file [VEG] Finnish Grand Prix Helsinki / Ropecon - 27th July 2019

12 Apr 2019 09:43 #94500 by Lönkka
www.facebook.com/events/400174097206204/
www.vekn.net/event-calendar/event/9221

We'll try to organize another VTES event for Friday and/or Sunday. Could be cube draft or could be another tournament.

VTES European Grand Prix - FINLAND
27 July 2019, 11:00 – 20:00

Messukeskus Convention Center in Pasila, Helsinki (exact address for you navigator: Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki)

The same venue hosted the 75th World Science Fiction Convention in 2017 and our friends there did amazing amount of solid information regarding the immediate vicinity, Helsinki and Finland in general so we'll be linking heavily to their excellent resources here.


Entry fee: Free with Ropecon entry (40€ for the weekend. No day tickets seem to be available anymore)
More info at Ropecon site: 2019.ropecon.fi/eng/tickets/

Pre-registration info + list is TBA but will come to this page: vtes.orava.org/wiki/

The traditional big Ropecon tournament is again a Grand Prix event this year. And we are keeping the same Saturday slot like last year including a lunch break. This year there should be additional VTES events too (another tournament or a cube draft)

Ropecon is the largest non-commercial role-playing convention in Europe with some 4000+ attendees. The three day convention offers a diverse program schedule suitable for all ages from tabletop and live-action role-playing games to card games, miniature war games and board games. In addition to tournaments and other gaming related programs Ropecon also features lectures, panel discussions and workshops on a wide variety of topics. The convention opens at 15:00 on Friday and closes on Sunday late afternoon / early evening, in between it never sleeps. Read more about Ropecon at their site: 2019.ropecon.fi/eng/about/

For the VTES Grand Prix you can either pre-register or register on site. On-site registration closes at 10:30 on Saturday!

More information, including pre-registration options, will appear later on Stay tuned.


(ON SITE) ACCOMODATION
Sleeping bag accommodation available free of charge for all visitors throughout the convention weekend at the convention site. Please note that Ropecon does not offer any accommodation supplies, so remember to bring a warm mattress, a pillow and a blanket or a sleeping bag to ensure a more comfortable rest. The floor of the hall is made of concrete and as such can get pretty chilly. Please remember that the accommodation area is meant only for sleeping, not for storage: you can store your mattress, sleeping bag and other items at the luggage storage during the day. More on accommodation at the Ropecon site: 2019.ropecon.fi/eng/for-visitors/accommodation/

Messukeskus is just one stop from Helsinki Central Railway Station so even if you don't want to use the closest hotel Pasila (Original Sokos Hotel Pasila as the Holiday Inn right next to the venue is being renovated at the time of the convention) most hotels in downtown Helsinki are just a few minutes train ride away. One of the closest ones is Hotel Arthur and it is reasonably priced (when considering rather high Finnish hotel prices). Another one that has traditionally been on the cheaper side is Hotel Anna located some 10 -15 minute walk from the Central Railway Station. Omena Hotels and Forenom Aparthotels And Hostels offer very cheap apartments and nothing else. More info on hotels can be found at Worldcon 75 site (scroll all the way down to the "Detailed Hotel Information" and the map is rather good for checking the location of the hotels compared to the Messukeskus venue): www.worldcon.fi/about-worldcon-75/location/hotels/


GETTING THERE
Book a flight to Helsinki and take the half an hour's trip with I or P train from the airport to Pasila station (5.50€ or so) and the venue is right next to Pasila station (which is 2nd to last stop before Helsinki Central railway Station). Also from airport bus 615 or Finnair's own shuttle bus (aka. Finnair City Bus) will take you to Helsinki right next to Central Railway Station. Taxi should be around 40€ or so (as always in Finland , you sure can tip if you want but no one is going to frown on you if you don't as tip is not expected).

Worldcon 75 Progress Report 2 had a nice article about getting to Helsinki. According to it, in addition to checking the flights to Helsinki, you might want to check the flight options to Stockholm in Sweden (as you can experience the exotic atmosphere of the Stockholm-Helsinki Ferry. Also remember that there are ferries also going to Turku, Åbo in swedish, which are cheaper since the route isn't as long and Turku is only some 2 hour train / bus ride from Helsinki...), Tallinn in Estonia (ferries shuttle all the time between Tallinn and Helsinki almost non-stop and the trip takes just few hours. So driving to Estonia and taking the Tallinn ferry would probably be the most cost effective method to reach Helsinki for all Eastern Europeans!) or even St. Petersburg, Russia (once again, ferries to Helsinki). One option might be to fly to Tampere with Ryanair from Bremen or Budapest and take the couple hour long train or bus ride to Helsinki from there. More info on the page 7 of the Worldcon 75's Progress Report 2: www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_2_a4.pdf

Ropecon's article on getting to Ropecon (including info if arriving with your own car -a humongous car park is just by the venue):
2019.ropecon.fi/eng/for-visitors/getting-here/

Worldcon 75's article on getting to the venue:
www.worldcon.fi/about-worldcon-75/location/getting-to-messukeskus/

The train and bus timetables (trains depart roughly every 10-15 minutes most of the day):
www.hsl.fi/en/timetables-and-routes/terminals/transport-links-helsinki-airport

Worldcon 75's very comprehensive article on Helsinki’s Public Transportation System, concentrating naturally on getting to Pasila and to the venue, on page 19-23 of progress Report 5
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_5_a4.pdf


EATING & DRINKING
Drinking alcohol at the venue is prohibited and will get you promptly booted from the premises, the only exception is the costly on site bars, which are even more expensive than the costly Finnish alcohol and food in general. Non-alcoholic drinks and food/ snacks are OK.

