[EAST] Pre-PAX East 2012 Gaming Night - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - Westin Waterfront Hotel

ottoman673

Haven't seen a thread about this yet, so I figured I'd go ahead and make one.

This was one of my favorite events last PAX. Last year, a bunch of us gathered in the lobby at the Westin and a lot of people had TTG's. It was a great way for those like me who went to PAX alone to meet new people, yet also try some new games or play a few classics too. I recall a few epic games of Pandemic, and a little bit of Munchkin and Dominion as well.. and it was a great time. So, I want to see it happen again!

Ideally, the night begins around 6:00pm on Thursday, April 5th. at the Westin Waterfront Hotel. We will be gaming on the mezzanine level, a change from last year [thanks, @LexiconGrrl]. The hotel has stated they will set up tables and whatnot for us.

I recall last year having about 50-60 people at least. A concern some had was that it runs right along with the Pre-PAX Dinner/Crawl, and the train doesn't get in until later... but we seemed to have plenty of people regardless, and more just joined as the night progressed. There's only two things we need for this to work:

1. People
2. Games

So if you're interested, feel free to post! I myself will be bringing along Zombie and Cthulu Dice - flying with other, larger TTG's is kind of unpractical.

Edit: Go ahead and add Cards Against Humanity and Pandemic! to my list, as well.

Looking for a game/group at PPE Gaming Night, or the entirety of PAX for that matter? We will be using the hashtag #ttlfg on Twitter. You can also follow @TT_HQ for updates on games throughout the weekend.

Don't use Twitter/don't have a smartphone, etc., but want updates? If you've got a cell phone that can send/receive text messages, you can text follow tt_hq to 40404. I did this my first PAX for the lines, and the Official PAX feed... it helped me keep up with everything, and didn't rely on shaky data connections!

mgriff3456

Me and my friends are staying at the Westin this year and I will definitively be up for this.

LexiconGrrl

Important Note: Last year, the Westin got thoroughly pissed off at the board gamers - they were NOT happy about the board game meetups. There are very few tables available in the lobby that are not part of the working bar, and the hotel and servers lose a lot of money when people tablesquat for hours and only order soda. By the time Sunday evening rolled around they were so anti-gamer that they literally put 'reserved' signs on all the bar tables that only applied to keeping out the gamers: none of the tables were actually reserved. (Edit: the signs were up for a few hours on Sunday evening, but were removed by the hotel staff around 8 or 9 pm).

A month or two ago, I opened up a discussion with the manager of the Westin to suggest that he set up a tabletop gaming area on the upper mezzanine. It seems like a reasonable compromise: lots of space, but no table service (we'd have to walk down to the bar to get our own drinks). He indicated that he liked that idea and would be looking into it, but obviously there are no guarantees until we get there and see what's going on. I reached out to him again today to see what the status is on the request.

Please remember that this is a fairly new venue and they're learning the wants and needs of their clientele just like we're learning what we can and can't reasonably do without repercussions.

In the meantime, please check out this post: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/148471 for gaming etiquette at any working table (table where you get table service from a real meat human) in the Westin.

nataliepi

I'm not staying in the Westin, but I am interested in joining. I have Munchkin Bites and Ascension!

LexiconGrrl

And if we're not dysfunctionally drunk after the PrePax Dinner and the PokeCrawl, we'll be there late with Cards Against Humanity, Pandemic and a few others.

ottoman673

[quote= wrote:

Important Note: Last year, the Westin got thoroughly pissed off at the board gamers - they were NOT happy about the board game meetups. There are very few tables available in the lobby that are not part of the working bar, and the hotel and servers lose a lot of money when people tablesquat for hours and only order soda. By the time Sunday evening rolled around they were so anti-gamer that they literally put 'reserved' signs on all the tables that only applied to keeping out the PAX attendees: none of the tables were actually reserved.

A month or two ago, I opened up a discussion with the manager of the Westin to suggest that he set up a tabletop gaming area on the upper mezzanine. It seems like a reasonable compromise: lots of space, but no table service (we'd have to walk down to the bar to get our own drinks). He indicated that he liked that idea and would be looking into it, but obviously there are no guarantees until we get there and see what's going on. I reached out to him again today to see what the status is on the request.

Please remember that this is a fairly new venue and they're learning the wants and needs of their clientele just like we're learning what we can and can't reasonably do without repercussions.

In the meantime, please check out this post: http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/148471 for gaming etiquette at any working table (table where you get table service from a real meat human) in the Westin.

