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I hate that the first thing I thought of was, "hmm, it doesn't look like Luigi is actually that much taller than Mario." Edit: referencing this Quarex posted:
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Apr 2, 2015 03:58
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Someone should just get those artist alley people to send Mike Pence all those very detailed pencil drawings of male movie characters making out.
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Apr 2, 2015 04:23
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I'm an actual resident of southern Indiana (it sucks yes, if you don't live here be glad that your visit for GenCon is transient) and I've been to the Ram a few times, and I wasn't a big fan any time. You're better off going to some bar with food, or a place like Bazbeaux's Pizza or the Brewpub in Broad Ripple. Of course those are more on the edge of the city so if parking is an issue for you it might not be very convenient at all. In any case I went to GenCon last year with about no money and still had a great time, and assuming I get hired at this new job I might actually have a chunk of cash to spend this year. Woo.
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Apr 2, 2015 05:34
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Irvington, on the city's East side has a little place called Jockamo's Pizza that is every bit as good as Bazbeaux's, and a few doors down there is a local brewery called Black Acre that I can't recommend enough. Just a few minutes out of the downtown area. I usually hit up the food trucks for lunch and stop by there on my way home.
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Apr 2, 2015 15:50
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this troper posted:I'm an actual resident of southern Indiana (it sucks yes, if you don't live here be glad that your visit for GenCon is transient) and I've been to the Ram a few times, and I wasn't a big fan any time. You're better off going to some bar with food, or a place like Bazbeaux's Pizza or the Brewpub in Broad Ripple. Of course those are more on the edge of the city so if parking is an issue for you it might not be very convenient at all. Are those places within walking distance? The biggest appeal of the Ram is the quality and price of the food/beer for the distance. Walking in from the Con, getting shitfaced, walking to the hotel and drinking more is our typical end for the night.
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Apr 2, 2015 19:54
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Sigma-X posted:Are those places within walking distance? You have more steps there than my friends do. They wake up and immediately drink then fill their flasks and head to the con. They then spend the rest of the day in a buzzed state.
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Apr 2, 2015 20:34
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Sigma-X posted:Are those places within walking distance? No they are not. I believe it is that time of the thread for my standard recommendation of Loughmiller's. Over the last few years it has gotten more popular, but even last year I never even had to wait for a table. Meanwhile places like the RAM would have a 1-2 hour wait at that exact same time. If you are willing to walk a bit, Massachusetts Avenue is full of awesome places to eat and drink. Thanks to the demographics of the people going to the con, a lot of people are not willing to walk that far. This helps keep the crowds down most of the time. At least this is true until Friday/Saturday night when the area gets it's normal weekend night people. If you are wanting to see what Indiana craft beer is all about then the Tomlinson Taproom is where you want to go. It's inside the Indianapolis City Market, which is an awesome building, with plenty of seating and tables for games. Once we get closer to the event I will do a more serious list for you guys, or just comment on chronos when he does his.
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Apr 4, 2015 07:08
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It just depends what you want. I like a place with a good beer selection, decent food, and near my hotel and the convention center. The Ram fits those and I like the atmosphere. I have never had a problem going in there any time by myself and just walking in and getting a spot at the bar either immediately or after waiting 5 minutes. If I was going with a group and had long waits than yeah, I would probably go somewhere else. Con time is short and precious and I don't want to spend it waiting too long for tables.
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Apr 4, 2015 18:36
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Yeah, my group had a fantastic time at the Ram last year. We just walked in around 1 AM, saw that Star Wars movies were playing, and started chatting with the loudest table of guys playing Lost Legacy. We ended up playing it with them until closing time and getting a lot of beer for reasonable prices and it was great. We did try going out to an Irish-themed bar for dinner , O'Reilly's, and it was not good at all. It turned out that there was a reason that it as half empty even during GenCon.
