Is Gameday worth it?

[Frustrated Father]

Hey folks,

Alrighty, so tickets for GameDay Atlanta 2005 just went on sale and I just happen to live in the upper reaches of Atlanta.

My question is, at $40, and crummy miniature (IMHO) they are offering this time around, where I don\'t play any games, don\'t plan on entering any contests and pretty much just want to walk around and eyeball stuff and buy some miniatures perhaps, is it worth it?

Do they have a cheaper price range for those that just want to \'browse\'? I\'m curious about it, never been to one, and not going to get into the game no matter how interesting it may look, but at $40 ... just seems a bit steep just to be an observer at best.

What all do they have at these shingdings anyhow?

 

[green stuff]

$40 ??? I hope they give stuff away for that price.

In France, it used to be 15€, a mini, and a T-Shirt. After the mini and the T-Shirt where no longer free. Now The tickets cost 20€.

The gaming tables are getting better, but I really go for the contest. Otherwise, there\'s Forge World stuff, and they also do deals (4 bought, the fourth free).

You can also meet up with nice people, but there is also the \"fan boys\" factor .

 

[finn17]

Difficult decision...

If you haven\'t been before, it\'s worth going for the experience.

My tip would be to go and blag enough stuff on the day to sell on eBay to cover your costs. The Ltd Ed mini normally fetches a premium and the last time I went I managed to get some signed Spec Ed Liber Chaoticas which made the whole trip worthwhile

Having said that, it was not an experience I am too eager to repeat:flip:

 

[freakinacage]

i have to say, despite the rampaging hordes of little brats, i kinda enjoyed looking at the big displays and the pre release stuff. it was nice to see all the golden daemon entries as well. as finn said - go with stuff and get it signed. i was gonna take some dan abnett books but forgot and nearly killed myself when he was there signing books.. :flame:

best option is to meet up with some people and have a beer first! and be prepared to swipe at the head of any child that gets in the way!!

freakinacage does not endorse violence of any kind!

 

[Beelzebrush]

I went a couple of times when it was at Eastwood (I think) when I was considerably younger. I\'ve never been to a large GD and probably never will as I\'m not overly keen on GW. I like some of their minis but not enough to make a day of it. The only thing of interest, would be the demons, but then I can look at the best on the net anytime afterwards.

Meeting CMONers may be reason enough to go though... especially if it means spending most of the time in the pub.

 

[Herb the bitter]

Hey FF,

In my opinion since you don\'t plan on entering the painting competition, and you don\'t like the free miniature and aren\'t going to game, it\'s not worth it.

Aside from the games/contest, they have upcoming releases, seminars, and you can talk to game designers or sculptors, depending on who the guests are. They also have the bane of Supervike, a.k.a Forgeworld stuff, which will make your tickets look cheap in comparison.

If the demons were of UK quality, then I think it would be worth it to go at least once, but the quality of Atlanta\'s entries was a bit erratic last year, and IMHO not worth paying $40 to see. I\'d wait a few years as the demons seem to get better each year, and last year was Atlanta\'s first year.

On the upside, Dragonsreach had previously talked about attending the Atlanta show, so you could meet him/see his stuff if he is still going. Personally I wish he were coming to Chicago instead.

Hope this was helpful.
HtB

 

[supervike]

well well...

I hate to disagree with Herb the Bitter (with him being a GOLDEN Demon Winner and all) but when I went to Chicago\'s Gamesday last year, I didn\'t play the games, I didn\'t enter anything, but it was well worth the price of admission. The seminars were interesting, the battle tables were fun to look at and getting to just look at miniatures was a blast. My wife and I did the speed painting contest, and basically just wandered around for quite a while.

I met and chatted with both Dennismech and Herb the Bitter, both whom were very nice.

Maybe it was just because it was a weekend away from the kids and the normal everyday grind, but I really enjoyed it.

I will definately think about going next year (and this time I plan on entering something!)

 

[E-Arkham]

I agree that the entries last year were erratic (despite the suspicion that mine is one of those contributing to said erraticism), but the main winners were those who regularly compete at other Games Days (Ben Bishop, Joe Orteza, etc) so it\'s certainly worth viewing. There were a lot of entries I thought were wonderful which didn\'t even place, especially in the Open Competition, and you\'ll never see half of these again.

Plus there\'s no way to predict which year is going to be the watershed one for an event.

As a painter, it was extremely educational for me to see the entries in person -- the photos, quite frankly, lie in some manner or another.

Is that worth $40? Perhaps, perhaps not. It really depends on your disposable income. If you\'re not entering the competition, have no interest in the limited edition figures, and don\'t want the chance to chatter to designers, maybe not. In fact, I wouldn\'t be going at all if I wasn\'t entering the competition, but the competition alone makes it worth every penny of that $40 to me.

Of course... this year, I\'m actually spending more than the three days prior on my entry. <smirk>

Kep

 

[Herb the bitter]

Well I guess I should adjust my opinion a little.

If you are planning on entering the Golden Demons some day, then yes, I think you should go so you can see what some of the top peoples stuff looks like, and it gives you something to shoot for. And like I said, shows get better every year.

Sorry E-Arkham, didn\'t mean to offend anyone(nor detract from anyone\'s accomplishments) as there certainly was lots of excellent stuff there too, and pics often don\'t do justice.

Supervike\'s experience perhaps is the best example for you as his situation sounds similar to yours. The only reason my wife wanted to go(I suspect)is much like Supervike, it\'s at least one night away from the kids.

