Hey all,
We're rapidly approaching MAGfest (2 weeks away!).
As promised here are some links, updates and advice
Registration: Pretty much everyone here has bought their passes already. If you haven't they are on sale now and they will also sell more at the door. They are going to cap the passes at 20,000 this year (17,000 was last year).
https://prime.uber.magfest.org/uber/pre ... ation/formRegistration is always pretty fast considering its open non-stop from Weds (the 17th) afternoon until Sunday. I've never spent more than 15mins waiting to get my badge in all my years there. Best thing to do is get is Wednesday night before Thursday day of.
Schedule:As of today the schedule is out! There will be a Guidebook app coming out within the next day or two. MAGfest doesn't usually have an abundance of physical schedules so the Guidebook App is the best way to keep in touch with panels, tournaments, events, ect
http://schedule.magfest.org/Tip: Panels don't usually fill up but for the higher profile ones they have a staff member on line that will keep track and let people know when the room is full
Guests: The finally Guest, Performer, DJ's, Community and Visualist's list is out. You can check them out at the main MAGfest site:
http://magfest.org/The List of Indie Games at the showcase are also out as well:
http://magfest.org/mivs/ List of Events:
http://magfest.org/event/Games on Film: One of my favorite parts of MAGfest are the games on film. It is like a mini film festival for indie produced (occasional replays of bigger budget documentaries) gaming themed movies. Check it out
http://magfest.org/gamesonfilm/Gaming: I'm going to leave this part mostly up to everyone to experience. There is a console gaming, arcade gaming, Indie game and boardgaming area at the show.
The arcade area is pretty big and there are a lot of machines coming to the show this year (200+ machines and pinball cabinets). There will be some cabinets that are turned off because they sadly did not survive the trip or are there just to be used for spare parts for repairing other machines. Pinball tables sadly suffer the most here because of the massive amount of us. There are techs that are around that do their best to repair what they can. Most the machines are donated by private collectors and local area arcades.
Tip: Most of the machines are on free play or have a ton of credits on them. Some machines have dip switches that let you add more credits. There are some machines that don't have obvious means of adding credits (primarily older ones). I usually keep a quarter with me and insert it into the machine and open the coin door (usually left open). If for whatever you can't add credits ask a Tech/staff member and they will show you how. Since some of these are from private collectors it's best to ask before you poke around.
Board gaming:The board game area has a wide selection of board games to check out and play. I will probably be bringing a couple of games from my collection to play if we choose to meet up anywhere and play.
Food:The area (I will reference things here often):
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7826765 ... 263,17.21zhttp://www.nationalharbor.com/dine-directory/So the National Harbor Area is a bit of an upscale area. There are a lot of restaurants within walking distance of where MAGfest is being held. Since it is upscale, many of the sit down restaurants may be a bit pricey for some people but they are all pretty good food wise. From past experience
Cadillac Ranch and Public House had good options. I have also been told that the Thai restaurant is also pretty good. There is a newly opened
Granite City Brewery (never been there) location that is 2 blocks away from the Gaylord National. There is a
Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Subway, Chipotle and an Elevation Burger if you don't want a sit down restaurant type of setting. There is also a McDonalds 15 mins walking distance away from the Gaylord National as well.
The Gaylord National also has 2-3 restaurants located inside it. I never went to them but they're also an option
Food delivery options aren't that great in the area since it is isolated from surrounding areas. The most common and only option I know of is Pizza.
Big Tip: All food locations become packed during usual Lunch and Dinner hours. Be prepared to wait awhile if you plan on going during those times. For instance it took about an hour+ to order at Elevation Burger at say 6pm.
What I tend to do in an effort to keep food costs down and not rely on the immediate area is food shopping beforehand. This is probably the best tip I can give you because you will save yourself in many ways here. I usually bring things to make sandwiches, fruit, breakfast items (cereals, oatmeals that you can make in the hotel room coffee pot) and snacks. Having snacks on hand will save you in soo many ways. Staying hydrated is also highly important. Thankfully there are water coolers located all around the show floors but drink plenty of water regardless.
Not everyone will be traveling by car and are able to bring groceries. This is where the local
CVS (Regional pharmacy and food mart) and
Potomac Gourmet Market http://www.potomacgourmetmarket.com/ come in. Anything I mentioned above can be purchased in those places.
But like I said, stay hydrated and snack often. You will be burning calories like crazy at MAGfest so staying well fed and energized and eating correctly will keep your immune system (for obvious reasons) up so you can stay up all day/night playing games.
Alcohol: MAGfest is famous for its drunken parties and massive amounts of room drinking parties. My friends and I usually bring mass quantities of beer. I will be bringing my homebrew and if it's around long enough, people are welcome to try it. Otherwise the
Potomac Gourmet Market (
http://www.potomacgourmetmarket.com/ ) is the BEST place to purchase beer and alcohol in the area. You can build your own six pack or just buy cases of different beer. You can also get wine and regular alcohol there as well. The MAGfest staff will not let you enter any of the venue areas with alcohol. In the past they're pretty lax about it but they've stepped up more lately. The hotel is fine with you bringing in alcohol but not openly drinking it (in other words use common sense).
Parking:If you're driving to the show and staying at the Gaylord then parking will be included in your final bill with the hotel. MAGfest has a deal with the Gaylord for discounted parking for attendees. In the main parking tower of the Gaylord it's $18 a day. There are also other parking options around the area and you're encourage to reserve a spot in the open lot nearby. I've never used it but apparently it's cheaper if you reserve it now.
http://magfest.org/traveldirections/gaylord-national Keep in mind that if you move your car during the show you have a very good chance of losing that spot (especially in the parking tower). If that happens then you may have to use the other open lots in the area.
Elevators:Depending what floor you're on (if you're staying at the Gaylord) you may be waiting a bit for elevators at times. If you're on the lower floors its better to just take the stairs. Be mindful during late at night because people have been known to throw late night Elevator parties. MAGfest staff plans on cracking down on them this year.
If anyone has any questions about anything I will be happy to help. I'll post something in the next day or 2 as far as planning a meet up goes.
