Pre-Signing Problems and Possible Solutions

[BigJonno]

Any game that players are paying for should have the same priority for tables as any other. I like the idea of rewarding GMs with the chance to pre-sign. I can see the appeal of a distinguishing regular games from "official" (as in fully paid-up) invitationals, with the only pre-signs on the board being GMs going through the desk. However I can imagine it would lead to people running an invitational for four when they could have run a public game for six.

[Evilgaz]

We get this every fecking year. Dudes. If you're a GM running more slots than anyone can count on one hand, then getting a couple of buddies into a couple of games isn't an issue.

If people fill up a sheet, its a bunch of players that aren't competing for the other games.

I ran for 6 every time to get the maximum Gaz Love spread around. Should we be frowning at all those four player games going on? They're effectively the same as a six player with two names already on the sheet (in terms of how many can play). Hell no.

I'm honestly sick and tired of all the bitching that goes on about sign ups and who's in what game. There are a dozen games I'd have liked to be in, but didn't get the chance. So what? I also played and ran some cool shizzle.

The Conception guys do a tremendous job and its was as smooth as you can expect for getting 500 people into games.

Apropos of nothing - at GenCon one year one of the organisers said to me "You've got to treat them like sheep because that's what they are". You've never had it so good.

[Lyanna]

I played in 9 games, almost all of which I had no troubles at all signing up for because I regularly checked the sign up sheets. I don't think I saw very many sign-up sheets go up pre-filled. Matter of fact ... I don't think I remember a single one.

I was invited to one game. And I pre-signed up for another when the situation came at hand. Like Brenda said - was I going to pass up on the opportunity to play a game I really wanted to play when it came along? Hell no. Both games did not go up on the notice boards. For both games we had a regular table. For both games I payed with a regular ticket. I really don't see the problem. There was no problem with getting a table as far as I could see, and there were plenty of other games to sign up for if you only took the opportunity to check em out during a bathroom break.

This was my second con, and I knew a lot more people than I knew the year before, but it didn't make any difference in my ability to get my gaming-groove on. As a newbie, last year, I played all the slots available to me without any problem whatsoever. Never did I have a moment where all sheets were already filled which left me with nothing to do. I really, really do not see the problem.

[ncmreynolds]

We get this every fecking year.

I didn't think signup was at all problematic this year.

The friends I brought along, who've been coming for several years, commented on the fact. One of them expected this to be the year things exploded in a shower of player dissatisfaction due to a shortage of table space and rabid competition for spaces, but it simply didn't happen. He played more than last year. Apart from the game of GURPs, which he refused to sign up for despite being a GURPs-apologist. So we egged him about it for the rest of the con.

In the end the small changes made to the reserve system and table allocation seem to have smoothed things over a lot in my opinion.

[BigJonno]

I was trying to provide some open feedback from a con newbie. I'd appreciate it if people who had no problem signing up for games didn't act like I'm either whining or imagining an issue where there isn't one. I'm not particularly picky about the games I play, but I still had problems finding spots in games I was willing to pay for the privilege of playing. (By that I mean that as much as love the game, I'm not going to pay £3 to play Catan with a bunch of strangers. I've heard plenty of stories of gamers with incredibly narrow tastes who then complain they couldn't find anything to play.) I walked away from two slots with nothing to play and had to rely on reserve spaces for another two slots. As a newbie, that is very disheartening and it's compounded by hearing about great games that you didn't have the chance to sign up for.

I posted it up here because I'm not sure how I feel about it myself, like I said, I completely support people being able to play with friends, especially when they only see them at cons. Playing with people I recognised from here was one of the highlights of the con for me and I do hope to do it again at my next con. I'm also going to try and do my bit to improve things next time and try to run the kind of games that I felt were a bit thin on the ground.

[Lyanna]

Uhm, I was a Con newbie last year as well, and simply did not experience the problem you are describing. I mean, as much as you have the right to post that you had troubles, I have just as much right to say that I didn't have any at all. Right?

[BigJonno]

Uhm, I was a Con newbie last year as well, and simply did not experience the problem you are describing. I mean, as much as you have the right to post that you had troubles, I have just as much right to say that I didn't have any at all. Right?

