Planet Irish Gaming

Dublin experienced a month's rainfall in four hours yesterday. As a result of this, our venue has flooded.

Since finding out about it at lunchtime, both the Gaelcon organisers and ourselves have been planning away, and we have come up with a Plan B.

 

THURSDAY:

Visitors arriving Wednesday and Thursday are advised to head to our local gaming store, Gamers World.1 Jervis Street, Dublin 1. Locals will be hanging out there, and should be able to point you to various venues for food etc. We'll also be handling enrollment for pre-registered players there on Thursday night from 6pm-9pm, so if you want a bit of a lie in on Friday morning we'd advise doing that, and it would make our lives much easier to know who had arrived etc.

As you leave the airport terminal there'll be a number of buses heading for the City Centre. Take one to O'Connell Street (should be 6 euro). The Spire is the ridiculous metal spike on O'Connell Street, and once you've found that this map should get you to Gamers World, it's a fairly straight run down a main shopping street and then an arterial road, shouldn't be much more than five minutes.

 

FRIDAY:

The Friday Qualifiers will be held in the Stillorgan Park Hotel (map). This is also serviced by the Air Coach. The following buses go from the City Centre, and have a specific stop outside the venue, these links include details on each stop in the route:

116 Towards Whitechurch

145 Towards Kilmacanogue

46a Towards Dun Laoghaire

47 Towards Belarmine

7b Towards Shankill

7d Towards Dalkey.

 

The number 47 runs between the original venue at the D4 and the Stillorgan Park Hotel, and should cost €1.85 each way.

From the D4 Hotel to the Stillorgan Park Hotel

We are currently investigating other methods of getting from D4 to Stillorgan Park Hotel and will have further details both in the D4 on Thursday night and in Gamers World on Wednesday and Thursday night.

 

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY:

The rest of the weekend (Saturday and Sunday's official events, and Monday's unofficial ones) will be happening with the rest of Gaelcon in the RDS. This is near to the original venue (500m straight down a main road), and can be reached via the Dart to Lansdowne road or the following buses that leave from Nassau Street (beside Trinity College, just off Grafton Street)

4 Towards Monkstown Avenue

7 Towards Loughlinstown/Cherrywood

45 Towards Bray (Oldcourt).

 

ACCOMODATION IN THE D4 HOTEL:

As far as we've been informed rooms booked in the D4 Hotels are fine unless you hear directly from the Hotel themselves, in which case they will sort out new accommodation for you.

We advise again that if you get into the city before Friday that you head to Gamers World at some point, where we should be able to provide more information and even give quick tours to where the relevant buses stop.

If anyone is in or near the D4 hotel and is worried about getting from there to the Stillorgan Park Hotel on Friday please contact me on eoin.thomas.burke@gmail.com or 00353872250662

My apologies for this inconvience.

 

Due to the recent flooding in Ireland, Gaelcon has been forced to move the RDS Hall 7. Directions can be found on our Directions page which will be updated.

Keep an eye on the facebook page or twitter account for up-to-date information!

#Gaelcon @Gaelcon for our Twitter Feed

http://www.facebook.com/gaelcon for our Facebook Page.

A Map of how to get to the RDS Hall 7 can be found here.

Friday Night
Due to having to change the venue at such short notice, we won't be opening our doors on Friday (L5R Euros follow here). However we will be meeting up in Oil Can Harry's on Friday 6.30 on wards, we'll be meeting and greeting and running the Geekest Link.

Saturday
We will be opening our doors at 10am on Saturday Morning. Please be patient as there might be long queues.

What about my Hotel Booking?
Update on accommodation in the D4. They have done an assessment and they are closing the hotel completely until the 3rd. You can contact the hotel on 353 (0) 1 4373 444, or by email at reservations@d4hotels.ie, though they will be contacting everyone with bookings shortly.