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Apr 4, 2015 18:48
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What killed The Ram for me was not at all the fact that it is always wall-to-wall busy, or that while it is good enough it is not outstanding...it was the fact that I lived within walking distance of one in Seattle and so my wife and I probably went like 50 times over the span of a couple years and oh god I am so over it. EVEN THE BREAD PUDDING The Colts Grille attached to the Embassy Suites has what I would say is better food overall, and though I am not sure about the alcohol selection I have not heard people complaining about it. And it is definitely always less crowded than The Ram, though I have not tried to go during Peak Nerd times. I still maintain that the only logical way to behave at the convention food-wise is to stuff yourself to the point of near-bursting at breakfast (which is ideally an all-you-can-eat buffet at your hotel if you can make that work), have like a granola bar and some coffee in the vaguely early-afternoonish period, and then go to dinner wherever you choose about a half hour before the exhibit hall closes. Maximal time on-scene, minimal waiting!
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Apr 4, 2015 20:13
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I never get to eat any amazing food other than our staff dinner at the end of the weekend (at Harry & Izzy's). Most of my meal time is spent laughing at all the jackasses in line at Noodles and Company clutching tightly to my cell phone app that summons noodles into my face hole. Sometimes I can even con someone ELSE into walking there to get it for me! So I.. never.. have.. to.. leave.. 
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Apr 5, 2015 19:16
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If you can't summon food to you like some sort of wizard you're looking at a wait everywhere within two blocks of the convention center. Part of the Gen Con experience for my group is the annual meal at the Ram. The trick is to have that meal at around noonish on Wednesday before the rest of the nerds show up.
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Apr 5, 2015 19:33
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I never really had to wait anywhere last year, I just had a tendency to go at weird times between normal meals and would be in line 10 minutes tops at Noodles and Co.
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Apr 5, 2015 21:28
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I try to eat at off hours so my waits are usually really reasonable. I think my worst is at the ram for maybe a 15 min wait. Lunch at 11 usually means places are empty.
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Apr 6, 2015 00:04
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No matter how hard I try things always end up forcing me to eat at "normal" hours so I had to learn all places that are a little further away to dodge the crowd. It also helps that I have "free" parking a couple of blocks away so I can come and go as I please if I want to go to something more than a walk away.
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Apr 6, 2015 00:08
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I suggest taking Backno's advice on local food. He has not lead me astray. Do not believe him when playing Avalon, though. He is a stone cold liar.
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Apr 6, 2015 03:43
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Ego Trip posted:I suggest taking Backno's advice on local food. He has not lead me astray. I am STILL pissed the guy threw in the wrong card in one of those games. And I told the truth a bunch of times as well, just was a very convincing liar when I was a bad guy.
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Apr 6, 2015 18:50
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So hey I should be going to this thing for a third time (except that I still need to book a room but hey I have cash to splurge on something close even at their ridiculous prices). EDIT: And hopefully I will book something in walking distance so I can actually have drinking nights at the con ffs.Backno posted:If you are wanting to see what Indiana craft beer is all about then the Tomlinson Taproom is where you want to go. It's inside the Indianapolis City Market, which is an awesome building, with plenty of seating and tables for games. Backno knows his poo poo. Some of us goons got some great stuff here when SU&SD did their public get together there (say what you will about their tastes in games they know a good place to get beer). Also Backno was the first goon I spotted at GenCon twice in a row so what's with that. Anyways, if any goons want to try for some board gamey stuff I'll be doing mostly that at the con.
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Apr 6, 2015 21:42
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Trynant posted:So hey I should be going to this thing for a third time (except that I still need to book a room but hey I have cash to splurge on something close even at their ridiculous prices). EDIT: And hopefully I will book something in walking distance so I can actually have drinking nights at the con ffs. And here is to hoping your bag of awesome stuff doesn't get stolen this year.
