What:: GASPcon 16
Where:: Monroeville Convention Center, South Main hall
When:: November 6th through 8th, 2015
Hours:: Friday 6th at noon until Sunday the 8th at 6pm
I wanted to give you an update on GASPcon 16, as we roll into the final week prior to the convention.
Pre-registration for players and events closed on October 19th. Great news, we had almost 300 pre-regs this year, which blew last year out of the water! Many of you have asked why not leave pre-reg open longer, to allow people to register for more events. The simple answer is it takes time to compile all the attendees information, and to make sure that everything is exported correctly, to get ready for printing. If we left pre-reg open longer, it would be like trying to hit a moving target. We are looking at some alternate ways to accomplish this task, which we think will allow us to keep pre-reg open longer next year.
Even though pre-reg is closed, many events may still have open slots. We will have sign-up sheets at the convention for you to register for all events. You can check Warhorn to see what is still available and plan your on-site registrations. Even if the event shows as full, sign-up anyway as an alternate in case there is a no show.
We have many NEW, as well as tried and true, events and activities going on this year, including:
• NEW Exhibit Hall
• NEW Artemis Star Trek experience game
• NEW Warhammer 40k events for charity
• NEW Gaming-related seminars
• NEW Information Booth
• The King's Quest metagame
• Silent auction
• Extensive board game library
• Scheduled Events
EXHIBIT HALL
New this year at GASPcon is the dedicated Exhibit Hall, filled with vendors and game designers/gaming-related organizations. Check out the new games being developed by the game designers and have a hand in playtesting their games. Then stop by the PA Coin Operated Hall of Fame & Museum booth, and play some FREE (yes free) games of Gauntlet or the Transformers pinball machine (no quarters needed). And don’t forget to check out the vendors – something is sure to catch your eye, so get it when you see it or it may be gone later. Best of all, the Exhibit Hall will be open to EVERYONE every day! So even if you cannot partake in the convention, you can stop by and browse the Exhibit Hall for FREE (get an Exhibit Hall Only Badge at the registration desk). We really want this to become a permanent feature at GASPcon, so take some time to peruse the vendor wares. Oh, a few booths are still available, so contact me if you or someone you know would like to join us in the Exhibit Hall.
ARTEMIS SPACESHIP BRIDGE SIMULATOR
Assemble your 6-person crew and work together to defend your territory from an alien invasion at the Artemis Spaceship Bridge Simulator. Go up against enemy fleets all weekend long with 6 touch-screen bridge stations, one each for Captain, Helm, Weapons, Engineering, Science, and Communications. Each 45 minute session includes a short practice mission to learn how to operate your console, and then you will switch to a full mission simulation. An extra $5 fee per person, paid to Starship Games (Credit Card/Cash Only), will be required before your adventure begins. We are sure that these event slots will fill up quickly, so sign up your 4-6 person crew at the event registration area. We are really excited about this event – who doesn’t want to be Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock or Lieutenant Uhura?
WARHAMMER 40K CHARITY EVENTS
The Pittsburgh Warhammer 40k group has offered to run two 40k events at GASPcon this year, both of them benefiting the charity Extra Life. Both events start at 9am on Saturday and carry an additional fee (to be paid directly to the organizers), to support Extra Life and for prize support. First is the "Warhammer 40k Apocalypse Charity Event" and second is the "Warhammer 40k Charity Tournament". To help and attract more players (and therefore more money for Extra Life), GASPcon is offering a 40k-only badge for these events, at a 50% reduced rate ($15 instead of $30). If you only want to participate in one of these charity 40k events, stop by the registration desk and we will get you set-up. If you decide to stay for the rest of the con afterwards, you can upgrade your badge after the event. Details for each event can be found on the Warhorn site.
SEMINARS
We also have two gaming-related seminars being held at the convention. The first is How to Explain Board Game Rules (Fri 7pm), designed to help you improve your skill at explaining board game rules. The second is Game, Level, Learn: Teaching Through Gaming (Sat 2pm) and is geared towards teachers (or others interested in gamification) who want to learn how to integrate game-based and gamified methods into their classroom or teaching environment. To help make these a success, they will be open to the public, the same as the Exhibit Hall. Stop by the registration desk for a special badge for these events. If you decide to stay and enjoy all that GASPcon has to offer, you can purchase a normal badge at the registration desk.
INFORMATION BOOTH
Another new feature this year is the information booth. In order to keep traffic down at the registration desk, you now can stop by the information booth for all your con related questions, concerns, or comments. Anything that is non-registration related will be referred to the information booth for assistance.
KING’S QUEST METAGAME
The King's Quest is a con-wide metagame that runs each year. This year the King has asked for the bravest, most skilled citizens in the realm to stand up and prove themselves worthy. To do this, several tasks have been laid out for you to complete. Many of these tasks will involve simply playing games as you normally would, while others will challenge your mind or your nerve. Do you have what it takes? Of the 15 tasks available, those who complete at least 14 of them will be invited to join a special drawing for free games and goodies. You can find out more about the King's Quest in the registration book, or by visiting the information booth at the con.
