Is dogcon teen friendly?, should juniors attend? Options

[tommywilkie]

hey im tom, me and some mates were considering attending dogcon, however we are only 14, i was just wandering if many juniors attend and if it would be accepted. any replies would be appreciated
cheers, tom.

[MarkC]

I will be attending my first DogCon this year and so cannot give you an authorative answer. However, I am one of the TOs for Lords of Terra which is a 40K event held in July at the same venue so my comments may be of some help.

DogCon is held in the Anzac Memorial Club. It is a licensed venue which has some restrictions, such as not being able to get up to the bar to buy a soft drink. If you do want to get a can of coke or similar you will have to ask an 18 plus person to get it for you. This is the main venue issue in being under 18.

In terms of other players attitudes, I can only speak for myself. If you know the rules, can play a decent game (in terms of your skill level) and conduct yourself in mature/sportsmanlike manner I don't care if you're 14 or you're 40 (I'm older than 40). A few year ago, at our local club one of my most regular opponents was 14 at the time and it was always a good game. At the same time, we had an 18 year old in the group who you had to help him work out an army list before the game and help him with the rules during the game. I'd much rather play the 14 year old.

In terms of general behaviour, I have found that gamers can be cliquey. I recall my first tournament, Clash of the Titans 2006. I found that the main people who I was talking to were others that were also at their first tournament and didn't know anyone else. Given that gamers are travelling from as far away as WA and NZ to come to DogCon, experienced players may be catching up with old friends rather than trying to make new ones. On the other hand gamers are also (normally) geeks and if someone plays the same army as you you can probably carry on a conversation over lunch about the relative advantages and disadvantages of each unit.

I suspect that if you and your friends do decide to go to DogCon that you will find it will improve your gaming in that you will get to play 6 games against a variety of players and armies that you wouldn't normally play against. If there's a group of you then you'll probably just want to hang out with your mates between games rather than go round and meet new people.

If you were looking for events that were particularly teen friendly then I would recommend Clash of the Titans at Cherrybrook (near Hornsby) in February of Pilgrimage at North Sydney later in the year. Clash of the Titans is a favourite of mine having been my first 40K tourney (2006), first 40K podium (2007) and first WFB tourney (2008). The event is held by the gaming group at the Cherrybrook school. About 1/3 of the gamers at the tournament are teenagers.

Pilgrimage is held towards the middle of the year (I can't recall exactly when) and is targetted at new players. It has discounts for players who are new for tournaments, and they arrange mentors for new players.

Regards

Mark C

[marius]

Tom

As has been said it is a licensed venue, so the drinks may be an issue, but there will be gamers there who are under 18.

As far as I am aware, there isn't anything specifically catering for teens, however there isn't anything to exclude them. It is a big standard tourney over the years I have plyed everyone from 10 years to 56 so there is a big mix. Having said that there tends to be a crowd of gamers around 16-25 for the most part.

If you would like more answers, I would suggest that you also post this in the WFB discussion area.

This post has been edited by marius: Dec 24 2009, 09:11 AM

[Slardy]

Tom as an experienced tourney player we would love to have you and your mates come along and play ... it is the biggest event ever and will be loads of fun and you will learn a lot about playing your army and against a whole swag of other armies. Please feel free to come up and say hi if you intend to come (most people know me and will be able to point me out) and I'm happy to also help you out with army list design or feedback.

I played my first tournament at 14 some 20 odd years ago and it was a blast...learnt a lot and guys were fantastic to play... i just hung out by myself most of the time and looked at all the great armies . Most events are busy so there isn't a lot of down time anyway!

The food area upstairs is open to anyone so no restrictions there..... guys will be happy to get you and your mates a drink!!!

Hope to see you there!!

Gavin "slardy Clarke

[tommywilkie]

wow thanks guys, thats really positive, me and my mates are almost definitely going now and it would be interesting to meet some gamers other than the ones that hang out at the battle bunker in the city. ill probably be posting a warriors of chaos list in the army list section soon so any help would be appreciated.
cheers, tom.

[Slardy]

Good to hear Tom...take the comments in the army list section with a grain of salt as some people can be a little abrupt or scathing at times...that's just the internet I'm afraid HHappy to look at a list if you PM me.

slardy

[GT]

As the guys have already mentioned, we have no problem with having younger players attending Dogcon, in fact we usually have 10 to 20 players under 18 at the event each year. It's also why we have an award for players under 18.

The only issue with the venue is you can't approach the bar, and that's easily dealt with by asking myself or one of the other Dogs of War members to get your drinks for you.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

GT
TO for Dogcon 2010.

[Crono26]

Tom as an experienced tourney player we would love to have you and your mates come along and play ... it is the biggest event ever and will be loads of fun and you will learn a lot about playing your army and against a whole swag of other armies. Please feel free to come up and say hi if you intend to come (most people know me and will be able to point me out) and I'm happy to also help you out with army list design or feedback.

I played my first tournament at 14 some 20 odd years ago and it was a blast...learnt a lot and guys were fantastic to play... i just hung out by myself most of the time and looked at all the great armies . Most events are busy so there isn't a lot of down time anyway!

The food area upstairs is open to anyone so no restrictions there..... guys will be happy to get you and your mates a drink!!!

Hope to see you there!!

Gavin "slardy Clarke

you're a great role model mate

[Gortag]

main reason I avoid speaking to 14 year olds is real simple.


A grown man being freindly to a young kiddy in todays's society can be taken the wrong way..a very WRONG way !!


Ps free tip

When you see a parent pushing there kids around in a trolley, Never ask then what isle they got the kids from,you get some real funny looks.
"So what isle did you get the child from?"
My mother is always pestering me about grandkids, and I never knew you can buy them at Woolies.. "
"Sure hope they have a return policy"

= one very shocked mother exiting the store.

Some people fail to see my funny side......

[Mono]

Please tell me you hadn't squeezed yourself into the mankini to do this.

[Gortag]

nope, damn thing nearly cuts me in two ...