quick backstory: Have a good friend with severe anxiety around other people. Bought a one day ticket last year and they were able to come in to the convention center for 30 to 45 minutes then take a break outside for 20 minutes and they were fine, a little less time in the dealer hall as crowded as it is. They said it helped because everyone was so nice and awesome. YAY our people.  

This year they want to try an event. If I can get all 4 tickets to an event (4 player), even though there are 3 of us, does that ticket lock in an empty seat? Not to be jerks, but incase they can't handle it after 30 minutes in the play hall we can leave without destroying someone else's game. They really want to try, but we don't want to interfere with someone else.

I would say that for many events, if you have the prepaid tickets, it should lock the event.

I would also say that if a player came around and asked about the empty seat you might offer it to them but let them know the situation. You could seat them across from your friend and give the outside player some suggestions on how to avoid distressing your friend. Some Events are still rather close to other events, so you may also want to investigate the seating ahead of time to help your friend maintain the proper amount of personal space if that is an issue.

One other concern that I would have is how common is the event? If someone runs 8 copies of the event each day there should be no concern at all. BUT if you buy all 4 tickets to a popular event that only runs once for the whole convention some people might consider that impolite.

I hope that you and your friends have a great time and enjoy the Con.

I would pick an event that has an e-mail address provided and explain the situation before the con.  It should be cool.

Keep in mind, without an explanation, some events will try to fit in everyone that shows up.  This is especially common with RPG events.  I've played events with 10+ players when the max was 6.

Thanks for the advice so far. I think we would definitely contact the organizer before hand. We would be picking a board or card game that looks easy enough.

We could pick up something and play it at home, but there is just something about the event experience that I would like him to be able to, well, experience. :)

Yes, if you buy all the tickets nobody else could play.  Find a fun sounding board game, buy all the tickets and the game is all yours.

Another option would be to get some generic tickets and rent one of the games they have in the gaming library area and play anything you want with only your group.

Contact the GM.  The advice that "if you buy all the tickets nobody else could play" is not accurate - the GM can fill seats with generic tickets if someone doesn't show up.

It sounds like the last thing your friend would want is an interaction where someone has been waiting around with generics, and told by the GM they can play if someone doesn't show up.

Just set it up ahead of time, it will be fine.  Don't wait till day of.

Another possibility would be to check out the board game library as an event.  It's more freeform, so you'd be able to get in, check out a board game and play it.  There's also (somewhere) an RPG / GM's on demand thing usually that would work similarly.

I think the only way for you to buy all of the tickets for an event would be to have that many people who had assigned you as their purchase proxy.

Just as an FYI we fill unfilled seats with generics on all events. So buying extra tickets would not guarantee empty seats (We actually have a policy on this as people have tried to abuse it for other reasons in the past). Now having said that we would 100% work with someone needing extra consideration as long as you let us know ahead of time. We have a lot of DMs who would be perfect for this type of game.

If I got a notification for my game that I had a special needs player, I would my best to accommodate that group.  But at least a some prior notification would be great.

my game
https://www.gencon.com/events/111145 

If the event sits 6 and I buy 6 tickets but only 4 people come, why does that matter to you? You're still getting your 6 tickets?  

I guess it depends on the GM.  It was good advice to contact the company / GM in advance.

The point about generics coming into play is if only 4 people showed up with tickets and there was 2 open seats.  Then the generics can be used to purchase the open seats.

But you have a ticket and choose not to use it for someone, I am not sure why the GM would care.  They are still turning in 6 paid tickets for the event.

I would think that most games have an 'ideal' number of players. A RPG is designed for a party of a certain size. Strategy games work best with a set (balanced) number of opponents. If some seats go unfilled, the GM may have a difficult time compensating.

My thanks to everyone who helped answer my question. I will definitely be notifying the GM beforehand and finding out if it would be an issue regarding people or special consideration. I love our community.

You mentioned your group was looking to do a board/card game so this may not apply.  A few years back someone posted on the forums asking for a DM to run a specific D&D mod for their group.  I offered.  We met in the Segway Ballroom, grabbed an empty table and I ran the mod for them.  They were a group from Chicago that never got a chance for all 6 to PLAY (1 always had to DM).  In a way, we set up a "closed" game/event.

If this is something like what you're trying to set up, perhaps you can post on the forums, calling for a DM.  I don't know if this would work for a board/card game, and you may be trying to set up a game in a specific larger event.  If this is the case, you've already got the best advice:  Contact the person/group running the event and set it up.  I don't think it would be a problem, especially with this much notice.

I hope it all works out for your gaming group!

You never said what game you were playing, but one suggestion I could give is try to find co-operative (or team) games that would let one person take over for someone that has to leave.  That way if your friend has to get up and leave, you'd be able to take over their character and keep the game disruption to a minimum.  (Though this is assuming your friend would be able to take a break while you're still playing, or that a third friend could take over while the two of you step outside.)