So after a few months of wrangling with the new hotel, we've finally managed to work out the kinks in the deal and ensure that this years Dragonmeet will be bigger and better than the previous years. We've listened intently to the feedback from previous years, most of which started with.
Get more traders, Get more games, Get more open gaming, Get more, Get more, Get more...
And the only answer to all that was Get a bigger venue...
So we did...
This years Dragonmeet will be held at the Novotel Hammersmith in London...
We have the Champagne Suite upstairs and several rooms through the other levels of the hotel. We know that the Ibis was a good fit for us in the first year, too small in the second, and if we intended to keep the event growing, far too small for the third, so the area that we've got from the Novotel (main hall only) one and a half times the size of the space that we had at the Ibis, and we have several side rooms and sub rooms for better gaming areas in addition to the main hall.
We are, as always, acutely aware that you need to get every part of the convention right to make sure it goes well. With that in mind, we had to negotiate the food that was offered (so fear not, you'll not be getting charged £15 a meal like they suggested), the entry and exit times that were offered (so fear not, we'll not be kicking you out at 22:00 like they suggested), and of course...
The bar reserves...
So we won't be running out of refreshments before midday...
All told, it's taken us long enough, as it does every time any convention starts with a new hotel, but we've got there, the contracts went back this evening (about half an hour ago), and we're good to go.
We'll be opening official bookings for the trade and games shortly, but if anyone wants to get their game submissions in early, mail me directly and we'll make sure that your game is in the mix. As before, running a game gets you free entry for the day, and as we did last year, we're looking for people to run single slots rather than all day long, because we need to grow the event and while we know that the veterans will give an excellent performance every time, we need to give the new GMs a chance to get into the spirit of things.
One thing that we do need more of is volunteers, from the runners on the floor to the people manning the playtest and demo areas, four hours of demonstrating games will get you in for the whole day, and there'll be snacks and drinks on the day for all those doing the running around. We've got space for Seminars and the Bring and Buy will be returning through the day, but this year we've got the areas organised so that there won't be a crush as there has been in years previous.
Spread the word, we're back and better than ever...
