Subject:
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My Thoughts on BrickFest 2002
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events.brickfest
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Date:
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Tue, 23 Jul 2002 03:08:15 GMT
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Viewed:
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933 times
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Well, now that I'm feeling a little more rested (after spending a day at
work struggling to stay awake), I thought I'd share my thoughts:
- I really appreciated the airport pickup. Everything went smoothly
(including watching TJ Avery hauling my big box off the luggage carousel
just as I strolled up - I was momentarily worried someone was hauling
off with my stuff until I saw the two big trunks nearby). Minor
improvements would have been organized earlier (so I would have realized
I was being picked up), and the driver being informed of how much stuff
we had (we just barely squeezed into the truck with our stuff, I rode
with a mostly empty bin on my lap).
- I think the 12v room was a great success. We set up (though never
finished wiring) a pretty nice layout, plus the room provided overflow
space for town MOCs, and an 8-wide train display). In the future, I may
not bring my own grey track since mine was a drop in the bucket compared
to what else was there. I also spent too much set-up time in that room.
- The castle town layout was a great success, though I wish I had more
time in the castle room. I never got a chance to finish populating my
section, but at least I did have some population (I'm not sure much
population ever made it onto the rest of the town). Thanks for the
incentive to finally get down and do some serious building.
- It would be good to have better scheduling of the Pirate Room, though
at least a last minute room change gave us time to setup Friday night,
which allowed a quicker start on Saturday. The Pirate Game was very
successful, and I enjoyed myself, and was not nearly as wiped out as in
the past. I am giving some consideration to running the Pirate Game
Friday which would leave me Saturday to participate in all the panels,
other theme rooms, and trading time.
- Having a semi-dedicated trade room was nice. For the small amount of
time I was there, I did pretty well, getting some nice minifig stuff
from Chris Weeks, selling some 60s printed bricks, trading some more for
a couple Coca-Cola sets, and selling some other miscellaneous parts.
Sadly, I hardly dented my trade volume. I would probably replace the
grey 12v track with more trade goods.
- The gaming with LEGO bricks panel went very well. We shared our
experiences with BrickWars, the Pirate Game, and a couple other games.
Issues such as rules complexity and finding players were discussed.
- As the outlet store situation has changed, I would like to raise a
suggestion for how to run it in the future. Instead of trying to get
everyone into the store at the same time, and given that there is little
or no scratch and dent any more, I feel it would be more effective to
have the 20% discount extend from Thursday through Monday. This would
allow folks to go on their own schedule. The limited quantity items
could be limited to one per person until Sunday afternoon. Attendees
could either be sent a coupon in a pre-registration packet, or the store
could be supplied with the list of registrants. I have always felt that
the store trip basically shot Sunday since many people start leaving at
noon, and probably don't go back to BrickFest after shopping. I would
much rather see Sunday morning be a relaxed time to look at peoples MOCs
without competing so much against scheduled activities, and have more
time for trading.
- There were a lot of door prizes which was a blessing and a curse.
There were way too many books. One suggestion (which was implemented
Sunday - and was used last year also) is to just start calling numbers
and have people come up and pick a prize (though a couple grand prizes
may be best to do the traditional way). With the number of books, I
would suggest either combining them with a small set donated by LD, or
combine several books (especially when some of the items aren't about
LEGO toys). I would also suggest that the Sunday awards and door prize
presentation be held somewhat earlier, rather than provide a windfall
for those able to stay late. To reward those who stay and help, some
items (including a really nice one) can be held for "dead dog" prizes
after clean up is mostly done (and anyone who helps should be eligible
even if they already won a prize). Something which might also help
reduce the "dud" numbers on Sunday is to have some way for people to get
their number from the bucket when they leave (getting your numbered
brick would be some incentive to take the time - though searching
through 200+ bricks to find a single number will be a task and a half).
- I felt bad about the lack of Pirate Game prizes. Earlier, I had talked
to Christina about providing prizes myself, but I ended up changing my
mind without telling anyone. I get a lot from the Pirate Game, and I do
have some prize stock, but I've started to feel less willing to donate
it. Part of that was due to my feelings about the game in the weeks
leading up to BrickFest. I also was thinking about the space to pack
them. One factor which tipped me in the direction of not giving prizes
was having the awards.
As a bonus, I had help with my bags in Portland. In Chicago, I ran into
a co-worker who ended up two seats ahead of me on the plane. When we got
off, he asked how I was getting home, and when I said I had my car at
the airport, he asked for a ride. Since his car was parked practically
on my way home, I was quite happy to offer him a ride. As it turned out,
it was a good thing for him, the train he had planned on taking had
already stopped running. As another little bonus, the parking shuttle
driver we had was absolutely the most cheerful and helpful driver I've
ever had the opportunity to ride with.
Overall, I had a great time, and it was well worth the trip.
I will try and write up the Pirate Game sometime soon. Since I took
almost no notes, it would be extremely helpful if all the participants
could let me know their name, their ship's name(s), and their captain's
name.
Frank
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: My Thoughts on BrickFest 2002
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| (...) There are Coca-Cola sets? How come I never heard about this! (...) I wish I could have been a fly on that wall! Did you hit on any issues we didn't cover at BricksWest? I'd love to hear more about how those discussions went, either in (...) (22 years ago, 23-Jul-02, to lugnet.events.brickfest)
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