Re: OOC: Where to talk about EVERYTHING!
MAGfest was very cool. The hotel/convention center was packed when I got there around noon on Saturday. I went up and down two full parking garages, and ended up parked in BFE. Had to walk through the cold and a little snow to get inside. Luckily, the Bell Hop station let me check a bag, so once I was in cosplay, I dropped it off.
The convention hall was split into four equal sections: Console video games, sales, PC video games, and coin-op games. Every game was free to play, and there were cabinets and pinball machines I hadn't seen in decades.
A floor upstairs was dedicated to tabletop gaming, and there was a library where you could check out hundreds of board games. One room was nothing but RPG tables, with random pick-up games, tournaments, and sanctioned events. That floor was so packed, there were people in the halls playing Settlers of Catan, Magic the Gathering, and Risk (to name a very few).
Got to hang with friends, getting photos and playing board games. Had a great time. Next year I'm getting a room at the hotel!
Also got some roommates for the Katsucon, to be held next month in the same place! I won't have any students at that time, so I'm taking a Friday off so I can go three days.