Ohio Meetup Interest Gauge Thread!

[Samiam303]

But I so wanted to meet you and Hippie. Oh...well. That gets saved for another visit to Tennessee.

Question: Was anyone here thinking of playing the OOTS board game? It's a great way to take up an afternoon or evening. Though it is only for six people, an afternoon of any board games, like Apples to Apples, or I'm sure we can find a place to play Kubb if anyone has a set, is still great for everyone and as many people as who wants to can play.

I'm just throwing out an idea, since the Hall of Fame and the film festival are the only two thoughts for activities we've had yet. Those of us who want to could just come back to our out-of-towners' hotel room and play there.

(Also, does anyone coming have a copy of the board game? I'm sure I could get one...maybe...Indy? Can I borrow yours? )

Seriously, Scrabble has been consuming my life lately, so I'd totally be down for some board games.

[Mountain_Faerie]

We wanted to meet you too, ZombieRockStar. If only kids and their expenses didn't interfere with our play time...

[The Valiant Turtle]

I tend to think the OOTS board game actually takes up too much time. I heard there are quick play rules around somewhere, and that might be fun. That's the first game I've ever played that needed a compression (as opposed to an expansion).

I got Apples to Apples for X-mas and would be happy to bring it. I also got Ticket to Ride, which is a blast, but only for up to 5 people. Carcassonne is great for about the same number of people. The only other board game I've got that might be a good fit is Cranium, which works with a pretty large group. I'll look through my collection and see what else I've got.

I'm hoping to acquire a Kubb set before Spring, but don't have one yet.

[ZombieRockStar]

Well...I like long board games, so I have no objections to spending a whole 8 hours playing the OOTS game, but that's just me. Lots of other fun games. Apples to Apples, Kubb, Curses (if we have a box of it), or anything else. Maybe a quick one-shot D&D game to consume 3 hours? I'm just shooting out random ideas here.

[Indurain]

I could lend you the OOTS game Zombie. I'm gonna be down in Guelph tomorrow, so if you give me a call on my cell (# PM'd to you), I can swing by and drop it off, or you could pick it up sometime in the coming weeks.

[Alarra]

We have the oots game and can bring that. I also have a kubb set I'll bring along. And I also got apples to apples for Christmas, but we likely only need one copy of that, so I'll probably not bring mine. I love ticket to ride, someone should bring that. And really, you know, it's not like we all need be playing the same games all the time anyway, so games for 5 people would work out just fine I think.

*pouts a bit about the lack of Indy, Hippie and Faerie*

[Zeb The Troll]

Aww, and I was so looking forward to Smellie Hippe Ale that weekend!

On the games front, one of the reasons I like the idea of the suite is the amount of space available for having multiple games going on. It'd be hard to find one game that everyone can and will play. That being said, I have a 'game bag' that I tote around with some of my favorites in it which will also be at the meetup so I don't think anyone will have any excuse to be bored.

@hippie and mountain faerie - "if it weren't for those meddling kids...!"

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

First off, I must reiterate that I WILL BE THERE.

However, I may not be able to make it till Saturday. I have miscalculated whenever Rush week is at the college I work at.

A bit of backstory: I manage a small college textbook store. Rush week is the busiest time of the semester. Its when all the students buy books. Literally, the past 3 semesters, the friday of Rush week, I have tried playing D&D. Each time, I have fallen asleep as soon as I sat down and been unconscious all game. You can see how I would be reluctant to be driving in this state. So I may not be able to make it Friday night, but I will be there on Saturday.

Oh, and I'll bring Curses and a few other games. I have Munchkins and Zombies!!! and Haunting House and Inn fighting.

[PhoeKun]

...Good.

Because, if someone else dropped out, I think I would cry.

[Zeb The Troll]

First off, I must reiterate that I WILL BE THERE.

Yay, LLamas! Okay, just one LLama, but it's THE LLama.

[ZombieRockStar]

Oh, and I'll bring Curses and a few other games. I have Munchkins and Zombies!!! and Haunting House and Inn fighting.

Curses! Also...yay! LLama!

Board games...R&R Hall of Fame (unless someone thinks this is a boring idea, please say so)...I'm out of ideas, not knowing the city and all. Anyone else?

But...Kubb? In the snow? (If there is indeed snow...stupid global warming)

[Tormsskull]

Throwing another idea out there:

That movie Cloverfield by J.J. Abrams opens on the 18th if I'm not mistaken. Might be cool for a group of us to go see it.

Also, let's try to lock down a specific hotel so we can make the final arrangements and such.

[smellie_hippie]

Aww, and I was so looking forward to Smellie Hippe Ale that weekend!

