So, if my event starts at 9am, and a signed up person has not yet arrived, should I at 9am immediately give his/her seat to someone with a generic ticket who is trying to get in? Or do I wait a few minutes? I ask because my RPG events are only 4 hours long and I want to get them started on time. Also, not interested in the increasing number of players past my six who have signed up.
I usually wait about 10 minutes. Sometimes people are coming from across the convention.
From the Event Host Policy, page 12:
A player with a registered ticket for your event is guaranteed a spot in your event as long as they show up on time. This is true even if your event is $0. If they have a ticket to the event, they are guaranteed a spot. Wait up to 15 minutes for late players, if you can. But if your event schedule is extremely tight and must start on time to finish on time, you can count ticketed players as no-shows at your event start time and accept stand-by players at that point.
Thank you kidlidar and buffythecatslayer. I think I’ll start the pregen and player introductions ontime with any possible replacement players standing behind chairs to give ticket players 15 min to show as that is the policy.
It depends on the nature of the event and is up to GM discretion.
We recommend being as lenient as you can, up to 15 minutes, if possible. But if you are running on a very tight schedule and you need to start immediately, then if players are not there on time they give up their spot.
I would encourage you to look at your RPG events and adjust their run time first (since you generally want to be able to accommodate delays or issues anyway, particularly when playing with strangers).
If you want to increase your event, email [email protected] and we will see if there is space nearby to expand onto. The other tables in your current room may already be booked. If you want to run additional sessions, submit the details ASAP and we'll attempt to process it when we can.
- Derek Guder Senior Event & Program Manager Gen Con LLC
Good advice, don't plan back to back events unless you are in the same location. As a GM I try to plan the event to finish up about 15m before the scheduled end time. This allows players to clear out and be gone when the next event starts. It also allows time for them to get to their next event.