Were they? I had no idea... I went last year on Thursday night, before PAX, and everything seemed to work well. I stayed in the InterContinental last year, so I wasn't at the Westin any of the other nights. They seemed rather tolerant of us being in the front portion of the lobby, though. And when the group i had met decided to go to the restaurant/bar they had on-site, we put the games away, ate, drank, and left accordingly to return to the lobby to resume.

This would be a good idea that you suggested, though. If i recall, that mezzanine area was rather spacious as well. I'm also open to any other ideas, too.. let it be certain groups/games in hotel rooms, or whatnot.

LexiconGrrl

ottoman673 wrote:

Were they? I had no idea... I went last year on Thursday night, before PAX, and everything seemed to work well.

Yeah, I don't think they knew what hit them that first night. We had a great time too, but as it was later explained to me, it was an aggregated frustration that built up throughout the weekend. By Sunday evening it was getting a little ugly.

ottoman673 wrote:

They seemed rather tolerant of us being in the front portion of the lobby, though. And when the group i had met decided to go to the restaurant/bar they had on-site, we put the games away, ate, drank, and left accordingly to return to the lobby to resume.

This is one of my frustrations with the way that the Westin decided to set up its lobby. It's not immediately apparent, but only 3 or 4 of the tables in the front lobby area are non-bar tables. There's very little public seating, which is really aggravating. I'm sure that many of the folks who were playing didn't realize that they were sitting at a bar table and just assumed that there were cocktailers working the entire lobby. +10 to the Seattle Sheraton (PAX Prime) for having a better lobby seating arrangement.

zerzhul

I think everyone had different experiences. I never had issues and was in the lobby saturday and sunday night.

Zakky

LexiconGrrl wrote:

And if we're not dysfunctionally drunk after the PrePax Dinner and the PokeCrawl, we'll be there late with Cards Against Humanity, Pandemic and a few others.

I am in this boat! Dominion, Ascension, Munchkin are a couple of our favorites but would love to play anything but would have to see if we make it back sober enough on Thursday night. We are actually coming in early this year to check out Boston so would definitely be game for Tues or Wed night as well if there is an interest. Not sure if we will be able to bring many games given we are trying to avoid checking too many bags.

tvethiopia

I'd be so down for this. planning to do the pre-pax dinner but not the crawl and staying at westin, so this sounds like a lovely laid back post-dinner activity. and many thanks to lexicongrrl for being super responsible and reaching out to management. a question though: if other arrangements don't pan out, is it still cool to game at bar tables if you're boozing while you play?

punzie

Did anyone have egative experiences at the other nearby hotels (Renaissance and Seaport)? I'm sure there will also be people gaming in those lobbies that night. If we don't get the ok from Westin management, perhaps our "official" plan should be to utilize (one of) those for the bulk of the gaming Thursday night.

nataliepi

punzie wrote:

Did anyone have egative experiences at the other nearby hotels (Renaissance and Seaport)? I'm sure there will also be people gaming in those lobbies that night. If we don't get the ok from Westin management, perhaps our "official" plan should be to utilize (one of) those for the bulk of the gaming Thursday night.

Maybe, someone can talk to the management of the other hotels to make sure this is okay first, before we decided to game there?

LexiconGrrl

The manager at the Westin is Out of Office until January 18th (this coming Wednesday). His initial response to the board game mezzanine proposal was emphatically favorable so I'd suggest waiting until he gets back in to find out what the current situation is. We've certainly got plenty of time to plan and the Westin really is the best location.

tvethiopia wrote:

is it still cool to game at bar tables if you're boozing while you play?

My understanding is that if the tables are ordering (read: tipping) as much per hour as would happen if it were being turned over for other diners and drinkers, then the answer is yes. Last year, our group was able to talk the server into letting us sit in the Forbidden Zone on Sunday by assuring him (repeatedly) that we understood the issue, we'd be ordering food & drinks and we'd be tipping well.

Durinthal

I don't recall any issues happening on Thursday night at the Seaport last year; there were a number of groups hanging out and gaming in the lobby. I'll probably just stay there again (considering my room is there) as it was pretty laid back.

henry.hargrove

Exciting. I'll bring Illuminati... I'll expect plenty of cheating.

ishtra

I'm totally up for this! We're hoping to do at least the crawl and maybe dinner, so gaming and guzzling would be nice

We have Dominion (classic, intrigue), Catan (made it out of cookies at a previous event - will bring just classic this time ^_~), Blokus (anyone??).

