I wanna place bets on the most popular Ugly experiences 

The good: played In an epic game of Star Trek Ascendancy. Silent Death smash run by the Ottawa Redshirts was great as always. The new location for the food trucks provided more seating though some shade would have been nice. 

The bad: a player in the final round of a tournament barely knew the rules and only got there because everyone else in his first game did not want to play another game. I had to help throughout the game and even then missed some things he did wrong that were too late to correct. 

The ugly: nothing. 

Good: It's Gen Con. I mean, there's so much to put there that I could fill a book, or at least a chapter. 

• People were happy. This means a TON. 
  
• Hotel staff was above and beyond. That meant the world to me because I was nursing an injury this year. 
  
• Had so many great gaming sessions with great GMs. Not every one of them, but nearly all. 
  
• I was afraid the Block Party move would kill it. From the looks of things, that fear is put to rest. 
  
• Managed to explore farther out on Wednesday. Folks, the Garage Food Hall on the far end of Mass Ave is legit. Gaucho's Fire is great; I loved it. And everything else looked awesome.
  

• Not everyone can be a good game master. Let me just leave it at that. I'm not actually mad at the one sub par experience - it's more sad than anything - but it does sort of drag things down.
  
• I did get physically blapped by the superhuge backpacks. Multiple times. Not hard at all, but far from just a brushing. 
  
• And I don't think I handled those blappings well. After a while, I stopped saying "Sorry", or "No worries!", "It's ok", etc... Pro tip: Get away from the crowded dealer hall when you're tired, and especially when your injury gets achy. 
  
• While we're at it: When did those huge four-wheeled carts with kids become a thing?
  
• The Hoosier Concourse - the hall that has an exit to Georgia Street - was so damn jam-packed. Nearly too much so.
  
• As much as I liked the JW, I don't think that breakfast buffet was worth nearly $40 ($37-some).
  
• The negative about Garage Food Hall is that my stomach decided it had enough of fine eating. That was the fastest Uber trip back to my hotel, ever! Didn't ruin the dinner, but the post-meal experience was... well... memorable. :( 
  

• On Tuesday (yes, I was there that day) I was followed by a somewhat strange person through the convention center. Didn't even look transient or disheveled - yes, in plain English, I didn't peg him as homeless - but acted very strangely. Hunched over sideways, just stared at people and things. I changed directions sharply twice and even doubled-back on my path, and was still followed. By the time I got to the Crossroads Concourse (the one going past the escalators in the middle of the ICC) I didn't see any security. I was about to double-back again and get to the Will Call people setting up for help, but that meant going past the follower. So I just stopped right in the middle and glared at him. Hard. It took about 10 seconds of closure before he reversed course, but still... I never saw him again anywhere, in or out of the ICC, but that was still bothersome. 
  

The good :

Loved the setup on south street for the block party and food trucks.   Thursday was really backed up for the food truck lines, but the rest of the week was normal Gencon traffic.  

The consignment store setup was great too.   More space, more people were able to get into the store at one time and the extra space I think led to more sales since people could browse efficiently and not hit a point of 'I gotta get out of here'.   Morning lines were long, but after the initial hour rush, not sure I saw more than a few people in line at a time.

The bad :

Gencon has to think about carts/pull behinds in the vendor halls.

The ugly :

While I wasn't part of the Lorcana stuff, I don't think the mess Thursday should have been a shock to anyone.   Everyone saw this coming.   Should have been more thought into crowd management before it even got to this point.   Some day someone will get seriously injured over cardboard.  

This was my 15th Gen Con (not in a row--we skipped 2006 and 2021-2022). Not one of my favorites, but it's Gen Con, so still pretty great.

The Good:

I ran three Mos Espa Pod Racing events on Thursday. Although we did have a few no-shows (3 out of 36 total slots), the energy and engagement of all of the participants was amazing and I had a great time earning my first ever GM badge (although I've been involved with SWMGamers behind the scenes for MANY years).

