"Little Wars does something all cons should do" Topic

Little Wars uses Tabletop Events for registration and game selections. I love how LW has an entry for every game called "Rules – indicate the name of the published rules or if home brewed write Homebrew" and an entry for miniature scale. Every con should do this!

I've been to some cons that use TTE but don't have those entries. Why not list them???

Sometimes the rules are listed in the game's description, sometimes not. Same for scale. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I'd like to know what rules a game is using before I sign up for it. Same for scale. I would think this also helps the game hosts attract players.

Something for other HMGS cons to consider.

I thought that was common. It is with the cons in my neck of the woods.

All the HMGS-East cons give rules as part of the game description. So does the Seven Years War Association Convention. So did The Weekend. I think I saw one US convention once which didn't. (It was very small.)

But what is this TTE of which you speak? Let me tell you how much I look forward to having even more software standing between me and rolling dice.

+1 Mr. Piepenbrink.

Robert, TTE is actually something that you can either use or not use. I find HMGS-Midwest's use of TTE to be well thought out, and applied.
Of course they also put their PEL in an excel spreadsheet when it's ready to be released if you want to go through that monster.

Robert needs to buckle up when SYW con goes to Tabletop Events next year.

You know, Murphy, kcabai, none of this is going to help much if the whole thing is remains classified. "Something you can either use or not use" lacks something as a definition. My microwave and my dice tray are both things you can use or not use.

But if it's just a way of creating an Excel spreadsheet, I'm OK, and can go back to my Fizzbin game.

Tabletop Events is a website and app. It's really useful for registration and events.

You can find it at tabletop.events/conventions

It's made life far easier for a lot of conventions since it provides a simple, fairly consistent user experience so con runners need not worry about crafting their own.

Finally! Thank you, Tgerritsen.

See Murph, k? Information CAN be conveyed by means of the Internet. It just seems to take up more bandwidth than rumor, opinion and snark

"You know, Murphy, kcabai, none of this is going to help much if the whole thing is remains classified. "Something you can either use or not use" lacks something as a definition. "

I didn't know that TTE has or had a security classification, since it's publicly available on this wonderful thing called "da internet".

You know Robert, there is this thing on the internet called "Google". You can type in things like "Tabletop Events" and click "search". It brings up all sorts of stuff, (but check your settings though or you might get some stuff you don't want to see…)
Here. I'll even help you. tabletop.events

If you can work your microwave, (even if it is one of those microwave/air fryer combos), then you should be able to work this.

Glad I could you.

What is this "app" of which y'all speak?

Tgerritsen explained what TTE is and what it does.

To get back to the point of the original post, the TTE event entry form has certain fields by default. The rules of the game entered is not one of these default fields. TTE offers the ability to create additional fields to capture whatever the show runners want.

What Mister Tibbles is getting at is that only some mini convention organizers add a rules field, but they all should do so. I agree.

Duncan

A fair hit, Murph. And if Tibbles there had referenced an obscure battle instead of gazing in wonderment on something done right I'd never seen done wrong, I'd have done just that.

Mostly, I find fashionable software to have such a short lifespan it's hardly worth it, and the more so when the name is one or more common words. (It's why, when I need a picture of a game, I always google "historicon" images. Picture the results from "fall in" "cold wars" or "little wars.")

Simply put Robert. It's a piece of online software that conventions use to make things a hell of a lot easier than the old ways of waiting for a hard copy of the PEL/Program then thumbing through it to see what there is.
I was able to get all four games at Little Wars easily with it, as well as badge purchase.

TTE allows for a number of searchable fields to be added. Aside from the normal information usually found in event catalogs. Traditionally we incorporate these:

Host also plays
Players waiting for tickets
Rules
Scale
Ages
Child Friendly
Walk on Friendly
Set up table needed
Event type (Category)
Theme Game
Tournament

I do not know what constitutes fashionable, but TTE was established in 2015. It survived COVID, admittingly with an influx of investors. A quick count shows they are supporting 120 conventions in the next 6 months alone. (This weekend till October) This has been growing every year. Tied to this growth is their flexibility to adapt to their customer base, and add on features. Finally, no I am not one of those investors, but I do remember all too well, the agony of scheduling and table allocations in the old days.

As I say, can't see what the fuss is. Every PEL I've ever seen gives the rules of the scheduled game, and that goes back 25 years before the hot new software.

I'd also still have to be convinced of the superiority of the Excel spreadsheet for these purposes. Maybe if you were only interested in one period or one set of rules? But for browse and highlight, I've never felt the new HMGS on-line list worked as well as the old paper copy sent out weeks prior to the convention. Faster and cheaper of course, but not as easy to spot the game you didn't know you were looking for. Also, no one's mentioning "rules will be taught" which HMGS (formerly East) includes when appropriate, and which is considerably helpful.

I agree that the "old" paper copy. offered the ability to browse and highlight. which was an enjoyable process. Sometimes it was even a group event with other convention goers. I miss those times.

But that PEL was already presorted by someone else's criteria from an excel spreadsheet. And was out of date often before it was finished printing.

With the ability to provide real-time information on the events and openings, the printed PEL is going the way of the neighborhood tinker.

For HMGS-Midwest the "Rules will be taught" criteria, is our default setting.

I have found TTE difficult to consistently log in to, locate the relevant convention and year, navigate within, and print from. I still need hard copies for reference, and without a smartyphone, the QR codes used by default are useless to me. Too often these software interfaces seem to be shutting the door to anyone not compatible with the preferred technology or browsers or related systems.

I also have trouble ever retrieving information from past conventions -- it would be handy to be able to access older events so one can copy and paste text instead of crafting new event entries from scratch each new convention.

TTE can be hard to navigate when you enter by the home page. You should try logging in via "Your Account", this will take you to a short list of conventions you are attending and have purchased a badge.

For those who cannot log on from their computer at home, we have several I=Pads at the events desk to access at the con. So their is not need for a smartphone.

it can always be tough to find older events that you submitted to prior conventions on their website. I usually save my multiple-run games on a word doc, on my PC so I can find it when I need it.

Hope this helps.