How to Prepare for a Gaming Convention

Gaming conventions are much easier to enjoy when you’ve done a little preparation before walking through the doors.

Not military-operation preparation. You don’t need a colour-coded spreadsheet documenting your planned movements through Hall B.

But tickets, accommodation, transport, schedules and popular activities can all become harder or more expensive if you leave them until the last minute. At major conventions, some things may sell out completely.

The goal is simple: sort out the boring stuff beforehand so you can spend the convention doing gaming stuff instead.

That means knowing where you’re going, how you’re getting there, what you really want to see and roughly how much you’re prepared to spend.

If this will be your first convention, our guide to what to expect at your first gaming convention walks through what the actual day feels like. This guide focuses on everything you should do before you arrive.

Let’s get organised.

Reasonably organised, anyway.

🎟️ 1. Buy Your Gaming Convention Tickets Early

Start with the thing that actually gets you inside.

Popular gaming conventions can sell out individual days, weekend passes or particular ticket types. Even when tickets remain available, early pricing may be cheaper than buying closer to the event.

If you’ve decided you want to attend, don’t book flights and accommodation while treating the actual convention ticket as a minor detail you’ll sort out later.

Choose the Right Ticket

Conventions may offer several options:

• Single-day tickets
• Weekend passes
• Multi-day passes
• VIP or premium tickets
• Family tickets
• Evening or special-event tickets

The most expensive ticket isn’t automatically the best one.

Look at the event schedule and think about how much time you’ll realistically spend there. A three-day pass makes sense if you want to explore a huge convention properly, while a single day may be plenty for a smaller event or casual visit.

Check Which Day Suits You Best

If you’re buying a single-day ticket, don’t choose purely based on convenience.

Look at what’s happening each day.

A particular developer panel, tournament final, cosplay competition or guest appearance might only happen once. Saturday is often the busiest convention day, which can mean maximum atmosphere but also maximum queues.

Friday or Sunday may be calmer, depending on the event.

Check What Your Ticket Includes

Don’t assume every activity is covered by general admission.

Some conventions have separate tickets or registrations for:

• After-hours events
• Meet-and-greets
• Tournaments
• Workshops
• Premium experiences
• Special screenings
• Industry sessions

Read the ticket details before buying. Discovering that the thing you were most excited about required separate registration is much more annoying when you’re already standing at the venue.

Buy From Official Sources

Use the convention’s official website or authorised ticketing partner wherever possible.

Popular events can attract ticket resellers and scams, particularly after official allocations sell out. If you’re considering resale tickets, check whether the organiser supports transfers or operates an official resale system.

Saving a few dollars isn’t particularly impressive if the barcode doesn’t work.

✈️ 2. Book Travel and Accommodation

If the convention isn’t local, travel can become the biggest part of both your planning and budget.

For major international events, I’d start looking at transport and accommodation as soon as the event dates are confirmed and you’re confident you’re attending.

Stay Close to the Venue if You Can

A hotel five minutes from the convention centre can cost more than one 40 minutes away, but location has real value during a multi-day event.

Being nearby makes it easier to:

• Arrive early
• Return to your room during the day
• Drop off merchandise
• Change clothes or cosplay
• Stay for evening activities
• Avoid long late-night journeys

That doesn’t mean you need the hotel attached to the convention centre. Compare nearby areas and public transport connections before paying premium prices.

Check the Journey to the Venue

Don’t just look at distance on a map.

A hotel that appears close may require awkward transport connections, while somewhere further away could have a direct train to the venue.

Check:

• Public transport
• Walking routes
• Parking
• Rideshare availability
• Expected travel time
• Late-night transport
• Accessibility requirements

If you’re driving, investigate parking before convention morning. Thousands of other attendees may have independently developed exactly the same plan.

Give Yourself Travel Buffer

If you’re flying to a convention, arriving shortly before the doors open is ambitious.