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Apr 7, 2015 04:59
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Quarex posted:Customers who bought this item also bought: As someone working on the history if this hobby I felt a duty to subject myself to this, so I bought it and watched Hobocon tonight. It wasn't terrible, a nice little time capsule of the 2008 Gen Con, some problematic discussion of women gamers, standard complaints of gamer persecution, and the potential horror of anyone who would actually decide to attend gen con with no money or hotel room and wants to be narrated by convention center security nightly.
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Apr 8, 2015 03:56
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Going to Gencon this year!  I couldn't go last year because of reasons that left me with no vacation time and no money, but I had a grand time back on 2013. And this time I know that one of my friends is going! ... also apparently one of the people that made art from Evil Hat is from Colombia and might be going? ... so like, I've been considering getting a copy of Eoris that is in a nearby bookstore and throw it at the Auction, because it's otherwise lonely and abandoned and despite the game being hella complicated the book is still very pretty to look at. Wondering if it's worth it?
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Apr 8, 2015 17:58
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Long shot but does anyone have an extra hotel room/house/box they need bodies for? I've been trying for months to nab a hotel room within 5 miles of the god drat convention center with no luck. We're a party of three, maybe four. We're clean, decent human beings I promise.
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Apr 8, 2015 20:20
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Why 5 miles? Once you have to drive why not go to the the 10 - 20 mile out hotels that are still available and cheaper?
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Apr 8, 2015 20:27
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Yeah and getting stuck in traffic on the highway while blaring Livin' La Vida Loca with the windows down is part of The GenCon Experience™.
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Apr 8, 2015 20:58
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Countblanc posted:Yeah and getting stuck in traffic on the highway while blaring Livin' La Vida Loca with the windows down is part of The GenCon Experience™. Our trip to Gencon usually involves lots of Beastie Boys. If you aren't rockin' out to License to Ill you're doing it wrong.
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Apr 8, 2015 21:11
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I'd actually prefer walking distance (like everyone else) and figured the shuttles are more reliable in the 5 mile range than the 12. I refuse to go through the horror of trying to park a car every day.
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Apr 8, 2015 21:14
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Texibus posted:figured the shuttles are more reliable in the 5 mile range than the 12. Check and see how many stops they have on their route. That should have more to do with how reliable they are than how close the hotel is. Also see where the hotel you want to stay in is one of the first pickup spots. I heard some people complaining that the shuttles were occasionally full by the time they got to their hotel. I don't know how true that is or if it happened how often it did, but if your hotel is one of the first on the drop off/pickup spots it shouldn't be much of an issue no matter how far your hotel is from the convention center. I used the shuttle the first year it existed and had almost no complaints. I also stayed at the Candlewood 2 miles from the convention center that only had itself and one other hotel stop on its route so I had no difficulties with it being full or anything.
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Apr 8, 2015 21:20
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Texibus posted:I'd actually prefer walking distance (like everyone else) and figured the shuttles are more reliable in the 5 mile range than the 12. I refuse to go through the horror of trying to park a car every day. We didn't really have a problem getting into any of the garages, though you might be about 5-10 blocks away depending on when you arrive in the AM. Besides, the odds are good that your car will be faster and if it's not too inconvenient, represents a place to drop off stuff in the middle of the day.
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Apr 8, 2015 21:24
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Texibus posted:I'd actually prefer walking distance (like everyone else) and figured the shuttles are more reliable in the 5 mile range than the 12. I refuse to go through the horror of trying to park a car every day. Parking is really easy, just park at the mall garage and walk over. Also consider that if you're farther out you can taxi in and those taxi costs (especially if you're pooling with folks) can be still be cheaper than a closer hotel + shuttle.
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Apr 8, 2015 22:43
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I'll make the offer again since no one took it last year or earlier in the thread. I will buy a drink or two someone willing to run a Shadowrun game for me and three to four friends. We're all beginners to the system and want to play a game and see how it goes.