As far as we know, bookings will be transferred to alternative venues in the vicinity and there will be transport arranged from these new venues to the RDS. We understand this is going to be inconvenient for many attendees, and we really appreciate all your patience and understanding with these changes.

What about the events that I've booked?
At this moment in time we're trying to re-organize and jig the floor plan and timetable, so changes will be made but we'll try and keep to the original timetable as much as possible. We'll try and keep people notified of any changes the best we can.

ask not what your Con can do for you, but for what you can do for your con?

 

Hello all and welcome to the official site for Gaelcon 2011.

I'm Dave Gorman and I was lucky enough to be elected Con Director at the IGA's AGM. I would like to thank the IGA for that vote of confidence in me, I really enjoyed my year as Leprecon Director, and am looking forward to the task of directing Gaelcon.

As you all know, it takes more than even the best Con Director (which I am far from) to run any Convention. So, how am I going to run this Convention you ask? Well, I'm very glad you asked me that, as I have a fantastic Committee with members from around the country to make Gaelcon once again the national convention. This hand picked team will once again help ensure a very enjoyable Gaelcon for all and I couldn't do this job without them, so thanks guys/girls for giving up your free time to help me out.

That's all for now, if you have any questions please get in touch via info@gaelcon.com If you're interested in submitting a game, or just volunteering to help over the weekend, the relevant submission forums or guidelines should appear soon.

Dave Gorman
Con Director Gaelcon 2011

Gaelcon 2012 – hotter than Bond, cooler than Shaft, drunker than Draper.

 

Rising from a watery grave, Gaelcon 2012 is returning this October to its happy home for the last few years – the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. Do you want to sample our excellent selection of world class RPGs and LARPs; Wargames and CCG tournaments; Special Events and more? Then come join us on the October Bank Holiday Weekend, October 26th – 29th.

If you want to reap some of the glory for yourself by writing a game for us, than please contact our spectacular RPG and LARP co-ordinators, Graham and Fergal, by emailing rpgs@gaelcon.com. Thank you!

 

Cian O'Sullivan
Gaelcon Con Director 2012

---------------

Hello all and welcome to the official site for Gaelcon 2011.

I'm Dave Gorman and I was lucky enough to be elected Con Director at the IGA's AGM. I would like to thank the IGA for that vote of confidence in me, I really enjoyed my year as Leprecon Director, and am looking forward to the task of directing Gaelcon.

As you all know, it takes more than even the best Con Director (which I am far from) to run any Convention. So, how am I going to run this Convention you ask? Well, I'm very glad you asked me that, as I have a fantastic Committee with members from around the country to make Gaelcon once again the national convention. This hand picked team will once again help ensure a very enjoyable Gaelcon for all and I couldn't do this job without them, so thanks guys/girls for giving up your free time to help me out.

That's all for now, if you have any questions please get in touch via info@gaelcon.com If you're interested in submitting a game, or just volunteering to help over the weekend, the relevant submission forums or guidelines should appear soon.

Dave Gorman
Con Director Gaelcon 2011

In honour of our big announcement at Gaelcon, we are offering you the chance to pre-book your weekend ticket for a mere €14!

Simply type “GAELCON” (all caps) in the discount box to avail of the discount.

This discount code will only be active until the end of the week, so book your cheap tickets now!

Saturday, 23rd of October 2010 – a date entered into the annals of catastrophic events as Conspiracy finally reveals itself to the world at Gaelcon 2010.

The Conspiracy committee have gathered here to ply their wares to the unsuspecting attendees. See you there!

The website is still in it’s early days and is a bit bare at the moment, but we are planning to put more content up soon.

I love table top gaming (and I assume roleplaying here), ever since my friends introduce me to it with game of White Wolf’s Werewolf: the Apocalypse, back somewhere in the 90s (I think). I’ve tried LARPs and I’ve even tried roleplaying online, but table top, with friends or even at a convention has always been more engaging for me.

