I am going to try to run some RPG games in the open gaming area.

1 Do we know where the open gaming area will be this year?

2 I plan on posting to drum up players

Open gaming? What do you think this is? Origins?!  /s

I'm wondering about this as well. I'm meeting up with a few friends and want to be able to play some Pathfinder, but we'll need a table for a few 4-5 hour blocks. Normally I would just put the event into the system, but individuals can't do that this year.

How does the open gaming area work?

In the years past, there has been open gaming areas in the JW Marriot and the Lucas oil corridor. I would imagine they would keep the JW for open gaming this year, though they said they are expanding it from previous years.

In GenCon's of yore i've ran an updated version of Night of the Vampire as an open game usually after hours in the convention hall.  Rarely did I even need ask for space, just found an open table, set-up, and let passers-by join and leave as they pleased.

Generally a quick post to FB/Discord/Twitter of "hey i'm doing a thing here" was quick enough to make sure people knew.

Open Gaming? What do you think this is that other Convention that happens in Columbus OH ? 

Seriously of all years they REALLY need to FINALLY offer up so open gaming space.

I agree open gaming is extremely important, but there is so many sold out events already, I think the focus should be on getting more stuff in the system so people can actually have some important event milestones for their convention.

Ever since Lucas oil was opened to us I’ve never had issue asking for a table in there.  
you just go to the staff table and ask where you can play and for how long. However this year we don’t have that, so I am curious where we can do this.

You've always been able to get a table in halls A-E, even in 2019 where E was taken by a company (FFG maybe?).  Without LOS, A-E might be much more crowded this year.

This might deserve its own thread on here, but I'd love to see Gen Con implement and promote a Looking for Players/Game/Group system.

I started a discussion/post in the "Fans of Gen Con" facebook group, and got some good feedback.

In previous years, there was an entire giant conference area in the JW Marriott dedicated to open gaming. It'd be cool for them to promote that, along with a few signs with instructions on how to indicate that you're open to new players. I believe the game library already does something similar with a red flag or something.

From a 2018 email newsletter (I can't find anything referencing this for 2019):

Open Gaming Returns
 
You asked for it, and we listened! We have a large space inside the JW Marriott set aside for unscheduled gaming - check out the new games you just picked up, play an old favorite, reconnect with your gaming group, or make new friends. The possibilities, like the gaming, are completely free and open to anyone with a Gen Con badge.

Location: JW Mariott: Grand Ballrooms 5 and 6
Hours: Thursday 8 am to Sunday 4 pm

As a reminder, we also have lots of tables available throughout the show. Just ask a local Event HQ and they'll be happy to assist. 

On Discord, Derek had this to say (yesterday 7/12):

There is dedicated open gaming space, yes. In a normal year, that's usually set up in a hotel and is more active at night - but this year it will be more central & expanded, to deal with the limitations for this year.

We'll announce details on how that will work fairly soon.