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Board Gaming Convention

 

 17th – 19th January 2020

 

Holiday Inn Maidenhead
Manor Lane
Berkshire
Maidenhead
SL6 2RA

Buy Tickets

Opening Times & Registration

Opening Times

The con is open from 9am Friday until 8pm Sunday.

Single and Two Day tickets permit entry from 9am until late on the relevant date(s).

Registration

When you arrive at the hotel, please make your way to the HandyCon registration desk (note that this is not the hotel reception desk!) located near the entrance to pick up your pass.

Please bring your ticket with you, in either printed or digital form, to speed up check-in. If you do not have your ticket with you we will need you to provide some form of ID.

HandyCon registration is open from 9am until late each day.

Travel & Parking

Car Parking

There is free parking on site at the venue for attendees (first come, first served). There is an automated parking management system in the hotel car park, but it shall be turned of from 7am on the Friday until 1am on the Monday. If you are arriving or departing outside of these times, be sure to register your car at hotel reception.

You can also park in the surrounding roads, which are free to park. You can find more info in our FAQs.

Train

The nearest train station is Maidenhead Railway Station. The venue is only a 20 minute walk or a 15 minute bus ride away.

Bus

The nearest bus stop is in Norreys Drive, which is located in the road opposite the venue. You can find bus times for the westbound route (towards town) here and eastbound route (away from town) here.

Open Gaming

Open gaming is available for the duration of the convention. We have a large main open gaming area (Berkshire Suites 1-4) and the areas near the bar as well as a few other rooms on the first floor (Cedar Suites 1 – 4).  You can find a map of the space available here. Are you coming along on your own or do you just need some extra players? No worries! We have a number of options to help you find people to game with:

Looking For Players (LFP) System

This is our web-based LFP system, which allows attendees to create and sign up for events before and during the convention. You can check it out here!

Players Wanted Signs

We will have 'Players Wanted' signs that you can display on your table to let people know you are looking for some extra players.

Facebook Group

Some of our attendees like to try and prearrange games on the HandyCon Facebook Discussion Group.

Games Library

The Games Library is open to all attendees for the duration of the convention. If you wish to borrow a game from the library, just write your details on the board provided. You can browse our library below using Cardboard Butler, which gives you some nice filters to help you find what you are looking for, or view it on BGG.

Please be sure to return all games in the condition you found them.

Cardboard Butler
View library on Cardboard Butler
Boardgamegeek.com
View library on boardgamegeek.com

Events

We will be running various events throughout the convention.

At previous HandyCons we have hosted games of Two Rooms and a Boom, a board gaming quiz, a Mini-Games Challenge and more.

We will post more details as soon as we have them.

Tournaments

We will be running various events throughout the convention.

At previous HandyCons we run tournaments for games such as Terraforming Mars, Flamme Rouge, 18xx, Baseball Highlisghts 2045 and more.

We will post more details as soon as we have them.

If you are interested in running a tournament at HandyCon, please email Rich Watney for details.

Demos

We shall have demos of various games running throughout the weekend.

We shall provide updates closer to the time.

Playtest Zone

Come and play yet to be released games and give your feedback to designers! We will be releasing more details of who to expect at the convention closer to the time.

If you are a designer and have a game you would like to playtest at HandyCon, we shall be releasing playtsting tickets closer to the time.

Bring & Buy

Details of the bring and buy and how to enter your items will be available closer to the time.

Charity

We will announce the charity closer to the time.

Trader

The CCG and Boardgame Social

Barny Baker from The CCG and Boardgame Social will be there for the duration of the weekend with a selection of games for you to purchase. If there is anything specific you would like Barny to bring along for you to purchase at the con, please get in touch with him beforehand.

Accommodation

Hotel Room bookings will be open from 09:00 Thursday 14th February.

For those of you wanting to stay on site, the Holiday Inn Maidenhead, we have managed to negotiate the following room rates:

  • Double Room – £60
  • Twin Room – £70
  • King Room – £70
  • Executive Room – £85
  • Suite – £115

All room rates are per night and include breakfast.

These room rates are available from Thursday to Sunday night, so you can stay the night before and the night after the con at the special rate.

Rooms can be booked online using the Group Code (found under the ‘More Options’ toggle on the bookings page) ‘HA7’ for HandyCon 7. Alternatively you can call the hotel on 01628 506070 and quote the above code.

Food & Drink

At The Hotel

Food: We are working closely with the hotel to provide a special HandyCon menu with options for vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

Drink: Free tea, coffee and iced water will be provided for attendees, available from the refreshment stations. The bar also serves Starbucks Coffee and various soft and alcoholic drinks.

Please note that food and drink not purchased at the hotel may only be consumed within bedrooms and not in any of the Public Areas.

We shall release more information about food and drink closer to the time.

Nearby

In Maidenhead

 

Ross Fish Bar 4.5 (116)

We’ve heard good things if you like fish and chips. Simple but gets you out of the hotel.

Gandhi Indian Restaurant 4.2 (135)

Flavio’s Café Bar Restaurant 4.5 (153)

Pizza Hut 3.6 (137)

Francesco’s 4.2 (164)

The venue for the first Date of Mr and Mrs Handycon. 3 years later they were married, she’s still trying to work out what happened.

Noodle Nation 4.0 (279)

Vivasa – Authentic Indian 4.4 (177)

The Gourmet Chicken Company 4.5 (181)

Miyazaki 4.6 (195)

Pizza Della Mamma 4.6 (142)

The Bistro Story 4.5 (174)

Chutney Jacks 3.8 (183)

Bianco Nero 4.4 (116)

Thai Orchid 4.5 (228)

Absolute favourite of Mrs Handycon who often dispatches Mr Handycon for double take-away (one Thai Green Chicken curry and Coconut rice for now and one for tomorrow) anytime she has had a rough day or he needs to apologise for being a terrible husband.

 Toby Carvery 4.0 (743)

Further afield

 

Emperor of India 4.2 (115)

Hinds Head 4.4 (422)

Heston Blumenthal Gastropub

Crown at Bray 4.3 (294)

Heston Blumenthal Gastropub

Caldesi In Campagna 4.7 (118)

The Fat Duck 4.6 (463)

Heston Blumenthal Gastropub

Belgian Arms 4.4 (176)

George on the green 4.3 (155)

Riverside Brasserie 4.0 (168)

The Fifield Inn 4.3 (112)

HandyCon Restaurants 1
HandyCon Restaurants 2

Harassment Policy

HandyCon is committed to providing a safe and enjoyable gaming environment for everyone who attends. Please behave respectfully to all other attendees, ensuring all can feel safe and enjoy themselves regardless of gender, gender identity, sexuality, appearance, race or religion.

Physical and verbal harassment will not be tolerated and the organisers reserve the right to take appropriate action including warning the offender or expulsion from the convention with no refund, and in some cases informing the police.

Some examples of harassment include:

  • Offensive verbal comments
  • Explicit sexual images or references
  • Deliberate intimidation
  • Unwanted attention or following of persons
  • Unwanted recording or photography
  • Sustained disruption of games or activities
  • Innappropriate physical contact
  • Unwelcome attention, including sexual remarks, jokes or taunting, leering, staring or suggestive gestures

To report harassment: If a request to stop behaviours does not get the desired result or there are continued problems with one gamer, please report the problem to a member of the HandyCon team.

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