends on what you want to do.

Werebat, you may find this video overview from two years ago helpful. It's a little out-of-date but still a very good recap.

Thanks a lot for the advice all!

Two questions:

1. Do we have a date set when the events will first be available to peruse?

2. How exactly do I "friend" my friend in the system?

Under your name in the upper right menu - My Friends and Family

Button - Add a Friend

You will need to have the email address he/she used to register with Gen Con

And if after your Wishlist resolves and you find yourself with an open slot at 1 pm or 7 pm, think about giving the Nascrag tournament a try.  Open every day and I don't think we've turned away more than 3 or 4 people in 38 years (People who showed up very late and with generic tickets).

If your group is thinking about doing True Dungeon then I would start with that. Even if you don't have time to book any other events on May 28th, at least book your True Dungeon events on that day. I couldn't tell you how many years have gone by where I've said "it's ok I'll just worry about True Dungeon later" and then realized that my preferred time slots and days filled up.

Oh, look to see if there is an alternative database of events for browsing.  I found the official Gen Con event listing a pain but another version GEN CON 2016 Events better to navigate for selections. 

Like others have said, wishlists are your friend, being able to set event priority in the list means you can have backup events if you can't get your first choice, and coordination with the other folks in your group so you don't inadvertently block each other is a damn good idea.

An important thing to remember is that the wishlist does not process automatically - you need to be online & logged in, and ready to hit 'submit' the second you're able.

Once you get through and are assigned some event tickets, you only have a couple of hours to purchase them before they're returned to the pool of available tickets.

And if you're after single tickets, it can be worth re-submitting your wish list. There's a lot of churn in that first few hours, as people return tickets & reorganise their schedules

Perhaps a little philosophical advice is helpful as well. Don't get so fixated on a specific event that it ruins your GenCon if you can't get it. Remember, events are open(and continue to be added) every year(so far) all the way up to the start of GenCon(and during). Be adventurous and try an event you would never think you would like!

Does anyone know how the friends booking option is prioritized?  

I would really like to attend the L5R event with my friend , so i figure both of us buying the same event for each other will improve our odds.  or will it?

If i include the event on my list and buy a ticket for a friend, and that friend books the same event and buys a ticket for me. Will we both miss out on the event?

K. Given all that, can someone provide some feedback on my wish list? I'm a first timer and will have my 12 yo son with me. Sorted by start time, with priority in parenthesis:

(1) Starfinder Society: Quest Pack #1:Into the Unknown Thursday 8:00 AM 5 hrs 
(8) SAMB: BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SEARCH FOR Shadowrun: Anarchy, 1st Edition Thursday 8:00 AM 2 hrs
(9) Starfinder Society: Quest Pack #1:Into the Unknown Thursday 2:00 PM 5 hrs 
(12) SAMB: DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ARCOLOGY Shadowrun: Anarchy, 1st Edition Thursday 8:00 PM 2 hrs
(3) Starfinder Society: #1-00: Claim to Salvation Thursday 8:00 PM 5 hrs

(5) Starfinder Society: #1-01: The Commencement Friday 8:00 AM 5 hrs 
(10) Starfinder Society: #1-00: Claim to Salvation Friday 8:00 AM 5 hrs 
(6) Starfinder Society: #1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet Friday 2:00 PM 5 hrs 
(11) Starfinder Society: #1-01: The Commencement Friday 2:00 PM 5 hrs ​
(13) Gamers Live: Revenge of the Vampire King Friday 7:00 PM 2 hrs

(4) Hickman's Killer Breakfast Saturday 9:00 AM 2 hrs 
(7) Gamers Live: Attack of the Mutants from Planet X (General Seating) Saturday 12:00 PM 2 hrs 
(2) The Gamers: Season 0 + The Shadow Menace (PREMIERE) Saturday 3:00 PM 1.5 hr

Not sure why I would need to...I'm just looking for feedback on how I'm organizing my wishlist and such.

Maybe I'll clarify a little. I'm obviously focusing on StarFinder. #1, I'm super stoked about it; #2, my limited gaming experience makes everything else a little overwhelming to sort through. I've heard awesome things about Hickman's Breakfast, and my kids and I are huge Gamers fans (especially Journey Quest), hence the Saturday events. I suppose I should build some back-ups into Saturday as well. (Or should I not to allow for more free time if I don't get an event? This is the kind of feedback I'd appreciate).