It’s like playing the Wii. You can play games by yourself, but if you play with your friends it’s truly memorable.

Anyway, I came across this article via @fredhicks on twitter: The Designer Monologues » Blog Archive » Tabletopocalypse Now.

It’s not a matter of debate though. Anyone who has paid attention over the past two decades has seen the undeniable shrinking. There are far fewer dedicated speciality stores any more (current estimates place total numbers in the US at somewhere in the low-to-mid 2000s, according to ICV2, Diamond/Alliance distributors, and others). Fewer stores means fewer orders, as well as fewer social centers for the tabletop gaming community. Sales numbers are massively down from the 90s, much less the numbers seen during the ‘d20 explosion’ of the early 2000s.

I’ve seen clubs close (or merge with computer game clubs) and shelves in shops shrink. Yet Gaelcon starts this evening here in Ireland, it’s the biggest gaming con in Ireland. I haven’t gone in a few years (mostly due to awkward scheduling, and sadly it’s the same this year), but the excitement among Irish gamers is pretty evident if you go by twitter.  I think table top gaming will take a long time to die, but it’s being on that path for a long time already.

Related Posts:

• Just to balance out my previously slightly depressing post about tabletop gaming…
• Roleplaying Design versus Facebook versus Twitter versus Buzz, eh?
• A free roleplaying game: Lost Heroes is available online right now
• Review part 1 of my Custom Dice
• My Cthulhu/thedeadone Fudge Dice!

Re parking at the convention here is a special rate for con goers of €5 per day.
If you bring your parking ticket to the hotel main reception with your Gaelcon ticket they will apply this rate.

Re gaining entrance to Howl at the moon on Sat/Sun, it is a 21s venue but gamers who are over 18 who have proper ID and can prove they were at the con with their ticket will be allowed in normal management rights reserved.

This year Gaelcon has a new perpetual award, "The Gamer of Steel" award Design by Oisín Creaner, Sculpture by Rúairí Creaner. (c) Creaner Bros. 2009





"It's made of sheet steel, 20mm a side and weighs in at over a pound. It's been cut, welded and scorched like the mind of the gamer who wins it. This trophy, to be awarded every year to the most insanely dedicated gamer at the con is not for lightweights."

If you want to check your directions this evening as you gear up for Gaelcon you can find them here along with most of the information you will need for the weekend.

See you all tomorrow

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
with lots to do and I know where to go-o-oh I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
Just get me to the convention put me on a plane
Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane
Quickly Cthulhu is after me and I've lost my dice again
Oh no no no no no

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
with lots to do and I know where to go-o-oh I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
Just put me in a snottling pump wagon, here come the fanatics again
Hurry hurry hurry before I become a bloodstain
I wonder if Felix really knows, what goes on in Gotrex's brain
Oh no no no no no

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
with lots to do and I know where to go-o-oh I'm gonna be at Gaelcon
Just let me roll my d20 and loose my arrow
Hurry hurry hurry Drow coming up from below
Cos Dark Night and pumpkin Jack are after me and you don't want to know
Oh no no no no no

Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp-ba we're gonna be at Gaelcon
Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp-ba we're gonna be at Gaelcon
Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp-ba we're gonna be at Gaelcon
Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp-ba we're gonna be at Gaelcon

There is a intresting variety of Live Action Role Play running at Gaelcon this year.
Those who want to take on the challenge of walking, talking, acting and re acting as someone else for 3 hours will have the choice of:

A late night Mardi Gras party at Minskey's New Orleans' finest burlesque theatre.

The Lasdraad meeting after the latest quarrel between House Atredis and House Harkonnan.

The Cabinet meeting as Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan unveils the proposed budget.

Trying to hunt down a rabid killer on an interstellar cargo craft.

Finding out who built the Jumps ship which have helped reshape the universe.

For more info on these and the rest of the LARPS running this year check the website here.

Looking forward to seeing you there,
only 10 days to go.