What is there to do at TempleCon?
That's a broad question, but one we understandably get asked often. It's a gaming festival, so obviously you can expect to be doing a lot of various types of gaming in all of its glorious forms. We have RPGs, CCGs, miniatures games on awesome in-house constructed terrain, Live-Action Role-Playing, Board Games, and of course, video games. Chances are high that if you play it, we'll have some sort of support for it going on. And if we don't, you might want to consider running it.
And while that's great and everything, we also offer other stuff like guests, artists, writers, live music, the now-infamous bellydancers, and workshops in all sorts of areas related to gaming, retro-futurism, and other just-plain-cool stuff.
Finally, there are also "meta-convention" activities such as side parties (which are highly encouraged and supported by TempleCon), hanging out in the incredible hotel lounge or the hotel restaurant, and enjoying what Warwick and Providence have to offer. We think you'll find plenty to do.
Does TempleCon focus on any specific types of events?
While there are many events at TempleCon that
Miniatures wargaming at TempleCon is impressive, and for games like WARMACHINE, HORDES, and Warhammer 40k you can expect to see very big crowds. We also pride ourselves on having a ton of staff-constructed top-quality terrain, and making even more around the clock, so that's brought us a lot of wargamer loyalty. 2011 should also bring a sizable increase in the scale of popular historical wargaming such as Flames of War, from Battlefront.
CCGs have also had decent turnouts at TempleCon, especially our flagship game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle from White Wolf, which we host the annual Northeast Qualifier for, and Magic: The Gathering, which is something we've been growing steadily since 2006.
What about board games and RPGs? Any LARPs?
Of course we haven't forgotten about you guys!
Board games were the surprise hit of TempleCon 2009, thanks to our insane new open gaming library, plus a full weekend of scheduled board game events, including our annual Diplomacy Grand Prix, which has been steadily growing since 2007. To accomodate all the fans of our open gaming library and our scheduled board game events, we are doubling the amount of space dedicated to general board gaming at TempleCon 2010, and tripling the space for the Diplomacy Grand Prix!
As for RPGs, we have some old favorites as well as some unique offerings in the works this year, and even better, you'll get to brandish your polyhedrals in some pretty amazing space, reserved solely for RPGs, so your role-playing experience won't have to compete with the noise and bustle of other games and events.
Live-Action Role-Playing is also something we're focusing on this year, with Unhallowed Metropolis staff bringing their brand new Neo-Victorian horror LARP to TempleCon 2010, and more LARP options in the works as well. We think you'll be pretty impressed.
Since you guys don't charge for event tickets, can I pre-register for my favorite event?
Hells yes. Once our schedule for 2010 gets finalized, we allow pre-registered attendees to hold their spots in events right from the "Schedule" area of the website. This is another huge incentive to get your pre-regs in, aside from saving you a bunch of money. Generally, most tournaments and events at TempleCon are designed to accommodate a large number of players, but if one is specifically limited or extremely hot, we'll flag it on the schedule.
Can people who don't pre-register for the convention register for specific events?
Nope. You need to be pre-registered for TempleCon to be able to hold spots in events. This is primarily so that we only have people who are sure they are attending the convention taking up spots in stuff. That's only fair, right?
I missed pre-registration and now cannot register for a specific event! Help! Does that mean I can't attend?
Of course you can attend.
What event registration actually means is that pre-registered members can sign up for events *before* the convention, whereas people who aren't pre-registered for the convention cannot, because we don't want to hold space for people who then decide not to show up. This does sometimes result in events that are full prior to the convention, but it is very rare, and they are clearly marked on our schedule.
If you want to be absolutely certain that you get into an event that you are not pre-registered for, please be sure to arrive at the convention early on the day of the event and give yourself enough time to make it through the on-site registration system & find the event before it starts, and check in with the event organizer as soon as you arrive at the event.
I'd like to run an event at TempleCon. Can I?
Chances are, yes. Many events at TempleCon are hosted directly by affiliates, staff, or companies that sponsor the game being run. However, as in the past, we are still happy to hear from dedicated folks who want to run their favorite game at the convention. If we select your event, you also get free admission to the convention on the day your event runs, as a thank you for supporting the event and community. For more information, check out our Event Submission Center.
I'm not huge on tournaments. Is there any casual gaming at TempleCon?
Definitely. In fact, the vast majority of gaming at TempleCon is pick-up gaming. We have plenty of space and terrain set aside for people to chill out and play virtually anything they feel like. Also, the video gaming section of the convention has scheduled "open play" times for the LAN, and fun casual games as well.
Are you guys serious that there really aren't *any* event costs at TempleCon?
More than serious. It's law to us. When you come to TempleCon, you pay for your membership, and you play in anything you want without spending another dime. There are no exceptions to this rule, since we have always thought it to be pretty stupid to have to pay to attend a convention, and then pay more to actually do anything at the convention, which ends up in some cases doubling what you paid for your badge. If you want to play in some kind of draft or other event that requires sealed product, you'll obviously have to purchase the product at the convention, but you'll never be charged a fee to play in an event at TempleCon. Seriously. If anyone ever tells you that you need a "ticket" at an event at TempleCon, let us know, and we'll punch them.
What kind of prizes can I win at TempleCon?
Many events at TempleCon, especially the large ones, have really cool sponsored prizes from many sources, and in many cases those prizes come from the game developers themselves. In the past TempleCon has also provided trophy plaques for every event, but based on the realization that some dedicated folks have amassed enough of these to tile their bathroom by now, we've switched to dog tags specific to each event, to go with the tags that pre-registered members receive with their convention badges. Once you guys have assembled enough of these to punch people out with your collection, we'll have to come up with something new...