Ropecon's 2018 article on eating:
2018.ropecon.fi/eng/for-visitors/eat-drink/

Worldcon 75's staggeringly exhausting guide to eating in Helsinki (68 fricking pages!) has general info as well as restaurant specific reviews:
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/restaurant_guide_web.pdf

Worldcon 75's article on Finnish specialites, Finnish Foods and Where to Find Them, on page 25 of progress report 3. Sauteéd reindeer, Karelian pie, Baltic vendace, Salmiakki, Gin Long Drink, bread-cheese, etc -it is all included):
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_3_a4.pdf


SOME GENERAL ARTICLES ON HELSINKI AND FINLAND
Since the nice people of Worldcon 75 also did some other informative articles on relevant subjects were mentioning those too in case someone wants to dig a little deeper, see the sights etc.

Progress Report 1
Finland: an Assortment of Notes and Information (pages12-14)
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_1.pdf

Progress Report 2
Non-fandom things to do in Helsinki, if you have the time (pages 8-9)
Älä hätäile! Don’t panic! -a short guide for pronouncing finnish (pages 12-13)
The Word on the Street -guide to streetsigns/maps etc (pages 14-15)
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_2_a4.pdf

Progress Report 4
Sauna in Finland (pages 17-21)
Helsinki, Daughter of the Baltic Sea -some general sights etc (pages 22-25)
Penrose tiling and other nerdy sights (pages 26-27)
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_4_a4.pdf

Progress Report 5
Have Some Time off -more sights/places to see (pages 30-31)
Good to Know and Nice to Know -general and uselul info (pages 33-35)
www.worldcon.fi/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/progress_report_5_a4.pdf

An unique sight that is more or less omitted from everything above is the Temppeliaukio Chruch (aka Church of the Rock aka Rock Church) which is pretty unique in it's setup as it is hewn in the bedrock and has a huge copper dome above it. Some locals call it Anti-Devil Bunker.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temppeliaukio_Church
www.facebook.com/temppeliaukio/


ROPECON
2019.ropecon.fi/eng/
www.facebook.com/ropecon/

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13 Apr 2019 11:30 #94511 by goronaga
Yes, a cube draft is quite possible on Friday evening.

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19 Jun 2019 17:30 #95473 by Lönkka
Sorry not Friday, but Sunday... :/

On Sunday 28th I'll be running a VTES Draft at Ropecon.

It'll use a Draft Set/Cube and is Sabbat themed. No grouping rules and there is a humongous amount of Vampires (400 hundred different with 2 each in the set). Library cards are focusing nearly exclusively on commons and uncommons (four each 20 different cards for each of 13 disciplines plus multi-discipline cards and 2 each of the rest of the card types) with worst wallpaper weeded out as much as possible.

Since no actual boosters are involved this event is free with Ropecon attendance. 25 persons will be able to participate; if more people turn up we'll oil everyone up and do some wrestling to see who will be able to participate...

Cards will be sleeved so you only need to bring your own pool counters and VTES knowledge. Event is kinda aimed at non-beginners.

Format is 2R+F preceded by drafting and deck building. Starting hopefully at 10 or 11, but still waiting for the confirmation from the convention. When I get the confirmation I'll also make a separate FB event as well as entry to the VEKN event calendar.

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13 Jul 2019 14:37 #95836 by Lönkka
All participants will receive:

-a copy of the GP Playmat (thaks Ultra Pro)
-alternate art Entrancement, a GP tour 2019 special (thanks BCP)
-a set of 2019 VTES Promos (thanks Ropecon)

The promos are: Lord Tremere, Mithras, Montano, The Capuchin, The Dracon

Most likely every newbie (or veteran player returning from loooong inactivity) will also receive the traditional big chunk of old promos (around 30-40 different methinks)

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24 Jul 2019 10:50 #95947 by Lönkka
The Ropecon Grand Prix tournament this Saturday will be streamed in whole. Not just the finals like previously.

Stream should be found at Ropecon's YouTube channel. Well try to give the exact link slightly before the start of the tournament. Which is 11:00 Finnish time (Eastern European time methinks. Like two hours before GMT.)

Apparently this is now called Coordinated Universal Time and during summer time it is UTC +3

Here is the Ropecon YouTube channeL.
www.youtube.com/channel/UCnNyGXIYXqh5Ce9Ug0YB6TQ

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26 Jul 2019 11:12 #95996 by PetriWessman
Approximate timetable:

around 10:40 some interviews
11:00-13:00 First round
13:00-14:00 Lunch break
14:00-16:00 Second round
16:00-18:00 Third round
Some interviews
18:30-19:00 Beginning of Finals
Some interviews

As lots of viewers in the past have requested we will start with more beginner friendly presentation at least on first round. So we'll try to pick a suitable table and concentrate a bit more on game mechanics do new players (or non players) will understand the game bit more.
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