I’ve been playing Netrunner since it was released and have been to a number of local tournaments, but I’ve never been to Worlds. I decided to go this year and was lucky enough to land a ticket in the mad scrum this week. Now I have lots of questions, mostly related to logistics. I didn’t see an existing thread about this, but feel free to point me in that direction if I missed it.
Side Events - There are surprisingly few side events listed on FFG’s side events flyer. I would assume/expect there to be plenty of other (more impromptu perhaps) side events or open gaming, but perhaps there’s not space for that sort of thing? For instance, I didn’t see any Netrunner drafts on there, but I would hope to find one there, or other Netrunner tournaments/gaming. I’d love to hear from people that have been before about the scope and type of side events that have happened in years past.
Arrival/Departure - The above question feeds into this second question, when do people fly in and out? I’d stay for the whole time, Wednesday through Sunday, if it seemed like there would be enough Netrunner to fill the long weekend, but if it’s just Thursday and then pretty much done (since I have no chance of making the cut), I should book an earlier flight out. Definitely would appreciate input on this so I can book a flight soon. I don’t play other LCGs (besides Star Wars), but I suppose I’d be happy to play FFG board games if that’s something that there’s space for and that is likely to happen on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday…
Hotel - There seem to be several hotels within walking distance (Radisson, Red Roof, Motel 6, Key Inn). I feel like I’ve heard the Radisson mentioned over the years as a place people tend to stay. Is that the best bet based on people’s experience? Walking distance definitely seems like the preferable option by far, but I wouldn’t expect to spend a lot of time in the hotel (given all of the gaming I’d rather be doing) so I don’t care much about it except that it’s convenient.
Food/Car - Did people find there were sufficient food/grocery options within walking distance or do people find that renting a car is helpful or worthwhile?
Airport - Unless I’m missing something, looks like the MSP airport is the place to go, yes? Looks like a bit of a hike to the hotels from there, but I’m assuming people just did a cab, uber, rental car, or airport shuttle. Thoughts, ideas, suggestions?
Miscellaneous - Any other tips or tricks from veteran attendees to a first-timer? Perhaps there’s an old thread with this sort of thing that you can link to. I’ve been to BGG.CON for many years now, and I know it has some good threads with tips and tricks for newcomers, so I thought there might be resources out there for FFG Worlds or just general ideas/suggestions that people here might be able to share.
i was at worlds for worlds in 2014
and at worlds for KoS (but only that) in 2015
ill answer what i can
1: drafts were formed in 2014 when 8 people bought the supplies, then just said ‘we are doing a draft’ and were given a GNK for it.
unofficial stimhack cube drafts are likely too, but thatll be after hours and you need to contact people for that. make some friends and be in the know :3
2: i arrive the day before and leave the day after. i cant help. i just value my sleep a bunch XD
3: netrunner players aim for the radisson. theres other spots close, but nothing beats being the same building… especially for the drinking crowd. theres 3 to 4 within walking dist of the tournament venue. so really walking distance becomes ‘how much do you like the cold’
4/5: public transport isnt bad in the area. renting a car can be cheap though if you plan ahead. check sites like orbitz or whatever. i rented a car in 2014 for 9 bucks a day (no insurance, but i wasnt planning to drive much and i trust myself) - no idea about groceries. i just budgetted resturants the entire weekend lol
6: its a long day for the worlds tournament. hydratate a lot. eat well. good night sleep. PLAY DECKS THATS ARENT ESPECIALLY MENTALLY TAXING. and just enjoy the weekend yo.
Friday: Watch day 2 + elims, maybe draft (FFG draft or cube)
Saturday: King of Servers Community Team Tournament
Sunday: Leave
If you’re not participating in the KoS, then you can probably leave on Saturday, but if you can put together a team or join up on one, I highly recommend it. Last year, people considered it the highlight of the weekend, even more than the main event. Keep an eye out for @spags posting about it within the next month-ish, I’d say.
