You know what really grinds my gears? What gears you ask? Well the GEARS OF WAR(gaming conventions). Join Jonathan today as he vents his mind in regards to what can improve our beloved gaming cons.

The longest-running tabletop wargaming podcast on the planet

1 – Unnecessarily Difficult Experiences

It shouldn’t be like searching for the Ark of the Covenant to find where you are supposed to be gaming. Failing to number tables for GMs, mentioned in the TotalCon 2017 ep, is a prime example, This is a simple fix and very easy to avoid. Other things would be inadequate gaming space, having the con in hard to find locations, when your GPS says “good luck” when you put in the address is a bad sign.

2 – Registration problems

You should not be able to pre-register for games that are full. Opening pre-registration for hotel rooms and/or the convention too far in advance also falls into this category. Just like a fat person getting small clothes before they lose weight, when the time comes you just don’t know if it will fit.

3 – Unclear rules

The con should have a clearly stated and found code of conduct/terms of service/policies. They should at least state what is or is not allowed and also how monetary transactions are to occur. By this I mean they should say how much a ticket costs, payment methods, etc. If Moses could present 10 rules to the Hebrews, con organisers could come up with a handful of common sense guidelines.

4 – Lack of gaming variety/too much variety

It is annoying when a con has 5 games using a single system/time period to the detriment of all else.  It is also annoying if there’s a lot of different games that don’t cover any of the most popular systems/time periods. Clumping similar games/periods together such as all the WW2 games in a Saturday afternoon slot can be another problem. This tends to rely more on the GMs submitting the games as they submit what they like and when they can run the game.  The con does have a responsibility to intervene. Not everyone can be at the con all weekend or can play in that Saturday afternoon.  You need spread things out. Just like vegemite, it is better if its spread lightly and evenly.

5 – No Attendee Feedback

Every con should strive to provide the best customer service it can. Nobody is perfect and even for those that are great they can benefit from feedback. Every con should have some method for attendees to easily provide feedback. This can be as simple as a SurveyMonkey survey online, feedback forms at the con, or posting on social media. The con needs to take that feedback to heart, think about it, and make any necessary changes.  Don’t be like comic store guy from the Simpsons – “worst feedback ever….”

Mailbag

From Facebook

• Listener Don said of Episode 176: Cigar Box Battle Mat Review -“I’m selling them in the studio now.”

Do You Like Wargaming Recon, then Review the show

If you like what you hear please consider reviewing us on iTunes & Stitcher Radio.

iTunes and Stitcher Radio are some of the most popular ways for listeners to find podcasts. Why not help a potential new listener find our show and help grow the hobby?

Recent Reviews

Announcements

PATREON

Patreon backers get the newest episodes FIRST

Don’t want to wait?  Support Wargaming Recon through Patreon. It costs as little as $1 per per month. That is less than a cup of coffee.
Thank you to:

1. Patrick
2. Chris Parker of Day of Battle Games
3. Kyle from Vermont

$55 away from next Patreon Goal

Reminders

• We suggest Mobile Users use Pocket Casts ($3.99 for iOS, Lite version is FREE). $3.99 for Android users.

• Read the Episode Guide for sneak peeks at future episodes.
• Next Episode is 180 releasing on April 10 2017

• Subscribe to us on iTunes

Many thanks to Jeremy Kostiew, Troll ITC’s logo designer, for our amazing logo. Check out his portfolio at MightyNightGaunt.com

Contact Wargaming Recon

We hope you enjoy this episode of Wargaming Recon and welcome your feedback. Send it all to:

• Jonathan@WargamingRecon.com (Audio files welcome)
• Leave Telephone Voicemail: (347) 470-4263
• Subscribe on iTunes
• Find us on Facebook
• Twitter
• Stitcher Radio
• Send a Voicemail (free, you only need a microphone and computer).

Credits

“Downtown” by Matthew Ebel is our theme song. Please give his other music a listen at www.matthewebel.com.

Joshua Shoobridge edited the audio for this episode and wrote the show notes.

License

This recording is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.

Wargaming Recon is dedicated to the memory of long time listener Andrew who helped to give the show its name.  I ask all listeners to join me in a moment of silence in Andrew’s honor.