To be fair, every year that we have attended Gen Con in the last three years, we've have kids in tow. First it was with our four year old son, Ranger, walking around and baby Scout in a backpack. The next year was with a five year old Ranger dressed as Mario and Scout dressed as a little Luigi (perhaps you saw us). And this year, we've got another baby along for the long strange trip.
The first year, we stayed at a friend's house and that worked pretty well. The next, we got a hotel on the Northwest side away from the louder and more expensive conference hotels in an effort to guaranty that our little adventurers had plenty of time to rest and restore hit points at night. Our hotel had lots of nice amenities including suites, a nice pool, a provided modest breakfast and dinner and a pretty big lobby with a couple of big tables.
We had a great time and were able to regroup at night. However, we did miss out on some of the after hours gaming that would have been available if we had stayed in one of the conference locations. Still, the sleep and rested kids was worth it. They ended up enjoying the convention and so did we.
This year we're staying in the same place, but are hoping to still get in some after hours fun. First, we're going to invite some friends to visit our hotel. If they're coming to Gen Con, we're encouraging them to stay at the same place (it's just a short drive back down town after all and their kids will get a good night sleep as well). Then we're hoping to encourage other attendees with kids to possibly stay out there as well.
We've jokingly dubbed it... Parent Con! It's the informal after con gathering for gamers with kids.
I'm reading up on Call of Cthulhu
and Mouse Guard RPG and I'm planning on running a couple of sessions if we get any takers after our brood is put to bed at night. We'll also bring along a couple of board games and party games. If you're attending the convention in August and are looking for a place to stay that will offer both rest for your kids, a chance to meet other gamers brave enough to bring kids to the con as well, and the potential to game after you pack it in from the con for the night, drop me a line at morlockhq at gmail dot com.
Are you attending Gen Con with kids? Do you think that's a totally insane idea in the first place? Let me know in the comments.
** Storied Adventures is a board and table top gaming blog is written by a guy who loves board games and is returning to RPGs after a 20 year absence. I am attached to my wife's Amazon affiliate account, so purchases made through any Amazon links support the ongoing blogging efforts of Storied Adventures (many thanks!)