Flight delays happen. Baggage disappears. Trains develop mysterious problems at precisely the wrong moment.

For a major event you’re travelling a long way to attend, arriving the day before is usually much less stressful. It also means convention morning begins with breakfast rather than an airport sprint.

Turn the Convention Into a Bigger Trip

If you’re travelling internationally, consider whether the event can become part of a holiday.

Flying from Australia to Germany for gamescom, for example, is a substantial journey. Spending several additional days exploring Cologne or travelling elsewhere in Europe can make more sense than flying halfway around the world purely to walk through an expo hall and immediately return home.

The convention can be the reason for the trip without needing to be the entire trip.

🗓️ 3. Research the Convention Before You Go

Once the ticket and travel are sorted, find out what you’re actually attending.

Large gaming conventions can be enormous. Turning up without looking at the program isn’t disastrous, but you’re relying heavily on luck to discover the things you’ll care about most.

Check the Official Schedule

Start with the convention website or official app.

Look for:

• 🎤 Panels
• 🎮 Game demos
• 🏆 Tournaments
• 🦸 Cosplay events
• 👥 Community meetups
• 🤝 Developer appearances
• 🎵 Performances
• 🛍️ Merchandise releases
• 🎲 Tabletop events
• 🌙 Evening activities

Schedules may continue changing until relatively close to the event, so don’t research once three months beforehand and assume you’re finished.

Check again during convention week.

Look at the Exhibitor List

This is particularly useful for large expo-style conventions.

Find out which:

• Publishers
• Developers
• Indie studios
• Hardware companies
• Gaming brands
• Artists
• Retailers
• Community organisations

will be attending.

You don’t need to investigate every exhibitor. Identify the ones you already care about, then leave room to discover unfamiliar ones once you’re there.

Research the Games You Can Play

If playable games have been announced, decide whether any are genuine priorities.

Highly anticipated demos can develop enormous queues. Knowing beforehand that you desperately want to try one particular game lets you head there early rather than discovering the booth at 3 pm when the wait has become a small lifestyle commitment.

Check the Event’s Social Channels

Official social accounts can be useful in the final days before a convention.

Organisers may announce:

• Schedule changes
• New exhibitors
• Guests
• Competitions
• Giveaways
• Entry procedures
• Transport information
• Sold-out activities

You don’t need to spend the week obsessively refreshing feeds, but a quick check before travelling can prevent surprises.

🎯 4. Decide What You Actually Want to Do

Now comes the difficult part.

Choosing.

A large convention may have far more activities than you can realistically fit into one day. Trying to do all of them usually results in spending more time moving between activities than enjoying them.

Pick Three Main Priorities

Before you arrive, choose around three things you’d genuinely be disappointed to miss.

For example:

1. Play a particular upcoming game
2. Attend a developer panel
3. Watch a tournament final

Everything else can fit around those.

If your list of “must-do” activities contains 23 items, those aren’t priorities. That’s the convention program.

Separate Fixed and Flexible Activities

Some things happen at specific times.

A panel at 2 pm is at 2 pm. A cosplay final at 5 pm isn’t going to wait because you’re still buying merchandise.

Other activities are flexible:

• Exploring the expo hall
• Visiting indie booths
• Shopping
• Playing demos
• Looking at hardware
• Visiting community areas

Build your day around the fixed activities and use the gaps for flexible ones.

Be Realistic About Queues

If a major game demo has a two-hour queue, that’s two hours you’re not spending elsewhere.

It might be worth it.

Just make the decision deliberately.

For something you’ve been waiting years to play, absolutely. For a game launching next Tuesday that you were only mildly curious about, perhaps the indie hall deserves your afternoon instead.

Leave Unplanned Time

This is important.

Some of the best convention experiences are things you didn’t know existed before arriving. An interesting booth, unexpected panel, strange indie game or spontaneous conversation can easily become a highlight.

Plan enough to avoid missing what matters.

Not enough to eliminate discovery.