The energy at Gen Con is always amazing, and this year was no different. You can't beat a huge group of game geeks for excitement, enthusiasm, and overall nerdiness. I had a fantastic time.

The Skull King Championship on Saturday was a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed playing in the preliminary rounds, and even though neither my husband nor I advanced, I only needed one more victory point, and I had an absolute blast.

My husband won the Star Wars Miniatures National Championship, beating out 10 other players this year (myself included).  This win has been a loooong time coming and I was very excited for him!

After I faceplanted on Friday morning (see below) a very nice man picked me up and got me to first aid, who gave me some ice for my face and calmed me down.   I’m very grateful that someone was there to do that for me.

Not an official part of the Con, but on Thursday night, some friends and I played an EPIC 7-player game of Black Rose Wars.  I think I finished right in the middle of the pack, but it was a great time and really fun to see different schools of magic and play styles.

The Bad: Although I had a full slate of non-minis events in my tickets, scheduling changes and the whole faceplanting incident led me to get most of them refunded, including Distant Era’s Cosplay Posing and Photography Workshop.  I had been really looking forward to that event and was super bummed that I busted my lip and couldn’t participate.

My own fault, but I never did get into the Artists’ Alley in the dealer hall, which is one of my favorite places to visits.

More meh than bad, but the food trucks I tried were only okay, for the most part.  I did like the location by the stadium, though.

The Ugly:My face after the sidewalk jumped up and bit me lol.  Seriously, was headed to Panera in my Scarlet Witch cosplay when my heel caught on the sidewalk and threw me forward.  I tried to reach out to steady myself on a trash can, but I missed it and hit the ground with my face, hard.  I had a bloody lip and scrapes all over my face for the rest of the con, which caused me to be quite self-conscious.

On Friday night, walking into the Sheraton City Centre for more gaming with friends, a random dude took one look at my face and said “Oh my god” is a shocked/disgusted voice.  I get that I looked gross, but I didn’t need to be reminded, especially by some random stranger.

Despite the bad/ugly, it was overall a fun year and great to be back in Indy!

My take on things:

The Good: 

• Lots of new people.  There is a certain special air of excitement generated by the con, and it's fun to see the new people experience it for the first time.
  
• Having people excited to play in our events, and to have them express gratitude for running it for them.  Speaking as the EO for a gaming group, it really does mean a lot to have players be genuinely grateful for the time a stranger puts in to GM a game for them.
  
• The GM HQ and their helpful staff.  I don't know who is a paid full-time employee, and who is a volunteer, but my interaction with them has always been professional and courteous.  Top notch folks.
  
• Critical Putt.  This was our gaming groups final event of the convention, and we could not have asked for a finer way to end it.  Not every event is for every person, but for us this was just the icing on the cake.  Can't wait to do it again next year.
  

• People that don't quite understand the etiquette of things.  In the exhibit hall, if you are standing still, you are in someone's way.  It's unavoidable.  But why exactly did you choose to stop in the middle of an aisle to look at your phone, or even better, why did you choose an intersection to stop and look at your phone?  At least take three more steps and block only one direction if you must.  But both?  Let's gain some situational awareness, people.
  
• The huge backpacks.  It's a great idea for the GM that needs to have a lot of stuff for an event.  I get it.  But they just don't have a place in the exhibit hall.  Even if you think you know how much space you are taking up, it's like trying to explain the scope of GenCon to someone who's never attended.  It's much larger than you think.  Yes, much larger than you think.
  

• I had a GM setting up for an 8 AM event on Thursday morning.  Random guy comes up to him at 7:30 to tell him how he's a bad person for charging extra for an event.  Rather aggressive on "why should I pay you an extra $6 when I could just go play the same game somewhere else."  Of course, the other event of this game (not associated with my GM) is sold out, and so is this one.  Dude makes it personal, and after several minutes finally wanders off in a huff.  This must have really been cooking up in the random guy, to make it a point to show up early to a game he's not even playing in to berate someone he doesn't know.  My regret is not being there to take the heat for my GM (he is new, it's his first time as a GM) and to be able to get the Hall HQ involved.
  