Of course you do, sorry if it seemed I was singling anyone out, it was more of a general build-up.

[Lyanna]

No problem

Thing is, this has been discussed before, hence maybe the "I don't see the problem" or "we get the same thing every year" comments. It's a buildup on the "other side" of the fence as well

[cade_tosscobble]

Dave Mac, Jez, calm it down dudes, where's the love...

Honestly, its not worth stressing over.

This conversation happens every year, I read it every year, with the hope there may be an answer, but I don't think you can as its about peoples perceptions and we each see the same thing differently.

[Evilgaz]

For general reference on the table front, I got a table for every one of my games no problem. Know how I managed this feat? I told the con organisers in advance what I was playing when (or rather I got my man to do it), and it was all sorted. No playing in chalets for me.

The only "problem" I can sort of see is that people turn up not knowing when / if / what they're running and loads of horse trading goes on around everyone getting into everyone else's game, half the games don't run and most of the others switch slots like a demented gambler at Vegas.

If everyone stuck their sheets in at the desk first thing (with sign ups on or not) that'd save a lot of fannying around frankly.

[Al]

Hmmmm

I did put one up on the board prefilled.

Why? Coz I was in mind in neutral mode

Take to desk
Get table number
Stick on board
Go to bar


I can see the logic in omiting the last two steps and if doing so avoids causing upset then I shall in future.

[MartinBailey]

The trick to getting into games is to check the boards shortly after the start of each slot and to not be too fussy. Also - if there's something in particular you want to get into - ask around. They're a pretty friendly bunch and they aim to please.

From my observation, there seemed to be a fair few games with spare places at muster and reserves regularly got into games.

[w00hoo]

I went for being organised this year and it seemed to work pretty well. I knew when 4 of my games would run before I left home, so handed those sheets over to the Con desk straight away. I got the 5th sorted when I'd figured out when it was going to run, and that went over to the Con desk too. The 6th was as surprise to me anyway, so I too let my man sort it out.

I think every sheet I put up had one name written on it already, that was just how it was. I could have written a lot more on for at least one of the games, but didn't. That's where my comfort zone is. I warned the players that I thought might have wanted to play that it was running in a particular slot and let them do whatever they were happy with to get in the game or not.

As for playing, I signed up for two on the board, was pre-signed for two as it's become a bit of a tradition (but the sheets still went up mostly empty) and picked up a reserve slot at muster for a fifth. If I'd realised the GM's could have a look through the sheets thing was running then I'd have given it a go for Sunday morning as I had nothing, didn't really feel like playing what was there at muster so skipped the slot. Doesn't really matter as I had a good time chatting with mates anyway.

The thing about Conception is, you'll always miss out on some of the games you want to play, so I've decided the horse trading slots isn't worth the hassle. Pick when you're going to run, chuck in the sheets and stop bothering about it.

It'd be nice to have got on to some of the kewl stuff that filled up (I'm going to go with) very quickly, but to be honest, if they'd gone up on the boards empty you'd have probably had little more chance anyway. So you've little option but to live with it.

[thtraveller]

I liked the GM ability to stick their name down for a future game after they'd run something and come back with the tickets and sheet. Sure, not all games are handed in in advance and you have to look at 3 slots in advance as the others were already on the board, but that sort of pre-signing rocked.

Dang, I ran 8 and only pre-signed for 2. They owe me 6 next year

Seriously though, if all the GMs had taken advantage of this there would have been a lot more pre-sign-ups.

[Kaiserjez]

If you think I'm being unreasonable with my comments (which, to be perfectly frank, you are) then that's your choice, but don't throw up the argument that you're a paying customer and, therefore, deserve to be able to do whatever you like. Other people run games in their accommodation (sometimes they even have to). Why shouldn't you? Especially for a game that's prearranged?

The point I'm trying to make Dave, is that I shouldn't be forced to game in a chalet because I've already filled a game in advance. If I get told theres no tables left then that's fair enough obviously.
Season ticket holders at the football don't get told they have to go and watch the game on tv because too many people have turned up on the day.
I didn't even book the bastard tables until a couple of slots in advance, sorry if me being organised meant anybody had to go without a game.