🗺️ 5. Learn the Venue Layout Before Convention Day

You don’t need to memorise the floor plan.

You should probably look at it once.

Major convention centres can contain multiple halls, floors, entrances and buildings. Knowing the general layout saves you from repeatedly discovering that your next activity is approximately one expedition away.

Find the Important Areas

Before attending, locate:

• Main entrance
• Registration or badge collection
• Expo halls
• Panel rooms
• Tournament stages
• Indie areas
• Food
• Toilets
• Quiet or rest areas
• First aid
• Cloakrooms or lockers
• Public transport exits

You don’t need to remember every booth number.

Knowing that panels are upstairs and the indie area is in Hall C is already useful.

Save the Map to Your Phone

If the convention provides a downloadable map, save it.

Don’t assume you’ll always have perfect mobile reception inside a huge venue filled with thousands of people also using their phones.

An offline screenshot isn’t sophisticated.

It works.

Check Accessibility Beforehand

If you have accessibility requirements, investigate the venue and organiser’s arrangements before attending.

This may include:

• Accessible entrances
• Lifts
• Seating
• Accessible toilets
• Companion or carer tickets
• Queue accommodations
• Mobility equipment
• Quiet spaces

Contact the organiser if the published information doesn’t answer what you need.

Sorting this out beforehand is far better than trying to solve it in the middle of a crowded expo hall.

Know Where You’re Entering

Large venues sometimes have multiple entrances for different ticket holders, exhibitors, media or accessibility access.

Check your ticket instructions before arriving.

Walking around an enormous convention centre at 8:30 in the morning because you’ve confidently approached the wrong entrance is technically exercise.

It is not the convention experience you paid for.

💰 6. Set a Gaming Convention Budget

Gaming conventions have a talent for making money disappear in surprisingly entertaining ways. The ticket is only one part of the cost: if you’re travelling, accommodation and transport may dwarf admission, while food and merchandise can quietly turn an affordable weekend into something considerably more ambitious.

Setting a rough budget beforehand doesn’t mean tracking every dollar. It means knowing what the trip is likely to cost before you’re standing in front of a limited-edition collectible trying to negotiate with yourself.

Include the Whole Trip

Your budget might need to cover:

If you’re attending locally, several of those costs disappear. If you’re flying internationally, they can become the majority of your budget.

Our guide to how much it costs to attend a gaming convention breaks these expenses down in more detail.

Give Merchandise Its Own Budget

This deserves a separate number. Convention halls are specifically designed to place interesting gaming things directly in front of gamers who are already excited about gaming, so financial restraint is not receiving home-field advantage.

Decide roughly what you’re comfortable spending before arriving. You can always change the number if you discover something genuinely special, but at least you’ll know you’re changing it rather than wondering afterwards where the money went.

Keep Some Money in Reserve

Unexpected expenses happen. You might need a rideshare after missing the last train, pay for luggage because your convention purchases have somehow reproduced overnight or discover that your carefully chosen cheap lunch option is closed.

A small buffer makes those moments inconvenient rather than stressful.

📱 7. Prepare Your Phone, Apps and Tickets

Your phone is likely to become one of your most useful convention tools, so prepare it before the event rather than discovering problems at the entrance. Depending on the convention, it may contain your ticket, schedule, venue map, transport information and communication with friends.

You’ll probably also use it for photos, videos and payments throughout the day, which means battery life, storage and offline access are worth thinking about before convention morning.

Download the Official Convention App

If the event has an app, install it before you arrive. Useful features can include:

• Personal schedules
• Interactive maps
• Exhibitor lists
• Notifications
• Schedule changes
• Queue information
• Tournament results
• Event announcements

Set up your saved activities beforehand if the app supports it. Convention morning isn’t the ideal time to begin investigating 180 scheduled sessions.

Save Your Ticket Offline

Don’t make entry completely dependent on mobile reception. Save the ticket to your phone wallet if supported, download the PDF or take a screenshot of the QR code where permitted, making sure the image is clear enough to scan.