• The GenCon app and the electronic ticketing were very much improved this year.  Despite early on complaints/misunderstandings about the white labels used on the badges, we really didn't have any issues with e-tickets.  The app still needs some work, as it cut off the last words of every line on my phone, which made reading last names impossible, but it was much better than prior years.  
  

Man, I just wish everything could go to electronic tickets, with paper ones just as a backup if a person needs it for whatever reason. Just scanning our badge made things go so smoothly for nearly every event I was in.

The only event where it seemed to stall out a bit - and even then only a very little tiny bit - was the almost 300 attendee event on Saturday with Tracy & Laura Hickman and Margaret Weis reminiscing about old times. And even *then* it was hardly a real problem, just sort of a bottleneck. Could've been solved with just 1 or 2 more people scanning badges. 

It's just so much better. Even when it's a bottleneck, it's not that bad. 

The Good:

-The size! It felt like a pre-pandemic con, and then some! It was great to see the old energy all the way back!
-I really felt the kind spirit of the gaming community this year in particular, for some reason. It seemed like everywhere I went, I ran into total strangers who were willing to help me if I needed it or just talk for a while about gaming stuff.
-Seeing the destruction of Cardhalla for the first time was a lot of fun.
-As a GM, I had great groups of players.
-Finally got to try out Zweihander and loved it! Unfortunately they were out of the core rulebook by the day after that, but I can get it online.
-The consignment store's new home is very nice and spacious, something that it's needed for a while.
-Pinball Alley was an awesome addition to the con. Hope it comes back next year.

The Bad:
-The size! The Exhibit Hall was sometimes claustrophobic even by Gen Con standards. This might not have been as bad if not for the fact that traffic was constantly being snarled by people 1) Stopping in such a way that caused a traffic stoppage, 2) Paying more attention to their phones than where they were going, or 3) Wearing ridiculously oversized backpacks (think "as big as a 24 pack of soda").
-Why gods WHY are the convention food stands cashless now? So many unnecessary card transactions these past four days just because I wanted to get a quick meal.

The Ugly:
-The Alien RPG game I was part of in Lucas Oil Stadium ("Heart of Darkness"). It was all because of the GM, who was the most unprepared GM I have ever played under! He seemed like he literally bought and opened the Heart of Darkness box set just before game time, because he not only read aloud the situation report the GM's supposed to read, but the GM-only adventure text too! Plus, he seemed to think we were going to get through the whole thing in just two hours somehow.

Yeah, I sympathize re: Ungood GM experience.

You may want to note which gaming group sponsored your event this year, then make your future choices based on that. Without publicly naming names or groups, I plan to do exactly that myself next year. Having a subpar game master drags things down. 

Did they expect to build roundabouts around them?  All it did was tangle foot traffic and encourage people to stop and rest stuff on them or chat over the covered top.

As for the ugly?  Cell phones again, I stood next to more than one person who couldn't put down their phone, even while standing at a urinal taking a leak.

Also on situational awareness?  People crossing the street while traffic was trying to turn onto the same street.  At least show some urgency in clearing the intersection.

The Good:

• Games based on Intellectual Properties run by GMs who love the stories. I did a Dr. Who RPG and Hogwarts LARP that were done with love.
  
• Playtesting games that won't be out until next year. I could take pictures of one but it makes the experience all the more teasing to my friends who didn't make it to GenCon.
  
• The Math (board game) Trade. It officially started at 8 and we have people done and leaving within 6 minutes. Everyone was out by 9:30.
  
• Whose Line Is It Anyway. My favorite way to end Thursday and Friday.
  
• Queen by Midnight. My friend worked the booth all weekend and Darrington Press took in a LOT of orders. Plus, we've been playing it since he got his copy weeks ago.
  
• First Exposure Playtest Hall. Always a free way to spend some free time.
  
• The new location for the consignment hall.
  

