Return of the Ribbon

In previous years at U-Con, we had a ribbons for subsets of our games.  There was a ribbon for Puffing Billy players and one for Mayfair.  This follows a model used by larger conventions, only they have way more types of ribbons and way more events for each ribbon.  You could purchase one ribbon and play as many of those specific games as you wanted to all weekend.  And if you wanted to play two different game types, you had to buy two ribbons.  This serves well for people who want to do the same thing all weekend.  But it doesn’t promote variety in games, interaction with lots of different players, or trying new things.

Last year, without much warning we introduced the idea of a single ribbon that works for everything.  Instead of having a ribbon for this and a ribbon for that we have one ribbon to rule them all.  A “Play Games All Weekend” ribbon acts as unlimited generic tickets for a single player.  You can sit down to play any event without paying additional money.  You give up your priority for any particular game to players who purchase the specific tickets for that event.  If you absolutely must play in a particular game, you should buy a ticket.

The feedback from last year was tremendous.  About 1/4 of attendees in 2011 purchased the play-games ribbon.  The gamemasters loved the way that it was easier to get people to join in their games.  A few people wished they’d known about it ahead of time or been able to preregister for one.  Well, now you can.

The ribbon is available for preregistration.  It costs $15, but remember that playing in events also requires a badge.  See you in October!