@BukaHobbit – I second. Con On the Cob is great. If you can make it at all, houston is a bit of a drive, it is definitely something to see.

I look forward to meeting you!

@BukaHobbit – Come on up to Ohio! Pre-reg discount is still on. $35 for all four days is pretty damn cheap, and you don’t have to buy tickets for the other events. It’s all one price, dude. ~$75 for a room, though you should find some friends to bring with you, eh?

1) The purpose of the convention was to introduce the public to RPGs.

and

2) The familiarity with RPGs of the participants would be minimal.

If these two assumptions are incorrect, some of what I said does not apply.

While it may impact your packing ability, many indie rpgs are better with three or four players. I don’t know if any of your GMs plan on running any of them, but I’d stick to a better play experience than diluting the experience down to get two more people playing.

I’d lean towards lighter RPGs at several tables– and/or stripped down versions of more complex games. A cartoon Risus game might work well, as might PTA.

I’d also consider “PG ratings” appropriate for mixed groups. Suggest that everyone stay away from any R rated content– you never know what someone three tables over will hear. Not every game has to be “kid friendly”, but should be OK in public with kids present.

I like the idea of “end with something simple and fun”– as suggested, a big game of Mafia/Werewolf would be a way for everyone to briefly participate together and “cool down” before heading home.

It’s a great place, a lot of fun, and well worth the small price of admission for 4 days of gaming delight.

http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com/

~jess

Pre-con briefing for the GMs. Oh, how I wish Gen Con had done this… Perhaps with free breakfast? (In Texas, the Breakfast Taco is a medium of exchange, a gift, an apology, a reward, etc.)

Promote the shit out of it. Try to get non-gamers to give it a try as much as possible. And use a game like FUDGE for them.

Offer a variety of games. Find out who can GM what, and start from there. Contact the publishers to see if they’ll help out. Contact the FLGSs as well.

I think a seminar as a break in the gaming is a great idea. Could it be over a meal, by any chance?

I second the “end with something simple and fun” comment above.

Make sure you have feedback cards or something similar.

–Breakfast. One of the things that brings community together is sitting down at table. It’s also a way to get the small talk out of the way and letting the gaming happen “on time.” Besides, some of the best writing/GMing/illustrating/being a better human advice I’ve ever gotten has happened at cons over breakfast. Combine with a FLGS near a pretty decent breakfast spot just down the main street from the library in question, it’d be handy in case someone forgot something.
–A rating system, both for content and for player experience. I heard of an epic-tier D&D4e game at GenCon that I’d like to try to replicate at a con sometime… but that would take some experience with 4e. Another idea I had for a game was to do a “intro to ORE” game, with copious guidance in the system and reasonable omission of some of the more esoteric quirks to the system. One game might be pretty adult themed, another might be saturday morning cartoon. We should be able to accommodate them all… and communicate that to all who might attend.
–Maximize use of space, but with kindness. Overbooking the spaces is a good suggestion, but what happens when you have 2-3 extra GMs and 12-18 extra players show up? Mercifully, there are often study rooms to go along with community rooms – but treading lightly and with kindness is always a good policy. What’s unfortunate is that I’ve seen that saying this explicitly is necessary.
–In addition to giving props to the GMs, doing nice things for the librarians/library staff might be good.
–CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF. AND OTHERS. Leave the place better than you found it (by any standard imaginable).
–If there are games that will be played featuring games not carried by FLGS, let FLGS know that there will be XYZ game at yon Con so that they might be able to order it for their stock. And in turn, if the players had fun with this game they might not have played before they can just head down the street and get it easily and immediately. Immediate gratification is very nice on occasion.
–Volunteers. One person really can’t pull it all together as efficiently as a small team that has a common goal that is all about everyone having fun.
–The Ever-present “Something Different.” A sick part of me wants to do a jeep-form LARP at this event. Lacuna (you make the system as you play) also sounds cool. Trollbabe? Much of 1km1kt’s output? An Iron GM event where it’s BYOC and the GM fudges it together? These all sound worth driving to, if’n I had to drive to it…

Comments on things others have said:
–meetup. meh. I like Google/Yahoo Groups for communicating better. It’s also much less expensive.
–shared contest. Excellent! FTW!
–RPGA involvement. Nifty idea, but it does give a bias towards certain styles of gaming.
–Goodie bags/prizes. Never a bad idea, but it could be detrimental to the “open to the public” aspect if it conflicts with the library’s non-profit language. But that’s easily handled with a friendly phone call to them.
–Running events at FLGS. Could be a good overflow if the overbooking is too successful. Mercifully the FLGS in question is run by remarkably cool folks, but still working it out with their schedule wouldn’t hurt.

As for GMs, I have a few friends who are interested. I hope to gather 10 total, with a few running two events. I’d like to have 2 ringers for both the morning and the afternoon slots.

The theme I see emerging from the comments is that the events should be plug-and-play where I can take anyone and put them in a player’s seat and they will be able to enjoy that event. It will take some work, but I believe it can be done.

As for a library not being a good location for such an event that depends on the library. This is a modern building designed to accomodate community events like this one. I don’t foresee this causing problems. I’ve spoken with the librarians and they don’t see it as an issue either. Plus the local game shop is too small for this size of an event.

I was already thinking of simple gifts and buying all of the GMs lunch for participating. I might switch the gifts for FLGS gift certificates instead.

Thanks everyone! Keep those ideas coming!

The more complicated (but better, to me) plan is for each table to offer a different take on roleplaying. In the end, though, it comes down to your GMs. Do you have 6 people? What are they ready and willing to run?