If your phone suddenly decides it doesn’t have internet access at the venue, you can remain impressively unconcerned.

Clear Some Storage Space

If you plan to take lots of photos and videos, check your available storage before travelling. Discovering that your phone is full just as something worth recording happens is easily avoidable.

Back up or remove whatever you don’t need. The 47 nearly identical screenshots you’ve been keeping since 2023 may finally have to go.

Bring Portable Power

A power bank is one of the most useful convention items you can carry. Maps, photos, videos, apps, messaging and mobile data can drain a battery quickly during a long day.

If your phone also contains your ticket and transport home, reaching 2% at 6 pm becomes more exciting than necessary. Charge both your phone and power bank the night before.

👟 8. Choose Comfortable Convention Clothing

Gaming conventions aren’t fashion endurance tests. Wear something you’re comfortable walking, standing and sitting in for hours.

That doesn’t mean you can’t dress well or wear gaming merchandise. It simply means your outfit should still feel like a good decision late in the afternoon.

Shoes Matter Most

You’ll probably walk much further than expected. Large convention centres can involve repeated trips between halls, panel rooms, food areas and stages, while time spent standing in queues adds even more strain.

Wear shoes you’ve already broken in and know are comfortable. The day before the convention is not the moment to unveil experimental footwear.

Dress for the Venue, Not Just the Weather

It might be cold outside and warm inside a crowded expo hall, or heavily air-conditioned once you reach a panel room. Layers are useful because you can adjust throughout the day.

Check whether the venue has a cloakroom or lockers if you’re likely to arrive with a heavy coat. Carrying unnecessary clothing around for eight hours gets old remarkably quickly.

Planning to Cosplay?

Cosplay adds another layer of preparation. Think about:

• How you’ll transport the costume
• How long you can comfortably wear it
• Whether props meet event rules
• Where you can change
• Whether you’ll need repairs
• How easily you can eat and drink
• How you’ll use the bathroom

That final question has defeated more ambitious costume designs than any villain ever managed.

Check the convention’s cosplay and prop policies well before the event, particularly if your costume includes large props, replica weapons or anything requiring inspection.

🍔 9. Plan Food, Water and Breaks

Nobody buys a gaming convention ticket because they’re excited about hydration planning, but do it anyway. A long convention day can involve hours of walking, standing, noise and crowds, and food and breaks make a noticeable difference to how enjoyable the second half of the day feels.

Check the Food Situation Beforehand

Find out whether the venue has:

• Food courts
• Cafes
• Restaurants
• Food trucks
• Water refill stations
• Nearby supermarkets or convenience stores

Also check whether outside food and drinks are permitted. If options inside the venue are limited or expensive, knowing what’s nearby gives you alternatives.

Bring Snacks if They’re Allowed

Something small and easy to carry can save you from joining a giant food queue simply because you need energy immediately. You don’t need to pack a three-course lunch – a snack that survives being carried around a convention bag for several hours is enough.

Schedule a Proper Break

If you’re planning fixed activities, deliberately leave space for lunch or a longer break. Otherwise it’s surprisingly easy to keep postponing food because something interesting is always about to happen.

Your enjoyment of a 4 pm panel will be considerably improved if you aren’t sitting there thinking exclusively about chips.

Find Quieter Areas

Large conventions can become mentally tiring as well as physically tiring. If the venue offers quiet spaces, outdoor areas or less crowded seating, identify them before you need them.

Even 15 or 20 minutes away from the busiest halls can reset the day. Taking a break isn’t missing the convention – it’s how you remain capable of enjoying the rest of it.

🧠 10. Prepare for a Long, Busy Day

One of the easiest convention-planning mistakes is preparing for the activities but not the experience of spending an entire day doing them. Even if gaming conventions are exactly your kind of thing, eight hours of crowds, screens, conversations, queues and walking can be tiring.

