Gencon is upon us starting this Thursday we have the best 4 days of gaming. I would like to offer my advice to make your experience as enjoyable as possible.

I am going to build on my previous suggestions which are just common sense ideas. So lets jump right right into it 🙂

First thing you should bring is a backpack. You can use it to carry all of your goodies and other items needed in your survival pack. Here is what should go in your backpack:

• Water bottle – keep it filled with water so that you can stay hydrated
• Pain Killers – in the event you come down with a headache or muscles sprains from all the walking.
• Hand Sanitizer – not to be a germaphobe but there is a lot of touching going on when viewing products, handshakes, and door openings etc.
• Tissue – sometimes you have to blow your nose, clean your glasses, or stop the sweat from your eyes 😉
• Snacks – cheese crackers, M&M, and/or fruit snack to keep up strength in between meals.
• Backup charger – Solar power clip would be best, but an extra charger is a must for charging up your cell phone.
• Pen & Paper – sometimes you need to write things down 🙂 very low tech and extremely effective.
• Dice – you never know when you need to roll 😉
• Mints and/or Gum – keep your mouth hydrated and fresh when interacting with others!
• Cellphone and/or Camera – Rather than taking business cards that you will lose, take a quick snapshot of them. This also works for things you see that you may want to purchase but are not sure. Also take plenty of pictures of the event for memories.

There are a few other things you should take into consideration when heading to GenCon. If you are not use to walking all day long and being on your feet then perhaps you should invest in orthopedic inserts (i.e. Dr. Scholls). A few weeks ago GenCon event planners brought up a good point, do NOT bring new shoes to GenCon. Bring in your comfortable proven shoes for maximum comfort. GenCon is NOT the place to break in new shoes.

Next you should bring a light sweater, hoodie, or light jacket for the evening. It tends to get cold at night in the convention center and hotels so some extra clothing never hurts!

I also recommend bringing a can of disinfectant (i.e. Lysol) for your hotel room. Once again I am not a germaphobe but I always spray down my bed sheets with Lysol before I sleep on them. A good disinfectant can do wonders to set your mind at ease and even kill bed bugs (though I pray your bed does not have bugs).

This year I plan to bring large freezer size Ziploc bags, they will server multiple purposes. First I can fill them with ice and use them as ice packs 🙂 These old joints need to be iced down when over extended 😛 You can also use the bags to hold miscellaneous items you get from the convention center.

Well that is all I have for now, if anyone has any other tips or must have items please post them in the comment section below!