Staying in the Westin so would love to play in my PJs!

ottoman673

I'm glad to see this thread's picking up a lot of steam. All of the details should be clarified as soon as things can be sorted out with management. Looking forward to seeing a wide variety of games and meeting new people!

Oh, and noted: DS's, PSP's, Vitas... whatever your handheld of choice is is definitely welcome too. I'll be down for some Pokemon battles.

griffin.bruce

I'm definitely hoping to get into town on Wednesday some time, so I cannot wait to play games with everyone! I'll be bringing Munckin (Fu, Impossible, Cheat with Both Hands) and Dominion (All sets minus Cornucopia). And I'm certainly excited to learn some new games. Never played Ascension, but love new games!

adastra

If my group drives up (we're still considering the train), we should have plenty of space to drag along a bunch of our games. As we work out our schedule, I'm definitely leaning towards getting in earlier so we can attend more of the Pre-PAX events (last year we were slowed down terribly by storms and didn't get in until after midnight on Friday morning). So I'd be totally excited to participate in this, especially if it's at the Westin. We could even take requests from our game list if there are specific games that people want to play.

LexiconGrrl

adastra wrote:

bunch of our games

HOLY DICE ROLLING, BATMAN! That's a lot of games. No wonder you have to drive. Do you bring a trailer?

Obernathus

Super excited for this and to meet some new folks!

Nullzone

For anyone who says "We didn't have any issue" simply on the grounds that they weren't accosted by hotel staff to leave the table...understand that will never happen. You are in a moderately high class hotel, where the customer is first in practically all regards; no sane wait staff is going to throw you out unless you are truly causing a disruption to others. Sure, you're costing them money and that sucks for them, but they want your business as much as anybody else's, and if they throw you out they're putting that in jeopardy.

So that said, just mind your surroundings; if you're in a foodservice area, you can occupy it, but you need to make the table worth the money that would go into it on a normal night (consider how much a meal is, plus tip, and multiply that by 90 minute spans to figure out a reasonable amount). You'll get good service this way too; drinks will stay topped up, plates will be cleared, and the staff will be happy to help you out in whatever way they can to make your stay pleasant.

Wheaton's Law still applies, even when dealing with businesses, and while I don't think anyone intends to violate it in these situations, it is something to watch out for.

@LexiconGrrl That's an awesome idea, I hope they go for it.

Chorazin

I'll be staying in the Westin so I'm totally down for this, I should have at least 7 Wonders with me to play.

Temig

Nullzone wrote:

For anyone who says "We didn't have any issue" simply on the grounds that they weren't accosted by hotel staff to leave the table...understand that will never happen. You are in a moderately high class hotel, where the customer is first in practically all regards; no sane wait staff is going to throw you out unless you are truly causing a disruption to others. Sure, you're costing them money and that sucks for them, but they want your business as much as anybody else's, and if they throw you out they're putting that in jeopardy.

So that said, just mind your surroundings; if you're in a foodservice area, you can occupy it, but you need to make the table worth the money that would go into it on a normal night (consider how much a meal is, plus tip, and multiply that by 90 minute spans to figure out a reasonable amount). You'll get good service this way too; drinks will stay topped up, plates will be cleared, and the staff will be happy to help you out in whatever way they can to make your stay pleasant.

Wheaton's Law still applies, even when dealing with businesses, and while I don't think anyone intends to violate it in these situations, it is something to watch out for.

@LexiconGrrl That's an awesome idea, I hope they go for it.

It's also important to remember that while tipping properly will keep the waitstaff happy, it does nothing for management who, if you are tying up a table and NOT ordering, are losing out on sales figures. If the place still has open tables, tipping well, since you may be preventing the server from seating others plus the fact that they still have to wait on you, is fine. If there are no open tables to be seen, however, it is probably best for you to wrap things up and find another venue.

Nullzone

Temig wrote:

Nullzone wrote:

For anyone who says "We didn't have any issue" simply on the grounds that they weren't accosted by hotel staff to leave the table...understand that will never happen. You are in a moderately high class hotel, where the customer is first in practically all regards; no sane wait staff is going to throw you out unless you are truly causing a disruption to others. Sure, you're costing them money and that sucks for them, but they want your business as much as anybody else's, and if they throw you out they're putting that in jeopardy.

So that said, just mind your surroundings; if you're in a foodservice area, you can occupy it, but you need to make the table worth the money that would go into it on a normal night (consider how much a meal is, plus tip, and multiply that by 90 minute spans to figure out a reasonable amount). You'll get good service this way too; drinks will stay topped up, plates will be cleared, and the staff will be happy to help you out in whatever way they can to make your stay pleasant.