On the games front, one of the reasons I like the idea of the suite is the amount of space available for having multiple games going on. It'd be hard to find one game that everyone can and will play. That being said, I have a 'game bag' that I tote around with some of my favorites in it which will also be at the meetup so I don't think anyone will have any excuse to be bored.

@hippie and mountain faerie - "if it weren't for those meddling kids...!"

I'll be opening a bottle of Scottish Ale Hippie Homebrew Saturday night (this Saturday), but I'll save one to crack open on the 18th in your honor Zeb...

OOTS game being only a 6-player game, I could send my copy along with Llama so between Alarra's game and mine you could satisfy OOTS gaming for 12.

If anyone has a webcam that they'll be bringing, I might be able to say hi to a few faces since I got a webcam for Christmas. No late night calls please...

[The Valiant Turtle]

We should definitely nail down the hotel thing ASAP. Where was the one with 2 suites and are they still available?

[Zeb The Troll]

Okay, I looked up the room that was linked and the description in this thread was a little off. It has one King bed and one sleeper sofa. Not two bedrooms. The two 'rooms' include a parlor with the dining room table for 6. As it's getting close, Alarra and I are going to look into some other similar options and see what we can get for a similar price (if no one objects). We're going to see if we can get something closer to downtown since that would be the most centralized way to do it. Is everyone okay with the $50-$60 a night per person rate (assuming the following list is correct)?

Alarra
Zeb
ZRS
PhoeKun
Tormskull
Atreyu
Raldor
B-Man

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

I'm okay with that. I'm still feeling guilty that I didn't pay for the hotel room at Gencon despite taking advantage of its hospitality.

Ah well, I'll chip in for this one. I don't need a bed. All I need is enough floor space to lay down in and a pillow to cover my head in a vain attempt to muffle the snores.

[PhoeKun]

I'm comfortable with that. I'm going to need to do some scrounging (or some hoping) if I'm going to have enough money, but everything should be ok.

[Ego Slayer]

All I need is enough floor space to lay down in and a pillow to cover my head in a vain attempt to muffle the snores.

Remind me never to share a room with you guys. I'll end up strangling anyone who snores.

[Alarra]

Okay....here's what we've got, and we're going to just go ahead and book it now. Embassy Suites Downtown.....2 room suite, 2 double beds plus sofa sleeper, kitchen and dining table...also comes with breakfast and a dinner type reception included. Looking at $70 LESS per night than the other hotel we were looking at. Will work out to less than $50 per person, probably closer to $40.

Parking, however, is not included, so that will be $10 per day per car unless we find somewhere cheaper nearby, but yeah, that shouldn't be too big a deal.

Sound good with everyone?

[PhoeKun]

After remembering that I have a savings account, and that's what I use to pay for textbooks...

Yes. That works out great for me.

...

[ZombieRockStar]

Ooh...sounds perfect. I got no problems paying for that, or for parking. And downtown too, so better location than the other one.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Sounds great!

Ummm..... hide me from Ego.

[The Valiant Turtle]

Maybe we need a snorers and a non-snorers room? I'm firmly in the snorers camp. I guess I've got time to get used to my CPAP machine if I really try between now an then. But I never sleep well away from my own bed anyway.

Are we getting 1 or 2 of those suites?

[Alarra]

We got 1 suite.

[Steve_the_ERB]

OK, sorry for the confusion on the other room, glad you guys have it sorted. So what's the plan for meetup time and such (at the hotel, some other location)?

[Zeb The Troll]

Alarra and I are about 6 hours away and will probably be leaving the MD area around 9am on Friday when I get home from work. With finding the hotel and check-in/unloading, we can probably be ready to meet and greet officially around 5pm, though we'll give out cell phone numbers to any who feel they'd like to have it and aren't at all opposed to talking and shaking hands unofficially before then. As far as what's going to be official, we'll leave that in the hands of those who started the planning and are more familiar with the area.

[ZombieRockStar]

I have a 6 hour driving time as well (1 hour to pick up B-Man). If we want to meet at 5, maybe those of us in the hotel should aim to be there by 4 so we can unload and get ready, maybe?

Whenever we want to meet in some public place like a café or maybe have dinner together. Still have a week to work out the tiny details.

*counts down the days in terrible anticipation*

[PhoeKun]

Just as a thought: if anyone went to GenCon, they might remember troubles between a Wii and a hotel tv. Sadness and frustration were had by all.

In short, if anybody can manage to smuggle a tv into Cleveland, they'll probably be a hero to all of us who decided to bring game systems.

As a just in case, at least. Not all hotels are as customer-unfriendly as Hiltons apparently are...

[Samiam303]

I've got a TV I could probably bring, although it's damn tiny. If anyone can do better, that's probably for the best... We'll see if it's needed or not.

[Ego Slayer]

Not that I know anything abouta Wii, but... what exactly was the trouble/you sure the same thing would happen again?