The Radisson is the closest hotel, and the one everyone likes to stay at. The Key Inn is garbo. There are 2 new hotels this year that are also close (Hampton Inn or something) – I don’t know anything about them. They are probably better than the Key Inn.
MSP Airport is the one to fly into, yes. There is food at the FFG Center, as well as places to eat if you’re willing to walk a few blocks in the Minnesota November cold. Personally, I decided to rent a car, and I’m glad I did.
The biggest thing I can say is that the 48 hours leading up to the World Championships is a huge flurry of people trying to metagame everyone else, figuring out what decks everyone will be playing, and what the decks to beat will be. There is absolutely a “Worlds meta” which is what leads to things like 11 out of 16 corp decks in the top cut being variations of the same deck. All that to say that I was not sorry that I decided to cart my whole collection up, because you will almost certainly be doing deckbuilding up until the night before the event. The Icebreaker is a great way to try things out beforehand and see what people are up to.
3 and 4: I’m slowly building a custom Google map of lodging and non-terrible, non-fastfood eating and drinking options. Roseville has one of almost every fastfood chain doing business in the Midwest except Culver’s and Five Guys. The closest grocery store to this area is the Byerly’s at the NW corner of Snelling and County Rd C, but there’s a good chance you won’t consider this a walkable distance in early November. Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites are the new hotels, as I mentioned in another thread. The Key Inn–if we’re feeling charitable–is very downmarket and almost certainly has prostitution running out of it. The Red Roof Inn is run by management that couldn’t manage to maintain the standards required to stay under the Super 8 flag, FWIW.
5: Yes, MSP is the only airport with commercial service. The Blue Line light rail will get you as far as downtown Minneapolis for the princely sum of $1.75 off-peak. From there there are some limited stop buses that get you as far as Rosedale Center (the mall), but the “last mile” in the suburbs is always where it falls down. Another option is light rail to 46th St and then transfer to the brand-new A Line (bus rapid transit), which gets to you Rosedale Center. If you want to be mobile–say, to take advantage of all the awesome taprooms in nearby NE Minneapolis–I imagine you’ll want a rental car. Or collaborate with other attendees on some sort of rideshare, joint cab or Uber, etc.
I’m gonna be the old man and say the obvious - be safe, be smart. Especially if you’re not used to cold weather driving and it’s near or below freezing. Have a DD, or know your limits. Nobody likes a Traffic Accident.
I’d suggest you check it out and track it, it gets updated frequently. If you want to be in the know, it’s probably the best discussion on Worlds 2016 for Netrunner.
So it sounds like there is space available for people to create their own side events essentially by just buying draft supplies or busting out a draft cube; that’s great to hear. I wasn’t sure how full the gaming space would be with the official tournaments.
Can you tell me more about (or direct me to somewhere that more fully describes) the Icebreaker tournament and the King of Servers tournament? I’d love to get in more Netrunner while I’m there, besides the one full day on Thursday, so I’m very intrigued by these other Netrunner tournaments being mentioned here…
The Icebreaker will simply be a regular tournament, probably 5-6 rounds. It’s put on directly by FFG. Nothing particularly unique, though last year the participation prize was a full set of alt-art Lotus Field.
King of Servers is an ANRPC event, unofficial, that @spags helped to organize last year. (I say helped, he put the whole damn thing on nearly by himself and did a freaking great job.) Best suggestion to get a sense of what it was like is to look for the old King of Servers thread on here, or look for King of Servers on youtube.
One important thing you should know about King of Servers: it is a team tournament for teams of 4 people and within a team each faction must be represented (not sure what the rule will be on mini factions this year). So to play there it’s good to look for a team in advance.
I hope FFG announces the details of the Icebreaker tournament sooner rather than later so I can incorporate that into booking travel.
The King of Servers team tournament sounds very interesting. I won’t know anyone, but will certainly be on the lookout for a cobbled together team if at all possible!