Wheaton's Law still applies, even when dealing with businesses, and while I don't think anyone intends to violate it in these situations, it is something to watch out for.

@LexiconGrrl That's an awesome idea, I hope they go for it.

It's also important to remember that while tipping properly will keep the waitstaff happy, it does nothing for management who, if you are tying up a table and NOT ordering, are losing out on sales figures. If the place still has open tables, tipping well, since you may be preventing the server from seating others plus the fact that they still have to wait on you, is fine. If there are no open tables to be seen, however, it is probably best for you to wrap things up and find another venue.

Well, that's why I said to establish a reasonable amount of expense over 90 minutes based on meal plus tip; you should be ordering food. If you don't want to gorge your faces then just get some appetizers and snack on them while you play, no big deal.

browncoatbeth

Durinthal wrote:

I don't recall any issues happening on Thursday night at the Seaport last year; there were a number of groups hanging out and gaming in the lobby. I'll probably just stay there again (considering my room is there) as it was pretty laid back.

this. me also. had no problems hanging in the seaport lobby last year and will probably be doing it quite a bit again this year.

nataliepi

I don't know which hotel I'll be gaming at but where ever it is, I expect copious amounts of fun!

SmallLady

Just a suggestion, but can OP put the date of the event in the subject?

Trandescent

I'll be bringing my Magic the Gathering cards. However, im hoping to learn a new TTG.

ottoman673

SmallLady wrote:

Just a suggestion, but can OP put the date of the event in the subject?

Consider it done. and bolded.

SmallLady

ottoman673 wrote:

SmallLady wrote:

Just a suggestion, but can OP put the date of the event in the subject?

Consider it done. and bolded.

Sorry, I meant in the subject (title) of the event. soon we're going to be getting multiple events piling up and having a date in the subject may help people quickly identify which "pre-pax gaming night" they are clicking.

Mathrym

Wow, this is amazing! It's gonna be my first year and I thought I wouldn't know what to do on my first night in Boston.

ottoman673

SmallLady wrote:

ottoman673 wrote:

SmallLady wrote:

Just a suggestion, but can OP put the date of the event in the subject?

Consider it done. and bolded.

Sorry, I meant in the subject (title) of the event. soon we're going to be getting multiple events piling up and having a date in the subject may help people quickly identify which "pre-pax gaming night" they are clicking.

Consider it RE-done. =p my eyes must not be working today..

ErickaJo

We'll be at the Seaport, which isn't far. We're hoping to get in on the Pokecrawl, but if we're in the shape for it we'll be there. I can offer such awesomes as Fluxx, Martian and Zombie Dice, Apples to Apples Dice (this is actually pretty cool for something you want to learn in 30 seconds), some flavors of Munchkin... and I'm sure we can dredge us some other stuff.

spacemansean

Definitely gonna be coming for this. I don't really have much to offer, though. Chess? Agricola? Twilight Struggle?

ottoman673

spacemansean wrote:

Definitely gonna be coming for this. I don't really have much to offer, though. Chess? Agricola? Twilight Struggle?

Any and all games are welcome. Come to think of it... I haven't had a good game of Chess in awhile. We might have to work this out.

LexiconGrrl

Good News! Below is the email I just got back from the Manager at the Westin:

It is exciting as we get closer to the PAX event. Thank you again for your suggestion. I agree that a gaming area is a fantastic idea and will go ahead and stage tables and chairs on our Mezzanine floor overlooking the lobby.
I think this will be a fun area since people at the tables will be visible from the lobby and help create a fun buzz.

Travel safely and we will see you soon.

There was no clarification as to whether we'll be expected to only sit in that area or not, but I'll pose that question a little closer to the event. I've sent him quite enough email recently, methinks.

Chorazin

That's AWESOME news!

ottoman673

Topic is updated to reflect that info.

zerzhul

LexiconGrrl wrote:

Good News! Below is the email I just got back from the Manager at the Westin:

It is exciting as we get closer to the PAX event. Thank you again for your suggestion. I agree that a gaming area is a fantastic idea and will go ahead and stage tables and chairs on our Mezzanine floor overlooking the lobby.
I think this will be a fun area since people at the tables will be visible from the lobby and help create a fun buzz.

Travel safely and we will see you soon.

There was no clarification as to whether we'll be expected to only sit in that area or not, but I'll pose that question a little closer to the event. I've sent him quite enough email recently, methinks.

That's pretty great, hopefully it will work out well.

nataliepi

So excited for this!