SILENT AUCTION
Returning this year is the GASPcon Silent Auction, with 3 auctions block times. Bring your used gaming-related product to sell, or pick up some of the new-2-you games offered for auction. All bidding is done with a free bidder number (already assigned during pre-registered or stop by the registration desk).
New this year is the Buy-it-Now feature – if the item has this available, just bring it to the registration desk and skip the whole bidding process.
For our sellers
• Fill out the linked bid sheet for each lot (a lot can be 1 item or multiple grouped items).
• Each lot costs $1 to place in the auction.
• There is a %10 fee ($1 minimum) assessed, based on the final sale price. You can donate more to GASP (some people donate 100%), but that's up to you.
• We will be accepting items up to the end of the second auction.
The auction grows each year, and it's always interesting to see the items people are putting up for sale.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/35559649/GASPcon_SilentAuction_BidSheet.pdfBOARDGAME LIBRARY
The main attraction each year at GASPcon has to be our extensive board game library. Here you can check out any of the games in stock for free, and play as much as you want. This feature is only made possibly by our GASP members that donate their personal games to the library for the convention. So what do we need from you? If you are planning to loan us your board games, please list the games you plan to bring on the library check sheet (linked below). Having a pre-printed list this makes the process very, very easy. All games MUST have your name on an index card or sticker inside or outside the box, so we can identify them to speed-up the check-out process. Please consider loaning us some games for the con, so we can keep the library going strong for our attendees. Even if you don't plan on attending GASPcon you can still loan games for the weekend.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/35559649/blank_library_checkin_sheet.xlsSCHEDULED EVENTS
As if all that wasn't enough, there are plenty of scheduled events going on this year at GASPcon, including organized board games, CCGs, RPGs, LARPs, and of course a multitude of miniature events and tournaments (X-Wing and Imperial Assault among them). Everything can be seen on the event schedules on our Warhorn site (see links below), and you can sign-up for all these events at the convention.
$5-OFF COUPON
If you missed the pre-registration period but still want to attend GASPcon, we distributed some $5-off coupons to various game stores around the Pittsburgh area. This coupon is good for any badge (single day or weekend), but can't be combined with other discounts or offers (like Knight or 40k badges). I added a link to the coupon, in case you are not able to find any around the area. Just print it out and bring it with you to the convention to save $5 on your badge.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/35559649/gaspcon_5-off.pdfVOLUNTEERS
Finally, we are still looking for volunteers for GASPcon. There are many tasks that need your help, and volunteering is a great way to earn back your registration fee. 4-hours gets you a %50 refund, while 8-hours gets you all of your registration fee refunded. Some of the tasks that we need help with are (but not limited to) librarians, silent auction, badge checkers, information booth or registration desk. If you are interested in volunteering, reply back to me, or be at the convention center Thursday night at 8pm, for a volunteer meeting.
FOOD SERVICE
We did make arrangements to have the concession stand open this year, so there will be food and drinks available on site. There is an official no outside food/drink policy for the convention center, but it was not enforced last year. Given we are buying food there, it's probably OK if you bring a few items to get you through the day. No alcohol will be permitted on the gaming floor though, and we are not having alcohol sold through the concession stand either.
I don't have a menu, but assume it will be standard convention style food. It was good last year, both in quality and price.
WRAP-UP
So, get back to me if you received multiples of this e-mail, consider volunteering and/or donating your games to the library, or just stop out and enjoy some free stuff in the seminars or exhibit hall. We put this event on for you, so come on out and enjoy everything GASPcon has to offer. We'll see you at the con.
Game On!
GASP Royal Court
SILENT AUCTION BLOCKS
Auction 1: Friday, 2pm–6:30pm
Auction 2: Saturday, 8:30am–1:30pm
Auction 3: Saturday, 2pm–6:30pm
EXHIBIT HALL HOURS
Friday Noon–6pm
Saturday 10am–1pm, 2pm–6pm
Sunday 10am–1pm, 2pm–4pm
EXHIBIT HALL LIST OF EXHIBITORS
Blue Fenix Body Art
Buy More Cards
Card Caddy
Chuck-a-Con Game Sales
Eye-Level Entertainment
Havenfall
Iello games
Island Games
Javelin Dice Works
Looking for Group-Pgh
Mischief, Inc.
Pennsylvania Coin Operated Hall of Fame & Museum
PBJ Games
Red Herring RPG
Rubio Games
Social Hour Games
Surprising Fun Games
Time Bomb Toys
Universal Battles Books RPG
Wynners Circle Games
GASPCON 16
Monroeville Convention Center (South Main Hall)
209 Mall Plaza Blvd, Monroeville, PA 15146
Nov 6-8, 2015
GASPCON 16 HOURS
Starts Friday Nov 6th at noon and doesn't end until Sunday Nov 8th at 6pm.
GASPCON 16 BADGE COSTS (GASP KNIGHTS GET 25% OFF LISTED PRICES)
Weekend $45
Friday Only $20
Saturday Only $30
Sunday Only $25
For more details about GASP and GASPcon, visit us at
www.gaspgamer.comwarhorn.net/events/GASPcon-16
or send an e-mail to
info@gaspgamer.com
Venue Information::
Monroeville Convention Center (South Main hall)
209 Mall Plaza Blvd
Monroeville, PA 15146