Don’t Treat Opening to Closing as Mandatory

Your ticket gives you access to the event; it doesn’t require you to use every available minute. If the convention runs for ten hours, you don’t automatically need to stay for ten hours.

Prioritise the things you care about and adjust based on how you’re feeling. This becomes especially important during multi-day conventions, where burning yourself out on Friday can make Saturday considerably less fun.

Think About Sensory Overload

Expo halls can be loud and visually intense, with music, announcements, flashing screens, stage presentations and thousands of conversations happening around you.

If you’re sensitive to noise or crowds, prepare accordingly. Earplugs or noise-reducing headphones may help, and knowing where quieter areas are located gives you somewhere to retreat when needed.

Check Medication and Personal Essentials

If you need medication or other personal items during the day, make them part of your preparation rather than relying on memory while rushing out of the hotel. Check event rules beforehand if you need to bring anything that might require explanation at security.

Have a Meeting Point

If you’re attending with friends, agree on a meeting point in case you get separated. Phones make coordination easy until reception becomes unreliable, someone’s battery dies or one person sends “I’m near the big gaming booth” from an expo hall containing approximately 40 big gaming booths.

Choose somewhere obvious and specific.

Give Yourself Permission to Change the Plan

Preparation should remove stress, not create it. If you’re tired, take a break. If a queue is ridiculous, do something else. If you’ve discovered a brilliant area you hadn’t planned to visit, stay there.

A good convention plan helps you make the most of the day without dictating every minute of it. Once you’ve done the preparation, leave some room for the convention to surprise you.

📋 11. Check the Convention Rules Before You Go

Convention rules aren’t the most exciting part of preparing for a weekend of gaming, but they’re worth ten minutes of your attention.

Every event and venue operates slightly differently. Something allowed at one convention may be restricted at another, particularly when it comes to bags, food, cosplay props, photography and age requirements.

Check the Bag Policy

Some conventions limit the size or type of bags you can bring into the venue. Security may also inspect bags at the entrance, which can add time during busy arrival periods.

Check whether there are restrictions on:

• Backpacks
• Large bags
• Suitcases
• Food and drinks
• Glass containers
• Professional camera equipment
• Cosplay props
• Restricted items

If you’re planning to buy merchandise, also consider how much space you’ll need later in the day. Arriving with a completely full backpack doesn’t leave much room for your increasingly questionable purchases.

Read the Cosplay and Prop Rules

If you’re cosplaying, pay particular attention to prop policies. Conventions may restrict replica weapons, sharp objects, projectiles, oversized props or materials that could create safety problems in crowded halls.

Some events operate dedicated prop-check stations where approved items receive a tag or other identification.

Don’t assume that something being obviously fictional means security will automatically allow it. A six-foot fantasy sword is still a six-foot object being carried through several thousand people.

Check Age Restrictions

Gaming conventions can contain a mixture of family-friendly and age-restricted content.

Certain game demos, panels, tournaments or evening activities may require proof of age. If that’s relevant to you, bring suitable identification rather than discovering at the booth that your impressive knowledge of the franchise doesn’t count.

Understand Photography Rules

General convention photography is usually straightforward, but individual exhibitors, panels and activities may have different rules.

Always ask before photographing cosplayers directly, and pay attention to any restrictions around unreleased games or closed presentations. If an exhibitor says no photos, this isn’t the moment to begin your career in investigative journalism.

👥 12. Make a Plan if You’re Attending With Friends

Going to a convention with friends can make the experience better, but only if everyone accepts one important truth: you don’t need to do everything together.

Different people will naturally care about different parts of the event. One person wants esports, another wants indie games and somebody else has apparently travelled across the country primarily to buy art prints.

Trying to keep the entire group together all day can mean everyone compromises constantly.

Compare Priorities Before the Event

Ask everyone what their genuine must-see activities are before convention morning.