HtB

 

[Dragonsreach]

Herbthebitter:

On the upside, Dragonsreach had previously talked about attending the Atlanta show, so you could meet him/see his stuff if he is still going. Personally I wish he were coming to Chicago instead.

I\'m actually planning on going to the 2006 Atlanta show. (Gives me some time to save some money {That\'ll be a first!}) It also gives me some time to plan and paint a couple of entries.
HTB: Thanks for the compliment, but the \"Home of the Blues\" is a bit too \'windy\' for me. Why don\'t you try to plan for Atlanta 2006 as well?

This Years UK Gamesday, for me, was a blast! I got to meet friends from Coolmini, Old and New. I just wish that there had been more time to talk to all of them, really regret that we didn\'t get to chat with every one. Still most of us in the corner were floating on the \"Love\" from a well known couple. :innocent:

In fact Gamesday is really what you make it. Despite the Smelly Screaming kids and the hyped up GW staff, there is always some fun to be had.

 

[E-Arkham]

Sorry E-Arkham, didn\'t mean to offend anyone

No, no. No offense at all... I\'m one of the first to admit my entry was a bit dodgy. As I said, I did finish it in three days, after all. I\'d forgotten entirely about the upcoming Games Day until then, and was clear coating the entry as I was walking out the door.

I have a bad, bad habit of waiting until the last minute for competitions. I have yet to actually complete a piece I\'d call \"showcase quality.\" I\'m hoping to change that soon, but I digress.

I think I might amend my opinion slightly as well: I\'d recommend going, at least just to see what it\'s like, even if you don\'t think it\'d be worth it. At least with the Atlanta one, you\'re only out $40 and gas rather than a hotel room and travel expenses for a Chicago or Baltimore Games Day.

Of course, if I had obscene amounts of cash to blow, I\'d go to all three plus the UK one just for the hell of it.

Kep

 

[Herb the bitter]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

I\'m actually planning on going to the 2006 Atlanta show. (Gives me some time to save some money {That\'ll be a first!}) It also gives me some time to plan and paint a couple of entries.
HTB: Thanks for the compliment, but the \"Home of the Blues\" is a bit too \'windy\' for me. Why don\'t you try to plan for Atlanta 2006 as well?

In fact Gamesday is really what you make it. Despite the Smelly Screaming kids and the hyped up GW staff, there is always some fun to be had.

I don\'t know Dragonsreach, with the way the US dollar is going, you might have enough money to come this year 2006 is too far away for me to plan as my wife wants to add another \"miniature\" to the family. But it has gotten me to thinking. Now I just need to trick the wife into thinking it was her idea to go to Atlanta(as we do have friends there...).

Anyway, I think Dragonsreach\'s last paragraph maybe sums things up best. It\'s what you make it, though I think it would be more fun if you can meet up with a CMON group.

HtB

 

[darthfoley]

I had a very good time at GD Atlanta last year. I was another of the \'dodgy\' entries, I suppose, but I honestly did not feel my little Nurgle guy was that out of place in the case.

Plus, I got to meet several folks (Troy Clifton, Rodnik, etc) and make some new friends.

I\'m looking forward to it this coming up year, both for the competition and for hopefully meeting more folks.

And I still plan on saving the guestroom here at the house for DR in 2006...

 

[ralfmetal]

games day (gunstunstummph)

hi , ive just been to my first games day in the uk (oct) it was the sweaty/bo stench that just makes you want to come back or not ...golden demon was cool but the main hall .....i`am in hell help me all the best and good luck.
ralf metal

 

[Chrispy]

It was worth it when I went.. for $20... typical GW....

 

[Brother_Tiberius]

As long as you avoid the bulk of the GW retail area, Games Day can certainly be a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. There are a precious few things that I will buy from GW at the event; bitz, Forge World, and t-shirts. But the chance to go through the area, see the golden demon entries, talk with studio people, see the tables, and play in the gaming club events (not strictly 40k, LoTR, or WHFB games) is a lot of fun. You could do worse with $40.

 

[luckycharms]

I made the last two in Chicago. I find the crowd is big. There are at least a dozen kids screaming at any given moment, and the repeated yelling of WWWAAAGGHHH can be a bugger. But to see the previews is nice. There is nothing like seeing the demon entries in person. And I run into people I know who are also in the hobby, and that I have lost touch with.
I agree, it\'s well worth the money.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Hi,

I\'ve been to the UK Games Day three times now and I personally think its worth the effort just to spend the day with the wonderful CMON crowd and it gets bigger every year! We don\'t spend too much time actually in the arena (way too crowded for me!) so we tend to go to one of the local pubs in the area. This is the best bit, chatting, seeing each others work, having a few jars etc.

I also enter Golden Demon (but have yet to get one of the elusive statues ). I do like to look at all the other entries, but with the UK one being so huge, you really have to struggle to see them.

There was also the added bonus this year of seeing the new FW chaos dragon being sculpted which I spent a lot of time drooling over. They were also selling off a lot of forgeworld stuff really cheaply. We went by coach for each event through the local store. In the first two years they gave away a lot of freebies, but they didn\'t do that this year, which was a pity.

On the negative side, the UK one is soo crowded and it can get very stressful. Plus theres the coach journey which you have to get up at 3 AM for!

Regards

Kat

 

[yrret]

Worth it to me

Well, aside from the whole news and what not, I still think the GDs are fun.
I went last year to the LA show, and I suppose it is about like the Atlanta show will be this year.
If you enjoy mini gawking at all, a Games Day is the best place for it. And if you don\'t well... you are hanging out in the wrong places I think.