"What are the must haves at a convention for you to attend?" Topic

For me it is:

Ease of getting there, including parking
Date/Time
Plenty of space and lighting
Good friends
Vendor area
Learning opportunities
Flea Market
At least 3 historical minis events in each time slot
Volunteers to make it work

What else would you add?

Good games

A fair number of vendors with product of interest

Good venue

In that order

Many toilets, cleaned every hour on the hour by dedicated housekeeping staff.

Price to attend is maybe the biggest for me. Not only the price of admission but how much is a hotel room, how much is parking, are there inexpensive food options.

After that it would be number of events I'm interested to participate in ( the more events at the show, the more likely there are to be events I want to play in reasonably).

Then if I know other people who will be there

And finally venue.

a huge rucksack
a t shirt there barely covers my belly
and don't forget don't ever wash

For me, it is the basics …

Something Old (a game I know and like)
Something New (a new/never played game)
Something Borrowed (a known scenario in a new genre)
Something Blue (a naval game)

I usually try to provide a con I am attending with the "Something Borrowed". For SWMBO and DOM, Something Blue is an airplane warfare game (preferably WoW/WoG unless someone brought the blimps!).

… and beer.

I'm with Patrick. Lots of clean toilets.

I have a weak bladder. I just wanted to share…

Conveniently close to where I live.
Good volunteers
Good space and lighting
Lots of vendors
Good Demo games

Reasonable hotel cost
Noise control (smaller rooms, carpeting, acoustics, etc)

I usually run games at cons rather than play, and try to bring something different than usual fare.

Decent games

Old friends

A place to grab a friendly beer after gaming is over.

I think distance from home is the critical factor for me.

Games I'm interested in
Vendors I'm interested in
Enough parking
Well run flea market

Games of interest
Total cost package (fees, food, lodgings, etc.)
Location (distance and quality)
Vendors

Very close to my house
Attendance is free along with free gift bags
Someone still picks me up and takes me home for free in a limo
All traffic is diverted by police during my travels
Only games and periods I like
Beautiful looking games I need to put no effort into
Convention starts and stops when I say
Five star hotel rooms for free
Room service for free at hotel
Vendors that give me my stuff for free
Only games that I like and I always win
Free food and booze
Everyone ONLY does what I WANT
perfect weather according to me
People I don't like are not allowed to attend
A noise level that does not personally bother me
Perfectly soft floors that do not personally bother me
My own private rest room with personal attendant
Attending physicians for my possible medical conditions
All my old freinds have to attend, even if their dead, and they must all still like me
I am still allowed to gripe and complain

Give me these demands and I will consider attending????

Regards
Russ Dunaway. 😆

OP: Good points. I would pair up good acoustics with the good lighting.

Must be held at Host Resort in Lancaster, PA (USA)

Seriously, I like the list in the OP.

For me, comfort. I know this is very general but, I would say price is important in relation to comfort. Example, I stayed at the Host umpteen times because. I could have a beer without counting, stressing, ect. I could park my car and not need to spend twenty minutes trying to park. A private privy. Little things! I stayed at the Comfort Suite down the street this last Cold Wars. Why the change? Split the room, major savings. This of course changed my comfort level. I felt the savings was worth it. Comfort.

How about a GUARANTEE that stuff I want is in the flea market at 1/3 price. No?

Well then I'll be happy with a less than 3 hour commute.

EDIT. As for the flea market, how about stuff I've been looking for for years?

Yes Russ, agreed, those are the minimums people expect!

Games I'm interested in.
Decent food.

Beautiful games. Great lighting. Clean facilities. Food-snob worthy food available nearby (within a 15 minute drive).

A clean, pleasant location, not-junk food in reasonable range.

Proximity to a hotel is a distinct plus.

Somewhere on the east side of the pond for starters.

Vendors selling figures

Good games. Functioning AC. Price. A halfway comfortable chair. At least 2 acceptable choices for dinners not far from the convention.

I don't expect nor want the Ritz.

Oxygen, light, enough solid ground to place a table on, positive time flow. Yeah, those're the basics.

A great place to meet up with friends from over the years and also the ability to grab some beers, relax, and have some laughs. The cons I attend are my vacation from work.

NO stairs ! No really ,NO stairs . Its not that I am physically incapable . I just think unless your in a big city where you have no choice but to build up , stairs are rediculous . You couldn't give me a two story house . Besides every scary movie ever made the monster is either upstairs or in the cellar . Sorry Im very tired , but I hate stairs .

Essentials:

Flea Market
Dealers Hall
Food and Shelter in the same building or at least within walking distance. I don't drive 500 miles so I can commute.

Desireables:
Games to watch.
Games to play. (But they only count if I know the rules, or someone will teach the rules.)
Old Friends
New Friends
Lectures or courses to teach me things.

Dealers,flea market, ACW games, WW2 games, Napoleonic games, AWI games.

vendors, more than anything. I want to see products.

1) My friends
2) Some tables where my friends and I can play games
3) Some place my friends and I can socialize later.
4) A comfortable room.

The rest is just the icing.

As a dealer, this is what I would like:

– Good lighting. Losing power at 5 PM on Saturday evening is very uncool.

– Clean bathrooms with functioning toilets and sinks. Losing all plumbing on Sunday morning is very uncool.

– A safe venue. If it snows, I expect the staff to remove all snow and ice from the exits to ensure egress in the event of a fire.

– Good pest control. I don't want to see insects scurrying across the dealer tables.

– Safe staircases. I don't want to see crumbling stairs, torn carpeting detached metal edging that pose a tripping and falling hazard.

– Secure masonry. Loose stones ready to fall on people passing underneath doorways is uncool.

– I want to see good snow removal in the parking lots so there more parking spaces. At the same time, I don't want to see snowplow drivers driving in reverse at high speeds for any reason.

– I don't want to set up at a convention where the restaurant and bar area gets no less than 60 citations in one inspection.

– I don't want to see rain buckets all over the place because the roof leaks.

– I don't want to see deuce-and-a-half trucks, Humvees and dealer trucks cranking up their motors during convention hours and filling the dealer hall with carbon monoxide.

– I don't want to see dealers driving their vans and pickups into the dealer hall for any reason.

– I don't want to see beer distributors, whiskey distributors and COSTCO setting up sales booths at a convention supposedly dedicated to historical miniatures gaming.

– I want the convention center management to keep the air conditioning on while I set up on a hot Virginia day and it is 98 degrees out.

Did I forget anything?

An Entrance and an Exit works for me. Even if it's the same door.

My only factors are distance from home and if I can get free, from both work and wife. Cost isnt too great a factor, I set aside 650 bucks after the ticket, and that is gas, room, eating, and purchases. It goes really far in lancaster where i can stay at the rodeway inn for 70 bucks a night, split between two of us.

Call me brainwashed….
Onsite hotel rooms
Decent food
Games you can participate in
Demmo games
Flea market
Vendors
No drinking policy
Decent parking
Clean venue

A great variety of miniature-based games (please leave the board games at homw), and plenty of dealers.