You may discover that several priorities overlap, making the basic schedule easy. Where they don’t, decide when it makes sense to split up and meet again later.

For example:

Morning: Explore the expo hall together
11:30 am: Split for different panels and demos
1:30 pm: Meet for lunch
Afternoon: Smaller groups based on interests
5:00 pm: Meet for tournament final

That gives you the benefits of attending together without creating a travelling committee.

Choose a Clear Meeting Point

Pick somewhere specific and easy to recognise.

“The entrance to Hall B” works.

“Near the gaming stuff” does not.

Convention centres can be enormous and mobile reception isn’t always reliable, so having a default meeting point gives everyone somewhere to go if messages stop working.

Talk About Spending Expectations

This matters particularly if you’re travelling together.

One person may be happy eating inexpensive food outside the venue, while another has mentally classified the weekend as a holiday and intends to investigate every restaurant within walking distance.

Neither is wrong. It’s simply easier when everyone knows the general plan before somebody suggests an expensive dinner after you’ve already spent your budget on a limited-edition statue.

📅 13. What Should You Do During the Week Before the Convention?

By the final week, most of the big decisions should already be made. This is the time to confirm details and catch anything that has changed.

You don’t need to rebuild your entire plan. A final check is usually enough.

Recheck the Schedule

Convention schedules can change.

Panels move. Guests cancel. New activities appear. Tournament times are updated and exhibitors make late announcements.

Look over your saved activities again and confirm that your main priorities are still happening when you expect.

If something has changed, adjust now rather than finding out from a sign taped to a door.

Confirm Your Travel

Check your:

• Flights or long-distance transport
• Hotel booking
• Airport or station transfers
• Public transport route
• Parking arrangements
• Convention opening times

If you’re travelling internationally, also confirm the obvious but important things such as passport requirements, travel documents and any entry conditions relevant to your destination.

Check the Weather

Even though you’ll spend much of the convention indoors, weather can affect how you get there and what you wear.

Rain matters if you’re walking from the station. Heat matters if you’re queueing outside before opening. Cold matters if you’ve chosen an outfit entirely based on how comfortable the expo hall will be.

A quick forecast check can prevent an unnecessarily miserable start.

Check for Final Organiser Announcements

Look at the convention’s official website, email updates and social channels.

The final week is when organisers may publish information about entry procedures, security, transport, badge collection and last-minute schedule changes.

This is also a good time to download the latest venue map if it has been updated.

🌙 14. What Should You Do the Night Before?

The night before a gaming convention should be pleasantly boring.

You don’t want to discover at 7:30 the next morning that your phone isn’t charged, your ticket is buried somewhere in your email and the clothes you intended to wear are still wet.

A few simple checks make convention morning much easier.

Charge Everything

Charge your:

• Phone
• Power bank
• Camera
• Headphones
• Smartwatch
• Any other electronics you’re taking

If something needs a cable during the day, pack that too.

A fully charged power bank sitting proudly on your hotel desk while you’re at the convention has limited practical value.

Get Your Essentials Ready

Lay out the things you’re taking rather than assembling them while half awake.

Your detailed packing needs will vary, but the essentials might include your ticket or badge, ID, phone, wallet, charger, water bottle where allowed and anything personal you need throughout the day.

For the full item-by-item list, use our What to Bring to a Gaming Convention – Complete Checklist.

Check Your First Activity

Know what you’re doing when you arrive.

If your highest-priority demo is likely to have a huge queue, you may want to head there first. If your first scheduled panel isn’t until midday, you have much more freedom.

Having one initial destination avoids standing just inside the entrance scrolling through the schedule while several thousand better-prepared gamers disappear into the halls.

Get Some Sleep

This advice is deeply unexciting and extremely useful.

A convention day can involve hours of walking, queues, noise and social interaction. Starting already exhausted makes all of it harder.

The games will still exist tomorrow. Go to bed.

☀️ 15. What Should You Do on Convention Morning?

