This coming weekend is Ropecon, the major role-playing convention in Finland and one of the highlights of our year. Eppu and I always attend, whether it’s to play games, run games, catch up with friends, attend talks and workshops, or disco the night away.

As part of our Ropecon routine, once the weekend is over and we’ve recovered a bit, we compare notes and write down things we’ve learned from the experience to make the next year’s con easier, more manageable, or more fun. Here’s a few of the things I’ve learned over the years that have made my con experience better.

Since we live close enough to the convention site to go there and back again each day, here are some handy ways to manage home life for the weekend:

• Make one big pot of soup or some other warm dish (chili, borscht, beef stew, etc.) and one big bowl of salad to leave in the fridge over the weekend. We can dip into one or both whenever we’re at home and need a low-effort meal.
• Run and empty the dishwasher the morning of the first day of the con. Then just pile in dishes as you use them over the weekend and run it when it gets full and you have time.
• Have a big piece of paper that says CLEAN on one side and DIRTY on the other; leave it on top of the dishwasher with the appropriate side up. When you’re half asleep in the morning and in a rush to get to your first panel, it saves time and brain power to not have to stop and think about when the dishwasher was last run or emptied.
• Have a good store of salty snack foods on hand (chips, pretzels, peanuts, etc.), because you will be sweaty and dehydrated and need a quick electrolyte restorer.
• Wash and chop a big pile of vegetables like cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, peppers, etc. on the day before the con for easy-to-grab healthy snacking, too.

Some advance prep also makes the at-con experience easier:

• Make a daily schedule for the con with an hour-by-hour breakdown of what you want to do, including room numbers. If you’re not sure what you’ll be doing at any given time, write down all the possibilities you’re considering. Share this schedule with anyone you want to meet up with at the con, so they have an idea of where to look for you and when you’ll be free.
• Write out your contact information (and your partner’s) and make that your phone lock screen for the weekend.
• Leave a comfortable change of clothes in the bathroom at home every morning before you leave for the con, since you might want an immediate shower and change as soon as you get home.
• Leave an empty drying rack in the bathroom, too, so you have an easy place to hang sweaty gear to dry before putting it in the laundry.

And some notes for making the con experience as fun and comfortable as possible:

• If you have one warm, full meal a day, you can get through the rest of the day by snacking when you have free time. Make sure to drink plenty of water as well.
• Pack a change of clothes in a bag with a zipper closure and leave that at the coat check in case you need to change during the con. Include a dry wash cloth in a plastic bag, so you can wipe yourself down if necessary.
• There will always be someone at a game who needs to borrow dice, so bring an extra set for lending out.
• For games that I run, print up a sign with the game name in big, visible letters that can stand on the table so players can easily find me.

If you’re on your way to Ropecon or have another con in your future, I hope you have an easy and wonderful time!

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