Specific questions I have are:
Should I build more free time in? I scheduled the events under the presumption that the 5 hour events won't likely last that long in real life, thus there will be some time after them by default.

Do my priorities seem likely to ensure tickets?

After reading all the bad vibes about AEG's Big Game Night, I opted for the Gamers Live event Friday evening instead. Will I regret that decision? We're also big AEG fans, so this was a hard choice.

I should also say that I by no means intend to hijack this thread, but hope that my wishlist and the feedback it gets can be an example for others who surely have similar concerns.
 

A 5 hour event is likely to run within 15 minutes of scheduled time.  Planning something to close to another event can cause you to have to leave early or miss out on the beginning of the next event (look at the distance between A&B).  Things to cause your event to use up the whole time - late start because people didn't plan well, Q&A portion (rules, etc.), or just a long presentation that can't really be trimmed (giving people what they're paying for).

Luck will determine whether or not you get the tickets - very little else (other then creating issues by scheduling conflicting issues (watch out for things that have follow ups like D&D Experience as it only looks like 1 but is actually 4 slots on different days).

Gamers Live has a good reputation as entertaining.  Chances are you are better off with that given the (lately) historically poor reception of AEG Big Game Night.  If you're in it for the swag your might get lucky with AEG, without prior knowledge of what they're including that's a coin toss given that you already play their games.

If you want to get a good seat or get on stage for the Killer Breakfast get there early (like 45 minutes).  Seating will most likely be based on queue position (as it has been previously) unless your a VIG.  If you and your son aren't shy, try to get on stage so you can die gloriously and then get a good up front seat after your demise.  How many chances are you going to get to be killed by the Hickmans (i.e. if it was good enough for Flint and Sturm it's good enough for you).

For example, on Thursday, you have two events that start at Thursday at 8 AM. As long as you prioritize the one you want to do the most over the other, it doesn't matter what 'number' you assign to it.  

My own preference is to make my priority list based on the day. This way, when I look at my list, I know that something I really want won't get bumped by something else that conflicts with it because I accidentally put it higher in priority than something else.

So for example, if your list was my list, I would build it like this:

1. Starfinder Society Quest #1 Thursday 8 AM -1 PM
2. SAMB: Be Careful what You Search for Thursday 8 AM to 10 AM
3. Starfinder Society Quest Pack 1 - Thursday 2 PM - 7 PM
4. Starfinder Society #1-00 Thursday 8 PM - 1 AM
5. SAMB Don't Know Much About Arcology 8 PM - 10 PM

For Friday
6. Starfinder Society #1-01 - Friday 8 AM to 1 PM
7. Starfinder Society #1-00 Friday 8 AM to 1 PM
8. Starfinder Society #1-02 Friday 2 PM to 7 PM
9. Starfinder Society #1-01 Friday 2 PM to 7 PM
10. Gamers Live - Friday 7 PM to 9 AM

For Saturday 
(There are no conflicts so you don't have to order them this way - I just did because it keeps it organized by day)

11. Killer Breakfast 9 AM to 11 AM
12. Gamers Live​ 12 PM to 2 PM
13. The Gamers Season 0 - 3 PM to 4:30 PM

Even though you have Killer Breakfast as high on your list, it doesn't conflict with anything, so it doesn't have to be high on the priority list. As long as the event you really want to do is listed higher than another event at the same time or overlaps at all, you should be fine. 

That being said, when you submit your list on Sunday, you might get everything you wanted, or you may only get 2-3 of your 13 events. This can be pretty disappointing especially when you build your schedule around events that you absolutely want. 

Even if you don't get everything you want, there is always so much to do. I have actually started limiting myself to 2-3 events a day from when I first started. I found that I had less time to explore, less time to get together with friends for food and less time to find out other cool things happening that didn't require a ticket. Plus, people will drop events between now and end of registration, and new events will continue to be added.

If by some weird snafu, you get extra tickets, just return them for a refund. Easy peasy.

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Alec Usticke, Unofficial Gen Con Indy Facebook Discussion Group