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Apr 8, 2015 23:42
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Len posted:I'll make the offer again since no one took it last year or earlier in the thread. I will buy a drink or two someone willing to run a Shadowrun game for me and three to four friends. We're all beginners to the system and want to play a game and see how it goes. Do you have any strong opinions on edition? All I own is 3e, but I am sad that I've done so little roleplaying in previous GenCons.
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Apr 9, 2015 01:14
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OtspIII posted:Do you have any strong opinions on edition? All I own is 3e, but I am sad that I've done so little roleplaying in previous GenCons. How similar to 5e is it mechanically? I think I have the 3e book I picked up for $5 at Origins a few years back but we've been wanting to go with 5e. Honestly though I'd be down for anything. The only Shadowrun game I played was abysmal.
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Apr 9, 2015 01:18
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Sigma-X posted:Parking is really easy, just park at the mall garage and walk over. LuiCypher posted:We didn't really have a problem getting into any of the garages, though you might be about 5-10 blocks away depending on when you arrive in the AM. Besides, the odds are good that your car will be faster and if it's not too inconvenient, represents a place to drop off stuff in the middle of the day. Thanks for the advice, we got lucky last year and got a last minute candlewood room just was hoping to get a bit closer this year, but looks like we're going to need to settle for the farther room. I'm glad to hear the parking situation isn't terrible. My original offer is still out there though, if one of y'all have some last minute drop-outs we'll take their spots to keep y'all's cost down. Texibus fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Apr 9, 2015 |
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Apr 9, 2015 15:24
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110 days left. Less than 1/3 a year left!
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Apr 9, 2015 18:22
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Len posted:110 days left. Less than 1/3 a year left! Can't wait! Despite having to drive daily from home thanks to hotel fiasco, I am pretty hyped about this year!
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Apr 9, 2015 18:25
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Dr. Doji Suave posted:Can't wait! Despite having to drive daily from home thanks to hotel fiasco, I am pretty hyped about this year! We have a couple convention newbies this year. Both me and a friend have girlfriends coming along who have never been to anything like this. It's going to be neat seeing their reactions on day 1 when they see the line for the exhibition hall crowd. Anything fun prereleasing this year?
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Apr 9, 2015 18:28
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Len posted:We have a couple convention newbies this year. Both me and a friend have girlfriends coming along who have never been to anything like this. It's going to be neat seeing their reactions on day 1 when they see the line for the exhibition hall crowd. Every year we have new people who come, and they are floored with the fact they need to walk all over Indy for events. Last year one of them came up and asked which part of the center was the 'Marriott' and I walked him over there. As for pre-releases, I have no idea. This is the first year that I have heard nothing interesting, although I think the SB101 bill overshadowed a lot of it.
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Apr 9, 2015 18:34
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Now that it's only about a third of the year left until Gen Con It's time to start the minimum physical endurance buildup to have a good convention experience aka start walking a minimum of 10 minutes a day right now so you're not a grease-sweating air-suck by the middle of day one like I was the first Gen Con I attended. (I'm still fat, but I've dropped 50 pounds since then.)
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Apr 10, 2015 00:30
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8one6 posted:Now that it's only about a third of the year left until Gen Con It's time to start the minimum physical endurance buildup to have a good convention experience aka start walking a minimum of 10 minutes a day right now so you're not a grease-sweating air-suck by the middle of day one like I was the first Gen Con I attended. (I'm still fat, but I've dropped 50 pounds since then.) I start taking vitamins. The first three years at Gencon I got sick and it was miserable.
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Apr 10, 2015 00:52
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8one6 posted:Now that it's only about a third of the year left until Gen Con It's time to start the minimum physical endurance buildup to have a good convention experience aka start walking a minimum of 10 minutes a day right now so you're not a grease-sweating air-suck by the middle of day one like I was the first Gen Con I attended. (I'm still fat, but I've dropped 50 pounds since then.) Train for the OrcStomp 5K on Friday and convention walking will be a piece of cake 
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