What I Learned from My First Adepticon

[@cliffwood7386]

Thank you for the video Darcy! I'm planning out my Adepticon stay now, so having this resource come up when I googled "Food at Adepticon" was a pleasant surprise.

[@GoobertownHobbies]

Great video! This year was my first Adepticon too, and it was a lot of fun! :-) If you click fast enough on registration day you can get a room in the convention center for $135... gotta click realllllly fast though. Peanuts are my convention food; they're cheap, easy, and they keep ya goin. I'm sorry you and I didn't run into each other this year, but maybe next year!

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Hey Goobertown! 😃 I saw tons of pics of people with you everywhere for days after the convention and I was like HOW DID I NOT SEE HIM!? 😄 Definitely next year! I plan on taking it much easier so I can take time to catch up with people and relax.

[@WithTheGrain]

Good thoughts. It was my first adepticon and I brought my 13yo daughter and we had the opposite problem- we under scheduled ourselves. I wasn’t sure what to expect and thought there may be more non-class seminars than there were, so we did one class and then spent a good amount of time wandering the floor and checking out Golden Demon. If I did it again, I would have signed up for one of the learning tournaments to get some games in and taken advantage of the painting area which, I learned later, provided free paint to use! We were only there Wednesday - Friday since I didn’t want to burn her out but she wanted to stay an extra day, so it was a good balance. Some thoughts for those thinking about it for next year, think about an extra day to get into the city. We drove into Chicago to see the Art Institute which wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it might be- traffic was relatively easy and the route was straight forward. The museum has tons of things: Picassos, Van Gogh, Warhol to name a few- could easily spend an afternoon there. There are also the Field Museum and Aquarium as well. If you are doing it “on the cheap”, know that there is an ALDIs less than a mile away so you can pick up cheap groceries or simple things like plates and plastic forks to serve up your Chicago style deep dish. As a bad painter and occasional player, it was a lot of fun and definitely gets you hyped up to put more effort in on the hobby.

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Thank you so much for sharing and for bringing your daughter. I actually started into the hobby when I was 14, and just a Games Workshop store filled me with wonder, so I'm sure the experience was absolutely mind blowing for her 😄. That is a really good point about stopping to see Chicago as well!

[@brianlewandowski3342]

Nice overview of the convention and great advice! I always bring a cooler with food to keep in my room....if you stay in the same hotel it is easy to go to your room and eat quick between games and stuff (and gives you a mental break from the crowds).

[@erik_swinson]

It was nice having you in class and I’m glad you enjoyed your first Adepticon. But yes, many first timers tend to overload their schedules and 7 hour painting classes aren’t for everyone, if you aren’t used to doing it for that long it can be exhausting. That’s why I try to encourage people to get up, stretch and walk around, grab a snack or whatever but people always feel they need to get every possible minute out of the class.

[@Luetin09]

Excellent video. Well explained, thorough and interesting.

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Aaaw thanks Luetin!! 🥰

[@Micsma]

This is some good stuff and I'm glad ye posted. I appreciate your perspective!

[@kirkbrownell1556]

Great tips and info. I'm super stoked that you had a great time and felt safe while doing so!

[@reapersritehand]

My first real con was dragoncon, and its crazy how fast it goes from I must see everything to font overload and make sure to stay hydrated, and omg the amount of people and lines

[@swolehammer]

Sweet vid! Yeah, I’ve been to a lot of cons and was apprehensive since my friends and I have dealt with cringe before, but Adepticon was amazing in general as well as Riley and I not getting harassed! 10/10 🙌🏽

[@lordlynkz]

That was pleasant and encouraging.

[@maxey1977]

One of the best restaurants is the westwood tavern, great food and drinks. We've been doing the adepticon dinner night since 2017

[@kkryptyk]

This was my first Adepticon too. I had a great time. People in our hobby, from high-level to beginner, are supernaturally friendly! I also may have overloaded a bit on classes. For me, it wasn't so much overall volume, it was having morning classes and late nights everyday. I will try to stagger morning classes next time 🙂

[@Dave6666]

The board game conventions I go to are basically 50/50 male and female. I’ve never been to a Warhammer convention and didn’t realise there was such a large percentage male. Perhaps GWS needs to focus on building a line that is more appealing to females because there is no shortage of females interested in board games and miniatures.

[@Gam3Therapy]

The renaissance was only $135 if you got in the room block

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Really!? Good to know. It sold out before I saw the price. I'll have to set my alarm next time.

[@Gam3Therapy]

@@DarcyBonoCreations we barely got in and were on it as soon as it was announced. We've been to a ton of cons but never stayed at the venue itself and I have to say it was amazing. It reduced alot of the normal stressors.

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

@@Gam3TherapyI was more worried about the whole "drunken room next to mine gaming all night while I'm trying to sleep" scenario being a potential risk, that I hadn't really considered it. Next year I'll at least make an attempt.

[@Gam3Therapy]

@@DarcyBonoCreations that's a good point volume was loud but more general crowd than specific drunken people. So definitely worth keeping in mind. Everyone was so nice though I feel like if someone was loud and I had to talk to them about it it would be resolvable

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Also really good to know, thank you! I'm a really light sleeper and insomniac. Even in my quiet little hotel down the road I think I slept maybe 5 hrs a night at best (apparently couldn't turn my brain off after all the convention hubbub). Maybe I will just stick to the off site one 🤔

[@zacharykamm7581]

If you ever want a peak behind the process of art teacher brain, hit me up

[@stephenspackman5573]

The last segment was so sad. I hate this species :(.

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

Oh? I thought it was ultimately pretty uplifting.

[@stephenspackman5573]

@@DarcyBonoCreations Sorry to be unclear! I don't mean to be down on Adepticon-it's the fact that this needs saying that gets to me. That it's even imaginable that it wants saying. Everyone benefits from treating people decently, so why would anyone ever not want to? And yet….

[@DarcyBonoCreations]

@@stephenspackman5573 Oh no need to apologize! Yeah it certainly sucks that discrimination and sexism exists even within the hobby community, but don't let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. Everyone I encountered was very kind and welcoming. And in humanity's defence, we do generally treat our females quite a bit better than other species * *glares at ducks* * 😄

[@stephenspackman5573]

@@DarcyBonoCreations In ducks' defence, they are fighting an uphill battle in mutual understanding, in that while they all _speak_ Duck, none of them understand it. That's why they have conversations that go “What?” “What?” “What what?” “What?” “What what WHAT?” and so on. This is, of course, not to discourage you from glaring at ducks as needed. Or swans!! My goodness, swans.