Convention morning should be about executing the plan you’ve already made, not inventing one.

Get up with enough time to eat, get ready and reach the venue without turning the journey into a speedrun.

Eat Before You Leave

Have a proper breakfast if you can.

Food inside the venue may be expensive, crowded or simply inconvenient when you first arrive. Starting the day properly fed gives you more flexibility before your first break.

Coffee may also be involved.

No judgement.

Check Your Essentials One Last Time

Before leaving, confirm that you have the genuinely important things:

• 🎟️ Ticket or badge
• 🪪 Identification if required
• 📱 Phone
• 💳 Wallet or payment method
• 🔋 Power bank
• 💊 Medication or personal essentials

Most forgotten items are annoying.

A forgotten ticket can be considerably more creative.

Check for Last-Minute Updates

Give the official convention channels one quick look before heading out.

You’re checking for practical changes such as delayed opening, transport disruption, entrance changes or cancelled activities – not beginning another hour of convention research.

If everything looks normal, put the phone away and go.

Arrive With a Plan, Not a Script

By this point you’ve bought the ticket, organised travel, checked the schedule, chosen your priorities and prepared everything you need.

That’s enough.

You don’t need to control exactly how the day unfolds. In fact, some of the best convention experiences happen because something completely unplanned catches your attention.

Good preparation creates more freedom once you’re inside, not less.

You’ve handled the logistics. Now you can concentrate on games, panels, communities, ridiculous merchandise and whatever unexpected thing ends up becoming the highlight of the day.

🚀 16. Gaming Convention Preparation Checklist

By the time convention day arrives, the hard part should already be done. You don’t need a perfect schedule or a plan for every booth; you just want the important logistics handled so they aren’t competing for your attention once you’re inside.

Use this final checklist in the days before you go.

Before the Convention

• 🎟️ Buy the correct ticket or pass
• 🏨 Book accommodation if required
• ✈️ Arrange flights, trains or other long-distance travel
• 🚆 Work out how you’ll get to and from the venue
• 🗓️ Check the convention schedule
• 🎮 Identify your must-see games and activities
• 🎤 Save important panels or tournament times
• 🗺️ Download the venue map
• 📱 Install the official convention app if available
• 💰 Set an overall trip and merchandise budget
• 📋 Read the event’s bag, entry and security rules
• 🦸 Check cosplay and prop policies if relevant
• 🍔 Research food options and venue rules
• 👥 Agree on a meeting point if attending with friends

During Convention Week

• Confirm your travel and accommodation bookings
• Check the latest event schedule
• Look for organiser announcements or changes
• Check the weather
• Confirm opening and entry times
• Save your ticket somewhere accessible offline
• Make sure you have any required identification
• Review your main priorities without trying to schedule every minute

The Night Before

Charge your phone, power bank and any other electronics you’re taking. Get your clothes and essentials ready, check how long the journey to the venue will take and make sure you know where you’re entering.

Most importantly, get some sleep. Tomorrow already contains enough walking, noise and excitement without beginning it exhausted.

On Convention Morning

Eat something before leaving and do one final essentials check. Make sure you have your ticket or badge, phone, payment method, identification where required and any medication or personal items you need.

Then stop preparing.

You’ve done enough.

A good convention plan should make the day easier, not make you feel guilty whenever you deviate from it. If an unexpected game catches your attention, play it. If a panel looks better than the thing you’d planned, change course. If you’re tired, sit down for a while.

Preparation gives you the freedom to make those decisions without worrying about everything else.

If you’re still working out exactly what to take, use our What to Bring to a Gaming Convention – Complete Checklist. If you’re wondering what the experience will actually be like once you arrive, read What to Expect at Your First Gaming Convention.

Still deciding which convention deserves the trip? Explore the best gaming conventions in the world or browse upcoming gaming events on StackedGame Events.

Get the important things sorted before you go, leave some room for the unexpected and enjoy the convention.

That’s really all the preparation you need.