TOPIC: Considering volunteering

I've volunteered at Gen Con, and I'm looking at Origins as more my home play field since it is cheaper, but now I'm looking at GHC and thinking about volunteering. If I did, it would need to be full time to afford the trip.

Personal Pros:
More TD play opportunity, all the amazing TD vol perks, check out a con I haven't been to before, see some of the cool members of the TD community, reserved vol runs before or after shift

Personal Cons:
Build the dungeon (haven't done it before), 7 hour drive there, 7 hour drive back after tearing down the dungeon, usual con costs (parking, food, swag, etc), driving through the midwest in November, traffic near Chicago, potential for blizzard to shut down any and every freeway in the Chicago area, locked in the dungeon during con hours (having never been to GHC, don't really know what I'd be missing by volunteering)

That's about all I can think of right now. So the major hang ups are mostly travel related.

Anyone able to sell me further on the idea of volunteering for GHC?

Alright, this will be my third Gameholecon so here's my two cents.

Why I go - Two years ago it was all about true dungeon. But four runs in one day capped off by a run with someone quacking a duck through the dungeon is too much. Last year was a happy balance. I find that I am able to get tickets to games that are hot or new that i wasn't able to get tickets for at Gencon.

Driving - I'm driving from Canada. I get what you're saying about driving in November but we've already had two months of winter here. So often the weather is nicer in Madison. In all seriousness Gameholecon is a week later this year so I suppose that's a worthwhile factor. It has something to do with the Badgers schedule.

Dealer hall - It takes longer to walk from the dealer hall at Gencon the true dungeon area than it takes to walk from one end of the Alliant energy center to the other. It also probably won't take you more than 30 min to go through the dealer hall. It is supposed to be larger this year so we'll see...

Food - Alliant energy center is licensed. You can actually get a beer or whatever you want with whatever you're playing. I did a learn to play Viticulture last year. The guy who ran the game brought a couple of bottles of wine to share.

Parking - I don't know about the surrounding hotels but parking at the con is free.

I don't know what the volunteer schedules are like but I believe the last couple of years runs started at noon on Friday and 2:00 on Saturday and the last run ended around 11pm? I could be wrong and I have no idea what this years schedule for events will be. Other events start as early as 8am and events run midnight at the latest. So it's possible to pick up events either before or after your shift.

It's a growing con. I'm excited to see this years changes.

Cons - southwest doesn’t fly into Madison airport so have to use another airline and suffer baggage fees.

Options - use airline that flys to Madison
Fly to Chicago or Milwaukee and take bus from there.

Pros- get bunch of free tokens , ultra rare

If you do end up being accepted as full time vol and get hotel the hotel will be available the day before setup begins so you don’t have to make that 7 hour drive early in the morning and since your posting ahead of time may be to carpool with people

Haven’t been to the con before either but I did apply.

It's a nice quiet little con, in no way comparable to gencon in terms of size, but has a lot of history and a great atmosphere.

jon wrote: Cons - southwest doesn’t fly into Madison airport so have to use another airline and suffer baggage fees.

Options - use airline that flys to Madison
Fly to Chicago or Milwaukee and take bus from there.

Pros- get bunch of free tokens , ultra rare

If you do end up being accepted as full time vol and get hotel the hotel will be available the day before setup begins so you don’t have to make that 7 hour drive early in the morning and since your posting ahead of time may be to carpool with people

Haven’t been to the con before either but I did apply.

The drive is a biggie for me. If I can convince a friend to go with me that might swing my feelings a bit, but then they'd either have to volunteer too or book a room somewhere else. I'm the only TD person among my friends, as none of them want to spend the money on it or anything.

Coming from Detroit and driving through Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin in November just seems like a crap shoot to me, and I really hate snow, cold, and winter. Makes me grouchy.

A few of us from Ohio made the trek originally because TD!. By the end of that 1st con we knew we were coming back due to how well run the con is and already have plans. It's a relaxing con for me. The ability to get a beer and game is awesome but nice just to play some other games and not be completely rushed like Gencon.

Lot of industry folks actually attend this con for fun.

I don't volunteer at GHC (I do at Gen Con and Origins) due to it being 9+ hour drive for me each way and GHC is my no commitment con. On car pool i'd suggest poking around here and asking around. How i've done it past few years for GHC and TDC.

It is a nice relaxing con compared to GC/Origins. I volunteered the first year TD was there (2016). Had to do setup, DM, and tear-down. I think this year there is an install crew so the other vols shouldn't have to do as much of that, which would be nice.

This year I am volunteering at GC so most likely not also at GHC.

Weather should be ok in November. And Chicagoland has plenty of snow plows. Just avoid rush hour for sure.

Well, I got some time yet until I need to decide. I might offer my own game I designed there instead, if the costs aren't too bad.

How do they handle events? Do they do a ticketing registration system like Origins and Gen Con?

Hawk Fingle wrote: Well, I got some time yet until I need to decide. I might offer my own game I designed there instead, if the costs aren't too bad.

How do they handle events? Do they do a ticketing registration system like Origins and Gen Con?

Yes they have their own system. It is good. (Unlike Origins.)

I can provide crash space for out of town people if they want to show up a day early. I live 25 min from the convention center.

Just submitted app for full time volunteer at GameHoleCon

Had a great time volunteering at Origins, and hope they can use me again in Wisconsin.

I appreciate the powers that be in finding a place where my disability allows me to be successful!

My family and I go to GHC and we stay at an “off site” hotel and when it says 10 miles away, it means 10 minutes. The Midwest has its advantages. November driving can be rough, ours is 3 hours and going with weather so I understand the concern from the other direction, sounds like there might be opportunity. The big part of GHC which TD supports well from my limited understanding is that any celebrity who does a panel, shows a game, or talks in the halls needs to participate in two public events. Those sellout quickly and I don’t even try since GHC is so much easier and more relaxed than GenCon. It is worth going to once to see if you like it even if it means a local con grows, because it’s a cool local con.