• People who sign up and don't show up for events. Whose line had 15/50 on Thursday and 23/50 on Friday even though they were sold out. My Saturday event had more no-shows than shows.
  
• Lines, lines and more lines. You know who you are. I got my deck without standing in a line but I refuse to disclose my secrets. Ditto my GenCon badge and event tickets.
  
• Hotel food and the loss of Chic-Fil-A in the mall. I heard rumors of $15 pizza slices.
  
• Getting to the consignment hall Saturday at 2pm. I went home with over $400 in my pocket as the hall was picked clean early on.
  

• My computer couldn't connect to anything for my Trade Day presentation INCLUDING an IT professional's hotspot. I had to talk through it while looking at it on my phone. Somehow my computer updated and lost the ability to open powerPoint.
  
• Backpacks and wagons. Getting whacked by a backpack is now a tradition for me.
  

Especially since Conspiracyofgamers was complaining about people stopping in the middle of traffic to check their phones.  At least you could tap them on the shoulder and ask them to move, the cans were there the whole time.  And someone say checking the con app's map for the next booth they are looking for?  Is less likely to accrete others to them.

THE GOOD:

• Tons of friendly conversations and gaming experiences with new people
  
• Because my daughter couldn't come at the last minute (initially a very bad development), I ended up with a lot of extra time to try some new events that will definitely be on my "must do" list next year
  
• The new auction/consignment store location is nice. Didn't feel like people were sardined in there, and the Marriott is one of the better satellite venues when it comes to cranking up the AC. I can't even imagine how much worse the crowding in the concourse in front of the dealer hall would have been if the auction had been in its former location.
  
• Actual seating in the food truck area
  
• Some new vendors for those of us who like to buy unpainted minis
  
• The Lucas Oil playing experience is very relaxed.
  
• They're getting a lot better at Will Call. I feared a painful hour-plus wait Wednesday evening when I got into line, which at that point was all the back to the West Street doors. But I had my badge and packet less than 40 minutes later.
  

• Look, I LOVE the art. I buy a piece of artwork every year. There is some truly gorgeous stuff. But I'm not sure the dealer hall is the place for it anymore. Artists and authors eat up a huge chunk of real estate that could mean more room for new and unique game and game supply vendors (or expanded room for existing ones). Giving the artists and writers their own dedicated vendor area in one or more of the big rooms across the hall seems like something worth looking into.
  
• Some of the martials seating people at events came across as annoyed by the whole thing, as if they'd rather be anywhere else in the world. Always a tad depressing to see that.
  
• Wagons in the dealer hall (for both purchases and children). I fear this is only going to be worse next year if Gen Con doesn't resolve to do something about it. There are far too many people trying to maneuver around in there for you to bring your own trailer.
  

• Situational awareness. This is where the "bad" above occasionally got ugly. For example, at one of the smaller dice booths on Thursday, there were multiple people just trying to pay for their stuff, and no one could get close because of the guy with three kids in a wagon who decided that would be a good place to park and plan his next move for 10 minutes. For one of the Gate 10 shuttle pickups, some people wandered up and formed a second line at the curb, 20 feet closer to the approaching shuttle, and tried to board ahead of the 15-20 people who'd already been standing for a while in the original line. It's not necessarily malicious behavior, but it's next-level oblivious and selfish, and there was a lot more of it this year than I ever remember. Did COVID isolation affect our ability to not be a PITA to those around us?
  

The GOOD: GOODMAN GAMES. OMG. They had the BEST GM's. And they always have their Sunday games.

The BAD: Fathers should be made to take a class in manuevering strollers in cramped areas. This is the second year one ran my foot over with a stroller. I would have been livid, if I hadn't already injured that toe.

The UGLY: The food truck lines. Every time we looked, the lines were insane. We only ate there once this year.

Aceorton, some great points there.

On the artists/authors space...I kinda disagree, although we are getting squeezed for space.  I think it's a good way to get foot traffic past these tables that might not otherwise get it.